Tips for new mum - what to buy/avoid?

[Expectingfirstbaby]

Hey, I'm expecting my first baby (a girl) end of August and just putting together a list of things I might need. Does anyone have any recommendations for must-haves? And also are there any products you think are overrated and I shouldn't bother with? Thanks!

Congratulations OP 😊

For formula feeding, I would highly recommend the Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep - it is so handy for making up bottles to the correct temperature in minutes, especially in the middle of the night.

I was given a Tuppence and Crumble Star Wrap as a gift, and now buy them for everyone as gifts myself - so much easier to put on than a coat for little uncooperative arms!

We bought a Nuna Leaf chair secondhand which both of our babies slept in downstairs during the day, as neither of them would sleep in the Moses basket. It can be used up to about 4 years old (although admittedly both stopped using it around 6-7 months, but it was still a bargain buy for us secondhand).

With our second baby I discovered revelation of pram mitts for winter walking and wish I’d had them the first time around - they are waterproof outside and fleece lined, and fasten on to the handle of your pram to stay there permanently during the winter months. So cosy and no need to take gloves on and off.

As for what to avoid, we were given 15 blankets in total as gifts with our first baby, so I wish I hadn’t bought 4 myself before the baby was born!

Others might disagree, but after a while I tended to avoid the cute dungaree type outfits with all the fiddly poppers which I found to be too much of a faff when changing nappies, and much preferred leggings for easy access!

And I found bottle warmers to be totally pointless.

Hope all goes well with the rest of your pregnancy 💐

A wrap has been essential for both my velcro babies!

And sock ons!! They help to keep baby socks on their tiny feet, so useful!!

A change table to save your back. Babies are very hard on backs.

Best baby purchase
Baby must haves and regrets

Hi @Expectingfirstbaby I linked to two threads from a month or so ago on this topic, I found them super helpful. There are many replies.

A few things stood out and went straight on my wishlist: Haakaa, Next-to-me crib, Koala wrap and Angelcare bath support.

Haakaa

loads of Muslin cloths (I had them in my bra, on the baby, mopping up spillages etc)

Bonds zippy onesies or anything easy to put on, especially for nights

bigger nappies for nights

Stashes of water, snacks, nappies, phone chargers so I was always sorted if they fell asleep somewhere (and I was always hungry)

batch cooking

comfy boots or trainers for all the pram walks

Netflix!

congratulations! I hope everything goes smoothly

I like Sainsburys own brand baby wipes over any others; they are wetter than other types and a bit more stretchy. 2nd best imho are Johnson&Johnson, and you can get very good value multipacks of these on Amazon.

Everyone says don't bother with a moses basket and I didn't have one for my first but was gifted one for my 2nd DC and found it really useful.

Everyone loves the perfect prep machine. When DC were very small I liked the ready-made formulas which were disposable. Not all supermarkets sell them though, only the bigger ones. You don't have to faff around with powder and are hygienic. Might be pricy if you use exclusively. DC started with SMA and was sick a lot, this reduced a lot when switching to aptimil (this obviously doesn't apply to all babies just my experience).

Be mindful that a lot of mum friendships are quite transient - I went to a lot of baby groups thinking I'd make friends for life and was disappointed when I didn't! I would def recommend paying for NCT courses if you want to make friends (though these vary a lot and it depends if you click with your group or not.... I do know some people who go on holiday every year with their NCT "family" etc). So can be money very well spent!

Bath flowers seem very gimicky but are great if you want to wash a newborn baby in the sink. This is the cheapest one I could find

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/113884699476

Congratulations on the new arrival 😊

Things to avoid - Perhaps a bit early yet, but I had a lovely expensive wooden high chair, which was an absolute pain to clean. I ended buying a supercheap IKEA one. A couple of friends who'd bought designer overly padded highchairs also did the same.
Travel system that was a swine to fold, it reduced me to tears more than once on a rainy carpark. If possible have a trial run folding your choice before buying.

Most useful thing - muslins, lots of them.
If you are breastfeeding, then cheap Primark cami vests (for you, not the baby!), when I was feeding I pulled my top up and the vest down so the vest neck was under my boob - not sure if that's a good explanation, but it meant it meant my tummy stayed covered.

Also, baby carrier, I had a BabyBjorn, which I used for 12mths. I then bought an Ergobaby but she hated being on my back. I couldn't manage the stretch wraps at all.
And scratch mits, I didn't buy as I thought they'd be a waste of time, DD was a scratcher and we had to put socks over her hands in hospital!

One item I wish I'd remembered is a really good thermometer. Not a cheapy. There will be times you worry about baby being too hot, are they sick etc? Really wish I'd had one to hand!

Yes - definitely this. A proper zappy one.

we faffed around with an underarm cheap one and we’re constantly saying we should just get a good one. When it’s 3am and you’re trying to decide if the fever needs a hospital trip, it’s worth it for peace of mind.

also someone gave us a massive sponge that baby could lay on in the bath. I haven’t seen one since but that was great as it was small to store.

When I was pregnant I bought a large pile of sheets and blankets for the Moses basket and pram, baby kept kicking them off so I ended up buying sleeping bags. The sleeping bags were one of the best purchases I made as they were used for both my babies. The sheets and blankets were never used and I can't sell them either!

Thanks for all the help! I'm finding it a minefield to figure out what we actually need, so this has been great. Can anyone recommend a good breast pump?

@Expectingfirstbaby are you planning to try and exclusively breast feed to start with?

If so, consider the much cheaper Haakaa which collects milk from the other breast while you're feeding. I mean, before you spend tons on a different pump and then just breastfeed all the time.

Ideally I'd like to get baby into breastfeeding at night and bottle feeding during the day, just to give me more flexibility. So I guess I'd want to introduce both breast and bottle fairly quickly to get baby familiar with both. As I type this I realise how anything could happen and you know what they say about the best laid plans 🤣 Did you have the prep machine/breast pump already bought in case bf wasn't possible?

Haha I'm still pregnant, so I'll leave further questions to Mamas who have experience! I'm hoping just to breastfeed, but thought the Haakaa was a nice cheap way to collect and store a bit of milk now and then (hopefully my DP can then occasionally feed from a bottle...) And also to prevent engorgement in the other boob.

Sounds like you might need a better option though!

Those star wraps are lovely I would have bought one.

Bowls with suction cups on the bottom ate rubbish don't bother.

Yy to the ikea high chair nothing else is worth bothering with

It's called the IKEA Antilop it's £7.95!!!

I wouldn’t bother buying a pump just yet you might not need it and they are a pricey bit of kit. They do say not to pump in the first 6 weeks to allow your supply to establish but with both of my babies there were issues so I used a hospital grade pump to try and get things started. Whilst in hospital you can use it for free and then I hired it for a month for £50.
must haves - my sister made me caddies that have all the baby stuff close to hand in one place - nappies, wipes, bum cream, bags, calpol, dummies and I have one by my bed, and one downstairs. Super handy. I would say buy as much second hand as you can - Facebook marketplace and vinted are flooded with great quality items for a fraction of the price. I second the perfect prep if you end up formula feeding it’s a life saver. People will come and say midwives/NHS don’t recommend but that’s due to a lack of evidence and studies. The ready made cartons are great for out and about.

I planned to breastfeed and didn’t have any bottle stuff/ prep machine at home. I never produced any milk and the hospital gave me the tiny little ready made bottles that have their own teat. I ended up getting a prep machine, pump, bottles, steriliser etc but could literally get them all next day delivery on Amazon - I wouldn’t worry about getting it all in advance as it’s expensive and you don’t know what you’re going to end up needing/ using. Get a box of the ready made bottles if you want something for the first day or two, and see where you are.

Second the tuppence and crumble star wrap, one of my favourite things! You may be given one as a gift though.

A canvas basket thingy you can keep nappies, wipes etc in - like this this - we had a changing table upstairs (passed on from a friend) but this was really useful to keep downstairs with all the bits in. She’s nearly 2 and I still use it.

I also had a similar one but more wallet shape and meant to hook on the side of the bed, which was for me. I kept phone, kindle, charger, bottle of water, tissues, snacks, painkillers when needed etc all in it and kept it next to me at all times so I had stuff to hand when trapped under a feeding/ sleeping baby.

I used water wipes to start with but switched to reusable cheeky wipes which are great. You can just buy some cheap flannels or small muslin squares instead. We have a set for nappy changes and a set for hands and feet.

I found the shnuggle bath better for bathing her but the angel care bath seat amazing for just popping her in whilst I had a shower/ went to the loo. I bought both second hand for £5 each and sold them on for same price - you don’t need new.

She never slept in her Moses basket nor her next to me crib, they were useful places to put washing I suppose!

We still use the travel system although she’s just about growing out of it - people always say ‘oh you won’t want it after a few months just get a buggy’ but we haven’t found that. It is a bit of a faff and we did get a cheap second hand stroller for going on holiday, but the travel system was comfier and sturdier and I liked it better.

We got given a hand me down wooden high chair and agree it’s a pain in the arse to clean. I constantly fantasise about replacing it with an IKEA one but we’ve come this far I guess. We did get a chicco ‘pocket snack’ portable one free when we bought the travel system and it’s great, I definitely would recommend it when the time comes.

Borrowed a stretchy wrap type sling for the first few weeks then used a sling library to find what suited us best - worth seeing if there’s one near you.

You need far less than you think! You need somewhere for baby to sleep, a crib or bassinet is fine, a drawer was used in years gone by! You need suitable bedding, I used blankets but now most people use fancy sleeping bags. You need transport for baby - a car seat and a pushchair normally but a sling works too and you need basic clothing eg bodysuits and sleepsuits plus get muslin clothes useful for so many things. If you want to bottle feed you need that equipment too though you can manage with just a pack of bottles and boil in a pan to sterilise!

Following as I'm expecting my first too 🙌.... Its a minefield out there 🤣

Accept hand me downs. That way when you want to buy something (a more lightweight buggy later on, change slings) you have more money for that.

Before you buy a sling, Google your location and sling library.

I thoroughly enjoyed my next to me cot.

All the best

Firstly hand me downs are great, also, facebook where I am has a mums helping mums group locally where people pass on so much stuff. Unless it is a carseat or mattress it is usually good to use again, saves some pennies, and the environment a bit.

Onesies: Magnetic me and Bonds Wondersuits are a god send. Not cheap but worth every penny in the early days. Anything that makes the middle of the night changes easier is so helpful.

Be prepared to get a variety of bottles (this is where hand me downs/mums groups come in handy), different babies like different bottles and what works for one might not work for the next. Unless you have them already, i'd not buy a multi pack of any one brand until you know what works.

Nappies, wipes, somewhere to change the baby and somewhere for them to sleep. We had a wonderful white noise machine which I highly recommend. I'd get a thermometer to keep your mind at ease, and if you know you are going to use one, get the pump early. I'd also recommend keeping a small can of formula on hand just in case. You never know if you will have milk supply issues, or you get a virus and are told not to feed the baby that milk for a few days etc. Just useful to have for peace of mind. Good luck OP/anyone else prepping for an arrival!