Must haves.. first time mum

[Lauren11x]

Hi.. I'm 28 years old & I'm a first time mum. Me & my partner are so excited! We're 14weeks.

There are still some things we don't know about needing etc.

What are your must haves? And what are the things you think are overrated and wouldn't recommend buying?

Thanks in advance x

First of all congratulations!!
A lot of people say differently but we bought a second hand nappy bin for £5 and love it. It's right next to the changing table (another thing people say you don't need but we love).
A cold water steriliser with milton tablets instead of an electric one.
More muslins than you think you'll need.

Bbhugme pillow - I didn't get one until my 3rd pregnancy but I wish I'd bought one first time around, you can't beat a better night sleep.
White noise machine for baby that plays all night, Ewen the sheep etc are cute but the stop and starting disturbs baby.
Newborns don't need alot, few outfits, milk and cuddles so I wouldn't go too mad until you know what others will buy you etc
Do lots of research on breastfeeding if you want to, it's not as easy as it seems but so rewarding once it's established.
Congratulations 😍 x

Muslins, lots and lots of muslins

@Loulou1712 i just got the bbhugme for my second and will never be parted from it!!

@Lauren11x must haves for me:

• next to me crib
• sleepyhead/dockatot (i know they're controversial but we only used it downstairs as a safe putting down space)
• bluetooth headphones for night feeds
• good pram

overrated:

• car seat that goes on pram - hardly used it and they can't be in the car seat long so kinda pointless
• swinging seat thing - i know some babies love them, mine wasn't fussed and like above they're not meant to be in them long!

With these threads it is always the same, the must haves for some people are the totally unused things for some and you can't really know until you've been doing it with your own child for a while.

Muslins for instance are often mentioned but I hardly used the pack of 10 I bought and gave the pack of 3 massive ones I was given as a gift to a charity shop. Loads of people say nappy bins are a waste of money but I didn't want to be trekking to the outside bin 5 times a day so worth it for me.

I found having a car seat that clipped onto the buggy frame a total waste of money and used it once between 2 children, others will use it everyday and find it invaluable.

Cold water bucket over an electric steriliser any day.

Cheeky wipes reusable wipes over disposable baby wipes.

For things like bouncer/rocker etc, wait until they arrive - both of mine have pretty much hated them so a complete waste of money.

Don't spend an arm and a leg on a fancy pram - again two here that have absolutely hated being in one and has just been a complete waste of money.

Sling - caboo for newborn and then a structured carrier for later, if you like them.

If you're FF, they're all the same, no need to spend money on a more expensive brand because it's no better than others.

If you're BF, have some lansinoh cream in for the early days

If you're using formula, get a perfect prep machine - life saver.

The Doona car seat / pram convertible is a bit like marmite but we love it.

I second a previous suggestion of wireless headphones.

If you are breastfeeding, stock up on tops that you can easily pull down.

Get a big water bottle that you can fill up and just keep nearby.

On the other hand, I never got on with slings.

Big things -
-next2me crib, was so good for night feeds and meant I didn't have to get out of bed just reached over and picked her up
-Perfect prep machine if your FF
-sling for when they are tiny, find your local sling library and try a few out first though what works for one may not work for another
-can't remember the name of them but the nuby flasks that make a perfect temp bottle when out and about, they weren't out when I had DD but we've bought them for the next one as I've used SIL's and they are so handy!

Smaller bits-

• zip up sleep suits (sanity saver for night changes)
• nappy caddy beside the bed for night time with essentials like nappies, wipes, cream, muslins, change of clothes, bottle of water in, means you don't have to go raking around half asleep in the night
• nappy caddy for downstairs and a changing mat for downstairs, going up and down the stairs to use the changing table for every nappy change gets old quick
• white noise machine, DD still uses her Ewan the dream sheep most nights and she's almost 3

Buy what you can second hand, Vinted is amazing for baby things and we have a local baby and childrens charity shop we bought a lot in. Spending thousands on a pram is mad when they're going to be out of it in a few months anyway.

Buy as much as you can second hand (apart from car seats and mattresses)! We wasted so much money buying things new for our first baby. Facebook marketplace and Vinted are fab.

You’ll be able to find loads of posts like this that have lists and lists of things, but one thing I rarely see recommended that we literally couldn’t live without is a big playpen. We have the Dripex extra large playpen (bought on Amazon but sometimes they come up on marketplace) and it’s hands down the best thing we bought for our baby. Of course it all depends on whether you have the space in your home, but if you can squeeze it in and make it work for your space I’d highly recommend. Not something you need straight away for a newborn that doesn’t roll but as soon as they start being able to move it’s a great place to pop them down and let them have a wiggle around without worrying about them. Our son is 16 months and we still put him in it every day to contain him when we need to cook dinner/answer the door etc. He loves being able to play independently and it’s so handy to stick all his toys in there so they’re not scattered around the house. We bought a large flexi-tub that sits in there and he loves taking out his toys and putting them all back in again