What baby products would you recommend and what to avoid

[PurpleSock]

Hi,

I'm 35+3 and due 1st March, I'm in a really lucky position of having several family members asking what they can get for the baby which has triggered my question

What would you recommend getting for a first baby? What was really useful or even just "nice to have" and what was a total waste of time/money for you?

We have the basics, travel system, moses basket, crib etc, I'm thinking more things beyond that that we may not have considered

Following this as I'm exactly 35+3 😂 Thanks for the thread!

If you’re nit breast feeding I’d definitely get a perfect prep machine, it was an amazing! I had a dairy allergy child so couldn’t b/f and it was so easy with the perfect prep machine!

nappy bin was great when they are little but when baby gets bigger it fills far to quickly.

Bibs and Muslins - you will go through so many bibs when they start teething and drooling everywhere. And you always always need muslins for sick etc.
Books - The lift the flap or That’s Not My… are really lovely.
A play mat - good for tummy time or practicing hitting toys.
A baby carrier / sling - Useful when out and about as a lot of very young babies don’t enjoy the pram for a while. Also good for when trying to get stuff done around the house and baby doesn’t want to be put down.
Sleeping bags - once baby is old enough they’re better than a blanket as can’t cover babies face.
Tuppence and Crumble Star suit - get the size for next winter. My baby was born start of March last year and we’ve used the Medium size this winter. It’s a nice gift and really useful.

Things I used all the time:

Wrap sling for the early days when they're a bit too small for the more robust ergo baby/baby Bjorne type things.
Babygros with zips

Things we never used:
All the stuffed animals we got. 1-3 fine, but no baby needs 20, and unless you give instructions this is what people will get you.

Things we wish we had:
The two sizes up of nappies. You imagine you'll buy them when you need them, but in your tired state when the baby keeps weeing through nappies you won't put two and two together, and when you finally do you'll have to source the nappies. Better to have sizes 1 and 2 knocking around.

Absolutely a sling. Babies are carry mammals, they want carried & to be close to you as they don’t know they’re a separate person from you until much later. Of course they can lay down for naps if they settle - but a sling/wrap (I went with the boba wrap) is so useful! Baby can snuggle in and you can have two free hands to do what you need to!

Also a white noise machine and black out blind you can attach to the window. You’ll be very grateful for these when baby is in their own room as will help them sleep through the night easier 🤞

Congratulations!!

I found a baby swing to be so useful, one that vibrates, plays tunes and rocks/swings can hopefully give you a bit of time for free arms for a little while. My DS napped in it loads and DD tolerated it for as long as it took me to eat my dinner.

A sling was a godsend, stretchy wrap when tiny then a structured one when they were a bit bigger.

One of the best gifts I got was a package with colic drops, things for a blocked nose etc as for some reason I never considered things like colic or a cold and only realised they were needed at 2am.

I did tend to buy as I went though and managed to get so much second hand in great condition. I sold my changing table as I never used it. I bought a schnuggle bath with the profit which both of mine loved.

We used a bouncer so much. I mean the reclining seat type, not the doorframe swing.
Great for chilling out, calming down and allowing baby to interact better and use hands on toys before they can sit up unaided. We found you can start using them around two weeks old as before that they're too floppy.

A moses basket so the baby can sleep in any room in the day (kitchen, living room etc).

More babygrows and muslins than you think you'll need

If you don't have a tumble dryer, a peg octopus is an absolute must. You'll be doing a wash a day and hanging up a bazillion little items each time

I have a 6 month old and I've never used a sling or baby carrier. I didn't use a moses basket either because babies grow out of them so quickly. A play mat and bouncer are great. You'll need loads of bibs!

Ear thermometer
Cot top changer
Backpack style changing bag
Muslins, 10 times more than you think you'll need
Cheeky wipes kit, best thing ever
Metanium cream
Yes sleeping bags, you can get swaddle ones for small babies
The vibrating chair thing
A good thermal mug for parents
Cook vouchers or home cooked meals
Something to create white noise
Wireless Earphones for feeding in the middle of the night
Jumperoo for when they're older

My boy is two now so those newborn days seem a very long time ago but the things that spring to mind that we used all the time;
a sling, we had a freerider tie around job which I bought partly mainly because it was super pretty but you don’t need to spend that much 😂 brilliant for putting DS in while I walked the dogs
a bouncy chair, DS did a lot of his chilling in there while I was cleaning or cooking or whatever, it’s nice for them to be able to sit and watch you
my boy had eczema so we used a lot of child’s farm products, but that’s down to the individual I think, we tried Aveeno and something else before settling on childs farm
That yellow nappy cream, meta something, lifesaver
A million muslins, DS was a very sicky boy and these got used by the tens in a day 😂

I had a Moses basket for baby to sleep in at night, but he outgrew it by a month old (he was a whopper 😂) so that seemed a bit pointless for us.

Things we had and never used;
white noise machine, couldn’t see the need

We bought so so much second hand.. one because it just makes sense to save money where you can and things have only been lightly used but also then if it doesn’t suit or doesn’t get used, you’ve spent less on it!

Ooh one of the best presents we got (or most used anyway!) was a little nappy caddy for by the sofa downstairs. I filled it with nappies, wipes, cream etc and then didn’t need to be running upstairs every five minutes cause it was all there in one set place. Handy after a C-section

Stretchy wrap sling is always top of my list when people ask, as well as way more muslin's than you think you need

A haakaa (or similar) silicone hand pump is REALLY useful if you breastfeed, for catching letdowns and for if you get a clogged duct.

Sleepsuits with zips seem convenient, but for nighttime especially it's really useful to just be able to pop baby's legs and bum out instead of taking it all the way off for a nappy change so I recommend popper ones, or if people want to buy for you the 2 way zips (usually a little more pricey than normal zips).

A soft mat to place baby down on during the day, if you have nice plush carpet you could just use a blanket though.

A chair baby bouncer, not a jumper or doorframe one though I believe they can harm baby's hips, so they can see you but you can put them down.

But really babies just don't need a huge amount in the first few weeks beyond the obvious (nappies, wipes, clothes, medicine box things, etc), it's very overwhelming as a first time mum though and I remember thinking I needed everything and barely using any of it!

Freerider is what we've used too, and no you absolutely don't need to spend that much (sometimes there's a sale), but I did find them great for summer because they're so lightweight!

And bonus they're such pretty patterns and colours 😂

Agree with a lot of other suggestions here.

Our most used/valuable thing was a car seat foot muff. It zips around the bottom. (I've attached pic - ours was a brand tuc tuc) So no missing socks/ wearing pram suits/too warm baby as it's like a little duvet and you can open it up when you get inside of baby is too warm rather than having to battle with a suit.

Newborn swaddles too were essential.

Metanium is the yellow nappy rash cream, but is good for all kinds of skin complaints. I still use it 26 years on!

Popper babygros and vests, and a sling were the things that were most useful.
I would have liked baby wipes that had no harsh chemicals, but they weren’t available back then.

Crikey people are suggesting a million things we never had for our children, which shows how much is personal taste (and how big your house is).
So I've changed my recommendation! DO get a bouncer, but get it off marketplace for a tenner! Do the same for any of these big plastic things like jumperoos (if you have the space). Then if your baby hates them you can pass them on without feeling guilty for whoever bought them.

The trouble is you've already got the big purchases of buggy cot and car seat. Babies don't really need much else apart from clothes and a couple of toys and you'll get hundreds of those. More expensive purchases come around six months when baby starts eating, and sleeping in a proper cot possibly in their own room. Then you need big cot, highchair and baby monitor. Would your relatives chip in for those?

My baby is 4 weeks old and so far this is what I have used.

• nappies size 1 & 2 - aldis are great (depending on size) & lots of water wipes
• newborn baby grows (depending on size of baby), we only had 0-3 months and were far too big. We transitioned to 1 month clothing at 3 weeks.
• make sure clothes/babygrows have poppers on or zips. I had some lovely ones gifted with buttons etc and they are hard to undo and get on. Go for practicality, they go through lots a day.
• prep machine if not breastfeeding.
• cheap moses basket (Tesco or aldi) with breathable blankets (white ones with holes - amazon)
• lots of bibs for feeding
• expert midwife bum cream, easier to spread than sudacream (the whole range is amazing)
• Moonie bear (not a must have) that plays womb & white noise etc or, YouTube on your phone for white noise. *rocket for the pram
• tommee tippee soothers
• egg thermometer for the room - tommee tippee

Lastly, lots of cuddles ☺

Currently have a 5 week old...

More wipes than you think you need!
Muslins. So. Many. Muslins.
We changed our washing pods for baby and I wish I'd asked for that.
If you're not breast feeding then the nuby rapid cool. It's a god send when out and overnight.

We have so many of thos comfort things with the Teddy on the end...not used 1 once yet.

I really like the Shnuggle bath, I think there are other brands in the same style, makes bathing a young baby so much easier.
Otherwise, as mentioned by previous posts, it's quite personal what you will use.
I liked the ergobaby carrier
Baby Bjorn bouncer (look for second hand)
Sheepskin
Lovevery baby gym (especially good if you're planning more children, as the wooden frame doesn't fall over when a toddler touches it)
Zipped sleep suits.
Changing mat for everything floor of the house

Best buys, nuby rapid cool, cheeky wipes (they will save you a fortune and get the bum so much cleaner with just one wipe), Moby baby bath and the Milton steriliser

Oh forgot to add, a changing caddy downstairs so you don't have to go up and down a million times a day!

The yellow cream suggested by everyone is incredible just be careful when using it, it stains! 🤣

Oh yes, the Shnuggle bath was great for us. Also a lot of people say not to bother with a changing table, which I suppose technically we didn’t, but we did set up a changing mat etc on top of DSs chest of drawers, which we still use now. I have a really bad back and issues with my knees so that helped. No way could I have got up and down off the floor for changing over and over again. May not be a concern for you tho, of course.

also @shellshapes is absolutely right, the freerider slings are super lightweight. You still get warm where baby is of course, but they definitely stop you overheating altogether 🤣

Nappy caddy one for upstairs and one for down stairs
Shnuggle Baby bath
Sleeping bags
Tommie Tippie electric nail file
Ear thermometer
Nappies; wipes, sudocreme naturals nappy cream
Sleep suits with built in mitts
Swaddle blankets

If you plan to bottle feed I can’t recommend the nuby rapid cool enough.. We’ve used it to make literally every bottle over the last 13 months.