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

Bibs, bibs, bibs. I thought they're only useful once baby dribbles during teething but oh my the amount of outfit changes saved due to milk spit up.

HelloFresh subscription or similar was sooooo handy the first few days.

I also rate the Alpha Bouncer +highchair as you can have little one up at eye level when cooking/eating and then it transform ls I to highchair.

Definitely agree with previous poster that it is all subjective to your baby. We never used size 1 nappies (too small), didn't need lots of bibs and muslins as ours weren't sicky or dribbly. Ds1 liked the stretchy wrap sling, but ds2 hated it.

Things that were useful for us were chemical free wipes, ear thermometer and baby nail clippers. I still use the clippers for me 9 years on as I find they leave a smoother nail edge! Also ask for larger size basics clothes, you don't need a ton of very formal 0-3 stuff then nothing after and don't know how quickly they will grow. Hooks for the push chair handle, to hang your shopping bags on, and socks that stay on.

Love to dream swaddle - my baby likes being swaddled but also wants his arms above his head so this was the best of both worlds.

Prep machine/Nuby Rapid Cool

Next to Me Crib

White noise machine/pink light

Muslins

We haven’t used bibs, sleepyhead, normal swaddles, mittens, baby shoes.

Thanks for all the recommendations so far, loads to look through!

Any specific recommendations for bouncing chairs? Are the rocking/vibrating ones worth it?

Noted all the points about stocking up up various sizes of nappies, wipes, muslins & bibs etc! Thank you!!

I dont remember the make of ours but it rocked and vibrated, kind of a swing I suppose. It played tunes and had a little bar above it for when they were able to reach out and grab. It was so handy.

I'd ask them to wait and buy something after the baby is here safe and well. I am so surprised that anyone buys anything more than the bare minimum before the birth. There so many unknowns and it's a waste having things you don't need.

Agree with @whatahat re the stuffed toys!

Muslins and bibs
Bottle steriliser (if you're formula feeding or expressing breast milk)
Bottle warmer (same reasons as above)
Breast pump (if you breastfeed)
Haakaa milk catcher (if you breastfeed)
Bath support
Again, agree with a pp having size 1&2 nappies in
Sleeping bag (for when they're a LITTLE bit bigger, maybe not straight away) so much easier than a blanket and cosy too!
Baby carrier
Next to me cot

Something that I found not necessary was a changing table - if you have the space for it then yeah why not BUT you can buy little portable wipe down changing mats so you can easily change baby on the floor) do definitely have some sort of little changing station with all your bits handy like nappy bags, nappies, wipes, talc whatever you use etc

Congrats and good luck!

Plenty of bigger clothes. DS would fit something one day and be bursting out of it the next. Don't go mad with swaddle blankets and wraps. DS hated them.

Zipped sleep suits are great

We have washable wipes (which are good if you can be bothered - you'll be doing plenty of laundry anyway) - they are way better at wiping poo than disposable ones, plus you get to feel smug about being environmentally friendly. Basically just damp flannels really - but a set of Cheeky Wipes or similar could make a good gift. The above lists are all so personal though - DS1 didn't even get nappy rash till he was about 18 months, so we'd have had no use for metanium. Then DS1 had nappy rash so badly practically from birth that metanium didn't work and we had to get cream on prescription from the pharmacy!

If your relatives are wanting to spend a lot of money, and especially if you have pets, we loved (and still love with DS2) our Stokke Tripp Trapp highchair with newborn set. We hesitated to get the newborn set for DS1 as it was only for the first six months, but it's great for having baby at your height at the dinner table, and keeping them safely off the floor out of the way of dogs and marauding toddlers. We got it with John Lewis vouchers, which actually turned out to be the best baby gift of all.

I'm going to go against the grain here and say I never used or felt the need for a bib. My baby is 9 months old. He obv has one now cause he's eating food, but never used one before. Got bought so many as well

Washable wipes and washable nappies/nappy bucket etc. Expensive initially to buy but will save a fortune in long run and no need for nappy bin or a bin that quickly fills with disposables.

Me too. I breastfed and neither baby was a sicky baby. I still have unused ones that I plan to bring to the baby bank. I have never used more than one muslin in a day and had no use for all the tiny bibs.

Not so direct to baby -

Sock ons
Nose frieda
Plug in night light
Pram clips
Reusable nappy covers in case your baby has constant explosive 💩
Inco sheets
Pushchair caddy for cups / phone
A Costco car boot mat for muddy pram

We used millions of bibs for the oceans of dribble when DS1 was teething. And both babies produced quite a lot of posset so we did use the muslins. But it sounds like bibs and muslins are yet another thing that you might not need at all but might really need - it's making me think vouchers again!

One thing we have never, ever used, is the thousands of little cotton hats we were given. Especially the ones that are meant to match little baby outfits, except that the head was never the right size at the same time as the body.

Hi all!

New member here. I'm just looking around as I'm also expecting - I'm far from my due but it's nice to know things ahead. I found the suggestions in this thread are really great! Amazing different experiences from different mums.

I'm also sharing this article I found from New Beginnings, it's a checklist for both mum-to-be and her newborn baby. I thought it might help other mums-to-be out there.