Most useful things you bought when you had your first baby......

[Lozza70]

......I will be getting some lends from friends but wanted to try and make a list of things we need to buy. So what did you buy that was really useful and you would recommend to a first timer??

muslin cloths
bodysuits
sleepsuits
lanolin nipple cream

vodka?

also obvious things like car seat, pushchair, sling

bouncy chair
play gym

no parenting books

carseat that fitted on to my pram
changing table/unit
dummies!

NIPPLE CREAM.
Breast pump
Coffee machine.
Some nice treats for you and dp.

cordless phone
a big quilt for the floor

Stand for moses basket so it was level with the bed.
A small light weight pushchair - huge travel systems are a complete waste of money, you will hate it within weeks.
Sleeping bags (for baby)

muslins

more vests than you think you can possibly need.....and you will still need more .

changing table with a bath underneath as I'd had a section and it was invaluable in the early days.

I am with gemmummy - although I was going to add champagne or gin...

playmat and arch

bumbo

baby carrier

car seat

sleeping bags

swaddle blanket

Angelcare baby monitor.

It saved our lives. Literally.

Muslins.
V shaped pillow for breastfeeding (not a special feeding one, just a cheapy v shaped one).

Sling
Grobags (for a bit older)
Lansinoh nipple lanolin
muslins
lots of pillows/v shaped pillow
black out blind
Some good dvds
bodysuits

I could go on!

Sling
Lanisoh
muslins
grobags
lovely cloth nappies - you don't need loads of bodysuits then as you don't get poo explosions
library card

I wish I'd had Sky+ back then

Never had:
car seat on pram
monitor
breastfeeding pillow (DS was prem, so hadn't bought one, tried with theirs in SCBU, and never could get on with them)
Baby gym/play mat
dummies

Large (cot bed size) blankets - they will last so much longer than cot size blankets, which become pretty pointless (can't tuck in properly) after the first year.

Baby sleeping bags/grobags when they grow big enough (for a few weeks, my DD was too little and the neck hole was too big)

Plain white/cream knitted cardigans - goes with anything and everything, so can be mixed and matched.
At least 7 sleepsuits, and 7 vests unless they have a tumble drier or baby is due in summer

Baby carrier which works as a SLING....tried the upright ones and i am too short or something because they are SO uncomfortable! And you can't use them straight away

bath sponge to lay baby on in full size bath,
£7.00 from mothercare

A big cushion dog bed! From the local market - just an enormous fleecy cushion. It was about a fiver.

When ds was going through the 'feed for an hour, doze for an hour' stage it was fabulous as I could just gently lie him down on it & tiptoe away, knowing the worst that could happen - once he got a bit wriggly - was that he could roll down onto the carpet...

oh & membership of freecycle, so you can blag/pass on all the things that get used for about a fortnight.

Agree with most of the above

SIL bought us a lullaby cd (lots of lovely songs that make little babies sleepy) we started using it at 7pm every night right from the first week as part of our bedtime routine and it works a treat! It also great if trying to settle to sleep at frinds house or on holiday (loaded it onto ipod and have mini speakers), whenever the little fella hears that music he knows it's bedtime

Lansinoh

Muslin squares

Dummies

Classical music cd (both dd's will sleep anywhere if we play it)

Thanks for all the advice, looking forward to the time when I can tuck into the suggestions around champagne and gin! Looks like Lansinoh and muslin squares are dead certs anyway

i have two young children (3.5y and 2y) and gave all my baby stuff away because we only intended to have the two. i am now pregnant with my third and have been making a list of the things i really couldnt do without.

motorised baby swing (i had the fisherprice aqaurium) i had two. it was the only thing my second child would go to sleep in. (you can get one for £40 on e-bay)

bumbo - i had two of these as well(to replace the swing later on) £10 on e-bay but you will not need this until 4m+

maxi-cosi car seat (light and easy to fit) i wouldnt recommend you buy one secondhand unless you know where it came from. people have been known to sell them on e-bay after a car accident as they get a new one on the insurance.

baby bjorn active carrier (i went through about 8 different types and this is the best for your back) i just got an as new one from e-bay for £30 inc postage.

carrycot for my buggy (mountain buggy) - having the baby face you makes all the difference.

lambskin footmuff for the buggy, it can be used as a liner in the summer, i didnt give it away as i still use it. cost £36 new from e-bay. its now 3.5yrs old and still looks like new.

tiny love cot mobile - fantastic classical music both my babies loved it.

breastfeeding tops - you can do it in public without people realising. i hate exposing myself and fed on a bench at the norfolk show because she was screaming the place down and i couldnt find the breastfeeding room. literally thousands of people walked past me who didnt notice.

A top and tail washing thingy - SIL gave me hers and it was the one thing i thought i wouldn't use but did use it, lots

A changing table - had a section and found bending down/over really tricky at first, also has a useful storage shelf underneath for all the changing stuff

Muslins!

Tea bags and chocolate - got through ridiculous amounts of both

I would say don't bother with all the baby lotions and potions you can buy, just warm water is recommended for cleaning a new baby. Save your money for the vodka!

Muslins and more muslins, but I think you've got that message already!

Grobag. Dd refused to stay under a blanket of any description.

Travel cot with bassinette. Wish I hadn't bothered with Moses basket because she outgrew it in a few weeks so we've had the cot for a good few months now and it's great and doesn't take up too much room in our bedroom till she moves out into her own room.

I've just been given a baby nightie from John Lewis.

It's got sleeves where the cuffs turn over as scratch mitts and it's open at the bottom - so night time changes are so simple.

I thought that was genius since I remember doing up and undoing endless poppers on sleepsuits in the middle of the night, usually doing them wrong and having to start again.

I'm not going to bother with a top & tail bowl either - just thought I'd keep water in a sports cap bottle and squirt it onto cotton wool as and when to clean bubs!

Definitely using disposable wipes on the bum though! I'm sure I would have had more sleep if I'd done that first time round rather than using warm water and cotton wool each time - crazy!