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??

sleepsuits/nighties with turnover cuffs essential also for BFing in the winter months. I'm sure DD is still traumatised by the yell I let out the first time her little freezing mits grabbed hold of my bare bits

disposable wipes on newborn babies bottoms not good...far too caustic ime....even the supposed gentle ones.

Lambskin for the cot/moses basket - def improved sleeping with both my babies
Muslins
Breast pump
Lansinoh
Baby carrier (we used Baby Bjorn Active for both ours and now sis is using it for her dd)
Cot-bed sized blankets and sheets - great for swaddling baby too

The baby nightie sounds BRILL!

best thing i was given was the Tiny Love Musical Mobile, plays classical music (choice of 3). It was fab, the ONLY thing that would calm newborn ds apart from me. I remember telling my antenatal group all about it at our first meetup "i got time to have a shower AND put body cream on", greeted by chorus of jealous ooooohhs! and a mass stampede to john lewis to get their own.

I can honestly say I wouldn't know a muslin if it jumped out at me & went 'boo' - are they those cloths you're supposed to drape over your shoulders so babies can be sick on you? I just live in jeans & t-shirt when on ML & expect to change the t-shirt at least twice per day...

Further to lackaDAISYcal's post about caustic wipes - rolls of cotton wool, works out cheaper than puffs, & lots & lots of baby lotion. Not Tesco's though, it runs everywhere!

Bibs and socks.

We didn't buy any, didn't even enter our heads, which were full of cute outfits and matching crap for the nursery...

a ring sling (actually bought it for my 2nd - wish I had for my 1st!)

ear plugs

ok not the first but the second when I was in hospital on a ward, meant I could sleep when all the other babies were kicking off, I still managed to wake up for my own.

Infacol
Earplugs
Top and Tail bowl

And dare I say it - a dummy within the first 24 hrs (ds was a screamer).

And for me, perfume, body cream, anything to make me feel like a woman and not a dairy!

Infacol
Earplugs
Top and Tail bowl

And dare I say it - a dummy within the first 24 hrs (ds was a screamer).

And for me, perfume, body cream, anything to make me feel like a woman and not a dairy!

Infacol
Earplugs
Top and Tail bowl

And dare I say it - a dummy within the first 24 hrs (ds was a screamer).

And for me, perfume, body cream, anything to make me feel like a woman and not a dairy!

Yeah, muslins here too! Nursing bras and pads,and breast pump (borrowed originally). 1 microwave sterlisable bottle. Babygros 0-3mths and hardly any newborn. Vests same. If baby comes out smaller you can always get someone to nip to Tesco's and get a few more, but the reality is that an 8lob baby will not be in newborn for more than a week!

sorry - first time mum here.... what are muslins and what do you use them for?

Muslins - good all rounders!

Bigger than bibs so if you've got a sicky baby or a projective vomiter they catch a lot more.

Good to tie round neck of a larger baby cowboy stylee to catch the inevitable dribbles when they're teething.

My two were prem so v small but summer babies so large muslins were good for swaddling - thinner than a blanket for the hot weather.

Mop up all sorts of spills, drips and muck, and can be boil washed (get all one colour so you can bung them in together).

Great for teething babies to chew on - put large knots in all over and let them suck and chew to their heart's content.

Also good for amusing babies, waving, playing tugga, throwing up in the air, jiggling, playing peepo, if you're desperate you'll think of a million games to play with a muslin, and I've been DESPERATE!

HTH

Along the baby nightie route - we had a couple but dd1 didn't like them, but we got her out of sleepsuits and into pjs at about 6m and they were much easier for night time changes. Poppers befuddled my sleep-deprived brain!

OK, I'm going to take a slightly different tack as I agree with all the things for baby but these are the things I needed for me:

• if you're breast feeling, a couple of decent nursing bras which you can still feel semi-human and even a bit sexy in (figleaves do some lovely ones). I never thought I'd care about this but it really does matter and I actually burnt my horrid ones as I never ever wanted to see them again

• some REALLY good eye cream/under eye cover up, the best you can afford so that you look semi human even when you feel like rubbish

• the best thing I did was when DS was 10 weeks old I was invited to an event at Space NK for a 'make over' (you can do these anytime). I told the lady I had a 10 wk old and she sold me two products (probably not allowed to advertise) which did all my make up in five minutes and she showed me how to use it. Best thing I'd ever bought because in 5 mins I felt a bit more like me.

• Sky+ or V+

• some cute PJ bottoms for lounging round the house but still looking cute

You can probably see from all this that it was important for me to feel/look like myself after having had a baby but it really helped my self-esteem/recovery.

Good luck and lots of love.

I second most of the previous recommendations,
Lansinoh
Cheap 'V' cushion
Breast pads
Grobags (for a bit later)
Lots of bodysuits and Babygros (cheap, basic ones)
Muslin squares
Lambskin
Cotton wool pads (never got on with rolls of or cotton wool balls. Tesco do a pack for 60p)

Would like to add
ISOfix base in the car for the car seat
Braun ear themometer (don't buy any other brand - I did and regretted it)
Lots of moisturising handwash (constant handwashing with all the nappy changing etc)
Handcream (see above)
Mothercare maternity pads (don't buy the Boots ones - awful)
Lavender and Tea Tree oil (12 drops of either in a shallow bath every day helps to heal stitches/tears. Alternate between the two)
Stock up on tea bags, coffee and biscuits
Baby bath thermometer (about £1.50)

Good Luck!

Moisturising handcream=very important!

Wanted to add-don't bother with disposable breastpads-get cotton washable ones-much much better and works out cheaper and will reduce chances of sore nipples and thrush etc

Monitor with camera.

So you don't have to go in and check every single noise baby makes, paranoid that he might be choking on something, or may have twisted himself into a bad position.

Bibs and vests.

Sky +

Stock up the freezer with nice meals you can just bung in the oven.
You won't want to be cooking as well as everything else. x

mirror thus so you can see them in the carseat