What do I need for my first baby?

[Nat777]

Hello there, I have just found this site after watching the programme 'Mums the word', the site is great! I am 24 and 14.5 weeks pregnant with my first child, so far it has been a really tough pregnancy with sickness, headaches and a urinary tract infection! But I am VERY happy with the prospect of being a Mum!

I am after some advice in relation to what we will need for our first baby. To be honest I am confused about cribs, cots, moses baskets, travel systems etc etc! And with family asking what they can buy for us, I have no idea what to tell them! So I am wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction?

Thanks so much, Nat

the best advice I had was to get the very basics and then only buy everything else if and when you feel you need it.

I wouldn't bother with a crib or moses basket if money is an issue. Try and borrow them instead. I borrowed a moses basket and am glad I didn't buy one as both my babies hated it. They just seemed to prefer being in their cotbed. Its always good to spend some time when shopping for your pram/buggy. I am a big fan of mountain buggies but they aren't cheap.
A good tip - some of the terry squares from Boots are really useful. They double up as sick cloths, towels, and you can put one on the changing mat to stop baby protesting its too cold!
We had a Tiny Love Symphony in Motion mobile which worked wonders for keeping both mine entertained when they were little.

Congratulations Nat. You'll be fine now you've found mumsnet! I was totally perplexed at the different types of buggy, pram, etc. I opted for a Britax travel system and am still using it nearly 2 years down the line. It is bulky but I can get a lot of shopping underneath and she can still lie flat and sleep. It was almost like a travel cot all last summer when we were at the beach all the time.

My most used piece of kit is the changing mat. My least used pieces of kit were the nappy wrapper (which we were given 2nd hand) and the night-time bottle warmer - she slept through from 5 weeks, and looking back it would have been easier to go downstairs and microwave it. I couldn't have done without the bouncy chair, she would sit happily in it and watch whatever I was doing.

You might find you get given a lot of second hand things by people who have finished with them. I think the only thing we had to buy was the travel system. Almost everything else was 2nd hand, including the brand new Next jacket she came home from hospital in (29p from Help the Aged). We often joke that we should have called her Rose.