Waste of money?

[redbird79]

Hi all, I am a a fretful first-time mum, 14 weeks pregnant and trying to decide whether to hire a Doppler to hear the baby's heartbeat. It is totally down to me being paranoid- although I am sure it would be lovely to hear how lil bean is doing - but I am wondering whether others out there have found them useful (and reassuring!) or a waste of money. Have seen decent-looking ones on eBay for £10 a month.
Also, all being well I am starting to look out for prams, cots and other paraphenalia- any advice on what you have found really useful and what is just a waste of cash?
(Don't mean to sound like a skin-flint, but there's so much stuff out there, it's hard to know what's just clever marketing!)

Sorry to hijack but this is a very useful thread for first timers. Can anyone advise a pram / buggy suitable for a third flour flat. So I guess one that is not too heavy (or expensive, unless I can find a second hand one of course.) is it worth getting a system one which includes a car seat. I'm aiming to start with a sling but will need buggy at some point. Any advIce appreciated. I really do not have a clue!

I also found the change table very useful for the first few months, until DS was big enough to kick the water tub.

After leaving the hospital I never used cotton wool or wipes to clean DS - just had a tub of warm water and dunked him in it, just used my hand if necessary. Then dried with a baby towel (finer and softer than normal ones). I started with an old icecream tub (4l, I think) and then bought a square washing up bowl.

I had an over-the-bath baby bath which I found to be very good because I have a shonky back (hence why I liked having the changing table as well).

I rarely used muslins because DS very, very rarely threw anything up - had bibs for the dribble (he did a fair bit of dribbling, even when not teething) so I think I got by on about 4 muslins.

Probably the best thing to tell you is borrow whatever you can (then if you don't need it you can give it back) and don't get too much in advance. Apart from the carseat that you will need to bring the baby home from the hospital if you come home by car.

margherita - I don't know about modern travel systems, whether or not the buggy part would be any used for your flat - the travel system I had was an older one and the buggy was quite big and unwieldy. BUt I loved it - I loved the clip-in baby seat, so if DS was asleep in it in the car, I just picked the whole seat out and clipped it into the buggy (or took him into the house/wherever in it). Newer ones might have lighter buggy parts but I don't know.

re the doppler thing - I wouldn't waste your money if you are already paranoid. If you do experience any concern over the baby, your early pregnancy unit should be able to help you. My mum died when I was 18w pg and for a week after I couldn't feel DS move - I went down to the maternity unit and explained my worries and a MW did a check for me within 10 minutes - no problem, baby heartbeat there.
Of course, if you turn up every second day they might get a bit fed up with you!

re change table - if I just did it on the floor my back would be agony! I didn[t rate the table though... best thing is the thingy that goes over the cot. Its like a change mat size bit of wood with grooves to slot in safely ontop of cot/cotbed. You pop it over to use and then slide it under the cot when done. It was a better height for me... but I am tall...

We used our changing table constantly, and it lasted for all three of our dc. When we moved from a flat to a house we kept the changing table downstairs and had a mat to put on the floor or bed upstairs. Changing table has several big advantages over floor or bed: it doesn't wreck your back/knees, mess from pooey nappies or weeing babies stays in one place, and the baby also stays in one place. If you change the little wriggler on the floor, they can and do escape. But there's nowhere to go on a changing table

I wouldn't have a Doppler in the house! I think if you have it available, you'll soon rely on it to reassure you all the time. At 14 weeks, you'll soon be able to hear the heartbeat when your MW does it anyway. And be able to feel movement in a few weeks too - I did from 16 weeks.

As for the other stuff - do you have back problems? I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss a change table. Ours is second-hand, originally IKEA (I think they still do one like it) and is a chest of drawers below, and a flip-over wooden changing tray. Very sturdy, loads of storage. They aren't all one-use, freestanding wastes of space! And DS is over 2 but we still use it for nappies. I never turn my back on him, and he's very co-operative. They're only a risk if you do something daft like leaving them on there while you turn round to grab something. Or if, I suppose, you have a baby who's particularly prone to wanting to escape! They do save your back though.

I'd get a soft sling (not one of the Baby Bjorn types, as they're not good for the baby's spine) which will save your arms if your baby needs lots of cuddles and carrying. Easy to get second-hand on ebay. More than one grobag in each tog is a good idea, because they do get wet! We found a bouncy chair a waste of money, as DS hated it. But the baby gym (mat with arch over it) was fab and DS loved it from about 9 days until he was far too big for it!

I didn't bother with muslins as I had a load of old towels that were ideal.

Sling
Something to sleep in.
Something to spend the day in or on - playmat or bouncy chair. I really liked the rocker chair we had because I could just tilt it with my foot and she loved being rocked in it.

Real waste of money was the Miracle Blanket for swaddling. Totally pointless as any large piece of fabric will do!

I thought about buying a doppler as I was more stressed this time around but as midwives say they can't always find the heartbeat before 16 weeks and I started feeling the baby moving at 17 weeks there wasn't a lot of time to organise it!

I totally disagree about nappy wrappers, I loved mine! It held 25 nappies at a time and it saved me 24 trips to the wheelie bin. I changed it every few days and it never smelt, you have to buy different cartridges as they get older but they were often on special offer in tesco so although more expensive than nappy sacks not that expensive. I also used my changing table until my son was out of nappies and it was next to it so as someone else said everything in one place!

I would also thoroughly recommend muslins, my husband thought they were a waste of money but a friend lent me a couple and after that I couldn't live without them (had a very sicky baby).

Couldn't have lived without my bouncy chair, bought on second hand on Ebay so not expensive. It had toys and my son loved being able to see, he hated laying flat when awake and could be bounced when sleepy. I also carried it around the house with him in it when I needed to do things.

I think the type of pushchair depends on your needs, I walk my dog daily in the forest so I wanted a three wheeler and as we have a large boot space wasn't a bit problem. I got it second hand again from Ebay, my son was 3 last month and it's still fine for him and soon our new baby.