First born must haves

[Niki93]

Hi everyone. Im 16 weeks pregnant, first time. Me and partner have started planning a head on what we need once baby comes in May. We thought if we make a start getting bits and bobs in each month then its more manageable.

Is there any first born must haves that anyone recommends that made their journey with a new born much easier? So far we have the baby co-sleeper crib, nappy caddy, changing mat, nuby bath, nuby breast pump, some anti colic bottles, muslins, couple of baby grows...the little things really.

Whats the best brand nappies out there? Best quick fixes? Bargain must haves that we maybe havnt thought off? All tips and tricks welcome :)

Thanks in advance :)

Nappy caddy I'd say isn't necessary at all.

More muslins than you think you need.

Nappies depends on the baby- different brands suit different shapes so try a free before you commit and buy in bulk.

@marmitemayonnaise the nappy caddy wasnt a must have. Just seemed more handy for the sake of £3. Ive heard moxed reviews on all nappies so i have no idea x

If your house has stairs, two changing mats (with a box or bag for all the bits). Not having to run upstairs to deal with a nappy is really very handy,

My DS only really napped in his prom for the first few months so I was very happy we'd invested in a lie-flat pram/buggy option. If he did sleep, we could just leave him to snooze without worrying about him being upright.

Tuppence and crumble star wrap. Just don't bother with snowsuits.
Cardigans.
Baby socks (put on under onesies so they don't fall off)
Reusable Nappies. A sling that fits you well. There are both sling and nappy libraries whoncan help with these two.
If you want a pram, test it with some weight in the basket and in the seat/basinet and consider your lifestyle before you buy one.

Sponge to lay the baby on in the bath
Muslins
Wet items bag for change bag
Nappy liners
Zinc and castor oil nappy cream
Johnson's moisturiser
Washable Nappies

Morrck car seat blanket.
Perfect Prep machine (if not breastfeeding/unable to breastfeed).

My best tip would be not to buy too much! So many things are marketed towards new mums as essential. It’s a pain in the arse getting rid of all the stuff as they grow out of and need new/additional things so often.

Feeding cushion
Formula dispenser for out and about if formula feeding

A wrap sling like a Caboo. Worth every penny as you can put baby in it and get jobs done / make yourself a cup of tea with two free hands.

Cheeky wipes-they work so much better on newborn poop and you don’t have to faff with cotton wool and water.
Boots zinc and castor oil nappy cream is fab and it’s super cheap.

Breast pads
Cotton wool disks for dipping in water and cleaning baby's bum. I add a pinch of baking soda to the water mixture.
Nipple cream.
Baby nail clippers.
Hats - thin cotton for indoors after bath. Thicker hat for outdoors and make sure it covers ears.
Onesies, vests, socks, knitted rompers for winter, snowsuit, cardigan.
Blankets- cellular for cot. Also flannel for swaddling.
Massage oil. I use jojoba or coconut.
Weleda nappy cream and weleda or burts bees shampoo and shower gel.
Foldable nappy changing surface that can be wipe cleaned.
Cot sheets.
Thermometer.
Iodine, plasters (I needed it when I accidentally clipped baby's skin on finger).
Dribble bibs.

I loved my morrick car seat blanket, my soft sling and zip up baby grows for the weigh in clinics.

If breast feeding then the lanisoh nipple cream and a haakaa silicone pump.

A power bank for my phone came in very handy too at hospital and then afterwards when stuck feeding

Don't get too much stuff - you really only need the basics. Lots of baby stuff get limited use so try for secondhand items also.

I do think you'll get different answers depending on lifestyle.

I have a 16 week old who is my first and the most useful/life helping things I have used are:

Muslins (I have 14!)

Snoodies - they are like bibs but sit higher up from an independent brand called mama designs but aren't expensive, they absorb the sick and dribble and save so many outfits!

Large swaddles- I just bought two. I'd still be swaddling now if I didn't have a giant baby who started escaping at 10 weeks. He slept so so so much better with them. Helped massively with the startle reflex newborns have and stops them waking themselves up!

Perfect prep machine- I was unable to breastfeed after a traumatic birth so bought one of these on the way home from the hospital. Absolute time saver and also means baby isn't screaming when hungry while you spend ages sorting a bottle. On this note I also always have premade bottles in to make life easier when out and about. You could also use these in the nights when baby is waling every 2 hours. I didn't just because of cost! HV don't always recommend the perfect prep because there was some stories about babies getting poorly tummies but my midwife said to me that was from people not cleaning them regularly and not changing the filters rather than the machines themselves

Nappy/changing caddy/sort box thing. Basically a felt caddy from ebay that I have nappies, wipes, bum cream, hand sanitiser, infacol etc etc in and I can take this around the house and always have near me for everything.

Infacol (worked amazingly on my baby for colic and can be used from birth) baby calpol (needed for vaccinations and later for teething and first baby cold!) baby health care kit (snot sucker/clippers/thermometer etc)

Gro egg- thermometer that goes in babies room so you know what temp is so what to dress them in/sleep in etc. Was especially important for me when he was first born in the summer as overheating can be dangerous. As you are having a summer baby deffo get a decent fan.

Xx

I used pampers when DS was first born as they were on offer and brought loads but then went to aldi ones and I think they're brilliant personally.

My must have personally is a nightlight/sounds DS loves his one that goes on his next to me crib and it projects stars

Oh and swaddles! I got a 3 pack of swaddle me's found them easier as they had Velcro attachments on

If you're planning on breastfeeding then a really good nipple cream and pads.

Bouncy or Baby swing chair (I found essential)
some pre made bottles of formula for your hospital bag as a just in case,
double the amount of muslin cloths you think you’ll need,
Baby blankets to swaddle and for out and about
Euan the dream sheep (I found essential)
Feeding pillow
Weleda nappy cream (best one I’ve found, and I’ve tried most of them!)
Wipe clean changing mat, and a washable one for the changing bag
Amazon prime (I found essential)
Angelcare baby monitor (I found essential)
Not terribly popular, but dummies.

When my DTs were newborn, we used tesco nappies. When they got to size 3 we switched to pampers, and from size 6 onwards the best I’ve found for them is sainsburys. All depends on how they fit, so I wouldn’t go mad buying them until you’ve had your baby. Lots of people rave about the Aldi nappies, they didn’t suit my two at all.

Things I wouldn’t bother with would be a baby bath - ours was used once and then used mostly when our roof started leaking, a top and tail bowl and a changing station, but that’s just me.

Muslins a lot of them.
Perfect prep machine.
Pre made bottles of milk for out and about.
Water wipes.
Play mat.
Few blankets.
Box of creams, calpol, nappies in easy reach.
A bouncer.
Lots of babygrows. (Much easier and more comfy for babies).

You don't need much: muslins are really useful, you need transport items (car seat, pram, carrier), nappies (I used cloth), wipes (again reusable saves money and the environment), clothes. Breastfeeding is possible for most women but sometimes you need a bit of help, finding a local lactation consultant can be very helpful. A mat is handy (you could use a towel) but special changing tables aren't necessary, and chest of drawers work. We never used our cot, ours liked to sleep in bed with us

Hi OP, first time mum here to DS I months. There is a few things I would say r good to stock up on before babies arrival, vests and loads of muslin and sleepsuits. For sleepsuits m&s do good ones with built in Mits and zips. Both r very good for night time. Cellular blankets r good to until they can go into a sleeping bag.

I wouldn't rush out and buy a breast pump. Not until breastfeeding has been established. I breastfed my LO until only a couple of weeks ago, started pumping quite early on and wish I hadn't. Such a pain and if BF worked out for next child I would be exclusively breast and no bottles for a while.

For changing I swore by puppy pads to use especially at night and when out and about. At night I could keep one in the snuzpod pouch and just out on top of the bed to change them. We couldn't have been without our tommee tippee nappy bin either (we live in a top floor flat) but they r quite expensive to run with buying the cartridges. We have used pampers nappies. I tried a few different kinds but we have had the least amount of leaks with these. I recently tried the aldi ones as I heard great things and they r a quarter of the cost of pamper however, my LO wet through these way too often.

I would also recommend having a chair/bouncer for LO to give u 5 minutes peace. I had a mamaroo which was a lifesaver, used to keep my bathroom door open with LO in this and soak in the bath the entire time he napped.

Have you thought about pram/car seat etc? X

Sorry LO is 8 months lol

I’ve got a 16 week old

I found my essentials are

Car seat
Pram
Bibs
Muslin squares
Babygrows

I have the perfect prep machine and never used it.

I bought a next to me crib and dd didn’t sleep in it

I was gifted a bouncer and dd hates it.

A lot of things are trial and error. I just use aldi nappies.

I also forgot the add the groegg! It’s amazing!

My DS is 13 weeks and I am also a ftm....

Aldi nappies are great, we bulk bought in the baby events or just one pack every time we were doing our normal shop a couple of months pre birth and it has been excellent to not have to worry about running out in those first few weeks.

Their own brand formula is also v good if you have to go down that route.

Breast pumps are a) expensive and b) might not be required. I bought a well rated manual pump for around £10 in a sale pre baby and it did the job to get my supply up. Now I use a nuby double pump which is chargeable meaning you arent tied to a socket and only takes 30mins max each time. Decent ones cost £££ so worth doing the research and making sure it's required first imo.

We bought an angelcare nappy bin for upstairs, it keeps the smell of the nappies contained and means you don't need to be running to the outside bin at 3am. Cheap refills are available on amazon

Amazon prime is excellent for things you realise you need once wee one is here.

If you drive, a car seat that connects to your pram chassis is much easier than waking the baby each time you get in and out of the car.

Assuming you aren't in Scotland, but if you Google the contents of the baby box here it'll give you an idea as it's the bare essentials and everything in it has been well used so far.