NOW CLOSED Tell Amazon.co.uk your top 5 'must-have' products for when you have a baby - you could win a £100 Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate

[KatieBMumsnet]

You may have seen another thread recently on MN telling you about the new Amazon Family programme. Here's what Amazon.co.uk say about the service:
"We know that the amount of information available on what to buy when you have a baby can be overwhelming, and that making the right choice is not always easy," said Samantha Nash, Family Manager at Amazon.co.uk Ltd and mother of two young children. "We have launched Amazon Family to help our customers find the right products at the right price, along with hundreds of product reviews to help guide them in their decision. With special offers available to Family members across a wide range of products from nappies, children's shoes, toys and beauty products, it helps parents save precious time and money, with orders delivered direct to your door."

Amazon.co.uk would like to know which products you really need when you have a baby. What was your absolutely essential bit of kit? Was there anything you bought maybe when pregnant or at home with a newborn that you later found out you didn't really need or never used?

Please share your top 5 'must have' and top 5 'not so necessary' baby products with Amazon.co.uk. Your advice may be used to help them create a list of top tips on what you do and don't need when you have a baby. Your comments may also be used in an email MNHQ will be sending out soon.

Everyone who adds their comments to this thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate. Ts&Cs can be found here

If you've not already signed up to the free three month trial of Amazon Family there's still time. By signing up you can gain access to discounts on a wide range of family products, three months free subscription to Amazon Prime giving unlimited One-Day Delivery on millions of eligible items, £10 off your first order over £50 in the Baby Store, and up to £50 worth of exclusive offers every month. Find out more here.

Thanks and good luck.

MNHQ

Top 5 must haves were:
1.bottle steriliser

1. Quinny zapp pushchair - folds up lovely & small!
2. Play gym mat (so can actually put baby down sometimes!
3. Bibs & Muslins for all the sick
4. Moses basket for first 3 months

Will know we don't need next time!:

1. Huge & v expensive 4 wheel designer brand pram. Way too big to be practical.
2. Millions of lotions, talcs, bath products: they last a fair while
3. 100s of cute outfits. Babies grow so fast & basically just wore babygros to begin with
4. Sling. Sure some people like these but I quickly realised I'd never carry my baby in one
5. Actual changing table - just a good mat is enough & mainly got used on floor anyway

A 3 sided bedside cot - made night feeds so much easier
Teething powders - work like magic!
Sleeping bags - saves all the faffing around with blankets etc
An easy-to-use camera - to capture all those cute expressions and magic moments.
Bandana style dribble bibs - catch all the drool and stop them getting a soggy chest and a sore neck.

Things I didn't need - a moses basket, fancy changing equipment, a baby bath, a big changing bag, books, dummies, scratch mitts, bootees, bouncer chair, talc, baby lotion etc etc.

Nappies and wipes
Lansinoh
Sudocreme
Vests and babygros
Muslins

Not needed
Baby bath or bath support
Bottles
Booties or shoes!
Gripe water
Scratch mitts

• Door swing once they're old enough (3-4 mos)
• Bumbo (lasted from 3 months to well my DD 2.2 still likes sitting in hers!)
• Sophie the giraffe
• The bugaboo (been used every day very happily for 2.2 yrs)
• Gro-bags!! Perfect for wriggly babes

Completely unused;

• sling
• swaddle blankets
• baby bath
• highchair (went from Bumbo to toddler chair & table)

Nappies
Bottles (can't breastfeed)
Sterilizer
Formula
Babygros

Pretty basic really!

1. Sling (Moby wrap or Mai Tai was all that my DS would happily sit in, he hated the BabyBjorn we had picked out in pregnancy)
2. Changing bag big enough to fit the whole house in.
3. Itti Bitti Reusable Nappies for us have been incredible since birth.
4. Vests (all in white makes doing the million leaky nappy and vomit washes a lot easier when you're in a sleep deprived haze.)
5. Kindle for the long cuddly nap and feeding sessions.

Needed

1. Bath seat for normal bath
2. Nappies
3. Washable breast pads - why did I only discover these on dc4?!
4. Gro bags
5. Cellular blankets, pram size - all mine used theirs as comforters

Not needed

1. Baby bath
2. Muslins - I know loads of people use them but mine just stayed piled up in the drawer
3. Top and tail bowl
4. Bumbo - luckily only borrowed one
5. Bottle/food warmer s - take forever to heat anything up!

mrscumberbatch, HoneyDragon and others who raised a query about the T&Cs - thanks for flagging - it's a mistake in the copy - entry is just by adding your comments to this thread. We'll get Amazon to amend it on Monday. And as you say there's no way of knowing from MN nickname who is a member of family and who isn't.

Thanks for all your amazing tips so far..

Needs

1 Lots of breast pads
2 Muslins - cheap and have multiple uses
3 Lots of nappies
4 Plenty of body & sleep suits
5 Nipple cream!!

Don't needs

1 Baby shoes, they won't keep them on more than 5 seconds.
2 A baby bath I barely used mine
3 Ditto top & tail bowl
4 expensive outfits. In the early days body suits and sleep suits are easier and much more comfy.
5 changing table. During the night baby was changed on our bed and during the day we were downstairs so it was easier using a changing mat on the floor than walking upstairs and downstairs numerous times a day.

Top five:

• Breastfeeding cushion. Not just handy for the early days, but great for when they're learning to sit up, and fab for when you have a bad back too
• Breast pads.
• Muslin cloths
• Nappies
• Baby grows.

Five not needed:

• Baby bath
• SHOES. Why do people always buy you shoes for a baby?!
• Same with jeans etc in "newborn" size.
• Baby grows that unbutton at the back
• Cot bumpers. Always frustrated me that a lot of places only sold bedding in groups, including cot bumpers.

Lansinoh
Muslins
Good quality sleepsuits/vests
Bt baby monitor
Huggies pure wipes

Not so good are tiny dresses on baby girls, makes them impossible to handle! Thick snowsuits, impossible to put on a tiny baby, get a thiner one and add a blanket! Cuddly toys, they have a favourite or two and the rest are in the way forever more as dear relatives brought them. Baby guide books, just ask mumsnet! Parasols(umbrella sunshade things) for buggys absolute shite! Shade a babe/solar shade are far superior!

Thank you Ann

Don't they let you the weekend off?

Top 5
Muslins and lots of them!
Bouncy chair/baby seat
Pushchair (suitable from birth) and car seat that attaches
Moses Basket
Basic baby clothes - vest, babygros, nappies.

Pointless (IMO)
Baby bath
Baby toiletries (talc, bubble bath etc etc)
Anything 'faddy' (e.g. bath seats, car mirrors to see rear-facing baby)
Highchair (just use quality booster seat)
Baby nail clippers - dangerous IMO.

Strange, I thought I added to this thread but can't find my post now or remember what I wrote!
Will try again!

Top 5
Bepanthen
Nappies
Breast pads
Muslins
A nice soft blanket

Not needed:
Baby bath
Wardrobe (drawers are better)
Baby shoes
Complicated outfits
Nappy wrapper bin

Top 5
(Aside from the obvious nappies/flannels/breastpads etc)

• Pram that I can attach car seat to. Perfect for school run/small shops where I can't take pram inside.

• Changing table. Saves my poor back and bad hips changing on the floor or bending over the bed.

• Bouncy chair/swing seat.

• Lansinoh

• Sleepsuits with fold-over scratch mitts

Pointless

• Newborn size outfits.

• Shoes.

• Baby body wash/shampoo.

• Breastfeeding cushion. Tried a few, and they were all too hard/too soft/too big/too small etc. I just used a normal pillow.

• Wipes. Gave both my babies nappy rash. Just use cotton wool and water.

Essentials

Sling (wrap around or Ergo style)
Bouncy chair
Lansinoh
Nappies
Car seat

Pointless

Baby Bjorn sling - (bad for my back and not good for the baby to have all their weight on the crotch)
Baby shoes
Baby toiletries (water is all that's needed!)
Very dressy outfits (sleepsuits are great on the other hand)
Specially designed nappy bin

1. babygros and vests - outfits are fiddly and uncomfortable until baby uncurls and grows a bit
2. blankets and hats for layering when in the house or out and about
3. nappies. We swear by motherease washable nappies, now on dc3 and unsurpassed in poo containment.
4. feeding pillow/cushion to stop your back seizing up
5. somewhere to sleep. We use the pram carrycot downstairs and a sidecar crib upstairs to minimise the need to get out of bed

I never use:
lotions and potions. Grapeseed oil is enough.
cuddly toys are the bain of my life, and the kids rarely pay attention to them
anything in a catalogue - it is likely to be unnecessary, overpriced and clutter the house even more
weaning clobber. All you need are a few sleeved bibs.
shoes, socks and scratch mitts and anything else that doesn't stay on more than 2 mins

Must Have

1. Disposible nappies
2. Changing mat (babies are very wriggly and the mess can get everywhere)
3. Travel system. Pram and car seat. You need to get around easily or you will go mad.
4. Wipes. (see point 2)
5. Babygros and vests.

Not Necessary

1. Baby bath. It's easier to wash a small slippery baby in a basin at the sink.
2. Toys.
3. Proper clothes.
4. Nappy bin.
5. Moses basket. It will only last a couple of weeks if used at all.

Necessary:

1. Disposable nappies & wipes
2. Sudocrem
3. Baby sized towel with hood
4. Lots of baby grows (no need for 'outfits')
5. Changing mat

Unnecessary:

1. Moses basket
2. Scratch mits
3. Shoes
4. Sling (hardly used it because i so worried about tripping or smothering them)
5. Breast pads (just didn't need them despite years of breast feeding)

Must have:

1. Car seat
2. Nappies
3. Wipes
4. Sleeping bag
5. Smartphone to keep me entertained during night feeds

Unnecessary

1. Bottles
2. Breast pump
3. Bumbo
4. Baby massage class!!
5. Baby rice

Top 5
1 - muslins - who'd believe there were so many uses for one item!
2 - sling/baby bjorn
3 - lots and lots of babygrows - we got through SO much laundry in the first couple of months as we were pretty inept at nappy changing and our babies were pretty good at filling their nappies
4 - swaddle blanket
5 - tummitub - both kids loved being held in there up to their shoulders in warm water - was an instant calmer-downer

Unnecessary

• breast pump
• toys

Top 5

1 Wipes, lots of
2 Muslin Squares
3 Basic bouncer chair
4 Playmat
5 Vests & Sleepsuits

Not needed

1 Baby book to fill in - never found the time
2 Baby Bath
3 Top & Tail Bowl
4 Books by experts - bought too many, ds ignores them all!
5 Any toys

Nappies
Breast pads
Sleepsuits
Bouncy chair / swing
Pram

Also wine and someone who can give you 5 minutes to yourself to go to the toilet

Must have items:

Babygros and vests
Nappies
Lanisoh if breastfeeding
Sheets and blankets
pram/buggy that is easy to fold

Essentials

1. Breast pads and Lanisoh
2. Plain cheap muslins/terry towel squares
3. 6x vest and 6x sleep suits (100% cotton only and nothing with fastenings or buttons at the back

3.2. A Grobag

1. Thermal mug - else you'll never have hot tea again!
2. Entertainment - books, films etc for those loooong first few nights

What was I thinking?!

1. Bath products for 'new mums' - like as soon as you've used gas and air you can't possibly use what you have been using for at least the last 9 months?

1. Outfits, utter waste of time and they'll be ruined by day-glo yellow poo in moments

1. Baby socks/scratch mittens. If you get them to stay on for more than 2 mins, you deserve a medal

1. Cot toys. Cots are for sleeping in (not that my baby agrees), not playing in. It will make you want to cry when you've oh so gently put your baby in their cot, they're finally asleep and then you/they knock the cot toy and 'twinkle, twinkle' blasts out and wakes the baby!

1. Baby books are a lovely idea but rather impractical. I once went 2 days without brushing my teeth when my baby was tiny, I certainly didn't have time to log every bloody move she made.