Thought us 2nd/3rd/4th timers could give our opinions on what we found must have essentials and what was a waste of money/didn't get used!

For us essentials:
Travel system (i had the baby style oyster and maxi cosi cabriofix) being able to lift sleeping baby out of the car and clip straight onto pushchair was a godsend

Isofix base (or easy fix base) we borrowed ours but otherwise I'd have bought 2nd hand as they are pricey, but cut out the faff of putting baby in the car!

Baby swing-.Grace hated her bouncey chair but would fall asleep easily in her swing .

Muslins- used loads in the early days!

Moses basket

Baby sling (i had a celeb sling- like a ring sling but no faff) sometimes grace would only slept if held and walked, this gave me my hands back (knew lots of people who bought expensive slings but this was excellant!

Play mat , I only had a cheap one from the asda baby event but was fab!

Loooooooads of nappies, keep your eyes open for money off coupons (join ALL the baby clubs they give you vouchers) and also asda often do there newborn bagpipes for ??1 in there baby events! Asda little angels are fab for newborns!

Baby sleeping bags

Monitor& sensor pad (i was a nervous wreck, bought this when dd was 3 days old)

Waste of money:

For me: bouncey chair
Bumbo
Grow egg thermometer
Cellular blankets
Toys-its a long while before they really enjoy them, a play mat or activity bar is pleanty
Carry cot for pushchair, dd was too big by 3 months and was nosey so wanted to see, I probably only used mine half a dozen times!
Baby bath (i found baby was more calm bathed in the big bath with me and hubby (i did buy a newborn bath seat tho)

ProbsLots more but that's a start x

Agree on alot of these

Isofix base was brilliant, similarly baby sleeping bags and muslins

Baby bath was a waste of time (I ended up buying one of those foam supports for the big bath)- I used the top and tail bowl but I could have easily just used a normal bowl

This time I intend to get a moses basket (Haiden didn't like the rocking crib), a sling of some sort, and a buggy board that Haiden can sit down on x

G/C but have to say it will differ slightly from child to child.

DD1 hated her moses basket & went straight into cotbed, DD2 loves moses basket.

DD1 hated bedcovers & needed warm fleecy sleepsuits, DD2 loves blankie & doesn't need as many layers.

DD1 somehow always 'leaked' & would always need spare clothes on trips out, DD2 (touch wood) has always remained clean.

Essentials:
Nappies - you may not need them but you'll be glad they're there when you do.
Muslin Squares - useful during & after feeds. (I have 9)
Travel System - It is handy to be able to lift car seat into pushchair/back into car & not disturb sleeping baby.
Bouncer/Swing - A safe place to leave baby whilst you shower/eat/tidy house.
Cotton Wool Balls - Great for cleaning messes from all areas


Non-Essentials:
Baby baths - They quickly outgrow them & it's just as easy to bath baby in sink/bath (MW will show you if you ask)
Baby Toiletries - Owing to skin sensitivity you should avoid these in early days.
Clothes - Other than a handful to put in hospital bag, it is the most common 'gift' you'll likely receive after the birth.

In my first posts my phone corrected nappies to bagpipes LOL

Mummy2grace, I agree with most of that.

The only difference in our house would be that we actually got a fair bit of use out of the baby bath! My two were both quite big, and hanging over the side of the big bath to hold them used to break my back!

We only get about six weeks out of a Moses basket, which was fine both times as we had borrowed the basket my siblings and I were in as babies. This time we have no contact with my family so would need to buy one, I'm not sure if I'll bother. If I do it will be one of the cheaper ones.

Love muslins!! Specially with a reflux baby

yes to;

nappies,
muslins - I could easily go through 4 or 5 a day,handy for cleaning up mess, swaddling baby, breastfeeding
babygros - plain ones, as they will get dirty a few times a day - if you have plenty no need to worry about washing,
bouncy chair - handy to put baby in when in shower, cooking, toilet etc, as well as for them to sleep in
Car seat base - so much easier than having to faff with the seatbelt each time
Angelcare monitor - wasn't going to have a monitor but DS was noisy sleeper then would go very quiet, angelcare lets off an alarm if baby doesn't breathe for 20 seconds - peace of mind
cartons of formula - I bf and ff and found these were really handy to keep in changebag in case I needed to feed in public place (wasn't very confident bf in public) and no need to mix or heat, ready to go.
sterilising tablets - were really handy when we went away, even for the day, as didn't want to carry a bulky steriliser everywhere.
babywipes - again really good for cleaning up mess, and cleaning baby if away
olive oil - much better for massaging baby's skin than shop bought products, and helps to soften cradle cap
teething granules - really good for tummy problems and nappy rash associated with teething

No to;
carrycot - barely used it
too many newborn clothes - most of our friends and family gave us vouchers or older clothes. Newborns grow so quickly, some things DS only wore once or twice
expensive nursery furniture - would have loved a fancy nursery and furniture but couldn't afford, so we borrowed a crib and made do with a changing mat on our bed - baby doesn't know any difference
Johnsons - found Johnsons products made my DS skin really really dry, still don't use it now and he's nearly 3. Even the wipes gave him nappy rash.
expensive toys and books - baby just loves to hear your voice so you can talk absolute rubbish or sing terribly and baby will still be happy.

Sure there's others, will keep thinking!

oh and calpol - greatest thing on earth, the advert is so true it really does perk babies and toddlers up in no time!

I think everyone will have their own "essentials". I had loads of muslins- never used them. I bought those baby sleeping bags and hated them, reverted back to plain blankets so that was a huge waste of money! I also had a changing mat, which I NEVER used.

I loved my moses basket, baby bath and rebecca loved her bouncy chair.

I bought loads of breastpads but didn't actually need them, being my 3rd i think my boobs had got the hang of the breastfeeding lark- i still have a pack i had left over for this time just incase.

I had bought newborn clothes but my daughter was 6lb7 so on way home from hospital i had to go to mothercare for tiny baby as everything swamped her.

agree with what most people said but again i loved my baby bath

we needed loads of clothes as DS had really bad reflux and yes muslins were a godsend

if your breastfeeding a good breast pump is essential i think , i didnt prepare properly as didnt want to waste money so struggled for a month before spending on a good one , found it a godsend but by then was far too late and gave up BF after 6 weeks . you can borrow them if need be but they were always on loan when i rang

also for BF found lansinoh was great


loads of towels i found helpful as DS had a habit of weeing on them as we were drying him

i also found my nappy wrapper a fab buy rather than having nappy bags

DS preffered a crib to moses basket so we sold ours and also didnt find his mobile worked at all although when he got a bit older the light projection one was fantastic

sleeping bags were useless as it was too warm with him being a summer baby and he was happier with blankets etc

didnt use my baby monitor at all as our house is only small so i could hear him wherever i was

play mat was great but agree toys are useless early on , we did have the mothercare bedtime bear bought tho and had it in his cot from a couple of months and he has grown to love it and wont sleep without it

just one final thing have some lavender oil in the house for after the birth in case you have stitches , i found putting some in the bath mixed with a cup of milk really healed me so quickly xxx

Ooooh I put witch hazel on a maternity pad lol.

Also don't buy disposable maternity pants buy cheap giant black primark pants on a massive size

agree with the maternity pants, disposable so uncomfortable and if you buy cheap pants, it doesn't matter if they get ruined!

Disposables are rubbish and come up super small!

Yep, I got Primark ones too x

i found the following i used loads but do agree every baby is different and depends on the situation
i used my baby bath loads as i had a c section could use on kitchen table,
my grown egg thermometer as dd was born during that really hot summer in 2010,
moses basket she was tiny and was in it for 4 months,
monitor for peace of mind
sick cloths and muslins i used loads as was a sicky baby
primark knickers and pjs for after dd was born,
cotton wool for cleaning her up
a little sun hat as will be summer

didn't use
baby bouncer she was too small for it until 6 months :roll:
toys other than a play mat
travel bottle warmer things found useless didn't keep any heat in at all,
johnsons toiletries cant use most of them as dd gets a rash from them

G/C for me....
YES:
baby bath
my DS prefers it and is still happy using it so i will use it until we have to stop! he is just 1yr old

muslins
million and one uses

growbags
we found much easier to settle ds after night feeds if he was kept snuggly warm in growbag


NO:
Top n tail bowl
more effort than theyre worth-most people own a bowl!

Toiletries
we have a very dusty shelf full of lotions and potions and only use one product on ds!

Expensive play mat
we had a m&p padded playmat and ds hated it-he favoured our cheapo flat asda one! altho by about 8 months he liked them both!


i know i will think of more but thats my first thoughts X

totally bookmarking this thread and noting recommendations hehe x

Agree with the top and tail bowl x

yup i agree with top and tail too , waste of money but we got ours in a set bought for us so didnt waste our money on it