AKICILJ

[rwrylsin]

Ok, this is one for the parents among you.

I'm trying to make a list of stuff we need to obtain prior to having a newborn in the house. I toddled along to the Baby Expo yesterday so I now have at least some idea what's out there (and have worked out for myself that a lot of it is unnecessary or grossly over-priced), but I would value your opinions on the following:

What things do you particularly recommend getting? Either as essential, or because it's so useful you wouldn't want to live without it.
What things sounded like a good idea, but were actually pretty useless?
Any particular brands to look out for (either to get, or to avoid)?
Any cheaper alternatives you'd recommend? (Aside from getting other people to give you stuff, that is ;)

If any of you have used the modern cloth nappies:
They all looked pretty much the same to me. Any features I should particularly look for?


We already have a pram, so that's decided, and I'm pretty sure which car seat I want after checking the last safety test results.

You can assume that all responses will be read as your personal experience and my mileage may vary, so feel free to say what you like without caveats. Also feel free to e-mail if you don't want to comment publicly (there should be a link on my profile page somewhere).

Comments

[bohemiancoast.livejournal.com]

It's been a while... but here's what I remember. Get as much as you can second-hand; you don't use this stuff for long, and first-time parents are a marketers' dream. You don't need a lot of the stuff they tell you they do.

You need a sleeping arrangement of some kind. We had a cot, though co-slept with both of ours for a while too. We also had a moses basket, which is useful for just about the first two months because it's so portable.

You need baby bedding unless you're cosleeping. A mattress (new), cover, sheets, a blanket. You don't need cot bumpers, pillows, mobiles, etc and so forth.

You need stuff to carry the baby about. The car seat is the one thing that most people tell you not to buy second-hand. For our second, but not our first, we had a car seat that fitted the pushchair. This is very useful if you're going to be driving somewhere and then walking. Most modern pushchairs are enormous but if you live in a city you want your pushchair to be as small and light as is compatible with carrying baby, baby stuff, and a bit of shopping.

You need a bag for baby clutter. We had a Land's End baby bag that was awesome and durable.

If you're bottle feeding, you need all the stuff for that. Even if you are planning to breast feed, you might want to borrow some stuff so you have it on hand; we had feeding issues with our first and along with all the other grief it caused, having to rush out and buy a steriliser and bottles made it all worse. Don't worry about high chairs and so on at the moment; plenty of time for that later.

We were given all the fancy clothes we needed, and nothing like enough of the plain clothes. Our babes mostly lived in babygrows except for special occasions. We also got a lot of hand me downs.

You'll probably get given more toys than your baby needs.

We went to a lot of conventions and things of that sort and found a soft, fold-up baby gym handy because it's a very obvious visual cue that there's a baby-shaped space.

We got a pack of free toiletries when the baby was born; once those had run out we just used baby bath and baby shampoo.

On cheaper alternatives, obviously it's a personal thing, but *buy second hand* and *make friends with people whose kids are a couple of years older than yours*. We did not buy any clothes at all for our son for years because we have friends with two boys a little older. And remember that you don't need to buy small cute versions of stuff you have around your house already.

[rwrylsin.livejournal.com]

Thanks for all that. We're hoping for lots of second-hand, but apparently we have a baby boom on in Aus at the moment and there seems to be a lot of competition for it.

[guybles.livejournal.com]

I can't really add much to bohemiancoast...although I have some comments...

Myself and cori_gated went for the sling option, rather than the pushchair (I used a Tomy Freestyle Classic, and wasn't impressed, although it was pre-used; cori_gated went for a Close Parent Carrier which she liked a lot).

Most people we've heard talk about "travel systems" ended up using only about half of the components. We did use a Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix with the Family Fix base, but Bob IV has Isofix points. The base will be used for the next seat up.

Nappies-wise, we went for the Bum Genius v4 pockets; no complaints, occasional leaks (no more so than with anything else) and have occasionally substituted for Pampers when we wanted to use nappy rash cream. We particularly liked the poppers so that the nappy grows, and the styling like a disposable, which helps with fit and adjustment. Still, there are lots of those things and they're all keen to give samples/testers. Consider second-hand on those too.

Alongside those, we used the waterproof core change mats - a cotton outer, which is warmer and softer than most wipe-clean mats, with a plastic core to catch spillages (larger versions get used in nursing homes to protect the beds). They can be tossed in the wash to clean up.

Cheap vests and sleep suits are a must - we just used Tesco's own (probably not a terribly helpful recommendation for you, but you get the idea). White is easiest, so you can hot wash as required.

Sleeping bags are good (the Gro-Bag is the best regarded, but plenty of alternatives exist), but work better once you're up to about two-three months.

Oh, and get muslins. Lots and lots and lots of muslins. You'll never have too many.

[bohemiancoast.livejournal.com]

oh, yes, baby 1 loved the sling and baby 2 absolutely hated it.

And muslins, yes, as many as you like. We're still using ours (mostly for straining jam).

[rwrylsin.livejournal.com]

Thanks for all that.
Have looked up Gro-Bags now, and at least now I know what people are talking about when they say sleeping bags :)

[mireille21.livejournal.com]

I will check around and see about emailing you a list of stuff that I had someone put together for me for my baby shower for J. Lots of stuff on there I hadn't thought of (or didn't realise I'd need) and most of it useful. Plain square cloth nappies are good all purpose cloths, I got a pack of a dozen when j was first born and still have 10 of them constantly rotating as clean up cloths, ad hoc bibs, change mats etc. In terms of actual nappies I used the Bum Genius all in ones, they are ajustable so basically you can use them from quite young through to a couple of years old. J used them and now Ash is using the same ones. I bought a started pack with a dozen in them and still going strong. I use Huggies disposables for overnight, and for when we are going out anywhere for more than a few hours (and I don't want to deal with bagging up and bringing soiled nappies home), and for those times when I haven't quite caught up with the washing. Happy to give you a demo of how they work in practice sometime if you want to come for a visit, and yes, whether Bumgenius, or Itty Bitties or whatever other brand, they are all very similar.
For anything and everything relating to breastfeeding, join your local branch of the ABA and attend a few meetings. Ask them all the questions you want. They have pump hire too which can be a cheaper alternative if you're not quite sure what you will be doing yet before you fork out lots of money on buying one. I like the Avent pump myself (I tried a Tommee Tippee once but it pinched my nipples something awful! Haven't tried any others.) YOu may find your baby only likes one brand of bottle, so you may have to try a few (borrow some from frends before you buy), or, if you have a baby like Ash, one who won't take any bottle, at all, ever! some go straigth to sippy cup. When we get closer to your due date I'll let you know if I'm selling my pump and bottles - i hardly ever use it any more, but I'm hanging on o it for the moment just in case.
Cheers, A.

[mireille21.livejournal.com]

PS. I bought new cots for both kids and have co-slept with both. When first assembled I only put one side on, with the cot in the raised position the mattress was at the same height as my bed so it was effectively sidecarred. Then I put both sides on when J was more mobile, and finally lose the sides altoegther when it converts into a toddler bed. I didn't bother with a bassinette, or co-sleeper or other stuff as I wanted to keep it as simple and cost effective as possible. I find a lot of those single purpose products are a waste of money.

[rwrylsin.livejournal.com]

Cool, that sounds pretty much like what I was hoping to do. Good to know it's possible.

[mireille21.livejournal.com]

PPS. i have some slings you can borrow to try too. I am still using the Ergo with Ash, it's great and will last you longer (in terms of weight / baby size) than things like the Baby Bjorn. Again, if you look around there are sometimes workshops around where you can try things out, even the ABA do these at their meetings sometimes. Mothercare at Doncaster Shoppingtown have info nights too with a Midwife on duty (not sure if they have a store closer to you).

[rwrylsin.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Was looking at the various slings and carriers at the expo, ended up deciding I was just going to have to wait until bub arrives and then try them out.

[rwrylsin.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I picked up an ABA bag at the expo, and was thinking I might be best starting with a hire pump from them. (Hoping to share feeding duties with David ;)