Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

New baby essentials

  • 06-03-2012 9:43am
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 1,065 ✭✭✭Kash


    With the jaw dropping array of equipment options and overwhelming variety of products and so on, I am sure that I am not the first mother-to-be who is feeling completely lost with regards to what is needed and what isn't.

    So, new mums, tell me... if you were to start it all from scratch again, what wouldn't you do without? What was nice to have, but not essential? And what was a complete waste of time and space?

    I'm really hoping that I (and other expecting first-timers) can learn from your wisdom!


«13

Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 567 ✭✭✭egan2020


    For a new baby, I'd go with intercoms, car seat, about three cellular blankets, vests and baby gros, a hat or two, nappies, thermometer.

    I found I used a bouncer a lot. I got a bean bag as a gift and while it was lovely, it was rarely used apart from the first week or two.

    As regards bathing, I didn't bother with a baby bath second time round. I just used the kitchen sink for the first couple of weeks and then a friend gave me a seat that goes into the main bath from when she was about a month old. You don't need any body wash etc - just plain water will do.

    If you're planning on bottle feeding I'd have about six bottles, bottle brush and steriliser. Don't buy in formula until the the baby is born as it sometimes it can take a while before a baby settles on a particular type.

    Oh and always have a camera nearby!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,893 ✭✭✭Hannibal Smith


    A Tummy Tub! Everyone thinks I'm mad with my 'bucket' but it makes bath times so easy. You fill the 'bucket' up to the line, pop the baby in it and they can kick away, while you sit on the toilet (erm as a chair I mean ;) ) so you're not breaking your back. Plus when they get older the bottom transforms into a step for reaching the sink etc when getting washed.

    The buggy! If you're on your first have a real think about the buggy. The last thing you want is in a couple of years to have to get rid of the pram/buggy you only got one use of. Ones like the Phil and Teds that can be easily converted into a double buggy (especially if you can get a second hand one on line) are worth their weight in gold!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,175 ✭✭✭hoodwinked


    i would leave as much as possible until after your baby was born!

    we bought loads of things only to end up with duplicates as gifts, and then we bought somethings and discovered afterwards they weren't suitable for our daughter (for example: we bought avent bottles and ended up replacing them with Dr. browns after she developed wind issues)

    get the essentials/stuff you'll use, nappies..etc

    sleep suits are a god send for the first few months especially with your first baby as you might not be confident enough with the floppy head to try on baby clothes for the first month or so. ( i know i was more comfortable just using sleep suits for the first 3 months)

    teddies/toys you will get hundreds of them don't buy any yourself. even if you think people wont buy them teddies/toys they will always accumulate anyway.

    we never used the changing table, high chair or anything like that.

    we couldn't have lived without the buggy/car seat/cot.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,192 ✭✭✭Lola92


    For me essentials were:

    - Cotbed
    - Carseat
    - Buggy or sling (whichever you choose)
    - Muslin Cloths
    - Bouncer
    - Fitted sheets, Flat sheets, cellular blankets x 2 sets
    - Good fleecy blanket or footmuff when outdoors
    - Baby monitor
    - Digital Ear thermometer
    - Vests and Sleepsuits size 0-3 x7
    - Microwave steraliser
    - travel cot can be very handy if away and also used as a play pen when they're a bit older

    If you are bottle feeding a Milk powder dispenser and formula scoop are really handy too.

    I wouldn't bother with:

    - A moses basket
    - bedding sets (bumper etc.)
    - Changing table
    - Cot divider
    - crib
    - baby bath (just use your own/ washing basin)


  • Moderators, Education Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 18,952 Mod ✭✭✭✭Moonbeam


    Talking about absolute essentials...

    A car seat,
    A place for baby to sleep (A travel cot with a bassinet)
    A buggy that lies flat or a sling.

    7 vests and 7 baby gros
    A few pairs of socks
    2 Hats
    nappies and wipes
    2 cellular blankets.


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 1,065 ✭✭✭Kash


    See, I knew people would have some great advice!

    And... that I would need it!
    I have never even heard of a sleep bag or a cellular blanket!


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,215 ✭✭✭galah


    I definitely couldn't do without the co-sleeper bed (baby-bay, on loan from a friend) or the changing table (back problems, if I had to bend over to change the monster on the bed or couch, I'd be in constant agony...)

    Moses basket is dead-handy too for naps in the living room - but we got ours as a present, wouldn't go out and buy one either.

    We've only just bought the baby monitor, defo didnt need it up to now (baby is 14 weeks old).

    Muslin cloths are essential though :D Also a mattress protector sheet comes in handy if you want to reuse the mattress again at some point. ;)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 310 ✭✭doubletrouble?


    help , take every bit you can and if it's offered hold those that offer it to their word. baby clothes, they're very expensive again if offered take them and even the hand that offers them while your at it.:D


  • Registered Users Posts: 227 ✭✭chirogirl


    Obviously the buggy and car seat. Though i've a small 3 door car, so the isofix base for the car seat has been a god send, saves me messing with the seat belts.

    I live in an apartment so the sangenic nappy bin has been great, saves me going up and down to the dumpster every day.

    I did buy a beech wood changing unit, with drawers and a cupboard underneath, so once the baby outgrows the changing bit, the plinth can be removed and you're left a piece of furniture.

    The cot mobile has been great for the baby, she loves it, keeps her entertained whilst i'm in the shower and for bed time.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,893 ✭✭✭Hannibal Smith


    What's a cot divider? *blush*


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 2,192 ✭✭✭Lola92


    What's a cot divider? *blush*

    One of these. I bought one and never used it once, must stick it up on adverts actually lol :P


  • Registered Users Posts: 65 ✭✭purplecat


    What's a cot divider? *blush*


    http://www.mothercare.ie/safababy-sleeper-white.html

    this is it , handy for twins or making cot smaller.. we didn't buy one, I made one similar to it cheaper... looks good might take a pic and post some time to show....:D


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,585 ✭✭✭lynski


    tummy tub FTW! loved it. used one for all 3 of mine, when the older one was in the bath i put the tummy tub and younger one in with them, great times. only think is i only got about 6/7 mths out of it each time as they got too big and wanted to stand up.
    If you are planning more then one, i would invest in a tripp trapp highchair - expensive, but takes up no space, grows with the child(ren), can be used for adults afterwards, and helps, IMO, with their back strength.
    I would also invest in a phil and teds from day one if I were to do over, a second hand one is fine, but will be used again and again and again - the one i have I have used for the past 3 yrs, and it was 3 yrs old when i got it, battered but in perfect working order and so versatile.
    Digital thermometer - unfortunately essential
    Other then that, a few vests, a few nappies, some cotton wool, a few baby grows and a cardigan.
    Boobs, nipple cream and a carrier.
    some good tea, biccies and pre-made dinners also useful.
    Cot, probably, but again if i were to start again, i would not bother until they are older and just co-sleep, sooooo much easier in the short and mid term will get back to you on the long-term. and a proven way for mom to get more sleep.


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,339 ✭✭✭How Strange


    I agree with moonbeam and as others said a changing table. My husband thought they were a gimmick but a sore back after a few days of changing our son on the kitchen table soon changed his mind. Thankfully we got one second hand from friends.

    Definitely take all offers including clothes. There'll be plenty of time to buy nice clothes etc but newborns only need vests, baby gros and cellular blankets for the first few weeks.

    I'd also say don't go running out buying things like bouncy chairs etc just yet. Little babies don't need bouncy chairs, cot mobiles, playmats etc so you've got 2-3 months to decide what you need.

    Don't buy too many nappies especially newborn or size 1 as they grow out of them very quickly.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,193 ✭✭✭liamo


    After changing our new daughter a couple of times on a changing mat on the floor my back was about to break so I got into the car and got one of these. 15 months later, we're still using it on a daily basis. It also has a built-in bath and as it's on wheels it can be moved from room to room easily.

    If your budget can stretch to it, get a baby monitor with a camera! We had the audio only monitor for 11 months until our little angel threw it into the toilet. We then got the camera model and, OMG, the number of trips up the stairs it has saved us!!

    Best of luck.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,937 ✭✭✭implausible


    The most useful/used items had to be the travel cot (for napping, travelling, as a playpen and a toy dump) and muslin cloths (breastfeeding covers, mopping up spills, burp cloths, puke-catcher and my now 22 month old has them as unremovable bibs)

    A word of advice - do your research on the items you need and take friends/family up on offers to get them. My clueless brothers were happy out to be told exactly what to buy.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,242 ✭✭✭liliq


    We got a gift of a preloved changing table recently- love it, saving my back!
    Monitor,
    Car seat,
    Moses basket if you get a gift of one is great,
    Bedside/ co-sleeping cot- this is a must for me! If your planning on breastfeeding it's so handy to have baby so close, :)
    7/10 vests (long/ short sleeve depending when baby is due...) and babygrows,
    A few cellular blankets,
    I stocked up on different size nappies when I saw them on offer (bought 2 packs of size 1 and ended up giving one of them away), it was great, didn't need to buy nappies for weeks!
    Muslin clothes,
    A good sling (I'm only realising now how much easier life would have been if I'd had one in the early days!)

    Really all you need is a few clothes, nappies, and either bottles/ steriliser/ formula if formula feeding, or breastpads, nursing bra, lanolin if breastfeeding.
    Everything else is just whatever makes like a bit easier :)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,893 ✭✭✭Hannibal Smith


    lynski wrote: »
    tummy tub FTW! loved it. used one for all 3 of mine, when the older one was in the bath i put the tummy tub and younger one in with them, great times. only think is i only got about 6/7 mths out of it each time as they got too big and wanted to stand up.
    If you are planning more then one, i would invest in a tripp trapp highchair - expensive, but takes up no space, grows with the child(ren), can be used for adults afterwards, and helps, IMO, with their back strength.
    I would also invest in a phil and teds from day one if I were to do over, a second hand one is fine, but will be used again and again and again - the one i have I have used for the past 3 yrs, and it was 3 yrs old when i got it, battered but in perfect working order and so versatile.
    Digital thermometer - unfortunately essential
    Other then that, a few vests, a few nappies, some cotton wool, a few baby grows and a cardigan.
    Boobs, nipple cream and a carrier.
    some good tea, biccies and pre-made dinners also useful.
    Cot, probably, but again if i were to start again, i would not bother until they are older and just co-sleep, sooooo much easier in the short and mid term will get back to you on the long-term. and a proven way for mom to get more sleep.

    Yay! Go the tummy tub! :D

    We have a trip trap chair. I'm not convinced by it. They are handy, but I'm not sure they're worth the money. I'm also not sure do we buy another for the second guy or use the same one?

    If I was starting from scratch I would definitely go for a new Phil and teds. I was so against them initially because u thought it was cruel on the one sitting lower and thought they were a bit of a 'statement' more than anything....but they are the most useful practical buggy I have ever cone across. I got one second hand because of the second guy. I got rain gear with it, the second seat, a cocoon for the infant...all for 180 euro! It's seen better days, but its a work horse of a thing!


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,065 ✭✭✭Kash


    Wow - thank you so much!

    Hubby and I love the idea of the tummy tub, so it's definitely on the 'to buy' list. I'm really finding this thread so useful, I'm going to share it with all the other girls due in July - we've a lot of first timers in there!


  • Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 10,432 Mod ✭✭✭✭xzanti


    I had no idea what a Tummy Tub was, had to Google it..

    Wow, what a great idea, wish I knew about them when I was having my wee lad :D

    Great gift idea if someone you know is having a baby.


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 747 ✭✭✭littleredspot


    Instead of a changing table we got a normal chest of drawers and put the changing mat on top. Filled the drawers with all the baby stuff. It's very handy to have to hand. Then when baby is out of nappies just remove the mat and you've a perfectly good chest of drawers.

    A moses basket is really handy because you can let them sleep in it in whichever room you're in and then carry them into the bedroom at night without disturbing them. That said some children love them and some don't.

    Muslin squares is one of the things you think is some sort of scam, but are actually really handy.

    Sleep suits are great for keeping them warm even if they kick off blankets.

    I'm going to go against the grain and not reccommend the monitor. Unless you've a huge house you should be near enough to baby to hear if they need you. I've seen too many parents driven mad thinking they hear things.

    The best advice so far though is buy very little. All your family and friends will be looking for ideas so let them know what you need. Also taking whatever you're offered secondhand, saves a fortune.


  • Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 10,432 Mod ✭✭✭✭xzanti


    Sleep suits are great for keeping them warm even if they kick off blankets.
    .

    Yeah these are great, or Gro-bags.. I found these great cause our little guy used to kick his blankets off from birth.. wouldn't let us swaddle him either, he was like a little magician clambering out of the blankets :D


  • Registered Users Posts: 185 ✭✭Queen of Sheebs


    Tommee tippee bibs for new borns are an absolute must in my eyes. Other bibs just didn't fit and our little man spilled the milk out the sides of his mouth for about the first 3 months. I tried so many bottle and teats to stop it but nothing worked. The spongy rim on the tt bibs saved his clothes. I find now that they are great for days when teething drool is bad.
    I found the monitor excellent too.
    2 different coloured small baby sponges for washing him.
    A tub of silcocks base....brilliant...€4...still using it. I put a spoon in a cup of boiling water to melt it and added it to his baths as a soap and the applied directly to his skin after baths as a moisturiser. Cleared up his dry skin within a few days (overdue babies are prone to dry skin).
    Bar the monitor...all cheapy bits but very useful. Good luck.


  • Registered Users Posts: 189 ✭✭NyquistFreak


    Ladies this is a great thread, thank you all! Blow in from the due in July thread here!

    Can someone talk to me about baby proofing?! We're moving into a new house next week (lovely little bungalow so no stairs to worry about!) and don't want to set myself up for a baby-proofing nightmare a few months down the line!


  • Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 10,432 Mod ✭✭✭✭xzanti


    Ladies this is a great thread, thank you all! Blow in from the due in July thread here!

    Can someone talk to me about baby proofing?! We're moving into a new house next week (lovely little bungalow so no stairs to worry about!) and don't want to set myself up for a baby-proofing nightmare a few months down the line!

    My advice, don't use the adhesive press/drawer locks, they're crap.. We used them at first and you'd forget they were there, go to open the press/drawer with any sort of force and they come away... Get the ones that are screwed on.. Save yourself doing the job twice..

    Atlantic Home Care have some good locks and gates.. I know you don't have stairs but if you want to cordon off certain rooms, they have an offer on at the moment of 2 good quality gates for €39.99..


  • Registered Users Posts: 984 ✭✭✭NextSteps


    lynski wrote: »
    If you are planning more then one, i would invest in a tripp trapp highchair - expensive, but takes up no space, grows with the child(ren), can be used for adults afterwards, and helps, IMO, with their back strength.

    They're a b!tch to clean, though.


  • Registered Users Posts: 984 ✭✭✭NextSteps


    Kash wrote: »
    Wow - thank you so much!

    Hubby and I love the idea of the tummy tub, so it's definitely on the 'to buy' list. I'm really finding this thread so useful, I'm going to share it with all the other girls due in July - we've a lot of first timers in there!

    Tummy tub is good, or you could just use a baby bath, which lasts much longer. I was away when he was a few months old and used a mop bucket instead of the tummy tub - worked just as well :D !


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,065 ✭✭✭Kash


    NextSteps wrote: »
    Tummy tub is good, or you could just use a baby bath, which lasts much longer. I was away when he was a few months old and used a mop bucket instead of the tummy tub - worked just as well :D !

    Funny that you should say that, I showed the Tummy Tub to my friend yesterday, and she said "I hate to break it to you Kash, but that... well, it's just a bucket" :D


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,032 ✭✭✭ceadaoin.


    We got this baby bath and it's been great.

    The ledge that the baby sits against means that we can have both hands free to wash her and she doesn't slide everywhere. It's a bit small for her now at 12 weeks but was worth it in the early days.

    Also a cot top changing table saves space and is really handy. Buy more bibs than you ever think you'll need and if you see wipes and cotton wool on special offer, stock up!


  • Advertisement
  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,893 ✭✭✭Hannibal Smith


    Kash wrote: »
    NextSteps wrote: »
    Tummy tub is good, or you could just use a baby bath, which lasts much longer. I was away when he was a few months old and used a mop bucket instead of the tummy tub - worked just as well :D !

    Funny that you should say that, I showed the Tummy Tub to my friend yesterday, and she said "I hate to break it to you Kash, but that... well, it's just a bucket" :D

    Lol, if you're going to brave a tummy tub, you have to be ready for the jokes :D. They really are great. And when they're too big for it you can get a bath for e5 in IKEA.

    Has anyone mentioned a bouncy chair yet? If not....a bouncy chair! :D


Advertisement