Things you found useful for new baby

nikpmup

I knew a man wrote that post

I sometimes have to laugh; I'll often come downstairs after putting H to bed at half eight or so, and my other half will greet me at the bottom of the stairs saying "d'ya fancy watching a movie?" Oh, yes, deffo. After I've tackled the two loads of washing I need to dry. And clean up the bomb site that was my kitchen. And wash, sterilise and make up bottles. And have a shower. And pack the change bag/car for the baby's 9am appointment. And prepare tomorrow's food for me and him. And go up the stairs three times to settle him when he wakes. And gather up the 65,000 bits of dayglo plastic that now live in my house. Definitely, I'll have 2 hours to watch a movZZZZzzzzzzz.........

Roesy

I have to admit I do appreciate the nice new telly and comfy couch my husband insisted on when we moved into our house. I was only about 6 weeks pregnant when we moved so the crappy old couch didn't bother me at the time but when I was breastfeeding I definitely appreciated my kindle, that couch, the iPad/internet and the nice telly. We don't watch a whole pile of tv but it is nice to have a bit of comfort when we do. I appreciate that they are luxury items rather than essentials and would definitely not have been top of my priority list when I was thinking about what would be handy when I had the baby.

The things I didn't think I would need but found really handy are a sling, a swing and an entertainer seat. The sling was a life saver as our baby has reflux and had a few bad colicky weeks so needed to be upright a lot. I would have gotten nothing done around the house without it in the early days. Now we use it because we both enjoy the closeness and she loves pottering about the house seeing what I'm doing. The swing was like most of our baby stuff, donated from friends whose kids had finished with it. We managed to eat many a meal without her on one or the other of our laps thanks to that swing and funnily enough our friends baby never really liked it. The entertainer seat(again borrowed) is great now that she's more active. She really gets a great kick out of it.

dori_dormer

I agree with the Apple Tv funnily enough with hulu/ netflix! I watched many a series through over a couple of days as my fella was feeding for an hour every 2 hours for the first few weeks. I was practically stuck on the couch all day.was mad busy cleaning etc when hubby came home at night and I could hand him over so no movies watched. But good tv on demand cant be beat!

Sligo1

My husband and Ted must be long lost twins! He bought a computer (not cheap) which he terms the 'supercomputer'... It drives me insane when I c him on it coz he will try sneak out of the bed to
Play it!!! World of Warcraft for god sake! I caught him on it last night and murdered him.

He's also pestering me to get this massive tv which I've stored in the spare room brought up to the bedroom so we can watch it in bed at night.... My answer.... No flippin way! Lol. Sure were lucky to get 30 min - 1 hr to ourselves if we're lucky!!! Maybe I'm doing something wrong.... Hahaha

Moonbeam

World of Warcraft would = divorce here .
I will not allow a big TV in the room as I would never be allowed to sleep .
Netflix and my tablet though are lovely to have especially when feeding every 2 hours and being super tired .

January

No TV in the bedroom, I would never sleep I had to train himself out of having to have the TV on while he fell asleep when we moved in together.

Sligo1

Moonbeam wrote: »

World of Warcraft would = divorce here .
I will not allow a big TV in the room as I would never be allowed to sleep .
Netflix and my tablet though are lovely to have especially when feeding every 2 hours and being super tired .

Couldn't have said it better myself! The tv would literally be on all night! And the world of Warcraft... Well to be fair he's a total geek and used to play 10hea a dy before I met him. Needless to say.... That stopped when we got together. He's lucky to get an he a week on it now! Gosh I've only just realised I've 3 kids not 2!!!!

dori_dormer

My hubby got himself a playstation on Mothers Day! I got flowers from the petrol station..... Anyway, he can play it all he likes in the evening time. Baby and I go to bed about half 9. I dont care what he does be it gaming, tv, work, sleep, as long as he doesnt wake us up and he does his share of the feedings during the night without complaining! He needs down time too

Absolute no to tv in the bedroom! I also have a pet peeve about tvs in the kitchen though!

Sligo1

dori_dormer wrote: »

My hubby got himself a playstation on Mothers Day! I got flowers from the petrol station..... Anyway, he can play it all he likes in the evening time. Baby and I go to bed about half 9. I dont care what he does be it gaming, tv, work, sleep, as long as he doesnt wake us up and he does his share of the feedings during the night without complaining! He needs down time too
!

Can u please delete this part of your post?! Husband is on boards and might read it! (Lol jokes).

iguana

We watched sooo many series when S was a newborn. So much so we became convinced that S was a dead ringer for Al Capone on Boardwalk Empire.

Roesy

If it hasn't been mentioned already, a comfortable chair for feeding is great. We especially found it good for nights. When bub was still in our room we'd take her across to what is now her room and feed and change her there so the other person could get some rest. I got a glider/rocker type thing with an accompanying foot stool. It has pockets on the side too which are handy for a muslin/kindle/bottle of water etc. I spent a lot of time in that chair when I was breast feeding and now it's a nice part of her bedtime routine: bath, grobag, bottle and cuddle in the chair in her room and into her cot.

Moonbeam

I had one of those for #1 aswell,it was great but someone broke my foot stool and I gave the chair away. I am on the look out for a nice new arm chair for the sitting room for feeding this baby.
It makes such a difference for nursing and back pain.

Rosy Posy

If it's baby number 2 plus, make sure your feeding chair has room for a toddler!

How Strange

I got a feeding chair this time around too despite the fact that we live in an apartment with only one kitchen/living room. I found it great for those days of constant feeding and it saved a lot of back pain in the long run. I sold it on when she was 6 months and was feeding a lot less. I really missed it when it was gone though as it was so comfie. Its just a shame that we don't have room for a nice armchair.

dori_dormer

I got this ikea chair for feeding
http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/catalog/products/S49901739/

was great, bounces gently and you can get a footstool as well. they have a rocker too, but i was afraid id damage my back hauling a baby out of an unbalanced chair.

He still loves being bounced to sleep in it. great buy was recommended to us in our antenatal class.

nikpmup

dori_dormer wrote: »

I got this ikea chair for feeding
http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/catalog/products/S49901739/

was great, bounces gently and you can get a footstool as well. they have a rocker too, but i was afraid id damage my back hauling a baby out of an unbalanced chair.

He still loves being bounced to sleep in it. great buy was recommended to us in our antenatal class.

I was looking at them when I was pregnant, but I didn't bother as we don't have much space. Really wish I did now, my back, neck and shoulders were done in feeding him, both breast and bottle. Now that he can sit up I prop him against my shoulder to feed him and it's no strain, but one of those chairs would have been a lifesaver. I'll definitely get one if I have another baby, I can justify the expense as I won't have to buy any new baby gear

Another not-quite-essential item that I have only recently bought, is a membership to Dublin Zoo. I'm only a few minutes drive from it. Now that the weather is nice, I can just head out for a nice walk - I don't feel the need to ''do'' the entire zoo as it's free in! My niece and nephew are off school so I can bring them and a picnic and it's basically a free day out. My lad loves getting out and about, but I'm not one for just going for an aimless walk, I have to have a destination!!

Merkin

Thank you all so much for this thread girls. Baby Merkin not due until July but am delighted with all the practical recommendations from people with first hand knowledge! It's all too easy to be bombarded with every item deemed to be "essential" for when bubba arrives so it's great to see all these tips from people who've actually used these things, cheers

fro9etb8j5qsl2

The Tiny Love 3 in 1 is an absolute godsend! It was the only thing our baby would sleep in for the first 2 weeks. So handy that it can be a rocker, put still on the stand at an incline (v handy for reflux), pulled up into a seat position, its just brilliant! Once LO started going into his crib we brought the rocker downstairs and now he goes for his daytime naps in it

The clevamama sleep positioner is also invaluable, it really settles the baby and stops him from moving too much in his sleep and waking himself. Also really good for reflux.

Sleeping bags are great too. And the baby bath insert. Oh and lansinoh nipple balm if you're breastfeeding.

The biggest waste for us was the sling. I bought it before the baby was born, thinking how brilliant and handy it was going to be. Splashed out nearly €100 om a JPMBB wrap and 9 weeks in, I can count on one hand the amount of times I've used it Some people love them but I'd advise anyone thinking of getting one to go to a sling meet beforehand and try a few out properly. I reckon if I'd done this, I wouldn't have bothered buying one at all.

Sligo1

Gro bags!!! Saved us when LO began to kick his blanket/sheet off and wake up because he was cold. He sleeps brilliantly in them.

Only worry is how are we going to wean him off his gro bag when he starts getting too big for them as he wont sleep without one now...

yellow hen

Sligo1 wrote: »

Gro bags!!! Saved us when LO began to kick his blanket/sheet off and wake up because he was cold. He sleeps brilliantly in them.

Only worry is how are we going to wean him off his gro bag when he starts getting too big for them as he wont sleep without one now...

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Our lil guy is still in one at 13 months but I'm not bothered. Once he gets a decent sleep that's all I care about

The tiny love 3 in 1 looks lovely. If (when I hope) we have another baby is be interested in buying this. Last baby hated the Moses basket.

Sligo1

yellow hen wrote: »

Our wouldn't worry too much about it. Our lil guy is still in one at 13 months but I'm not bothered. Once he gets a decent sleep that's all I care about

The tiny love 3 in 1 looks lovely. If (when I hope) we have another baby is be interested in buying this. Last baby hated the Moses basket.

Our fella is 18 months now! Lol. I have one that lasts until 36 months...

yellow hen

Sligo1 wrote: »

Our fella is 18 months now! Lol. I have one that lasts until 36 months...

Oh sorry Sligo, I thought it was for your newborn! I bought the one for 36 months and it'd nearly fit me. In the warmer weather I'm just going to stop using the bag and use light fleece suits instead.

Sligo1

yellow hen wrote: »

Oh sorry Sligo, I thought it was for your newborn! I bought the one for 36 months and it'd nearly fit me. In the warmer weather I'm just going to stop using the bag and use light fleece suits instead.

Lol yea the 36mth ones are big... Hopin it will fit him till he's 5 or 6 years old (jokes). Usually use a 1 tog bag in the summer and will put him in it in a nappy and vest. Prob start using them on the new born as soon as she's kicking te sheets off...

Hello Lady!

My girls sleep better without the gro bags! And we got loads of them as gifts! One twin goes asleep real prim and proper with her hands by her side and blankets under her armpits and doesn't move an inch as long as she's not too warm. If she is she kicks the blankets off. She won't wake if shes cold but will if shes too hot. So the grow bags are no good as she can't kick off if too warm. So maybe don't go mad buying them, just get one til you see what your little one likes.

Sligo1

Yea do start with just the one. Mum bought us our first one and I was scared to use it at first as midwives had us certain out baby would die if we put anything more than one cellular blanket over him at night!!

But after weeks of waking with no blankets on and waking us all hours of the night we tried it on him and never looked back .

lazygal

I learned my lesson and second baby went straight into grobags as soon as we came home from hospital. I think once they're over eight lbs you're safe. Some of the advice is plain scaremongering.

nikpmup

Sligo1 wrote: »

Yea do start with just the one. Mum bought us our first one and I was scared to use it at first as midwives had us certain out baby would die if we put anything more than one cellular blanket over him at night!!

But after weeks of waking with no blankets on and waking us all hours of the night we tried it on him and never looked back .

I woke up up several times to my son waving his arms and legs about with the cellular blankets over his face - he lifts his legs up 90° into the air and the blankets were falling on top of him, no matter how well we tucked them in. The Grobags saved my sanity. I've a 1 tog one ready to go for the warm weather (it's still a bit too nippy at night to take him out of the 2.5tog)

Hello Lady!

nikpmup wrote: »

I woke up up several times to my son waving his arms and legs about with the cellular blankets over his face - he lifts his legs up 90° into the air and the blankets were falling on top of him, no matter how well we tucked them in. The Grobags saved my sanity. I've a 1 tog one ready to go for the warm weather (it's still a bit too nippy at night to take him out of the 2.5tog)

My friends little one wriggles into the bag...no matter which type, even with the thing under the arms somehow he always msnaged to burrow down into it and she would find him with his head covered by it. So it really does depend on the baby. You have to try these things during daytime naps when you can supervise to see what way your baby sleeps/wriggles and then just trust your instincts as to what is right for your little one.

nikpmup

Hello Lady! wrote: »

My friends little one wriggles into the bag...no matter which type, even with the thing under the arms somehow he always msnaged to burrow down into it and she would find him with his head covered by it. So it really does depend on the baby. You have to try these things during daytime naps when you can supervise to see what way your baby sleeps/wriggles and then just trust your instincts as to what is right for your little one.

That's true. My lad doesn't wriggle, just the legs in the air - every 45 minutes or so, we can see him on the baby monitor, legs straight up, accompanied by a loud groan! I've tried doing it myself on my bed, it's hard to do!

Chattastrophe!

nikpmup wrote: »

That's true. My lad doesn't wriggle, just the legs in the air - every 45 minutes or so, we can see him on the baby monitor, legs straight up, accompanied by a loud groan! I've tried doing it myself on my bed, it's hard to do!

Ha my boy does this too ... usually accompanied by a few piggy-snorts!