Hi all!

I'm preparing for baby number 1, who will be born in winter (Australia).
I also know there are a lot of first time mothers on bloop.

What did you find you needed/used the most with your babies? What were the things you couldn't live without? Those must haves!!!

i would have to say a swing and an exersaucer. ( http://www.evenflo.com/sme_exersaucer.aspx?id=315 )

Foot muff/cosy toes for the stroller.
Lots of bibs/burp clothes
more than one bottle brush because mine broke the first time I used it and I didn't have a spare, lol.
And when you go to the hospital make sure you take plenty of spare bags because the amount of stuff people buy... and give you (when i was in with my son. the lady in the bed opposite me gave me lots of clothes because her baby was 10lbs! and didn't fit into new born clothes, lol. They were ALL brand new lol. I didn't have a bag to put them in.... mine was already over packed.)

Scented nappy bags for putting dirty nappies in when you're out. (I think they're called nappy sacks)

I had to give a statement to the police once and I had to change my daughters nappy while I was there. I'd ran out of bags and I stunk out the interview room.

A really good breast pump in case you have trouble learning to breast feed and your nipples get sore. I found expressing 2 feeds was enough to give my boobies a break and they healed enough to start breast feeding again. Breast pumps don't hurt if you're doing it properly, neither does breast feeding.

Marcalan purified lanolin for nipple care is a definite must have.

If you're going to bottle feed then a microwave bottle sanitiser is a must have.

Mittens because babies finger nails are tiny and sharp, they do a lot of arm flailing and they put their hands to their face for comfort. My first daughter scratched her face so many time.

Safetly gates and/or a playpen.

A sling for a new born because sometimes you just want to duck into the shops and its not worth dragging the whole pram out but you need both hands to get the shopping.

What would you say was better in way of breast pump?
Going for an electric or a manuel one?

I've never used an electric one. Right now I have a cheap Medela manual pump. It was only 35 bucks but its good quality and its effective. Half the battle with expressing milk with a manual pump is technique. There were not instuctions on how to pump with this model so I had to look it up online.

If I were going to express regularly (if I went back to work or couldn't breast feed for some reason) I'd definitely get an electric pump.

Right now I only express if I want to give my boobs a break. My baby has a tiny mouth and there is not a lot I can do about her not latching properly, so damage does occur occasionally. The bigger she gets the easier it gets.

I'd recommend you get the breast pump before the baby is born because its in the first few weeks that damage can be done.
I had my fiance running all over town trying to find one when our baby was less than a week old. If I didn't get that pump when I did I don't think I could have handled the pain and I would have given up on breastfeeding all together.

i don't have a baby butttt, i always see wipes and diapers [

woah wtf@bloop.

i said, those were obvious ones. my sister in law uses a lot of lotion and gas medicine. gas medicine was her life saver, haha.

What is strange is that when I read the message in my inbox... it had all of what you said, about your sister in law!

Diaper Genie. *nods* check it out! I loved ours...heh.

What is that?!

It is an air-tight trash can for diapers. You open the lid with one touch of a button, put the diaper in and twist it. Then close the lid. It leaks like NO bad odors at all and made life so much easier! (I was the main one in the house that was on diaper duty... heh) The trash bags it uses are easy to change and are loooooooooooong. When you dump it out, which is a one touch system too, they come out looking like sausages... lol.

Not sure if there is a main website for it, but check google.

Hell, if you cannot find one where you live, I'll buy you one and ship it to you. :)

My best friend is having her first (and probably only) this summer. THAT is what I'm going to get her. *runs to find her registry*

It seems like such a strange thing to buy when you can just walk to the outside wheelie bin and put it in there!!!!

You'll think differently at 4am when you haven't had any sleep in a week. :lol:

I registered for one! I hope it works as well as you say...I've heard mixed reviews. :)

Or just give it a rinse and soak it in the nappy bucket ;)

If you're having a boy, I highly suggest peepee teepees. They're these little cloth cones that you can put over the baby's penis to keep him from spraying you when you change his diaper. lol. Also, a few things you might want to get at a thrift shop (secondhand store, not sure what they call it in Australia) or off craigslist: a baby swing, a bouncer and an exer-saucer (when he's older). The reason I suggest buying used is that these are items they grow out of relatively fast, and they take up the most room. Unless you plan on having more kids right away, buying used isn't too awfully bad. Because the kiddo grows out of them so fast, they're often practically new when they show up online or in a thrift store. For example, the kiddo I nanny for got an exer-saucer for Christmas. Two months later and he's too tall for it. lol. Then, when you're done using them, put them back up for sale and get your money back. :)

my sons peepee teepees never stayed on him so that was a waste of money to us. I loved my boppy pillow it made nursing a whole lot easier especially when they get older and are really heavy. I recommend a swing/or a bouncer. (you dont really need both but they are nice to have. (bouncers are more mobile. u can put the baby in it and put it pretty much anywhere on the table, counter top, bathroom floor so u can get a shower without worrying about leaving them unattended. and a swing u can use longer as they get older. when my son was older around 5-6 months the exersaucer was a god send. we got so much free time and he was sooo happy in it. i got a wipe warmer that i used while we were in the hospital after my son was just born. i liked it. but i only used it up until the first month or so. but it was nice bcuz diaper changes can be quite tramatic in the begining due to cold wipes so the wipe warmer helped get him adjusted to diaper changes. if u plan to nurse at all then breastmilk poop doesnt really smell at all so i didnt need a diaper genie. (diaper genie is a nice gadget but i am on a fixed income and it is like $30 and then u have to keep buying the things that go in them) I still dont I use a trash can for diapers by the changing table and i take the trash out 2 times a week. But when my son was a newborn the trash had to go out like once a day until his bowel movements were a lil less frequent and regular. Make sure u have a good thermometer. I went through about 3 before i broke down and bought a $20 thermometer that reads from the ear and i love it. i used gripe water a lil bit when my son was under 2 months old too. I liked my saftey 1st froggy tub. I was given 2 at my baby showers. I got one that fit in the sink and it folded and u could store it under the sink but it wasnt that great my son was always slipping around in there so it was hard to wash and hold him still in it. so the other one i tried and it was perfect. my son stayed still and it came with a lil baby hammock so he could lay comfortably and i was able to wash him quickly with 2 hands. I didnt really care for the hooded towels i just used our regular towels. the hooded towels arent that thick so i would get all wet when i wrapped him in it and i felt the regular towels would keep him warmer since they are thick so thats what i use.



i think this is a good start if i can think somemore i will write again.

I can't believe I haven't even thought of a thermometer.
So it's definitely worth just getting the best with those then by the sounds. I think I'd prefer the ear ones anyway, they're so simple to use :)

Speaking of medical supplies, there are pacifiers that are made to dispense medication. Work wonders when you don't want to stick a syringe in the babies mouth! Look something like this:

I had one of those for Jordyn. I still use it, and she is 20 months old.

yeah i would i think i first bought 2 regular digital thermomters for like $9-10 and they were soo confusing so i just got a $20 ear one and i love it. it shows a bright red light if the temp is too high or a green light if it is okay. lol. not that it is needed since i have common sense but i still love it. lol.

I can't believe I haven't even thought of a thermometer.
So it's definitely worth just getting the best with those then by the sounds. I think I'd prefer the ear ones anyway, they're so simple to use :)