Ishy baby tips!

[fifi folle]

Hi guys
We're now 20 weeks pregnant and starting to get organised for the arrival of our bundle of joy! I've already bought a load of reusable nappies and wraps off Gumtree, been given a moses basket, two baby seat thingys, masses of sheets, blankets, swaddling things, baby support for bath/shower, top n tail bowl.

The question is what are your best ishy tips for getting organised for a newborn? What could you not live without? What was a total waste of money in your opinion?

Many thanks!
Fiona

[Mrs H]

Hey Fi, not long now hunni!!! I couldn't live without r washable nappies, we have 3 kids under 5 and it would have cost us a fortune in disposables, when number 3 arrived for a short period I had 3 in nappies!!! I use tea tree oil and lemon juice to soak them in, the lemon juice gets rid of the poo stains!!
Loads of toys r a waste of money, ours were happy playing with things about the house eg wooden spoons, pots etc and when they r just starting to play pom poms r perfect. Madison who is 14 mths now loves playing with a rattle I made out of a plastic container and lentils!!
Just enjoy every second, it is a precious time that can sometimes seem endless when lack of sleep kicks in!!
Oh and if ur going to breastfeed always have a glass of water near by because you will always want it when baby begins the feed!!

Goodluck chick, xx

[crowsashes]

for the first 6-9 months my little one LIVED in babygrows and vests... he had the odd outfit but in all honesty there really isnt much point in getting anything else until they start walking/crawling and all that as they grow out of them so fast.

dont bother with baby shoes - imo there a waste of money. booties are all you really need.

buy extra flannels about 10 of them and use them to clean everything baby related - sick, for burping/winding, cleaning noses and faces, baths etc. there 100 times cheaper than muslins and its all i used on lo. still use them now aged 3 1/2

[Mrs H]

Just thought of something else! Make ur own muslim clothes! Its mega cheap to buy, cut it to size and run a seam round the edge! X

[fifi folle]

Ooh I'm loving this! Fortunately we're getting loads of newborn, 0-3 months stuff from sister in law whose second (and final) baby is now 8 months old. If we have a daughter we'll be sorted for pink stuff! Think it's a boy though. I've resisted buying any baby clothes just yet til we see just how much she's giving us. We are also the last of our friends to start having babies so quite a few people have offered us stuff. I've hardly bought any maternity clothes as friends keep on lending me them (thank goodness as the price of them is ridiculous for something you'll only wear for a few months, it's up there with the ridiculous price of wedding dresses )

I hadn't thought of making my own muslins, good excuse to use the rolled hemming foot on my machine! Although we do have lots of extra face cloths (I assume that's what you mean by flannels).

Love your recommendation of playing with household items, I work in childcare and there's even a term for this type of play... heuristic play http://www.communityplaythings.co.uk/re ... -play.html. It's all very well me being qualified to look after 0-16yrs but it's a very different story becoming a parent!!!! Got our 20wk scan tomorrow so get to see the wee one again

[crowsashes]

yep flannels = face cloths

cot mobiles - make your own that way you can change the 'toys' to keep it interesting.

for cot sheets etc - buy single bed sheets and cut them in half and re hem ( i found this worked out half the price of using ready made cot sheets) i brought some quality cotton ones second hand and LO now uses them in the summer over him instead of his duvet.

using a moses basket - use pillowcases as sheets just slip the matress in . no need to buy anything extra and can be re-used as pillow cases again.

[niknik]

using a moses basket - use pillowcases as sheets just slip the matress in . no need to buy anything extra and can be re-used as pillow cases again.

definitely a goodone........ the pllow case might notquite belong enopugh.. butbaby won´t know orcare!, and
if gets a bit wet can turn th mattrss over!!

Only ever had about 2 proper sheets, that came with th moses basket and carry cot!.stil have stacks of extra pillow cases...!

hardly used the baby bath... too awkwardfor me if low down. Kitchen sink was ideal, and still used when kids a couple years old, if in a hurry!
less water, than a proper bath, and they seemed to enjoy it more, thought it great fun!

[Milims]

My two are teenogres now but one of the best tips I can remember is, if you feed them anything with a tomato sauce and you end up with tomato stains on bibs etc - hang them in the sunshine - it takes the stains out like magic!

[battybird]

Hi Fi
Long time since I had babies but the best thing I got ready before each was born was my mum booked to babysit for an evening of my choosing so I could to go out with OH. Had to reschedule a couple of times but it was my "treat" on the horizon, which kept me going when I had the odd (!!)stressful day. She even stayed the night and settled the baby after each feed (she brought him to me when he woke up too) so I had a fairly decent nights sleep...bliss Remember to plan look after you...somehow!! Its such an exciting time..enjoy it!

[citizentwiglet]

Reusable wipes can also be made out of the small fleece crib/pram blankets that are too small to use once babs is in a cot - just cut them up; because they are fleece they don't even need hemming. They also have the benefit of drying really quickly.

Don't bother with expensive plastic weaning equipment - do Baby Led Weaning! Baby will just use fingers to eat 'normal' food and you won't have to faff about with blenders, ice-cube trays and Annabelle Karmel cookbooks (or baby rice, bleurgh!).

Must say, I couldn't have lived without my slings. We started off with a Baby Bjorn Active, then progressed to a Mei-Tai which can be worn on your front or your back. It was so much more convenient than lugging a pram/pushchair everywhere (we did have a pram system for when the weather was truly awful) particularly if you use public transport. My youngest also has brachycephaly (flat head) so we were advised to keep the back of his head from contacting surfaces such as mattresses and bouncy chairs as much as possible, so the sling was ideal for that.

One of the most useful things in the world, I think - baby 'sleeping bags'. You know the ones, like 'Gro-Bags' (most places do cheaper versions that are just as good). No worries about baby kicking off covers or getting entangled in blankets, and it's harder for them to overheat. They are brilliant.

Biggest wastes of money? Expensive all-singing-all-dancing plastic toys. They invariable get ignored after five minutes and end up on Freecycle. Too many clothes. Disposable nappies and wipes. Teethers (they prefer to gnaw on your fingers).

[naomij]

The most ish way to do it would be to just buy a couple of slings and do elimination communication...if I lived in a warm enough climate this is what I would do, as there is no reason to put baby down when they are small (apart from when you are going a little crazy) so they don't really need much in the way of clothes. If you can knit, knit wool things...everyone will be like 'you're crazy why would you make some you can't machine wash and isn't a 'baby-friendly' soft fleece fabric'...but you won't regret it. Wool cleans itself so well with an airing that you will wash them a lot less than eg cotton. It is much warmer, but also breathable. Obviously, get some cloth nappies for when you aren't ec-ing (lol! we only did EC for a few months as dd stopped playing along, but it was great while it lasted) and consider knitting wool covers rather than using PUL wraps...much greener, but will also help pervent nappy rash as much more breathable. Also barely need washing, just frequent airing, and occasional treating with lanolin to keep their magic wool properties. Oh, and breastfeed, of course.

And...join the natural mamas forum! Excellent crunchy parenting site :)

[Mr and Mrs luvpie]

oh and if you are breastfeeding then the best bit of advice i could offer is to co-sleep (safely of course) with the other 3 boys meaning i need to be awake and with it in the mornings i am able to get a fab nights sleep whilst dylan is able to get to his food as and when he wants it without the disturbance, we can count on two hands the disturbed nights we have had with himm in hte last 15months most nights i don't even notice him at all but know that i must have fed him as he has changed sides of the bed!

(one day mrluvpie woke up to find dylan had crawled over me (i had obviously turned my back on him and was sleeping on my side) and was hanging over my side fast asleep still suckling)

reusable wipes are fab, fleece blankets cut up also make fantastic nappy liners x

[fifi folle]

Thank you all! Lots of food for thought.
Love the pillowcase tip! Getting a Baby Bjorn from sis in law but like the fabric slings more and more as I read up on babywearing.
Very interested in the concept of EC but my OH isn't keen and it has to be done consistently I would think. Not sure my knitting skills are up to making covers unfortunately!
Planning to BF but put off co-sleeping by niece who at 3 refuses to sleep alone and her parents no longer share a bed, goodness knows how her sister was conceived :D That's so sweet about Dylan, talk about determination!!
Definitely making reusable wipes, already got 15 motherease one size and friend is bringing her stash of cloth up as they've completed their family. Good tip re fleece nappy liners.
Lots to think about and lots to learn!!!

[mrsflibble]

see if you can get or make a mei tai. mine saved my sanity!!!!!

[Mrs H]

How r u keeping ff? Hope u and bump are coming along great. Just wanted to say I breastfed 2 of my kids, number 1 I was mega against co sleeping as I didn't want the problem that your niece has however by the time number 2 came along 2 yrs later all I needed was sleep so we co slept till she was about 12 weeks old. I slept with my top off and she ate when she was hingry. She is 2 now and we have no problem at all with her, she sleeps in her bed every night.
Our youngest was premature and couldn't maintain her body temp so the hospital advised us to co sleep, I couldn't breast feed her as she had no suck reflex and then I dried up super quick but we shared a bed for about 4 mths then I moved her into a cot that was attached to r bed then we moved the cot to the other side of r room before moving her into her own room altogether. She as with her sister has never had any probs with going to her own bed. Co sleeping works but you need to know when to move them out so it doesn't become a habit!! Xxx