Baby items you couldn't live without (up to six months)

A question about : Baby items you couldn't live without (up to six months)

We're trying to put a list together for our baby shower, but there's so much out there that I'm trying to work out what we need and what we can live without.
We have organised a moses basket and a cot - both of which need mattresses but were free. That's it!

Any tips from other mums? Luckily baby will be six months around Christmas, so have 6+ stuff in mind for then.

Best answers:

• Muslin cloths - lots and lots of them.
  Comfortable breast pads (if she is breast feeding)
  Grobag
• Aside from the obvious essentials..
  Sock-Ons
  I dismissed these for ages then finally (when DD was 6months) bought some after losing yet another sock and the constant pulling up/putting back on driving me mad.. They're fab
• Totally agree with muslin cloths. Best thing that I was given at my baby shower.
  Bouncy seat, but just a cheap one, don't bother with one that rocks/plays music or anything. Basically somewhere safe you can put baby, where they can see what's going on.
  Microwave steriliser, even if you plan to breast feed it doesn't always work out, and it's also good for dummies and expressing equipment.
  Pushchair, they have loads of features, but think what is most important for you. Lightweight, folds small, fits through narrow doors, handle height etc.
  Car seat, even if you don't have a car you'll need it for going in other peoples.
  Baby monitor, depends on your house layout if you need one. Single floor place doesn't really need one unless you will be shutting doors to stop pets getting in babies room. Only go for a cheap one though. Camera's and flashing lights are unneccessary.
  Also put practical but boring stuff on the list like nappies and wipes. Not exciting but totally essential.
• Car seat
  Breast pump / bottle / steriliser
  Muslins
  Blankets
  Pram
  Moses basket
  Infacol
  Sling / wrap
  Changing mat
  I think that's it! A lot of those you could survive without, but those were my essentials
• Ewan the dream sheep. Best invention ever.
• It's a long time since mine were babies - they youngest turned into a teenager just before Christmas
  The best thing I bought, though, was a microwave steriliser. It was cheap, did a great job in a short time, and used no chemicals. My middle child couldn't breastfeed as he had surgery for rare abnormalities of the digestive system, but I expressed milk and froze it for him. The microwave steriliser was a great help at the time - I had used a cold water system for my eldest child, and found it a chore to use, in addition to it always being there (you can hide the m/w one inside the m/w - tidier kitchen).
  I'm also a fan of bath books and cloth books from an early age.
  A box to store nappies, creams and wipes is useful. I still have the one used for my daughter (and then for my two sons), but it is used for craft stuff these days . After almost 22 years, it is still as good as new, because they just don't wear out.
  A decent changing bag is something else I would recommend. Not necessarily expensive, but big enough for the stuff you need.
  Don't forget small pots for food, maybe icecube trays for the small amounts when first weaning, especially if preparing own foods instead of using jars/packets. Soft spoons with longish handles are a must.
  Metanium cream is a godsend when baby gets a sore bum. My middle child is disabled and still in nappies, and every now and then I still use Metanium on him.
  Thick wipes are better than thin ones, especially for filled nappies. Huggies and Tesco are the ones I currently use. I find Pampers and Johnsons are small and thin - ok for a wee, but not much use for anything else. I only use fragrance free, as perfumed wipes can cause a rash.
• My most used items (I have a 6 month old)
  1. Bebe au Lait breastfeeding cover (FREEDOM when going out.. no embarassment/frantic search for breastfeeding rooms cos youre covered up!)
  2. Electronic sterilizer (now on bottles, electric one holds more bottles than the microwave one, and is faster. 5 mins vs 8mins!)
  3. Baby bath holder thingy (so you have hands free to wash) plus sponges and johnsons no more tears baby wash
  4. Sudocrem (magic stuff for sore bums!)
  5. Tommee Tippee travel bottle warmer.. its basically just a flask with a cover over but i use it soooo often when out as my baby will only drink milk warm.. and i use the cover as a "jug" to fill with cold/warm water for cooling/warming milk/food
  6. Fisher Price jungle baby gym (keeps baby entertained to give your arms a bit of a rest!)
  And when a bit older... 3 months or so...the fisher price jungle jumperoo... again, arm freedom, but for longer periods of time (in fact she would happily stay in there for hours if i didnt take her out!)
  7. Sleeping sacks/grobags.. now its cold, so baby cant kick off the blanket and get cold... and wake up... and cry... and wake u up!
  8. Angelcare monitor (as a paranoid mum, seeing that my baby was breathing on the monitor was a godsend... but then again if youre not as paranoid as me, maybe just a normal baby monitor will do)
  9. A comfy, comfy chair to sit in in the middle of the night when ur baby has got u up for the 10th time for yet another feed (unless they r sleeping in ur room with u).. breastfeeding pillow also helps make feeds comfy and allows free arms for reading books etc.
  10. LOADS of vests and babygrows for when they poo/sick all over multiple times per day.
  Lamaze toys also go down quite well with most babies...
• Agree with jumperoo too. Awesome invention but get it before the recommended age of 6m. We had a crawler at 6m and he wasn't interested after that.
• The best, best, best thing we had was a travel system. Being able to unclip the car seat and pop it straight onto the pram and vice versa without waking our little boy up was a godsend. We had so many comments from our parents and their friends all saying that they wished they had had one when they had babies.
• For me the essentials under six months were:
  washable nappies
  wraps for nappies
  washable wipes
• Ashton and Parsons infant powders. Brilliant for fretfull babies and i was amazed when i went to my local chemist so see that they are still being made. I used them for all 4 of my 5 babies (and regret i didnt know about them when i had my first as he was a right misery).
  Infacol. A full burp in every half bottle of milk.
• Ergo baby carrier- expensive initially but it can negate the need for a pushchair and holds its value well for resale. Lasts until the child's approximately 6 years old if you want to carry them for that long
  Sock-ons- cheap as chips and save a lot of socks!
  Muslins- can be used under baby's head to save the sheet from puke. Wrap around as a bib to catch same, and dribble. Emergency nappy, emergency breastpad, quick-drying towel etc. When they get a bit grubby- looking you can dye them pretty colours too
• Raw organic cold-pressed coconut oil - I use this for so many things. Its anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-septic, anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-oxidant and improves nutrient absorption, as well as being a moisturizing agent.
  I use it as a nappy cream, moisturisor for mine & baby's skin, used it to heal cracked nipples when breasfeeding (you don't have to wash it off, it's completely safe for baby to ingest) we used it to heal some unexplained spots baby developed on her tummy...the list goes on! Wouldn't want to be without it!
  Also, other essentials include bibs/muslins, obviously nappies, wipes, lots of vests and sleepsuits, cotton wool balls, soft, fluffy towels, changing mat, swaddle cloth, lots of small blankets (if winter baby)...I have just ordered a Ewan the Dreamsheep, so will report back once its arrived
• For me
  1) Car seat with isofix- the ease of putting my daughter in the car quickly with the isofix made it worth the money for us
  2) Sterilser, bottles ( I didn't breastfeed)
  3) baby change mat with nappy cream, cotton wool, nappies
  4) baby bath with bathseat and baby towels
  5) Lots of vests and babygrows and hats
  6) Blankets
• I bought linen tea towels instead of muslins as the were cheaper.
  Gro bags - wriggle proof.
  Decent sterilizer - not brand specific as you will be ties into using their brand as it will be the only one that fits.
  Insulated mug so you can enjoy a hot cup of tea. Get the one with the metal inner as easier to clean than plastic, although they do ceramic now I think.
  Masses of home made meals in the freezer that can be nuked and carbs added. Spag bol sauce or chilli for example. Easy and fillling to cook pasta or rice and no slaving over stove. Seriously, I advise you to pack your freezer with as many 'bung it in the oven all in one' dinners for that baby in bed lets eat when the oven goes beep times.
• We don't have stairs thankfully but will have a spare nappy, wipes and outfit kit at each grandparents to save having to carry too much around!
• You'll need some sort of pram/buggy that lays flat. Though I guess you could make do with a decent baby carrier if you wanted.
  A car seat is probably essential.
  I'd also agree with the Infacol suggestion.
  The only thing I'd add that hasn't been mentioned would be Lansinoh cream. I know not everyone needs it, but if you do need it then the earlier you can start using it the better.