Ideas of what you'll need

So, you've arrived home and now the fun begins... But have you got everything you will need? There may not be chance to go out shopping for a few days, so here's some suggestions for those early days...

• Moses basket and don't forget the covers - cellular blankets are advised... We bought mattress covers and then we came up with the idea of putting a pillow case over the mattress as a cover - worked really well and you can get some really inexpensive ones from supermarkets.

• Baby bath - if you can go for one that has a plug in it to make emptying a bit easier. They are back breaking to carry around so either get a stand or we used a milk crate with the baby bath balanced on top in the big bath... really easy to fill and empty. They will tell you to just use water for few days and no products but we had baby bath ready.. don't forget a couple of bath towels, also get a thermometer to check temp of water - we didn't trust the dipping of the elbow check.

• Change mat and changing table - this will be used plenty and will save your back if its a table top one.

• Nappy bin - ours has been fabulous to keep the smelliest of nappies out of sight and hide the smell until bin day.

• Change bag - keep it stocked, with change of clothes, nappies, cream, wipes, you'll soon be taking it everywhere with you.

• Baby grows - you'll go through quite a few and depending on weight of baby get a selection of new born and then the bigger size - My baby bear was 9 lb 8 ounces birth weight so we hardly used any new born items! Again make sure your other half knows how to check sizes especially nappies just in case you are kept in hospital or stuck in the house for any reason.

• Baby Monitor, our baby bear was in our room when we first arrived home, but some parents put their baby in the nursery from day one, they do tend to make a few noises through the night.

• Breast pump if you are breast feeding and want to express, bottles, steriliser if you are bottle or combined feeding.

• Feeding chair, depending on the room you have and your budget, a feeding chair can be really relaxing especially when feeding during the night.

• Nursing pillow, mine was fabulous to support baby bear on whilst he was breast feeding.

• Baby bounce seat - we got one with a head support for when he was little - it does give your arms a rest.

• Play mat - gives baby some kicking space.

• Nappies, nappies, nappies and more nappies! We used a supermarkets own brand at the start because for some reason we were forever changing our baby bear so went through quite a few! Again make sure your other half knows how to check the size in case little one needs different size! Also plenty of baby wipes, you will never have enough - we used the un-perfumed ones. I know some mummies prefer to use water and cotton wool rather than baby wipes so its a personal choice.

• Toys - a baby has to have toys!!!! A mobile for over the cot, we have hanging toys over the change mat which even now he plays with when putting up resistance to being changed! Oh and of course, a teddy, every baby has to have a teddy!

• Memories book/box we started this from when I was pregnant with pictures of scans, bump photos its ongoing now... and yes I did cry in the shop choosing one!

There seems lots, and I'm sure I've left things out that other mummies will add! You just have to go shopping and pick and choose what you think you will need. Don't forget family and friends will want to buy items, so be careful with too many clothes! We have clothes that never got worn because we were given so much ---- you buy a few things and then get the bigger sizes. Everyone likes buying the small cute clothes, but you will soon progress to 3-6 and 6-9 month clothes!

--Sarahob (talk) 21:32, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

Talking of sterilisers:

We used cold water method of sterilisation.

You can get liquid or tablets which you then add to the amount of water recommended by the manufacturer.

For us this was great, as we could sterilise the bottles and other equipment during the day and then on an evening we would transfer the water to a washing up bowl and soak all the dirty vests and any other poo/sick stained white clothing overnight.Its great for getting those stubborn stains out and also good for you dishcloths too.

Please make sure you wash and rinse any baby clothes after doing this as it could irritate baby's skin.--Kerryflump (talk) 17:30, 1 May 2013 (UTC)