Discovery Home & Health

Hi Mummies to be

It's a jungle out there! There's so much stuff to get but as a first timer I don't know what's good and what's not (although Zogar on Sept thread knows all about pushchairs!). Really interested in advice from Mums who have been through it already on:

1. Pushchairs - three or four wheels? which brands are great and which are overpriced? Which are a pain in the neck to fold and use?
2. Carrycots - is it worth getting a carrycot part to your pushchair or not?
3. Nappies - anyone tried the real nappy services - are they any good?
4. What was the one thing you couldn't live without in the first few weeks / months? (PLease don;t say sleep!!)

I'm only 17 weeks today but trying to plan a bit so really hope some of you will have some good advice - and maybe even some good links!

THanks in advance for any pointers you're able to share.

Jo

Good idea Jo! I don't get the travel system/buggy business at all...
Looking forward to seeing the replies.
xxx

Great idea Jo. I need all the help I can get.

Jo - I am a first time Mum and I really struggled with knowing what I needed to get.

I have bought 2 real nappies to try and they look absolutely lovely, one is a Rainbow bots Nappy from baby kind in candi floss http://www.babykind.co.uk/totsbots.htm

The other I bought was from Musswells (Lorraine on the March thread) http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BRAND-NEW-BIMBLES-QUICK-DRY-NEWBO...ZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

A very cute nappy.

I have bought muslins and alot of mothers say that they are a must.

I hope this helps a bit.

I will let you know how I get on with the nappies when baby comes.

Jen x

4 weeks and 1 day to go []

Hi all

I am a third time mum, my youngest is 5 weeks old. I have a carrycot the mamas and papas 3 in 1 so its a car seat that clips on the chassis, and the carry cot clips on the chassis and when baby is bigger the seat unit goes on the chassis. I love a carry cot as baby can sleep in it and lay flat, not strapped in a car seat all the time like some travel systems. I have a bit of a thing for prams, buggies etc and have had so many I really have lost count. 3 wheelers are fine but I found them heavy, I did have two and one I sed lots the other I sold. I think my advice would be try some before you buy. Look round and have a go in the shops.

I use reusable nappies on two of mine, I like Fuzzi bunz and bimble quick dry nappies and I also use nappy wraps. I find them easy to use, wash and they dry quick too. Cheaper than lots of disposible nappies and better for baby and the environment and can sell on or use on next baby aswell.

I can give more tips if anyone is interested?

Love Lorraine. xx

make sure if ur getting a three wheeler the front wheel is a swivel whivel or its not as easy to manouvere as a 4 wheeler!!

and i found a light pushchair really good for later on wen baby starts getting heavier and also for getting in and out of boot of car.

i didnt get a really expensive pushchair... just suck to the choice in babies r us as if i get bored of a pushchair u dont feel u have invested too much into it..and u do sometimes get bored of the same puschair a year or two down the line! or is that just me!! will post more as i think gtg

You took the words right out of my mouth Faiza!

Yeah...we've got a 3 wheeler and its swivel front wheel is great. Ours is the Mountain Buggy Urban (a kiwi brand). http://www.chariotsatp.co.uk/
Its jolly light (10kg) compared to most 3 wheelers and if you're going for walks over rough ground you can lock the front wheel straight. We had a carrycot on the buggy for the 1st 5 months as Daisy slept in it during the day and I spent a lot of time out of the house with her. Didn't want her all scrunched up in a car seat.
When she was nearly a yr old we also got the Maclaren Volo which is a lightweight umbrella fold jobby which is much easier to chuck in my car and great for taking away. It did a grand job on our 1st trip back to NZ last August. Can't adjust the back, but she slept in it anyway.

As someone else mentioned.,.. MUSLINS!!!!! and lots of them (Daisy was the sickiest baby in the world).

Can't think of anything else right now!

Girls - thanks so much for these brilliant replies - hopefully other first timers will find them as useful as I have.

I woudl be interested in people's experience of cots - they seem to vary so dramatically in price (�99 Mothercare, �500 Stokke!!). Is there really a massive difference?

Also, if you are getting a carrycot as part of a travel system - shoudl you also get a Moses basket or is that duplicating?

THanks again for all the fab tips.

JO x x x

Hi Jo

I have a carrycot and a moses basket so I have somewhere fot my little one to sleep if the carrycot is upstairs or downstairs or if I leave the carrycot in the car. You don't need both both I wanted one lol.

As to cots, I boughtb a mamas and papas one. I think there is a lot of choice out there, just go for something you like. I like the stokke ones but they are so expensive so I could not affort one of them they look nice though lol. Cot beds are good as can be used for longer, but when my first grew out of the cot, he had to have a bed as I needed the cot for the next baby and if I had a cotbed then I would have needed another cot lol. Shop about and see what you like and what your budget is. Have Fun. xx

Hiya, my daughter is now 6 months old and one of the best investments I made was a Bumbo seat. I got mine from Toys r us but am sure they are available elsewhere. It is a lille seat especially designed for young babies and basically it allows them to sit upright as soon as they can support their heads. It has been a real god send for me. I put Lilly in it all the time, I use it for feeding her but also if I am cooking tea I put it on the side in the kitchen (back from the edge and away from the hot things obviously) and she sits there babbling away to me while I get on with the cooking, it is a brilliant way to keep her safe whilst near me as well as she doesn't like to be left on her own in another room. Hope that helps.
P.S. muslims are definitly a must they are just so handy!!

And get a changing station, as they really save on backache from changing nappies on the floor.

Hey Jo...

Well, we've got the �99 Mothercare cot in white and its just fine. We bought the most expensive mattress to go in it (think it was about �90). Watch out for cot prices as I don't think any of them include mattresses.
Love the Stokke one though. If we had the money, would prob have gone for that one.

As for carrycots and moses baskets... a lot of carrycots say on them that they're not meant for sleeping in at night. So if you're not putting the baby straight into the cot at night you will prob need a moses basket too! We had a crib in our bedroom which lasts longer than a moses basket. Daisy was in it 'til she was nearly 7 months old. If you have a big baby boy he might last 3 months in the moses basket.

Oh... have thought of something else... we didn't have one for Daisy but will definately get one for the next baby.. a Tummy Tub. Its a baby bath a bit like a bucket, and newborns are meant to love it as the water covers their shoulders and they stay nice and warm in it. My best friend had one for her baby and he really loved it.

yep... agree with Musswells... so much easier (esp if you've had a c-section!!) to change baby at a height rather than on the floor. Even stooping a bit to do it on the bed killed me. If you don't want a whole changing station you can get a cot top changer... a thing that fits across the side rails of the cot for you to pop the baby on for changing. Will be getting one of those next time too!

I saw the cot top changers in the shops but couldn't understand if you left them on when baby was in sleeping. They were all positioned at the bottom of the cot, right where baby would be if you put them down 'foot to foot'. Any ideas?
I also love the tummy tubs, they came highly reccomended by the health visitors I used to work with (they had two they leant out to babies with colic) so I plan to get one.
xxx