Hi girls!

What essentials did ye find invaluable when yer lo was born? I. Trying to write a list but I'm writing down everything on it!! I know the car seat crib and buggy but what else will I need once we get home from hosp??!!

I really found having somewhere to put lo during the day to be the best 'tip' I could give.
We used the Moses basket to start but I found then it was sometimes hard to get her to nod off at bedtime because there was no differentiating between regular daytime naps in the Moses & proper bedtime.
We then used a bouncer for when she was awake but if she fell asleep it was horrible trying to taker her out without waking!
We have a travel cot & she naps in there now, but also it has a changing table on top too, so I don't have to be lifting her upstairs all day.
But the handiest thing we have now is her little chair. It's a fisher price infant to toddler rocker & if I'd know about it I would have bought this from birth instead of the bouncer. It's a little chair that you can sit them in, it rocks, plays music, reclines & you can even lie it back if they nod off. It's really cosy & padded so I don't feel bad if she naps in it cause it look really snug. Best of all it can be used until the child is about 18kg/toddler stage, so you'll get your money's worth from it.

Other things I found really useful:

Muslin cloths - so handy for feeds/spit up
Soother - not everyone uses them but lo loves her doodi & at bedtime its brilliant
Blanket big enough to swaddle - we didn't swaddle at night time but for daytime naps when she was little we found wrapping her up really helped. Once she could wiggle though she'd pull it over her head so we stopped but for newborns I think it does help. Unless you plan to swaddle at night (when you'll be sleeping too) and need a swaddle that fastens, I would just use a big blanket for occasional swaddling. It's only if you would be there to check lo that you might invest in a proper 'swaddle' blanket.

Room thermometer or a monitor with one built in - just handy to see at a glance how hot or cold it is!

I wrote this not long after my lo was born;
I just wanted to put up some recommendations and things I found useful with my lg just to help others out. Some of the things will prob only apply to my situation but thought it might help to share my info!!
1. A good changing bag with a seperate mat
For the first few weeks until we got the hang of things we used this to change our lo and brought it up and downstairs with us and changed her on the sofa, bed etc.
2. Up to one month baby gros
My lg was 7lb14 when she was born and she was really long so she wore none of her newborn baby grows. She did fit into the newborn vests though. Tesco and next were the best sizes. We had bought a mamas and papas all in one heavy suit for bringing her home and it was way too wide and short!!
3. Size 2 nappies
Unless you know you're going to have a small baby these fit the best and she's still in them at 8 weeks so buy loads. I found pampers to be better than huggies for keeping it all in!!
4. Lots of water wipes
These are a godsend. They are a lot wetter than other brands and are very good for those messy nappies plus have no added chemicals etc.
5. Bibs and tons of them
My lo has reflux and had it since she was a couple of days old we've had to use several bibs with one feed!!
6. Have bottles and formula just in case
I had great intentions of breast feeding but it just did not work out for us so it's good to have some formula and bottles at home just in case. I spent a fortune on buying 5oz anti colic bottles and she was out of them in a couple of weeks so my advice is not to bother with them and buy the 9oz bottles instead.
7. A good light travel system
We have the baby elegance beep twist and its brilliant. It's really light and folds up neatly. Plus it was inexpensive.
8. Soothers
Again I had great intentions of never using them!! The first night my lo was so distressed I used them and continue to use it. I tend to only use them when she's sleeping during the day. My lo prefers the Philips Avent ones.
9. Baby presents
We just bought the basics when I was pregnant such as cot etc leaving fun things for people to get us if they wanted. It backfired!! We ended up getting piles and piles of clothes and very little practical or fun things. We ended up buying toy things and mobile ourselves. We told family and close friends what to get us but outside of that we just got clothes. We have had to buy very little clothes for her.
10. Changing units
We have one upstairs and one with the bath included on the one downstairs. They're handy for storing the nappies various products towels etc.
11. Nappy bin
We got one from my sister they are handy to have and no smell. Nappy bags can be as handy bit they don't hold as much and u can empty the bin In one go.
12. Baby products
You need very little when starting out as they're skin is very sensitive. We just used Vaseline the odd time and bebapthan is very good for nappy rash. I stupidly used johnsons baby oil for baby massage a d just made her skin dry and flaky.
13. Play mat
My lo loves her play mat and also little snake thing that u put on pram that she loves.
14. Bouncer seat swing
Very handy to strap baby in when you want to get pieces done like eat!!

Almost 7 months on there's a few extra things I'd add. It's definitely handy to have a playpen or travel cot. I have one in the kitchen to put her in I rarely use the bouncer anymore so if u can get a lend of a bouncer do. I was sorry I didn't buy more vests and baby gros when I was pregnant for all ages and I didn't buy more wipes we go through a lot!!

Pretty much agree with all the girls have mentioned, esp the water wipes! SO handy for those first icky nappies I got a Fisher Price rainforest bouncer which vibrates and has lights on it. This saved my sanity many a time, it was €75 but was my best buy by far! And what honeybee mentioned about having a different place for daytime, we had moses basket for night time and carrycot for day time, if we pu him in the carrycot at night he was super unsettled. Good to have different places so they get used to day and night sleeping.
We FF so found that a microwave steriliser was a MUST! The few mins difference between an electric one vs a microwave one is huge when baba is screaming for a feed!
And depending on the time of year a fleecy snowsuit! Both my boys are Feb babies so this is a must for us.
Oh and I discovered baby wearing when DS was about 12 weeks old, wish I had done it from the start as it would have made life easier in the early days when he just wanted to be close to mama and mama had a million things to do

Hailey how long have u left? There's some posts here I've noted the name of to refer to when my baby comes (due in 5 weeks). I found them excellent. They are

Breastfeeding, a few tips if considering
Useful things/tips
Stuff I found useful to have

I hope u find them as good as I did!

Thanks girls ye are such a great help
B2m4 is the snow suit the same as a pram suit for outdoor wear?
Hi omgbfp I have 16 weeks left...... But I don't want to be running around last minute with Xmas and jan sales!! Thanks I'll have a look at those threads

Yeah thats the one hun. Ya should get some nice ones closer to the time! I got a gift of a white bear one from Dunnes, DS was swimming in it as it was 0-3 months so this time I got a brown newborn one online Actually bought it last January ages before getting my BFP but I was being optimistic Plus it was on sale, couldnt pass it up

I have a panda pram suit fr next. I actually might get a newborn one In penneys when the time comes! It died look big. Would baby be too warm in that with babygrow underneath whilst in the buggy?

I'm clueless as to how many layers while out n about!

Well in Feb when this LO arrives I'll be dressing him in long sleeve vest, babygro, cardigan and pram suit. So hard to judge if they get cold or too hot but after under dressing Will and it resulting in two chest infections before he was six weeks old I'll err on the side of over dressing this time.

Hey hailey,
Some of the things id recomend are:
Angel care monitor, it has the sensor pad and room thermometer
If ur having a winter baby then def a snow suit/pram suit also the babygros with the built in scratch mitts are great to help keep little hands warm,
A bouncer, the ones that last up to todler are best, one of the girls recomend the fisher price one, I'd agree, it's also great when u start spoon feeding if LO is too small for highchair.
A playmat is a must, I got the FP jungle one, my LO loves it. My little girl didn't play with much except her mat for the first few months
Sophie the giraffe teether is good when the first start putting things in their mouth.
Have plenty of bibs, muslin cloths, soothers, wipes, ul be surprised how much u go thro them!
Id also recomend a microwave steriliser over electric, especially if u have hard water
Can't think of anything else at the min ::)