Having a Baby.... What do we NEED?
Discussion
Adam B said:
Hahaha, the pram equivalent of a Ruf Cayenne for the school run, my ex wanted one to look good, cost £600 or something stupid, repaid itself many times over by being able to negotiate the step into Starbucks with aplomb
Ours is at least actually used, and if anyone does the cross country or country lanes walking, they will regret not having foam filled tyres. Edited by Adam B on Thursday 25th August 07:52
My advice would be to buy as much as you possibly can second hand and accept hand me downs wherever offered.
We are in a position now where we have loads of everything you could require, I mean I think we are incredibly well equipped, 3 isofix bases, car seats, prams, cribs, the full works and I know for a fact we have spent less than £350 all in for absolutely everything we need. The most we spent on anything was £100 on a cot (we have 3 of them too!).
We have a wardrobe full of decent clothes that will take him up to about 9 months and loads of really good quality wooden toys and books for when he is older that were picked up for a next to nothing just because we were savvy.
We are in a position now where we have loads of everything you could require, I mean I think we are incredibly well equipped, 3 isofix bases, car seats, prams, cribs, the full works and I know for a fact we have spent less than £350 all in for absolutely everything we need. The most we spent on anything was £100 on a cot (we have 3 of them too!).
We have a wardrobe full of decent clothes that will take him up to about 9 months and loads of really good quality wooden toys and books for when he is older that were picked up for a next to nothing just because we were savvy.
glenrobbo said:
toastybase said:
Vicks vapour rub
Vicks Vapour Rub: QED.http://www.vicks.co.uk/en-gb/shop-products/vicks-d...
eliot said:
This.
I always thought that people with those little Mclaren buggies couldn't afford a big pram - but soon realised that the big travel system is a big waste of money and will sit in the shed or hallway most of the time!
I have to disagree with this. We have both now as we have a 4yo and a 5mo. The travel system is great for babies because you won't wake them transferring the baby seat from the car to the wheels. It's also robust and very stable so you can load it with paraphernalia and shopping bags etc. We used it until the eldest was 2 at least before getting a Chicco London. I always thought that people with those little Mclaren buggies couldn't afford a big pram - but soon realised that the big travel system is a big waste of money and will sit in the shed or hallway most of the time!
So, we've used ours extensively, and continue to do so with baby number 2 so we've got our money's worth.
2fast748 said:
DO NOT rub Vicks Vapour Rub on your young children. It actually contains stuff that can inhibit their airways rather than open them up.
http://www.vicks.co.uk/en-gb/shop-products/vicks-d...
Agreed. But from somewhere in the region of 18-24 months, if you rub it on their feet and put some socks on it works miracles. The other half will read lots of threads on mumsnet etc about this.http://www.vicks.co.uk/en-gb/shop-products/vicks-d...
Only piece of advice I can add is buy all the baby advice books you can and 3 Gina Fords....
And stick them in a pile and burn them - load of b
ks
Have a routine, one you want, stick to it, make baby fit in with it not the other war round, apply commons sense
The first 3 months are st, then it gets bearable, after 9-12 months it's bloody brilliant
And stick them in a pile and burn them - load of b
ksHave a routine, one you want, stick to it, make baby fit in with it not the other war round, apply commons sense
The first 3 months are s
t, then it gets bearable, after 9-12 months it's bloody brilliantEdited by Adam B on Thursday 25th August 11:40
bulldong said:
glenrobbo said:
bulldong said:
eybic said:
You can never have enough muslin cloths.
Quite right! Buy loads. 
Are they needed for polishing the V70 or what????Also, if you don't have enough, you end up using anything you can find which is usually a tea towel, and then they all end up smelling absolutely rank.
Muslin cloths cost pence, so it's just a good way of being sure you don't ruin too many things with baby sick.
Vaud said:
We manage fine with a 2 seater and a 4/5 seater.
One car for family trips.
The MX5 (very PH, I know) is for whenever it's just two of us. My (now) 3 year old has always loved the MX5, loves the roof off to nursery, even in very cold weather. Has Isofix and can disable the airbag. Plus kids love being next to their parents, not in the back.
Tonights fun moment was sat at the lights with her next to me and she tapped me on the arm, "I love you daddy. Can this go really fast please? Please?"
Fortunately at this age 45mph in 3rd is really fast, if you say "whoosh" at the same time.
Having a car with no passenger airbag has been a stipulation of mine on the last 2 sheds I've had, my 4 year old loves sitting in the front! She gets upset in mummys car as we cant turn the airbag off (and I'm not pulling the fuse).One car for family trips.
The MX5 (very PH, I know) is for whenever it's just two of us. My (now) 3 year old has always loved the MX5, loves the roof off to nursery, even in very cold weather. Has Isofix and can disable the airbag. Plus kids love being next to their parents, not in the back.
Tonights fun moment was sat at the lights with her next to me and she tapped me on the arm, "I love you daddy. Can this go really fast please? Please?"
Fortunately at this age 45mph in 3rd is really fast, if you say "whoosh" at the same time.
Only problem with my current Xantia is she can reach the window switch, and I can't disable it short of unplugging it, so I just knock the heating up a tad when she has it right down.
I should have got a convertible, she would love that!
She also likes 'speed', and loves it when we go to grannys (m40), although when she tell SWMBO 'Daddy went really fast' I have to very quickly translate that to 4k gear changes and 60 in 4th... A fair bit of 'woooaah' does help here when accelerating onto the slip road
eybic said:
It's only rear facing seats that can't go in the front due to an airbag, once they're forward facing I'd have thought they will be fine???
Just the issue of needing to keep them rear facing for absolutely as long as possible - I think the advice says up to 3/4 now although I haven't been closely following the new recommendations. Huge change in survival/survival without serious injury rates in crashes. FlyingMeeces said:
Just the issue of needing to keep them rear facing for absolutely as long as possible - I think the advice says up to 3/4 now although I haven't been closely following the new recommendations. Huge change in survival/survival without serious injury rates in crashes.
Sadly the advice is not practical for many cars and children. Vaud said:
FlyingMeeces said:
Just the issue of needing to keep them rear facing for absolutely as long as possible - I think the advice says up to 3/4 now although I haven't been closely following the new recommendations. Huge change in survival/survival without serious injury rates in crashes.
Sadly the advice is not practical for many cars and children. Ended up the only car seat that worked with me and my daughter (who had very complex needs) was a forward facing one, but we were then able to return to rear facing once she had a proper little wheelchair she could travel in instead.
Hated having her front facing with such poor head control, hated that nobody could identify an alternative. Hope that it'll improve gradually, the proliferation of isofix can't hurt there.
eybic said:
Another bit of advice is don't creep around trying to be quiet, baby needs to get used to noises and it will make your life a lot easier if this starts from day one.
Mrs eybic does vacuuming whilst our nearly 2yr old little'un is asleep and he doesn't stir.
True, although I've been told not to get the chainsaw out Mrs eybic does vacuuming whilst our nearly 2yr old little'un is asleep and he doesn't stir.
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