things I needed
1. Terry squares, used as spew towels. She went through a really spewy stage where she'd do a huge spew after or during each feed.

2. Sleeping bag - she hate having a sheet/blanket over her so sleeping bag was great in winter. We also got one with holes in it for the pram straps and it always kept her nice and warm in the pram.

3. Baby carrier . We had a babybjorn, but I think any carrier would have been so handy for when she was grumpy and wanted to be held for long periods, or if I wanted to go for a quick walk without getting the pram out.

4. Rocker - good for when she was grumpy and wanted to be rocked and my arms were sore. She also slept in it during the day for a while. She would also get grumpy if I was hving a shower and she wasnt in the bathroom too, so I'd pop her in the rocker and sing to her while I was in the shower and she'd just smile and laugh at me.

5. Wraps. She liked being wrapped till about 5-6 months and we also used them as play-mats for when we were out at someones house.

6. Nappy sacks. Very handy for when we were out and Claire did a monster poo that was hard to contain in the nappy.


things I could have done without
1. baby bath. She got too wiggly for it really quickly, and there would be water absolutely everywhere, so we just ended up using the big bath. I still do use the baby bath but we only use it as a toy - I take it outside and put water in it and them put some floaty toys into the water.

2. Shoes. I cant see the point in wearing shoes if she isnt walking. Socks were fine to keeep her feet warm.

3. Suits that do up at the back, or the ones that only have two or three buttons at the top. I found these types of outfits sooo impossible to get on her. When she was newborn, the easiest outfits I had for her were wondersuits.