baby products

2nd hand is always good.depending on ur perssonal preference a bassinette maybe an unecessary expense as they outgrow them faily quickly(if ur lucky enuff to have a baby that WILL sleep in it).cots these dsays have 2 levels (bassinette & cot heights).ummm dont go too overboard in buying newborn size clothing as they grow fast and ur bound to get given outfits.start buyiing nappies when ur like 30 wks or so and perhaps get some next size up from newborn but n saying that,sum supermarkets will exchange for bigger size as long ass the pack is unopened.I nevber used a change table for my 2,the floor or bed serves just as good.Pram-wise,if u no sumone with a baby,try and get them to go with u and use baby to test drive prams u like the look of,and collapse and make up the pram a few times while in the shop too.

I have a star baby bassinette and it is great.It is very roomy and big,you can also rock your baby in it to calm them instead of picking them up.And it is suitable up until your baby is able to sit,kneel,roll or pull itself up.Xanda was a big baby when born but there is still plenty of room in there. I bought mine new for $200 but there are some on trademe that are a good price.I also found my buggy on trademe and it is a bertini and in excellent condition.Easy to use as well.

Some people have told us not to bother with a change table but as my back isn't always the best I'm going to get one with a bath combination (we have no bath in our house). But I'll be going the trade me way.

We also got one of those bassinets that hang in the cot...Tradme - paid around $40.00 for it...

I'd like to get a cot off there also but I'm a little nervous...but the sleigh cots are lots cheaper and I'm quite taken with them!

Stroller I want to buy new.

For capsule/carseat, we hired one from plunket, it cost $80 all up, $40 bond and $40 for 6month hirage fee. And then you can always hire the next size up from them as well.

or you can buy ex-hireage ones from baby factory - they have to be checked before they are sold so are sure to be safe.

the things i found as god-sends were a baby gym - one with a soft mat underneath - so that i could put bubba under there, (from newborn upwards) when i needed to do something... when both of mine were very young i'd often come back from doing whatever round the house to find them asleep on it. the other thing is a bouncer - again, saves arms, give you time to do stuff, and the best thing i found was that it can fit in the bathroom so you can have a shower - babies never sleep when you want them to, and using the bouncer was sometimes the only way to get a shower before mike came home for lunch... or even dinner if it was a bad day... plus it means you can keep watch on them, so don't have to rush your shower cos you're worried they've woken up or something.

never used a change table - but even if you do - most $2 shops have polar fleece change mats with plastic backings.. great to put on there or chuck in nappy bag so whereever you are you have one, you can chuck em in the wash, and also keeps everything clean.

adding on to what Becs said about buying anppies in advance - we started really early on, buying newborn size, then bought a few of the next size up too... other things to stock up on are breast pads and maternity pads.. so you aren't buying them all in a heap cos it can cost $$$

again it's all personal choice, but there's lots of skin products for babies out there.. and you need pretty much none of them.. lol, at least for the first little while. maybe a powder, a little bath wash stuff if you like, and something for on the bum.. mustella cream is great, or johnsons nappy rash powder.

buggies.. don't buy on impulse, do what lizzle said - try it in your car, make sure you like it fully, push it around, see if you can fold it up with one hand with bags and baby in the other, lol and also - fixed front wheel buggies suck!!

there ya go, my novel

OK, I don't know if it is at all possible, but buying a buggy that doesn't require clipping the seat up and down in order to fold up or down. My buggy requires two clips to be done up before I can put Hannah in it and the reverse when I want to fold it up. Trying to hold a baby and baby related paraphenalia while trying to clip up buggy is near impossible. As is trying to stop baby escaping if you leave them sitting in it. Pet peeve. Don't mind me.

PS. Claire - you'll be pleased to know that I know why your PM isn't working - your user name is 1 letter too long for the field so it won't pick up your username to allow messages. Our tech guy is onto it!

some of the change tables with baths i looked at had a hose/drain pipe to get rid of the water. Hubbies idea was to use a fish bin!!! I presume he means a new one!

our changing table had a both with the hose thingy, it was great. I filled it with a bucket from the laundry sink, and emptyed it with the hose thingy into the bucket. It was a real godsend, wheeled it infront of the fire, so he didn't get too cold. I stil use the chang table, but I have to belt him in and hold onto thim though as he is a real wriggler, and I am terrified he will come off!

so can you reccomond specific product brands, I am completly in the dark about this stuff