Baby Equipment/essentials

The 'next to me' which attached to their bed and meant dd could soothe dgs and feed him easily when he was tiny. The seat for the bath when he was a little bigger.

My son and both daughters found the soft wrap type baby slings very useful. Handy for soothing restless baby and also when out and about as folds up very small.

If the baby is bottle fed, then the Tommy Tippee Perfect Prep machine is a great invention.
My daughter even brought hers to Tenerife on holiday when my granddaughter was nine months old!

I have 7 grandchildren now and other than the car-seat that can be put on wheels instead of lifting a baby into a buggy, I haven't yet seen anything super-useful to be honest. Three different parenting styles, nothing much new.

Lots of the useful things I also had for my babies all those years ago, the cheap plug-in night light for the landing, the mouli-type grater for mashing up "real" food, the baby-sling (both soft and rucksack type on a frame for later), multi-use "muslin" type cloths, baby monitor so we could hear if they woke... I didn't use disposable nappies but neither have my daughters.

The "next to me" baby cot type thing was used by all of the grandchildren - but we had something similar so even that isn't exactly new.

The baby bath seat mentioned above was definitely liked by one of my daughters.

My DD has a car seat called a Doona it has wheels attached and with the press of a button once out of the car it is a stroller. She loves it, no need for wheels or stroller in the boot of the car.

They all seem to be adaptations of things we had anyway.

I do think the taller pushchairs are good for older babies and toddlers but I had a Silver Cross pram for mine, the top detached from the wheels and went into the car.

They slept next to me in a carry cot on a stand, which also had its own set of wheels.

Scentia

My DD has a car seat called a Doona it has wheels attached and with the press of a button once out of the car it is a stroller. She loves it, no need for wheels or stroller in the boot of the car.

That does sound like a good idea

Extra freezer for expressed milk very useful. Also electric pump - both DDs. Least useful Moses basket. All DGC preferred sleeping on someone - usually Mummy during the day or in a sling attached to Mummy. The one in the baby box was quite good.

Washing machine and spin dryer would have been a blessing with the terry nappies. I kept my very young daughters in babygros whereas my DDs dressed theirs in different clothes for every occasion.

Although I used disposable nappies for my third I do think of the environment nowadays but which is the better of the two evils, using water and energy or disposal and land fill.

I think Isofix car seat bases are amazing. When I think of securing the early 80s car seats, they took literally hours to attach.

Little containers for snacks with a soft lid with slits in in star formation so they can take things out but nothing falls out.

See picture.

I give a Ewan the sheep to all new mothers in my friends and family.

The soothing light is the same colour as when they are in the womb, and if it’s sensors pick up the baby is stirring it actives soothing sounds and it has a range of white noise sounds you can program.

Every mother I’ve given this to said it was a godsend and they then give it to their expectant friends.

www.amazon.co.uk/SweetDreamers-Ewan-Deluxe-Washable-Soother/dp/B07FFW4R9F/ref=asc_df_B07FFW4R9F/?hvlocphy=1006702&linkCode=df0&hvptwo&psc=1&hvnetw=g&hvadid=255515198583&hvpone&hvlocint&hvpos&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl&hvqmt&tag=gransnetforum-21&hvtargid=pla-531386792101&hvrand=15046524026101177616

A baby swing that plays lullabys. Not used for long but so soothing for babes with Collic.

Definitely a Ewan the Dream Sheep and Tommy Tippee milk machine (if you can't or don't want to Breast feed) all the new mums I know swear by them.

The soft lid snack pot is a good idea if seems to me.
And yes! Isofix. I think this is standard in modern cars.

Thank you a friend told me about the TT milk machine and said it was a godsend , as unlike my day you can't make up your batch of feed every morning. She said to keep an eye out on Amazon Prime day . The Ewan the sheep sounds good too, and the snack cups for the future. Thank you everyone.

I had an Integra sling which was, by far, the most useful item I had alongside the Stoke Tripp Trapp with newborn attachment. The chair itself is still in daily use ten years on.

MyHummy is a good though slightly more expensive alternative to Ewan the Sheep. DGS1 had Ewan - still has age 7. DGD and DGS2 have My Hummy. It can be on all night or activate when baby stirs. Ewan plays for about 20 minutes and has a gentle glow.

The problem with the Doona is that even though it converts into a ‘stroller’ once out of the car, it is still basically a car seat on wheels. And given that newborns shouldn’t be in the car seat for more than 2 hours at a time. and be taken out frequently if in for that long, it’s not good for more than popping to the shops really. The manufacturer even says it is not suitable for long walks. Also, the car seat only lasts approx 12 months.

Far more worth it to buy a travel system (the don’t have to be expensive) which you can pop the infant car seat onto for short trips to the supermarket and then use the carrycot/pushchair seat if out longer.
For me a travel system that folded in either parent or front facing mode was the handiest type! With my first I had a travel system that only folded in front facing mode, was very annoying having to change the seat back every time when they’re still young and in parent facing mode.

As for the best thing these days I would say extended rear facing car seats. When my DD1 outgrew their infant carriers at about 16 months I bought an extended rear facing car seat, which keeps them rear facing until about the age of 4. It’s 5x safer than facing them forwards and has lasted brilliantly, DD1 has just outgrown it at 4 and it is now about to be used by 14 month old DD2, so it’ll have about 6 years worth of use in total, definitely worth the money and the peace of mind of knowing it’s safer.

Also, not a new thing but I bought reusable wipes from a company called cheeky wipes, they deal with dirty nappies so much better than disposable wipes and have saved a fortune.