My Tuppence Worth to those about to become new Parents

Hi There, impending parent, normal, civilised person, who has all the time in the world. That's how I view you and indeed how you may come to view other childless people around about two seconds after your new baby "pops out". Because after that momentous event, the part of your life you can devote to you and your needs and sleep and your interests and sleep and your desires shrinks to almost nothing. Your life is instantly transformed, mostly for the good, honestly. I have jotted down a few points which might be of interest to you (or may be annoyingly condescending). I hope it's the former.

Save yourself a few quid:

1. You don't need a baby bath. Number 2 child was bathed from day one in an ordinary bath, usually at the same time as Number 1 child. (No hard plastic special baby bath seat needed either.)
2. Ditto a Changing Table. A portable mat with changeable covers will do fine. Ikea do lovely ones and of course you can get them anywhere.
3. Moses Baskets are a waste of space.
4. Breast Feeding is free. You are saving money on formula, bottles, water and electricity for washing and sterilising bottles (etc... you get the picture) every time you breast feed.
5. Choosing a buggy is a head wreck and you will probably not be totally happy with whichever buggy you chose.  Before the baby is a year old you  will probably ditch the fancy buggy for a small, easily foldable compact buggy.  You could beg, borrow or buy a second hand pram for the short while your baby is small and save yourself a wad of cash. (That said you can pile a lot of crap on the fancy buggy and for this reason I am still using our initial bus of a buggy six years later.) One to be weighed up.
6. Time is money my friends so for this reason I recommend getting an Isofix attachment to slot your baby's car seat into your car. I borrowed one for baby 2 and it saved the endless foostering and sweating with seat belts and car seats that characterised my car journeys with baby no. 1.
7. Go to the library. Somewhere to go, out of the house, that's free. I was not expecting the library to be such a great place for babies. Seriously, there are books there to interest babies from a few months old. Go early and often. Older children can colour and meet other children. There are often events for children such as puppet shows or story telling. My children have always loved the library. Plus you might get a chance to take out a few books yourself, baby willing. (It's not a given).

Products I found useful

1. Despite having a bus of a buggy, I actually used a sling to carry my babies as much as I could. Different slings suit different people and I think its best to try before you buy as they are all quite expensive. You could contact a sling library to borrow a sling or slings to try. With baby no. 1, I used a few slings, none of which I found comfortable. I bought an Ergo sling for my second child and it was the best piece of kit, hands down, I owned for either baby. The Ergo distributes the weight of the baby across your hips, so you can walk for a good while without the baby feeling heavy. I loved carrying my babies like this and my babies loved it too. (You have to buy a special insert for the Ergo for babies under four months of age.)
2. Baby Seat and Baby Mat: These are comfortable places to plonk your baby (if they will let you) while you get on with things you need to do with both hands. 
3. Baby bag: Yes I would get one you can attach to your buggy. (Mine had "stroller clips". Cool or what.) You need them to cart around nappies, wipes, changes of clothes, bottles (if applicable), drinks, snacks and meals for older babies, your purse and phone etc... These tend to be waterproof(ish) and sturdy and roomy. Your hand bag will not carry all the stuff you need for your baby.  In fact, you can put away your handbag for the next year or so. (That said, some people manage by wearing coats with lots of pockets to carry baby stuff or with little back packs.)

Life Savers

1. For me, it was the friends I met and made by going to the breast feeding group at my local health clinic. This was a weekly meet up and we started to go for coffee afterwards and got to know each other really well. We were mostly all shell shocked, clueless first time Mums and bonded in helping each other through new parenthood. Through meeting them, I became confident enough to breast feed in public. I gained a whole group of friends for me and my daughter. I think I would have been isolated and lonely if I didn't meet these great women. To new Mums I say, Get Thee to some sort of Mother and Baby Group, look for any takers to go for coffee afterwards and take it from there.
2. Mother and Baby Cinema: Many cinemas hold morning screenings of the latest releases for parents of babies. The cinema is not as darkly lit and volume is not as loud as usual. If your baby cries or you have to get up and walk up and down the side of the cinema, nobody minds. The films were shown in the VIP screen at my local cinema so they had wide seats. It was a real treat and total escapism to be able to sit and watch the latest releases in the cinema with my baby and maybe catch a coffee afterwards with my friends. And my daughter absolutely loved going to the cinema.

Things that Worked for Me

1. Nursery Rhymes: I got myself a big book of nursery rhymes when my first baby was very young and read them to her. I found I loved reading them as much as she enjoyed listening to them. When my babies were upset or restless, I always sang or whispered nursery rhymes to them and found it often calmed them down. They are brilliant for language acquisition too, in my opinion. There are lots of great cds of nursery rhymes to borrow from the library. 
2. The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. My first daughter loved this funny and enjoyable book from a few months old.  I know it off by heart. Often if she was fretting at night and couldn't drop off, I would say the words to her from memory and I found it calmed her (and me) down. Thank you Julia Donaldson.
3. If you are the sort that enjoys a tidy and well scrubbed house, good luck to you. I find doing more than the bare minimum (i.e. laundry, shopping for food, cooking, cleaning up after meals, picking up toys and putting them away, the odd hoover, changing bed clothes and cleaning of the bathrooms, ) takes up so much time that if I did any more I wouldn't spend any time with my children, let alone the time I have to devote to ferrying them to and from school and swimming etc... Sometimes, I'm trying to keep on top of the housework and play with my children and I find I do neither properly. I try to remember that my most important job is the children but the state of the house can get me down. There are many solutions including being mega organised. This can be difficult if you're sleep deprived. I often get the children to clean  or work with me. I give them a few pegs and let them hang the laundry, a cloth to clean the side of the bath, a job to do to help make the dinner etc... They love it. You can clean beside them, chatting and encouraging. It's play to them and you get work done. If that's your bag it's win win. 

The most important thing of all to say to new parents and you no doubt are bored hearing it is to savour each moment as much as you can as hard and all as it can be, infancy passes by so quickly. Sob. You can only do your best. Enjoy.