What baby care essentials to stock up?

Kira000 · 3 June 2011 at 6:35PM

Hi! Thought i woul ask for some thought from all those experienced moms and dads out there!

Our #1 child is due in December, and looking at finances, they will be quite tight afterwards due to a big pay drop for me whilst on SMP. We've decided to start a "baby box" little bits and pieces that we can pick up here and there at the supermarket with every weekly shop to try and spread the cost, and give ourselves a buffer, and hopefully grab things whilst they are on offer. Thinking about consumables like cotton wool, shampoo, nappy cream, calpol etc. We are planning to go MSE and use washable nappies, and i've picked up a starter pack of various tots bots to try.

Was hoping that you good folks could give me and DH a list of suggestions of the things we should get that will keep till december, that we will actually need, so as to avoid falling for the marketing gimics and buying lots of costly unneccesary things.

Thanks very much in advance for your thoughts!

Kira and little beanie!

SkintGypsy · 3 June 2011 at 7:06PM

Sadly, the things that cost the money can't really be stockpiled. Certain nappies don't suit certain babies, some wipes can irritate, some milks (if not breastfeeding) might not be suitable. It's a minefield. I would stockpile cash! And maybe plain white vests in all sizes. And socks. Where do they all go???

Oh, and congrats! If only you could stockpile sleep. Sigh.

vroombroom · 3 June 2011 at 7:25PM

vests and babygrows.
I have to agree with nappies - we bought loads of Huggies as they were on offer, but we found them to be rubbish - they leak, whereas pampers are fab x

Sammy_Girl · 3 June 2011 at 7:34PM

I agree!! We did the same - getting in loads of Pampers and Huggies - depending on what was on offer - and Huggies did not suit my DD. She leaked all over the place! Similarly with wipes, I've got loads of them! The only time I use them is if when I change DD when out and about. She has a sensitive tushi and so suffers nappy rash easily - so I mostly clean her with cotton wool and water.

With reuseables, maybe see if you can get one or two of a variety of brands so that you can see which suits your baby best, before shelling out lotson one brand.

My experience of clothes is for the first few weeks you don't want any fussy clothes. So choose sleepsuits with poppers up the front, not ones with poppers at the back or at the neck. I've learnt that newborns do not like being dressed, so the less time it takes the better!

Congratulations by the way! x

onlyroz · 3 June 2011 at 7:39PM

I agree with the others - don't stockpile anything because you don't know what you're going to need. Better just to start putting away some money each week.

SkintGypsy - I agree about the socks. There is some sort of sock monster in our house who takes every other sock, leaving me with an ever growing pile of unmatched socks each week.

mummystar · 3 June 2011 at 7:57PM

I agree with the others about nappies - our DD didn't take to the ones we bought her and I ended up swapping with a friend whose baby did get on with them.
Muslins are a good thing to stock up on - useful for burping, spills, sitting on, teddy's picnic blankets now DD is 3...
Vests and sleep suits are good to stock up on as you will go through loads during the first few weeks.
Saving some money now for spending closer to the time is a great idea as well - look out for a NCT sale closer to the due date to get other bits and pieces.
Congratulations! x

Kandboys · 3 June 2011 at 7:58PM

Agree with what the others are saying. Plus, make sure you join all the baby clubs out there like Tesco, Asda, Boots, Bounty etc - you will get lots of free samples and money off coupons. Congrats!

emsywoo123 · 3 June 2011 at 8:32PM

FireyFaerie wrote: »

nappies (I stocked up on bargains and then they all leaked.. so then I had tons I had to force myself to use because I had already bought them),

I did exactly that, DS was changed what seemed like every 5 mins as a newborn because I WOULD use those Huggies :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

I agree with others about the cash, but I remember wanting to get some bits because I was so excited, so I do understand

winter baby = hats, pram suit all in one thing was a fab buy, vests, sleep suits, socks,

Oh and a car seat, buggy and moses basket :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: some will say you don't need this that and the other, but it is entirely down to you and your budget.

Oh and Congrats :T

GPark · 3 June 2011 at 9:03PM

I wouldn't bother with nappy cream as those little pots of sudacream you get in the bounty packs will last you ages, you only need to use a tiny bit, don't worry about calpol either as you can't give it before 3 months unless they get a fever after the first set of injections - but the gp will usually give you parapaed on prescription anyway so there is no need to buy calpol.

A bottle of baby shampoo will last ages, especially since you don't really need to use it for the first few weeks, cotton wool is best to stock up on rather than wipes in case your baby has sensitive skin, plus you won't know until you try them which brand will suit you best - same applies with nappies, we stocked up on pampers but I hated the smell of them so now use huggies.

I'd recommend getting a jar of vasaline, you can use it on the babies bottom for the first few days and it will make the meconium easier to clean off as it can be quite thick and hard to clean.

You don't mention how you are planning on feeding lo, but if you are planning on breastfeeding I'd recommend getting a tube of lansinoh cream as the first couple of weeks can be tough on the nipples as you get used to it, it gets easier with time. If you are planning on bottle feeding then I wouldn't get too many bottles before the baby is born in case baby doesn't get on with the particular brand you buy.

I'd also recommend stocking up on muslims, they are fab, you can use them for all sorts of things, most useful is under the babies head in the cot/moses basket so if they are sick in the middle of the night you don't have to change sheets just the muslim.

If you want to stock up on baby things, I recommend going to asda the last day or the day after the baby event has ended, as they often sell things off half price just to get rid of the surplus stock - last year we got a bright starts baby gym for £7, we used it as lo's main xmas pressie (he was only 8 weeks old at the time - it was more so ds1 didn't ask why santa didn't buy him anything) and also loads of rattles/teethers for £1 each.

colli · 3 June 2011 at 9:11PM

I'm going to stockpile stuff for me! I know Clarins and the like is going to seem like a luxury too far when I'm on SMP. I may well end up with baby sick over my clothes and be too tired to think but if I can have a shower with a great body wash, slap on some lovely face cream and a slick of nice mascara then I won't be doing too badly (I hope, baby #1!) :rotfl:

Ginger_Poodle · 3 June 2011 at 9:20PM

My sister went a little crazy a while before my daughter was born, and bought a lifetime supply of a few things. Without question, the most useful things were sleep suits. My daughter lived in them for the first few months, and I exchanged spare ones for bigger sizes as she grew (seriously, there must have been 20 three packs of those things). Best part is that they were Tesco ones so decent but not expensive. Meant I could wash and tumble dry without worry, and bin if they shrunk or stained. Less useful was baby soap (nasty stuff) and the like.

Only practical advice I can offer is to plant a few money trees x

What baby care essentials to stock up?

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