Newbie, and first time expectant mum. Help.

Jay-Jay_4

Don't forget that underwired bras aren't suitable for pregnancy and breastfeeding as the underwires cut into the breast tissue and may damage your 'milk making equipment'.

Asda do both maternity and nursing bras for £7, although not the best, certainly good on a budget. I've always found Mothercare bras to be good but are quite expensive. Also you need to get measured for a nursing bra at about 37/38 weeks. I borrowed a few feeding bras from my sister first time around but if I were starting afresh I would buy a couple of Asda ones until your milk spply evens out, then get a better one when you know what size you'll be. In the first few days/weeks you'll look like Jordan but after a couple of months you should settle to a more 'natural' size


Oh and Lansinoh make the BEST cream and breastpads. The cream is pure lanolin and sorts out cracked nips and the breastpads are GREAT. They have a special gel inside which stops them getting all soggy and wet.

jellyhead

i'm using the £7 asda maternity bras, they're okay :-) i've bought sleep bras from mothercare because i didn't see them anywhere else. it depends how sore you are really, i bought mine before i knew i was pregnant, i couldn't sleep because my breasts were agony, hurting in aqua-aerobics etc. and a girl i knew just happens to work in mothercare and told me she used them for sore boobs during PMS, i thought mine was PMS at the time. the sleep bras aren't very supportive, you couldn't wear one during the day, it just gives a bit of support at night, also has flip down cups so you can feed.

from buying second hand clothes on ebay i've found that next, dorothy perkins and asda sell maternity clothes - not in my town they don't but i suppose you could mail order.

apart from clothes and folic acid you might want to buy stretch mark cream. apparently it doesn't really prevent stretch marks but if your skin feels tight and itchy during stretching and you don't have a rich enough body lotion already the palmers cocoa butter one's pretty good. there will be a sample inside your 'emma's diary' pack. bounty packs have samples of a loreal cream, that's good too.

apart from those things i can't think of anything else you need unless you have cravings for certain foods :-)

Spendless

I bought all my maternity clothes from either Dorothy Perkins or Asda. Asda had a good range and didn't charge loads either.

Can you not get folic acid on perscription? I did in one of my pregnancies but can't remember which, definately not the last one though, so wondering if they still do it.

bylromarha

Loads of great advice here.

Ask around friends and family for stuff. We had loads of things that people wanted to get out of their attics but were too sentimental to take to the tip. If cots/moses baskets have been passed onto you, essential to get a new mattress for your baby. however, the down side of this is that the travel cot may not fit your car too well...we had to be very precise in placing the pram in the boot.

Maternity bras...don't go for "maternity bras", just non wired. I got mine from Asda for about £4...one of the previous posts mentioned just lifting your normal bra for feeding. have to say I don't think I could do this in public, though fine at home. If you do decide to go for nursing bras, my Jojomanbebe ones are fine...and cheapest I found...even cheaper if you use the code from your bounty pack for 10% discount.

Even if you do breastfeed, i found having bottles and a steriliser invaluable for hubby doing the 10pm feed...which I could sleep through. however, expressing breastmilk also means buying a breast pump. It was invaluable for us though as I got a bit more sleep in preparation for the night feeds.

I agree about the presents. We got lots of clothes from thoughtful people who bought for the future too (6-9months, 9-12 months) however the seasons don't always fit the clothing! Wish I thought of what another poster had mentioned about returning clothing for gift vouchers! Great tip!!!

Tesco do a good, trendy line of maternity clothes, relatively cheap too in comparison to Dotty Ps and Next.

Also don't forget to get your teeth checked regularly when your pregnant as its all freeeeeeeeeee (assuming you've filled in your prescription form from the NHS!)

Good luck with it all...its a huge rollercoaster of emotions...I gave birth to my first 6 months ago and I'm still on a high!

johannamse

I dont have any babies, but did read that carry slings are quite nice for Dads, gives baby and dad time together. They are also quite nice because they keep baby next to your heartbeat, which is meant to be very soothing.

Sarahsaver

You don't need most of the stuff the parenting magazines tell you.
You do not need a pram, one of the suitable from birth buggies is fine. You do not need a new mattress so i believe, or cot bumpers, quilts or pillows as they are dangerous. Ask people fot vouchers or money so you can shop in sales or put some savings by for later. You will be showered with gifts and it will tail off just when you could do with more help.
Terry nappies are cheapest.
Breastfeeding is free but don't beat yourself up if you cannot manage it.
Your baby will not notice how the room is decorated or whether everyhting coordinates. Good luck.
You are in the right place, theres a wealth of knowledge on this forum;)

mossstar

Congratulations!

I've just got time for a quick post now that both of mine are (finally!) asleep.

I just wanted to say that imho there are sooooo many things that you will be told you need that you don't. Especially at first - newborn babies need nappies (terries are best for baby and environment) milk (yours, hopefully) and cuddles and possibly somewhere to sleep. And that's it. I co-slept with both of mine until they were a year old and if you do breastfeed you'll find that this is by far the sleep-kindest option!

There is a certain section of the british press that likes to regularly produce articles about how sleeping with your baby in a bed is dangerous... (yes, i'm talking about the d***y m**l!) but what they fail to point out is that in the majority of the world that's exactly how babies sleep, and cosleeping is far more conducive (sp?) to a good breastfeeding relationship than being apart.

If i were you, i'd hold off on the rocking chair as well, until you know your baby. Rocking during feeding, especially when trying to get established, is liable to send baby to sleep instead of concentrating on filling their tummy (and make you more comfortable by emptying your breast!), so you'd probably want to stick to the bed/sofa for that.

Stair gates etc you won't need for at least the first six months, possibly longer.

So that leaves the buggy and the sling. If you do look for a sling, investigate & read all you can about the 'pouch' type slings such as at kangarookorner.com, they are based on slings used by women in baby-wearing cultures and are much kinder to babies and adult spines, and are also designed to aid breastfeeding. I'm still happily slinging (and breastfeeding) my 16 month old, and hope to be able to until he's 2 (as I did his brother).

Have you been here? https://www.mothering.com? the discussion boards are FAB, especially if you want to use cloth nappies etc. The women are lovely and will help you loads! Find the threads from the women that are due at the same time as you and join in, they're a real source of support and the time gets closer...

...right - i've got to run, but good luck! having babies is sooooooo wonderful and sooooooo hard!! it's beautiful.

mossstar

mothering.com june 2005 due date threads: http://www.mothering.com/discussions/forumdisplay.php?f=291

hope that works!

Savvy_Sue

Don't think anyone has yet suggested checking whether or not you are in a SureStart area, if you are there are some benefits for new mums and children under the age of 4. Your midwife should know, if not ask who the Health Visitor is because she should definitely know.

chardonnay_2

buy march issue of prima baby £2.20 and on pg 126 get a voucher for a free pack of 28 huggies newborn nappies or a pack of huggies pure wipes 144's or a pack of huggies + aloe baby wipes 126's

only redeemable at boots.

depending on the price of these items might be worth buying a few copies of this mag

plus you also get a free huggies changing mat with the mag.

also an offer for free baby lullaby cd with 75p p+p send away offer