Need your help! New baby buys, what have I missed?

immoral_angeluk

Right, I'm preparing a battle plan for all the bits I'm going to have to buy before our new baby arrives in January. Seeing as we already have a lot of the stuff from freecycle and what we had left from our first little girl, I'm struggling trying to think of everything we haven't got already!

Here's what we HAVE:

Pram, carseat, crib, cot, changing table and mat, baby bath and foam support, highchair, bouncey chair, monitor, sterliser, bottle warmer, travel bottle holder/warmer, 2 x 4oz bottles, 2 x 9oz bottles, feeding bowls and spoons, bibs, muslin squares, crib bedding, cot bedding, towels, newborn vests/sleepsuits, 0/3m vests/sleepsuits, 3-6m vests/sleepsuits, a couple of all in ones, socks and booties, toys, couple of dummies.

Here's what I know we NEED:

4 x 9 oz bottles, new teats for all the bottles, bottle brush, formula, new crib/cot mattresses, newborn nappies, some newborn toys inc. a playmat/activity gym and rattles, a bumbo, a few more bits of clothes just to fill up her wardrobe. Hospital bag stuff inc. maternity pads, disposable pants, breast pads, birthing ball, tens machine, thick socks, nightshirt, slippers, 'labour' nightshirt and camera.

Can anyone think of anything I've missed? Should be getting our surestart grant soon (Sent off the form yesterday) so want to get everything as cheaply as possible and then use what's left to pay off a bit of some debts! lol!

joannasmum

Hi

Your list looks pretty comprehensive. There is a couple of things I would say.

1. Buy cheap cotton pants from Asda or Tesco, much more comfortable than paper ones. Can bin them afterwards.

2. I personally wouldnt buy a Bumbo again my DD hated it and sat in it about twice and much prefered being proped up on pillows. They arent an essential in IMO.

3. I wouldnt buy anymore clothes until you know what other people have bought you as presents, but I would buy a Snowsuit for her its blooming freezing in January. Have a look in Matalan they had some lovely ones last year.

I would also keep some money back from your grant for a 2nd stage car seat.

HTH

alwaysonthego_2

Breast pads I used tesco valued sanitary towels especially at night, I found that they were more absorbant then breast pads and much cheaper

newborn nappies I would just buy the one pack or just get number 2's it depends how big your baby is otherwise your newborn nappies may not fit the baby

ladysparklexx

hi

my twins loved their bumbos they are really useful, but baby cant use these straight away so it might be worth hanging on for a while for that one,

also dont forget with reguards to the baby toys, you will probably get given loads of bits and pieces when you have your baby so it might be worth holding off on a few bits till after that then you could buy a few bits that werent given

also check with your midwife but i do think most hospitals have birthing balls, and instead of buying you could hire your tens machine fairly cheaply from boots, i cant remember how much it was i did look into it but my twins didnt get that far

definately look as said above into putting a bit of money aside for a second stage carseat as they cost loads and the time will soon fly past

also if you are entitled to a sure start grant then check if your entitled to milk tokens aswell

hth's

Becles

A stick blender to make your own purees for weaning, and some small tupperware type boxes to put meals in. Much cheaper than buying ready made baby food.

I just wore old knickers after giving birth, then threw them so I could treat myself to nice new ones! You're going to be very sore down there, so comfort is important, and cotton knickers are much more comfy than disposables.

moo_moo

hi ya

you are very organised
I had nothing until 2 weeks before! No.4 came a long time after no3 and we hadnt kept anything and i mean anything!

Do you need to get the baby toiletries baby bath/shampoo etc.
You could always get some thank you cards and a book of stampsin advance.

inkie

Stock the freezer up with healthy meals, which can be reheated to take the pressure of cooking etc?!

jellyhead

if you join the boots parent club you'll get a voucher for a free huggies changing bag (if you buy a pack of huggies but size 1 are only a couple of pounds and if you join huggiesclub they will send you some £1 off vouchers too). mine had a bottle of baby shampoo and other stuff inside. also a voucher for an avent kit which includes a dummy and a via pot (for food when weaning).

the tesco baby club will send vouchers too for extra points when you buy nappies and wipes (huggies and pampers). i just had a newborn mailing and the vouchers included points when buying huggies newborn, pampers newborn (but as has been said i would only buy one or 2 packs of size 1 newborn, vouchers can be used for size 2 too), huggies wipes and also 250 points when you spend £10 on baby essentials and if you use the coupons for nappies and wipes it should come to over £10 so you can use the extra coupon then.

i didn't get a bumbo, little roo is just too tall. you never know if you'll have a giant. you could keep the money aside for a few months then decide.

a few things i'm glad i spent the money on are:

protect-a-bub sunshade, it rests on the hood of the pram but comes much further over the front and sides to keep the sun out of baby's eyes in most circumstances and it's got an SPF of 50+ so is better than an ordinary sunshade. http://www.practicalkidsdirect.co.uk/index.php?p=ecom&pid=1

plastic bath seat - for up to 6 months, they recline instead of being flat so the tummy is in warm water but the head isn't. he outgrew it and i got a seat for when they are sitting properly but he hated it and we didn't use it, i wouldn't buy one again. http://www.babycare-direct.co.uk/baby_bathtime_-_2.html

premaxx baxx - it's a playmat with drawstrings to turn it into a bag so you just load it with toys then spread it out for a waterproof/fleece playmat for baby to play on when you're out. http://www.kooklamoo.co.uk/index.asp?function=DISPLAYPRODUCT&productid=31

Lillibet_2

I would recommend adding a baby sleeping bag (or 2) to the list! A million times more pratical than conventional bedding, especially for a January baby. I wouldn't be without mine!

I have never bothered with a Bumbo, I know too many babies who hate them, plus to be honest I didn't think of it until it was too late! A bouncy chair works fine until they can sit up unaided IMHO.

Don't bother with newborn toys, babies take no noitice of them at all. A mobile & a baby gym will be about as far as their interest goes on a good day!

You can hire a TENS machine, just google it, mine cost me £19.99 for 6 weeks hire last year but this was a good deal, most companies only offer them for 4 weeks & charged a bit more, it's worth hunting around.

Def second the recommendation to buy cheap knickers rather than disposable ones. I got mine from Wilkinsons & got large sizes with a bit of support in the tummy panel, they cost about £1.99 a pair but I was very grateful for the extra support in those first few post-birth days, jelly tummy which feels like it is going to fall on your feet any moment!

Don't buy any toilteries, they aren't recommended for use on babies under 6 months any more. Just warm water & soap when totally necessary. Get lots of cotton wool for easy cleaning, much ther best on a newborns skin. also get some kind of bath support so that you can bath babe in your bath, you can get shaped sponges (we had one of these & it was fab) or a towling reclining chair type support, both go in your bath & are very easy to use & far superior to any baby bath IMHO.

If you can afford it think about buying the 2nd stage car seat in the January sales, they can be gotten for half price which easily saves you £50 when the time comes!

Try freecycle for a birthing ball (or a spacehopper?!), the hospital should have them there for you & there is no gurantee you will use it at home.

HTH & good luck;)

searzie

Id breastfeed and save a load of money on bottles sterilisers milk ect

liney

I wouldn't bother with 'baby toiletries'. My son had eczema badly when he was a baby upto 18 months old. The HV and doctor both said small children do not need bathing in chemicals, and that plain warm water was best. Also sented baby lotion makes dry skin worse (says doc) so use aqueous cream instead. I would save your money )

I didn't notice sheets for the cot on your list. Dunelm sold them cheap when i bought some. I would also invest in a black out blind, unless you have very heavy curtains, to make nap time easier.