Buying for our baby (due oct)

Horseunderwater

Why are you buying a cot now? Baby is not due until October. At least get past 6 months first. You have the moses basket. We scoured car boot sales for all baby grows and stuff like that. I just bought everything white or lemon in size 0-3 months. had 6 muslins squares to use to rest baby on when winding or feeding. Had 2 cellular light blankets and cot/pram sheets not fitted as they ironed easier being flat. We used her carry cot for 6 months approx placed on floor of our bedroom, then she went in to her own room and we got her into a routine inside of 5 weeks. She slept through night once she began getting larger bottle feeds as I could not in end feed her myself. Apply for your pampers freebies and the one boots do. Tesco's did do one as well, but not sure if they still do. And I think the antinatal clinics also do some stuff. Car seat - needed to get baby home from hospital if not home birthed. In my day 16 years ago, it was a 0-9 months then 9-2 years one. After that it was a 2 part booster type. Not sure what they do now though. Also if friends wish to buy outfits etc, ask for stuff for summer following year in 6-8 months or better still an electronic card voucher perhaps. That way you can buy correct size/season as needed. Remember baby clothes do wash and you do not need too many. Less is more. Nappies - are you going to go for the reusable? Or disposables. And finally, use common sense once baby arrives and try not to panic over everything.

choccielover

What an exciting time.

I would recommend:
Lansinoh cream (boots) for helping your nipples during the early breastfeeding days
maternity pads (tesco are cheap) for post birth bleeding
Button down or easy access nightwear for breastfeeding at night
monitor - we have the angelcare and it helps me sleep a lot better at night
bottles and steriliser (wait for a baby event at the supermarkets when these will be on sale) the microwave steriliser is great, no need for the pricy electric ones
Clothing wise, i would just buy a few basics and wait to see what size your baby is. i bought loads of newborn and 0-3 which my daughter was far too small for so we had to buy lots of early/first baby size stuff. Also, other than special events, mine lives in sleepsuits with a vest under if its cold.
breastpump- i would wait till you are sure you can BF (its not for everyone) and they are cheaper during a baby event at the supermarket
toys - mothercare have a sale on toys with some suitable from 0 months. mainly you need touchy feely or rattling toys initially or the black and white books which babies adore
playmat - my little one adores hers
towels - i have 4 which i find enough as i wash them after each use
bath - i bought a top and tail bowl but she goes in the big bath either with us or being held by us. you can buy recliner seats for in the bath but if you do want a specific baby bath, M&P do one with 2 positions for birth and when they are more able to suport themselves
muslins - buy lots they have a million uses
big muslins (aden + anais) i use these to swaddle at night and also as a blanket, sunshade and to cover myself whilst breastfeeding in public
Wipes - you can stock up on these. huggies pure or pampers sensitive can be used from birth
Sleeping bags- my little one isnt big enough for hers yet but they are good and we will be using them ( as long as she doesnt wake herself with her crazy arms - hence the current need to swaddle)

Babies dont really need all that much and its easy to get carried away, but its all great fun and if money isnt an issue then go for it and have fun.
best wishes for a great pregnancy xx

Choccie

SmlSave

Buying for baby - buy as little as possible! Ask friends and family if they have anything you could have/borrow. My lo is 9 months now and we spent £500 getting all his stuff as we were given so much. Even my work collegues and my mums friends/neighbours gave/made stuff for lo.
The best money we spent was on a nct antenatal course!

Its recomended to have thin blankets to cover baby in bed, then you add or take away depending on how warm they are.

We used our moses basket for six months, co-slept during the difficult nights and now he is in his cotbed. Both moses basket and cotbed were donated :-) at 9 months i still havent bought an outfit for him to wear!

Teenie_D

moneypuddle wrote: »

I know a lot of people say you dont need a moses basket but we have had to buy one because we want the baby in with us, but their is no room in our bedroom for a cot even if we rearranged furniture. Of those of you who did have a moses basket, do you think I'm likely to need a stand?

Personally I wouldn't bother with a moses basket purely due to the fact that both my babies were big and they didn't last in them for very long (I borrowed one for both, luckily I didn't waste money buying one). I bought a crib for DS and it was great, it lasted him much longer than a moses basket did and I managed to sell it on afterwards

mildred1978 wrote: »

This has been done to death on here. Seriously, there are huge threads answering the same questions. Try the search function ^^^^^^^^^^^^.

So why are you bothering to reply if your are not even going to help out?? And as for the breastfeeding comment......:mad:, that is all!!!!

OP of course you're excited and desperate to start buying but like some of the others have said try and not buy too much just now. With DD we did start buying early on but that was purely because we didn't have lot's to spend so wanted to buy bits and pieces over the months especially when they were on offer, however in hindsight I wish I had spoken to my family first because further down the line they were then asking what they could buy for us and were suggesting things we had already bought (could have saved ourselves some money ).

You can never have enough wipes and nappies (unless your are using cloth ones......I'm not going to make any presumptions and tell you what you should be using ) however the argument there is that not everyone likes the same nappies (I can't stand huggies, but pampers and the asda angel ones are fab imo).
Muslins are great for everything and can be used over the years. And there is no harm in looking at car seats, cots, prams etc as you are going to need these. I just wouldn't rush out and buy things that you probably wont need/use, it is very tempting to go out and buy lots of 'things' when you are pregnant but I am sure many MUms on here will agree that a lot of things you can get just end up cluttering your room or put away and never used.

All the best with your pregnancy and have lots of fun looking!

McKneff

mildred1978 wrote: »

That is extremely dangerous.



I simply haven't experienced that. My son sleeps extremely well in his own room or in with us. He transitioned to sleeping in his own room in 2 nights. His routine (long debated on this forum because we take a continental approach rather than the 7 till 7 routine everyone thinks is required) is perfect. He has had no separation anxiety, is extremely confident and sociable. I loved sleeping with him in the bed. Our sex life is fine.


Well, myself and thousands of others who practice attachment parenting would disagree. As would rather a lot of scientific research.



Congratulations. With respect, that doesn't make you an expert.

I didnt at any time claim to be an expert, I said on more than one occasion that i was working on personal experience. Full stop,

cutestkids

mildred1978 if it bothers you that this topic has been done to death why not just keep off the thread and stop making comments that have nothing to do with what the OP actually asked.

OP with regards to your actual question, dont buy too much you will receive lots of gifts like clothes etc in the first few weeks.

Things that I would make sure I had would be.
Wipes
Nappies
Nappy cream
Bottles and teats (even if you plan to breastfeed kit does not always work out that way)
A tin of formula
Vests
Sleepsuits
socks
a sleeping bag
a room thermometer
car seat
sling

Most things are not really needed more that we want them and there is very little that can't wait a day or two till you get to a shop

Good luck with everything and enjoy the whole experience

dizziblonde

Loads of checklists on the internet - just keep a sceptical mind about the fact many are published by the baby industry, remember babies can generate vast quantities of puke and poo when considering numbers of baby gros and vests and the like, and don't worry too much about it all. I think mentally we planned for about 6-10 vests and baby-gros in the first couple of sizes, on the basis that I'm a disorganised woman who isn't going to be organised enough to stick a wash on every morning - but we know there's a 24 hour Tesco 2 mins away that we can buy a couple of extra packs if needs be once we know the exact size baby we're dealing with (and I've measured waaaay ahead of dates, waaaay behind dates, bang-on dates all within the space of weeks of each other so have no clue what's coming out!)

With bottles/the boob-!!!!! etc... we bought an all-in-one starter set - good number of bottles and different flow teats, steriliser, and stuff for pumping if we do go down the breastfeeding route - rather than viewing it as some kind of "oh we've bought bottles - the decision's set in stone" absolute - it's there for if/when we do need it - we'll need to sterlise things anyway as time goes on. If you get a microwave one - make sure it fits in your microwave! Yep, been caught out on this one - our microwave died last weekend - and they've got a lot smaller since we last bought one - meaning the steriliser is a distinctly tight squeeze in the new one!

With prams/pushchairs and the like - worth going somewhere and test-pushing them, checking how easily they fold up/down (we vetoed several based on the fact that us, with multiple degrees between us, couldn't easily figure them out), if they're going to fit in your car boot and things like how heavy they are to push, if you need to do things like remove seats to fold them down and how easy that is to do. With car seats - if you've got a new shiny car with isofix points it's easier - but it's making sure that you've got long enough seatbelts to go around the first-stage seats (there are a few cars that don't easily) and the one that caught us out a few weeks ago, was realising that the baby seat doesn't comfortably go on the back seats with the front seats fully-back (and I have a very tall husband who needs his seat right back)... things like that to check out.

Wipes and stuff - we've stockpiled when on offers (although some people swear off the Huggies ones as they tend to rip and leave you with goldfinger incidents), we haven't stockpiled nappies as much as different brands tend to suit different shaped babies.

Basically I started with the "OMG WHAT THE HELL DO I NEED TO BUY" moment - started looking at different lists online, noting down things that cropped up on lots of different lists and making one of my own in a notebook that I clipped out different things that might be of use - pushchair reviews, guidelines about what tog sleep-bag to use for what room temperature and the like - and I've just gradually crossed things off as time's gone on that way.

Oh and just bear in mind different clothes from different shops come up massively differently sized - I've found normal range M+S babygros come up huuuuuge, but some autograph-range vests I bought are teeny!

And ignore the bunfight and snidey jibes on here - for everyone who queries the use of something (and yep, I've got a few formula milk ready made cartons on standby in case of a 4am uncooperative boob crisis) - there'll be someone else who swears their baby wipe warmer or nappy wrapper are the best things ever - and they'll all be prepared to fight to the death over it.

msb5262

Hi OP,
I'm of the "don't buy loads" camp, for a few reasons...
a) you've got lots of time to think and plan and choose things - and get them at the best price
b) you'll probably change your mind about a few things as time passes
c) you'll probably have a boring wait near the end of your pregnancy when you are on maternity leave and aren't up to doing much, so it's quite good fun to buy bits and pieces then
d) you'll have to store everything and it may get creased/dusty/faded in the process, as well as getting in your way and taking up space
e) you need WAY less than the baby industry wants you to think, particularly less baby-specific things. When I had my second baby, a friend who was a very experienced nurse and health visitor had her first and the only thing she bought new was a 49p washing up bowl from the pound shop! Everything else was either a present, bought second hand/passed on from friends and family or improvised e.g. a plastic pudding basin instead of a posh top-and-tail bowl.

If you are gagging to buy things, I'd be going for some good quality maternity wear - I bought a beautiful pair of linen trousers and a similar pair of shorts - to make sure you are comfortable and smart over the next few months, and perhaps invest in some good firm pillows and a comfortable chair suitable for feeding and snuggling your baby.
Also you could stockpile some of the things you like which aren't cheap e.g. perfume, face products etc. and maybe buy some Egyptian cotton towels which will do the whole family. Does your washing machine need updating? Do you have enough drying space for a baby's laundry? Having some extra towels and bedlinen can make life easier for new parents in times of laundry crisis!
You might like to knit or crochet or sew something special for your baby - time spent doing this will be well spent, and you'll be able to pass it down the family in the future.
For the baby, try to hold back on buying lots of skin products; my youngest has eczema and the dermatology consultant told me he advises all parents to use as few products on their babies as possible...even though they are "baby" products, most of them are unnecessary and can upset the delicate balance of a baby's perfect skin.

Good luck and enjoy your pregnancy. Hope it all goes smoothly.

MsB

Gillyx

Hello. I had my first baby 10 weeks ago and agree that what one person thinks is a god send an other will hate. I will try and say what I liked and didnt.

Baby bath - i love mine and use it almost every evening, My dad bought a washing up bowl for my LO to use and at 6 weeks he was too large for it (a boy on 25th centile so hardly large)

Playmat - my little one loves his, gives me 15 minutes to get breakfast made and tidy myself up.

travel system - i paid a lot of cash for mine but it was the one i had my heart set on, it manouvers great, i dont feel akward pushing it, its fairly lightweight and im pretty certain il use it for future babies (heres hoping)

baby carrier - i didnt buy this til my wee one was 3 weeks but it was a god send for us, gave me my hands back to do things during the day and easy if nipping out to tesco etc. I loved having baby so close to me too.

Things iv not used or wouldnt buy before hand

moses basket - luckily we bought a crib which i can see lasting around 6 months, im borrowing a basket while at my parents and my LO is almost outgrown it and as I said he's little.

A whole set of branded bottles - iv went through 3 whole sets of bottles since my boy was born. Tommee tippeei bought before hand they didnt agree with him, bought dr brown on advice of health visitor and although ok, they leaked alot and LO wouldnt feed great from them. Now onto MAM which we love. Id advise getting a few bottles from a few different brands, and seeing which suits before splashing put. Again you often get free bottles from various brands with coupons or from their websites. I loved my electric steriliser, hated my microwavable one but people are all different.

Bouncer/swing - my baby hates both of these, hes an active little thing and doesnt seem to like being clipped in. Id wait til baby arrives take him/her to the shop and try them out.

Muslins - bought about a million and my baby just doesnt spit up loads.


Things you can buy.

Blankets - can never have too many. Thin ones, fleecy ones, small, large they all get used.

Bibs - we use loads of these.

Bits and bobs youl need either for hospital bag, some nice pjs/lounge clothes for after babies born.

mr_knight

My best buys have to be my reusable wipes. Cotton wool and water is a faf and my baby is very sentistive to baby wipes (gets terrible nappy rash). These have saved me time and money and I love them : link

I am a reusable nappy user and love them too but you can use the wipes without the nappies.

I also agree with the sleeping bag suggestions and these give you a free room thermometer with every one bought (in case you are interested): Link

This stuff also helped me no end as I didn't heal too well. Wish I had had it from straight after the birth as I'm sure it would have helped me get back to narmal sooner than I did (I healed withing a week or so of using this): link

Big knickers, big maternity pads and lansinoh (not Johnsons) breast pads and my other top 3.

Good luck.