Bare essentials for a newborn - help!

bigmomma051204

Hi all.... i have just started supporting an 18yr old girl who is pregnant and due in 3 weeks - her boyfriend has gone AWOL and she has moved to a new area with no support network at all. She has absolutely NOTHING apart from a cot (with no bedding) and a car seat. I need to make a BASICS list of essentials so that i can then begin trying to beg borrow or steal (only joking about the stealing lol!) these items from various sources OR buy things that need to be new.

I have made a list of things i think are the bare minimum for when baby arrives (and also for mum ie maternity pads etc) but would like suggestions of what would be on YOUR list in case i have missed anything vital etc!!

Thanks in advance :A

skintchick

I'd have said the bare essentials are:

7-14 babygros with legs
7-14 vests
nappies
baby wipes
change mat (but not table, the floor is fine)
knowledge of how to co-sleep safely so a cot is not needed
hat/s
socks
blanket
muslins
second-hand sling from eBay so no expensive pram required
some Sudocrem/Bepathen
good breastfeeding help and support

I honestly can't think of anything else. Baby needs to be warm, fed, clothed, held and LOVED. Anything else is additional IMO.

moos_mummy_2

For baby
- 7 baby grows
- 7 vests
- a few hats
- a coat or snowsuit
- 2 blankets or shawls (baby could be sick on one so a spare is great)
- somewhere to sleep
- bedding (if you are handing with a needle or sewing machine you could get a few double bed sheets and cut these to make sheets for over the cot mattress)
- if bottle feeding 2 bottles and steriliser
- nappies

For mum
- at least 2/3 packets of maternity pads
- a packet of breast pads (even if not breast feeding they are handy for leaks in first few days
- someone to talk to


most of these can be picked up cheaply in asda, tesco, home bargains, on ebay
I don't know the circumstances but if the woman is claiming benefits she might be able to get a budgeting loan or crisis loan to help her with the costs of these

bigmomma051204

Thanks ladies - pretty much what i had, but have already made a couple of tweaks on my list lol!


btw - she is in a pickle financially as her boyf has disappeared they had filled in all benefits stuff as a couple (he was working a bit) and now she has had to apply all over again, it is up in the air etc So, a CAF in is place and i can access funding that way
She wont be breastfeeding btw - yes, i know....:cool: but its her choice at the end of the day!

Wont be encouraging co-sleeping for many reasons but mainly as there have been drugs in the past and i dont think it would be appropriate in any way for her situation but thanks for the suggestion anyway


xx

Nicki

Our local NCT has a yahoo group (a bit like free cycle) and mums often offer up baby stuff free or for a tiny donation to NCT when their babies have outgrown them. If your local NCT has a similar group, it might be worth keeping an eye on for her? Even if the CAF funding covers all the basic essentials, she might get a bit of free "jam" that way. It must be tough to be 18, broke and alone with a new baby on the way.

Abbafan1972

If she is bottle feeding then don't forget the bottles and sterilising equipment. (I hope the breast feeding brigade don't come out of the woodwork), there's nothing wrong with bottle feeding imo and I don't want to get into a debate about it.

I wouldn't encourage co-sleeping under normal circumstances, so I think she's done the right thing having a cot.

A bouncy chair is a good idea, so you have somewhere to put baby in the daytime.

Good luck to your friend.

bigmomma051204

Nicki wrote: »

Our local NCT has a yahoo group (a bit like free cycle) and mums often offer up baby stuff free or for a tiny donation to NCT when their babies have outgrown them. If your local NCT has a similar group, it might be worth keeping an eye on for her? Even if the CAF funding covers all the basic essentials, she might get a bit of free "jam" that way. It must be tough to be 18, broke and alone with a new baby on the way.

Hiya - thanks, yes we go into the local NCT group regularly and pay for the NCT breastfeeding support lady to run it so have good links.... shall be asking her if there is anything i cant get with the funding

onlyroz

The only things that *must* be new are the mattress and car seat. Everything else can be second hand. Try the local charity shops for any furniture required, and the best place for baby clothes is probably ASDA.

As for sterilising equipment - you don't need fancy steam sterilisers - all you need is a large plastic bowl, a kettle and some sterilising tablets or fluid.

Nicki

onlyroz wrote: »

The only things that *must* be new are the mattress and car seat. Try the local charity shops for any furniture required, and the best place for baby clothes is probably ASDA.

And the bottles, or at least the teats for the bottles

Melissa22_Mum

As a skinny list for a new born I'd say

3 Baby grows (They don't stay in them long at all)
6 body suits- Asda do them 3 for about 3quid ish for 3.
Primark do 7 for 6quid ish.
Asda and Sainsburys do the packs for about 7.50.
I'd go to Primark for things like that, much cheaper.

Nappies, they are about 3quid odd for 28 or so so not expensive.

Some bottles if needed are cheap enough if you shop around, get a microwave steriliser for about 13pounds, don't pay more they are cheap enough and do the job.
Don't get a dummy (in my opinion).
I don't think you need muslins or a change mat, I bought one twice and used it very rarely. Just change baby on a sheet if you really need to. If your quick enough you don't need any 'protection':).

That's enough I reckon for the first 6 weeks, Bounty come around the hospitals and give you a bag of free stuff nappy, pack of wipes and a small pot of bepanthen.

Of course it all depends on the baby but all a newborn needs is a clean bum, milk and mum. You can top and tail them for about a month with cotton wool. If your on a real budget I'd just use a face cloth, clean of course.

Good luck and I reckon your a real saviour! Message me if you want any more ideas x

stiltwalker

Don't forget big knickers for mum - as a young lass she may not have anything granny like enough not to rest on any sore bits - particularly if she winds up with a c section (apparently 1 in 5 of us do) - I was for DD and had to send my mum out for emergency granny pants from Matalan as although I had big knickers none of them were big enough not to rest on the wound.

I have to say I think muslins are an essential as they can cut down on the amount of extra washing you have to do, they can protect baby's clothes and your own and I also used to put a folded muslin under the babies heads in their moses basket then if they spit up it was less to wash that the whole bedding. They are also much easier to rinse through in the sink and dry if she doesn't have access to a washer and they dry really quick as they are only thin material.

If she's not going to breast feed (and I didn't the second time for various reasons so no dig) then sounds barmy but a savoy cabbage and keep it in the fridge. She'll think you're mad but a cold leaf in each bra cup when the milk kicks in - there is something in the cabbage which really helps. It was way more painful when I didn't feed DS past the first 2/3 days than when I stopped feeding DD cold turkey at 2 months. Paracetamol helps but the cabbage was a lifesaver!