Essentialnew born baby list?

jak

Can any mums or dads let me know what they would consider a definitive newborn baby list so I can get some idea of the cost?
Clothes furniture etc?
I plan to breastfeed but will I need a sterilizer anyway? I want to conpile a list so when people ask what i want I can give them a copy and hopefully buy very little myself.
Jak

jak

Also did you ask for a selection of 0-6, 6-9 months cloths? Also wwhich item saved your life when your baby was born?

beefcarrot

I think a selection of clothes sizes is a good idea. Our eldest son was 10lb when born so didn't fit newborn clothes!
We had a sterilser, so that my wife could express and let me feed the babies occasionally.
A cot is an obvious - we thought about a changing table, but I'm glad we didn't bother, as we've managed without perfectly well through three children.
We liked having a toweling bath support from Mothercare. You can lie your newborn on it in the main bath, and don't have to worry about not having a hand free.

Counting_Pennies_2

I would definitely say yes to a steriliser, and personally both times I have found a breast pump has helped in the first few months with getting milk supply up and helping give me a break with one night feed, so I expressed and my husband bottle fed the milk. Avent each time for me.

Moses basket (ideal for the bed anywhere you go in the house)
bouncy chair (the type that reclines),
play gym,
Cot (suggest cot bed)
changing table (suggest one that is part of a chest of drawers so it has further uses for later)
Monitor

Suggest a three in one pram option, there are so many options these days, (from personal experience I will never again go for M&P, I love the three wheelers that have carrycot options (great for when you travel away to use as a bed in the first 6 months), with forward and rear facing pushchair attachments. Also I wish I had had a bugaboo, but only celebs had them when I had my first, look with envy each time I push my M&P past the lovely alternatives)

Clothes - I would say just stick to babygro and vests for the first three months, I have so many outfits I am given for newborn and 0 - 3 but they haven't been worn because it is so fiddly to get them in and out of other outfits, both my babies have protested at anything more fiddly. Recommend to family and friends that ideal birth gifts are clothes from age 6 months onwards, remembering to think about what seasons the baby will be in at the time.

We also purchased a baby bath and stand, much easier than bending over the bath.

Recommend you pop in to NCT nearly new sales, at the start of the sale to get good quality bargains

seraphin_2

Daniel is now 7mths old, and Ive just done a list of gets/dont waste your money things for my sil, whos due in december, so hope this helps:-

Defo recommendations:-

1.steraliser, microwave ones are really fast, we have an avent one.
2.breast pump (so oh, can feed baby as well).
3.a big basket with a lid on, we have this in the lounge wit nappies/wipes/etc in, keeps the place tidier and everythings to hand
4.a cot-bed so you get your use out of it until babies about 4ish.
5.moses basket, dosent need to be expensive,we borrowed one so does anyone you know have one?
6.baby bath,again borrowed.
7.two cheap changing mats, one for downstairs,one for upstairs,saves running up and down stairs. asda home sell them for £7 ish quid or boots.
8.cellular blankets/sheets etc,and quite a few,incase babies sick/werts etc, really useful things to have.
9.baby sleeping bag for when babies in their own cot etc, cant kick blankets off and keeps them nice and snug. Look around as they vary alot in price.


Also if you sign up to all the sites ie:sma/cow and gate/aptimal etc you will get loads of freebies/vouchers off etc. Sma sent a toweling bath robe thats better than any i bought.

We bought furniture from ikea, as nursery furnitures sooooo expensive, and it means it can be changed when hes older without the huge expense.

Also we painted his room and bought stickers of winnie the pooh off the internet,they peel off again, so again they can be changed without the expense of new wallpaper when he gets older.

We dident buy any clothes, as everyone bought them for him, id suggest asking some people to buy 0-3,3-6,6-9 etc, as we had loads of clothes that he never wore. Also dont go made buying outfirts, i did and he never wore half of them, he lived in baby grows, easier to change when they make a mess and i felt more comfortable for a new born ababy.

Ramble over, hope thats helped
sareh x

Dumyat

clothes wise I only bought a few babygrows, vests and bibs. we were given more clothes than we could use as presents. I bought one outfit for coming home from hospital.
cot, bouncy chair, changing mat, pram/pushchair, car seat.
moses baskets/baths etc are used for such a short time....borrow?

bloomin_freezing

I would say you definately need some kind of steriliser, and bottles! How else will your baby drink water? Babies get thirsty too you know!!

This is just my personal view, but is a changing table really that important? I know it saves getting up and down but there are so many stories of babies falling off changing tables. I think they're are an accident waiting to happen and we always coped with changing our dd on a mat on the floor.

Lots of people bought lovely little outfits when our dd was born, but to be honest she lived in baby grows for the first few months. I didn't like the idea of there being a waistband around her little tummy. So if people do want to buy nice outfits maybe suggest they pick in 3-6 or 6-9 months? again just my personal opinion.

i found the rocker chair a god send to put dd in at the bathroom door whilst i showered.

i know your baby won't be up and about straight away but we baby proofed our home before dd was born, socket covers, corner covers etc. best to be prepared than wait for an accident to happen.

good luck with everything! and make the most of lie in's whilst you can!! x

Becles

Yes - you need a steriliser. I would get a couple of bottles and an emergency tin of formula. Then if something happens and you can't breast feed - illness, accident etc., then there is stuff in so baby doesn't go hungry and someone has to fly off to the shops and panic buy!

When baby is ready for weaning, you might need to sterilise the bowls and spoons too depending on what age you start at.

All my babies have stayed in vests/babygro's at home until they were crawling. It's more comfy for them during the day, and easier for you. They're cheap to buy, and it doesn't matter at weaning age when they end up covered in food. Once they were crawling, they stayed in cheap jogging bottoms and t-shirts in the house, then they change into tidy clothes for going out in. Have a look in Primark, supermarkets etc., as clothes are really cheap in there.

I've found a baby bath that sits over the normal bath useful. You can kneel on the floor so it's at a nice height, and you can just fill it from the bath taps, then empty it into the bath afterwards. Much easier than these changing stands with a bath in. It uses less water than a regular bath and you don't have to lean in to hold the baby, which might be painful at first depending on how the birth goes.

I never had a changing table. It's safer changing babies on the floor, or you can use the tops of the drawers etc., as long as you keep a very close watch so they don't roll over and fall off!

I've used the bouncy chair a lot. When baby is awake, I move her around the house with me. Eg - if I'm cleaning the bathroom, she sits in the doorway and I sing and talk to her while I'm busy. I'm also feeding her in the chair at the moment as her back isn't strong enough for our highchair yet.

monkey22_2

Things we've had the most use out of are:

steriliser - microwave one - I use it to clean dummies and teething rings etc things that are always in their mouths if they're not on the floor!

travel system - i.e a buggy with a car seat that fits on top. It's suitable for newborns right the way up to toddlers (not the car seat bit though you'llneed a booster seat later on )

Highchair - we got one that turns into a table and chair for toddlers.

Cot bed - DS1 slept in his from 3 months until 3 years.He only had move into a proper bed because we needed the cotbed for DS2.

All this is stuff that grows with the baby, avoid buying stuff that will only be of use for a couple of months i.e changing table, moses basket.
If you really want these there are are always loads on ebay or in the small ads that have hardly been used.

Remember that your baby will only be tiny for a very short time - they're crawling around before you know it!:rolleyes: (my 9 month old is quite capable climbing the stairs if he gets a chance!)

Mrs._Irwin

bloomin_freezing wrote: »

I would say you definately need some kind of steriliser, and bottles! How else will your baby drink water? Babies get thirsty too you know!!

Current advice is that breastfed babies don't need to drink anything else, as long as they are being fed on demand. Also I heard that for the first few weeks, it's confusing to feed a breastfed baby with a bottle, even with expressed milk, as the sucking mechanism is so different.

I will 'fess up, I'm due baby number one in April, but I've been reading everything, and listening to all advice and nodding my head, even when I know it's out-of-date ie. as old as I am!

I'm not going to have any bottles or emergency powder in, because it's tempting fate, as far as I'm concerned. I grew up without a car, and know fully well that I can manage without, but now hubby's car is there, it's too tempting to pop to KFC etc. Same reason I've cancelled my credit cards - can't be trusted! As someone else pointed out in another thread, if you've a 24 hour Tesco/Asda within driving distance, baby won't be hungry for too long, and then if you don't need it, you won't have wasted any money.

Mrs. Irwin

elaine373

Muslin cloths are very handy whether you breast or bottle feed.