What do I need/don't need for new baby?

mellyp

Congratulations from me too!

You've had a lot of good advice given by previous posters, so i won't post what i was going to say as a lot has already been covered.

But my 3p worth, don't bother with fancy hooded towels with Winnie the Pooh etc on that cost the earth.

My two (aged 2 and 7 months) are doing just fine on Tesco Value plain white towels, think they were about 87p for a what we would call a hand/guest towel (i think???).

I find 2 of these towels per baby per bath plenty. And you hardly scrub a baby dry do you? so they last quite a while.

Hope this helps.

Good luck

Jeet_2

Congratulations!!! You don't need to buy everything before he/she arrives. Also you are bound to get loads of gifts from neighbours/friends I'd suggest basics...before arrival...

Nappies -- Own brand are perfectly ok, we use tescos
Wipes -- I never buy full price, there are always bogofs around
Nappy sacks - inexpensive from the pound shop
Vests --lots of these since they are always sick!!
Baby Grows
Blankets (holes and no holes)
Sheets
Mittens & hat - for when they are born, the only time you will need them. pound shop
Car Seat - if you have a car, get one that lifts out so the baby does not get disturbed when being transported.
Pram/pushchair - We got ours second hand from loot
Thermometer - But if you are ever concerned whip them down to a&e or the docs, it costs nothing!! We don't take chances even now with our second.
A coat/jacket for winter.
Bottles
Steraliser (steam/microwave) - daves on tablets.

Destiny33

Very many congrats, enjoy your pregnancy and your baby. They really grow up far too fast.

Found a link for a free "bumps and babies" mag for you to send for from the National Childbirth Trust. They also give lots of great advice and run sales where the members sell baby stuff that their little ones have grown out of cheap. Hope its of some use. Get the mag and make yourself a nice cup of tea and relax

http://www.nctpregnancyandbabycare.com/

Dont forget you can get bounty packs delivered to your door now. The mother to be one is perfect for you now

http://www.bounty.com/mothercare/

Jess_B

Thanks for all your suggestions they are really useful. It all feels a bit crazy at the moment! My Mum has said she will buy the cot and OH parents might offer to pay for something who knows.

SIL just had a baby so she will pass on her mosis basket and clothes if we have a boy but most other stuff she will still be using.

Thanks

donna-j_2

henhog wrote:

A really expensive car seat - they all have to pass rigourous tests, just make sure it fits your car.

Would disagree with this slightly. Yes, make sure that it fits your car - John Lewis, Mothercare, Halfors etc will be able to check this for you. However, the safety standards on these all vary, and some of the 'major' brands have recently been found to be less safe. If possible check out the latest 'Which' report for the best makes, and get an Isofix carseat if your car will take it.

bis_si

Things you need

Baby
Boobs or substitute feeding method (bottles, steriliser, formula, teats)
Clothing - babygrows and vests
Nappies - terries cheaper than disposable, own brand cheaper than pampers (but join pampers/huggies parents clubs for freebies and vouchers)
Means of transporting baby - car seat, pram/pushchair or sling. Our daughter came home from hospital in a sling, we didn't have pushchair or car at that time - it's also good for dad to take long healthy walks and settle crying child while mum has bath
Place for baby to sleep - we decided baby could sleep in our bed, we were then given one moses basket, one carrycot, one travel cot and one real cot (all over 30 years old out of various friends attics, but cleaned up well!) Baby spent most of the first 6 months in our bed, but it was nice to have the option!

I think that's it - you can pick up anything else when you realise you need it!

fsdss

bis_si wrote:

Things you need


Place for baby to sleep - we decided baby could sleep in our bed, we were then given one moses basket, one carrycot, one travel cot and one real cot (all over 30 years old out of various friends attics, but cleaned up well!) Baby spent most of the first 6 months in our bed, but it was nice to have the option!

please be careful about the above advice of putting baby in your bed, i know that the foundation for the study of infant deaths (cot death research) do advise people not to do this as it is a common contributing factor in causing cot death.

CDP

Hi fsdss

When FSIDS use this advise they are looking at research that includes data from ALL co sleeping. So that is when parents are sleeping with their babies on sofas, chairs, etc. This is the biggest risk when co sleeping and it often happens because parents are so scared to take their baby into bed with them because of the advice. There has been a large study done where breastfeeding mothers were video ed whilst co sleeping and this found that parents slept in ways that protected their baby from rolling on them. There is also other links to show that co sleeping helps with babies who " forget" to breath and that parents are alert more quickly and also the actual fact of co sleeping helps the baby to keep breathing due to the gases in its immediate vicinity.

Of course another big thing is that if you do co sleep you are much more likely to successfully breastfeed your baby. I'm sure that people would like to know that the study done by FSIDS was sponsored by an infant milk manufacturer.

CDP

culpepper

congratulations
When we had our first,we bought a pram that had a carry cot body but could convert to a pushchair later.We bought carry cot straps to go on back seat of car and baby rode in that till he needed the sitting up kind of seat for 6 months upwards.He slept in the carrycot mostly till he went in the cot.The cot was MIL's and about 30 years old so we checked the bars were less than 4" apart,(they were)so his head wouldnt get stuck between them.
We had a baby bath but you could easily use the kitchen sink with a towel on the bottom(so it doesnt get too hot) my next baby hated the baby bath and was bathed in with toddler.I didnt buy any bottles to start with as I was breast feeding,but we had to go out and buy some as soon as we got home as sometimes all baby needed was a drink of cool boiled water .It was useful to have some for expressed milk too as it meant OH could do a feed .

fsdss

hi cdp

thanks for your response to my warning about sharing a bed, i think you will find that bed sharing is a major concern re cot death, regardless of wether it is with a breastfeeding mother, i have had alot of involvement with my job on sudden infant death and in the past 2 years have visited 4 cot deaths (of various ages up to 17months) and of which 3 were bed sharing (overlaying and overheating). i still wouldn't trust bed sharing although i know that some breastfeeding groups support this, which is discouraged by the foundation for the study of infant deaths.