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

eddee_2

Just one note of caution; I believe that a rearward facing Group 0 car seat will be essential if you plan to take your baby home from the hospital in a car or taxi. I'm no expert but I've been told that they actually won't let you take it in a vehicle unless you have one of these. (Of course you could always walk home in which case you'll need a suitable sling).

I certainly wouldn't stint on a car seat; get the best you can (not necessarily the most expensive) and bear in mind that you'll need another, forward facing one once the baby is a bit bigger.

If you're buying a new pushchair do consider getting one which can be folded using just one hand and which will be free standing when folded. The last thing you'll want to do when carrying baby, shopping etc is a pushchair which is fiddly and difficult to fold.

Also, if you are seriously planning to have more children then buying re-usuable nappies might also be a wise investment. Yes they're initially expensive and there'll be some washing involved (although modern re-usables are brilliantly designed with flushable liners and separate outer and inner sections) but they can be reused over and over again and environmentally they are far better. I believe I read somewhere that something like 9 million disposable nappies are thrown away EVERY DAY in this country. That's one smelly pile of landfill!!

At the end of the day the best advice, moneysavingswise, is only to buy what you need when you need it.

newnhak

Well I have had two babies and got away with the bare minimum. This is what we had to start off with: -

crib (second-hand and used less than half a dozen times. Babies slept in with us - much easier for night-time feeds)

Baby carrier - I bought a second-hand wilkinet one which you tie around you. When they were old enough to sit-up we used back carriers - karrimor make are very good)

reusable nappies - ukparents do a very good second hand site for reusable nappies. This is not as gross as it sounds - most people look after their nappies very well and the second-hand nappies will usually arrive in very good condition. Also reusable can be a big initial outlay so it pys sometimes to buy second-hand so you can try and see how you get on. They are difficult though - my hesband looked after my kids and had no probs with the nappies at all.

A few babygros, vests and snowsuit ( people buy you lots of clothes so it isn't worth buying all those outfits however cute they look and to be honest until they are a few months old it is easier to put them in babygros than anything else - secon-hand is very good to buy for newborns as the you can usually pick up stuff in very good condition)

Second-hand pushchair - hardly used for first as we got on with the carrier so well. Second baby didn't go in pushchair until she was about six months old.

Car seat - only thing bought new.

My tip is to talk to family about the things they are going to buy as presents. You normally get loads of clothes which is nice but I struggled to get wear out of all of it - I bet they would rather buy you something you will need so talk to them and arrange for parents etc to buy or help with the cost of big items such as a car seat.

You really don't need half the stuff you think you need.

Hope that helps

Karen

Choccyholic

Definately go with cotton nappies if you have a washing machine of your own. Start your research at www.thenappylady.co.uk and www.teamlollipop.co.uk . There is loads on the web now, it is a bit of a minefield so get some advice. Ask your local council's waste minimisation dept if they do grants to help with the cost (often £25-£40). They should know if you have a local Real Nappy Network.

Our travel system was a mid to upper price range model (Jane Carrera and Matrix car seat). Our son is now 27 months and the pushchair is still going strong and will last through baby no.2. It's an umbrella-fold so it goes down quite small. Didn't like the look of the basic cheap pushchairs as they didn't look comfortable and like they would break. "Buy cheap, buy twice" (but some people see this as a good way to have a change!

Nightlight

I've just had my second baby, (5 weeks old now) have'nt brought any new clothes etc for him. Just wished I'd invested in a large box of matchsticks............to keep my eyelids open!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No sleep or what!!!!!!!!

Jane.tweedynn

Congratulations.

I have a son 13 weeks old. For the first 6 weeks old it was very hard work, but now its just brilliant. You and your baby will learn together, just use your common sense, smile nicely when people offer you advice, be strong and take responsibility for your child and you will be rewarded.

Lots of nice attention comes with babies, enjoy it.

As for purchases now would be a good time to buy as the sales are on.

You will get bought a lot of toys and clothes so you can get away with purchasing the minimum of these. Baby clothes are brilliant, cheap and incredibly cheap when there is a sale on. We like Asda, Tesco's and Next, and pay between £1 - £5. Its a great feeling picking up a pair of jeans for £2.

You can get 10% off at Mothercare on your first order if >£100 if you open an account. Obviously when the statement arrives pay off and cancel the card.

Our average spend is about £20 on food and £32 on cleaning/consumables (nappies, wipes etc) a month (although we do like to keep a large stock). We like and use Tesco nappies, very good value.

Also you get loads of freebies by just signing up on websites (Tesco, Huggies, Boots, Bounty etc)

Try these websites

http://www.babyworld.co.uk/ (favourite)
http://www.mothersbliss.com/
http://www.bounty.com/
http://www.kiddicare.com/
https://www.huggiesclub.com/secure/logon_uk.asp?countryId=uk&fromEmail=
http://www.babiesrus.co.uk/
http://www.mammasandpappas.com/
http://www.mothercare.com/page/home
http://www.bloomingmarvellous.co.uk/
http://www.bumpto3.com/
http://www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk/
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/
http://www.avent.com/uk/en/
http://www.motherandbabymagazine.com/
http://www.nctpregnancyandbabycare.com/home.asp
http://www.thatcuteage.com/

RachieJ

Our little chappie is 21 months now and we used pretty much everything we bought - having said that we only bought a couple of things initially.

Cot mattress (cot from in-laws)
Car seat/travel system (car-seat now getting ready for baby 2 - planned for next year)
Steam steriliser
Baby bath - £4 from Ikea which was about half the price of others we saw
Moses basket - useful for a bit but my son was very big at birth so wasn't in this for long!
Baby bouncy chair - ditto to the above
Nappy bin - fine whilst on milk as the nappies don't smell much. Not a good idea to continue using after weaning has started though!

A point to note about clothes too. I was huge in the later stages of pregnancy and my midwife had estimated that my son was going to be a big baby so we didn't bother buying any 'newborn' size clothes rather we got the 0-3 months size instead. Just as well as he was 9lb when born so wouldn't fit the newborn stuff my MIL had bought him... Don't go mad on clothes as they grow so fast - my son was in size 9-12 month clothes at 4 months of age so most of his clothes in the smaller sizes were only worn for a few weeks.

Congratulations on your pregnancy and I hope it all goes well for you - make the most of sleep, time for yourself and being able to go out of the house carrying only a small handbag now!

Lizbetty

Sorry this is a quicky, but I have an almost 7wk old who's asleep, due to wake/scream any moment!! Congratulations by the way! Have you registered on the Bounty website? It's https://www.bounty.com - you get loads of freebies at each stage of pregnancy, plus there's a freebie thread there, the people on it are lovely and you can get loads of invaluable advice of everything - not just baby stuff either! Also, Boots have a mega club for new mums - sign up as soon as you can as you get stuff at each stage, the first stage pack's the best as I remember from what they said on Bounty! You can do it on https://www.boots.com.

We were talking about the amount of crap we have that we bought but don't need just last night - reusable nappies can save you a fortune (min. £500-£1000 birth to potty) but I wouldn't buy these til you bubs is born if you are gonna use em - Daisy has a small bum, I assumed she'd have a big mamas one like me and bought nappies according to this. Lucky I kept the receipts! We're using Nature Baby biodegradable nappies interspersed with Sainsbury's/Morrisons/Asda's own cos they're cheap and good, (but the latter make me feel very guilty). Couldn't imagine coping with reusables at the beginning, now I'm in a routine (ahem - ish) it isn't that scary. Waiting for a subsidised reusable nappy pack from the local council - might be worth checking if your council does any offers (reduced council tax/subsidised or free packs) on reusables, if you're thinking about going that route. The vouchers you will get from Pampers and Huggies to tempt you are all very well, but they still work out so much dearer than supermarkets own, by the way. The stuff we use most:

Baby bouncer (£5 from NCT sale) - Daisy liked it from about 4 wks, very gradually!
Baby bath support - one of those sturdy white plastic things, got it £5 from Ebay, about £13 in Mothercare - feels safer when I'm bathing her
Steam steriliser - for bottles and dummies (see below)
Dummies - we use LOADS of those as she spits them for miles (I didn't want to - but they're gob friendly these days and you sometimes have to compromise when they're screaming blue murder at 2am..!). I got mine free cos I work with school nurses who go to a lot a seminars and get freebies, but make sure you get the ones which you can steam - we tried to use the ones with the solution but they smelled chemical even after rinsing!
Breastpads - I go through tons, some women are worse than me! (See Bounty website!). I'm breastfeeding too which saves messing with bottles/formula, etc. I only use bottles when it's really warm, then I use them for cool boiled water.
PlaymatI bought a Galt playnest from Ebay - she hates it. Prefers the quilt thing I bought for a fiver from Ikea, and got one of those play archs from Argos that are freestanding, they kick them and they make a noise. Only just started to respond to this kinda thing but she loves it so far! Ikea have cute cheap baby blankets, too - cheaper and nicer than the horrid pink things from most shops.

We also bought a crib from Mothercare (the white nice-to-look-at one at £55 - she sleeps in our bed at the mo as she hates it) I REEEALLLY wish we'd've bought a drop sided one for next to the bed. And the cotbed from Toysrus was £50 - bargain end of line, bit scratched, not sure whether she'll like it yet, but figured it'll last. The travel system we got for her is ok - the Graco one with the car seat that fits on top, we bought the car seat base separately. The car seat base is brilliant, but the car seat is well flippin heavy, I wish I'd shopped around to see if other travel systems had lighter car seats.

Clothes wise - she lives in sleepsuits and those bodysuit vests - I too think that trousers/dresses are a pain - she hates being fiddled about with when you have to do all the fancy buttons up, and the dresses always end up round her neck as she spends most of her time hanging over our shoulder being patted to try and make her burp. Some babies have already grown out of newborn sizes by the time they appear, so 0-3 months is a good size to get, too! NCT again have mega sales, clothes from them are good quality generally, and cheap! I think they're nicer second hand as they're softer with them being washed so much, and invariably they'll've only been worn a few times - they grow like you wouldn't believe.

Lastly, ours has colic (ooooh yes), and has done pretty much from birth, so Infacol is good - but you can get it on prescription, don't buy it like lots of folk do! Gripe water is good too, but can only be used from 6 weeks I think. Infacol's ok from birth.

Lastly, I do hope that your pregnancy goes well and good luck for the big day! I listened to all the horror stories and ended up feeling quite numb by the time it came to the birth - then it took three hours and no stitches. So tell the folk with the horror stories to knickers! It's all forgotten anyway now she's here (along with my name, address, where I put the car keys...lol!!). Love from Luce x ps sorry it's long - she slept longer than I thought!!!

NickiO_2

When I had my daughter four years ago, I soon discovered that other people seem to supply clothes for her, so be minimal on this front.
If you plan to breastfeed, think twice about a steriliser, cos you won't need one much, use a bucket with sterilising solution in with a plate on the top (to keep the items under the liquid).
You don't need a special changing bag, a rucksack will do and is probably more comfortable.
A cot bumper is a waste of time, we bought one and never used it, first she was too young and then all of a sudden she could climb, so it was no good then either.
On the sheet front, I only had three, but I used to put a hand towel under her head so if she was sick I just had to change that, we've got loads of them so it wasn't a problem and you can wash them at very high temperatures.
At the end of the day be minimal, the shops are open all hours so you can always get things last minute.
Enjoy your baby, all he/she wants is love.

godric

May I add my congratulations to the list. However, having scanned the list of replies it seems that people have missed the most important things you will need, all of which come for free.

Sense of humour
Stamina
The ability to multitask (x10)
Loss of all sense of shame or embarrassment (Hopefully get your own back when they grow)
Selective hearing (listen out for cries, but ignore the constant chant of their favourite song)

I am sure other parents can add to the list.

You may consider me a miserable old scroat, but it is just realism. To prove it I have just had a wonderful day with my 2 darlings, made up of swimming, drink and cake in cafe (don't tell mum), walk round local nature reserve, visit to Grandma, walk round our allotment and home. I can now sense them building up to something as they start scrumping next doors plums.

Jess_B

Thanks for all your wonderful replies, they have been very helpful especially as we don't have much money to spend on stuff we won't use. SIL is giving us her travel system which will save us a fortune as nephew will be 1 when baby comes. She also has clothes, steraliser, monitors, mosis basket and other bits 'n' bobs for us so really only need to get the cot which my lovely Mum has offered to get us unless we get one donated in which case she will get the matrice and bedding.

People have been really kind saying they have this and that we can have, most of them are just friends of friends. They have had it passed on to them so they want to pass it on to other people in need.

I want to use washable nappies and like the BambioMio ones, which I have found are the cheapest. Our CC give us £25 back so even cheaper!

I have £80 on my Boots card to buy anything we will need from there. And my sister works for them so she is stocking up on anything that is reduced in price!

I have started to get baby wipes while they are on 2 - 4 - 1 and have enough Little Me stuff to last till it goes to school!!

I have done all our Christmas shopping as I figure I will not want to do it when I am hugh and Mum is doing Christmas dinner so I can put my feet up!

Only thing to do now is think of a name for the poor little thing!

J x

PS so excited that my thread was mentioned on Martin's e-mail this week!!