Baby 'Essential' Recommendations

savagelyric

Pink_Princess_1 wrote: »

You might want to buy some newborn size clothes - my dd is 10 weeks old and 0-3 are still a bit big (she was 8lb 1 born):p

See - this is just the kind of comment I needed - obvious to some but I thought 0-3 mths meant it included newborn! Thanks for the suggestion!

Sarahjovi

Bibs...

Make sure they are plastic backed. Nothing worse than baby sick that soaks straight through to the clothes underneath!

Also keep one just for feeding mashed banana. The mashed banana turns black and doesn't wash out of anything!

Sarah:D

Fritha_2

hollydays wrote: »

boots hire tens machines

So do Tesco, and it looks to me like a good one (not used a tens in labour yet but have used one a lot for normal back pain!) it's £27.50 :-)

Staciep88

Hiya, I'm kind of in the same situation as you and I made out a list for myself which i have copied for you underneath - i hope this helps. I also included prices and where the item should be brought from (at the cheapest price). I havent included the prices of baby clothes and where to buy them from as I have just been buying them whenever and where ever i see them! Hope this helps!

NEW BABY COMPLETE ESSENTIAL CHECKLIST

New Baby Bathing Essentials - £40.96 + £3.19(p/w)
· Infant Bathtub - £7.99 ITBBSBE Baby.World
· Soft Hooded Towels (3pk) - £12.99 B8188-033 Mothercare
· Grooming Kit - £12.99 098/3213 Argos Extra
· Wash Cloths(10pk) - £6.99 E7368 Mothercare
· Cotton Wool Balls / Cotton Buds - £1.04 Boots
· Shampoo, Oil and Lotions - £2.15 Boots

New Baby Bedding Essentials - £34.93
· Cot Bed Bedding(2pk) - £14.95 AB112/113 Baby.World
· Lightweight and Heavy Blankets - £11.99 Z2582-061 Mothercare
· Changing Mat - £7.99 382671 Babies.R.Us

New Baby Clothing Essentials - £4.99
· Bodysuits
· Socks and Booties
· Light cap for night
· Baby Hat
· Bibs(5pk) - £4.99 Boots
· T-shirts (pullover and side-nap)
· Mittens
· Cotton shirts
· Pants (pull on, waterproof)
· Sweater / jacket
· Winter coat
· Shoes
· Sleeveless vests / undershirts

New Baby Nappies Essentials - £9.46(p/w)
· Newborn nappies - £5.98 Boots
· Baby wipes - £0.99 Boots
· Nappy rash lotions, oils, powders - £2.49 Boots

New Baby Feeding Essentials - £5.28(p/w)
· Breast Pads - £2.99 Boots
· Nipple Lotion - £2.29 Boots

New Baby Furniture Essentials - £299.99
· Bedroom Furniture Set - £299.99 377/0928 Argos
New Baby Toys Essentials - £50.69
· Playgym - £24.99 429937 Babies.R.Us
· Bouncer - £22.95 WINBOUNCER Baby.World
· Dummies - £2.75 Boots
New Baby Health and Safety Essentials - £55.97
· Thermometer for the nursery - £12.99 A3231 Mothercare
· Baby Monitor - £29.99 A1368-777 Mothercare
· Night Light - £12.99 075221 Babies.R.Us


New Baby Travelling Essentials - £192.98
· Baby pushchair / Carry Cot / Car Seat - £179.99 D0195-135 Mothercare
· Nappy Changing Bag - £12.99 304913 Babies.R.Us

TOTAL - £680.51 WEEKLY TOTAL - £17.93

Stacey x

hev_2

You get boatloads of clothes given, and actually the newborn stuff was too small for my DS at 7lb 11oz - I think it depends on the brand. I would stick to 0-3 months.

You can never have too many vests. I used a cot sheet in my moses basket, well tucked in. I got my cot sheets from Woolworths on sale.

The two absolute best things my little boy had were a playgym, a well padded one with loads of stimulation which really helped him with his muscles and co-ordination. My friend bought it very inexpensively from ebay, it really was like new at the start but only fit for the tip at the end, it was so well played with. The other was one of those little seats that as soon as they can sit up you can put them in and they can scoot around the floor, especially one with a tray on the front. You can't just leave them in there, they have to be supervised because they can tip, but they are absolutely worth their weight in gold. Also they get used to being upright and using their hands. My SIL bought it for £10 from a car boot sale, there was nothing wrong with it.

The other thing that I would recommend if you have Sky is Baby TV 623, really good, no adverts and designed to be ideal for a little one. It makes an adult brain ooze out of the ears but is brilliant for very little ones.

And always remember (though I think you know) that ebay is your friend. I have had some really good bargains with clothes bundles from ebay.

Extra thought - non-bio washing powder for little ones. I found it didn't do much for adult clothes so I have non bio tablets and bio powder, so I can tell the difference. For the little one, nappy stuff, you need a hot wash, no conditioner or bleach (use white vinegar) but for the clothes, especially after weaning, a longer wash in 30 degrees plus Ace bleach seems to do the trick.

Congratulations and good luck.

savagelyric

Thanks hev for the long and informative post - I can't get enough of reading about baby things!

hev_2

savagelyric wrote: »

Thanks hev for the long and informative post - I can't get enough of reading about baby things!

I was worried I had rattled on

I didn't get on with my MIL, who passed away when DS was 4 months and my own mother passed away a few years ago, so I just had to work everything out for myself - and hormones really don't help!

There are some lovely people on here who have been absolute lifesavers, and do look into Old Style for some tips.

Have you thought about where you are going to change your little one? Getting that organised was a real benefit to me. I always change him in the same place (as much as wiggling will allow) which is on the spare bed in his room.

OH impulse bought a Lindam bottle warmer. It works as a steam bottle warmer and has a cool box type thing with ice pack so last thing at night I could take up two bottles and an icepack and use the steam bottle warmer in the bedroom to save trips down to the kitchen at night. If breastfeeding doesn't work out I really recommend it.

Best tip - cuddle your little one as much as you can while you can & enjoy it !

miss_corerupted

OMG!!! BAbies need this much stuff!!! are you serouis, i had no idea due end of nov. now panicking slightly just can't believe it!!

frannyann

miss_corerupted wrote: »

OMG!!! BAbies need this much stuff!!! are you serouis, i had no idea due end of nov. now panicking slightly just can't believe it!!

In the words of someone else, DON'T PANIC!! In all honesty you need very little to start with. Baby will just need mum and love to start with, nappies and some babygrows (newborn is good as dd looked lost in 0-3!!) if your breast feeding, hold off any equipment (I wasted a bomb on bottles, pumps and sterilisers, all of which where never used!!) and somewhere comfy to sleep! toys etc are pointless for now and special wipes etc a waste of time as cotton wool and warm water will be all you need to start with! The rest can be got as/when you think littlie needs it!

JoJoB

Don't buy moses basket sheets - white pillowcases are the perfect size. So when your LO has grown out of the moses basket you are left with something you can re-use instead of lots of little sheets. Woolworths are selling mega-cheap white pillowcases in their worthit! range, around £1.80 a pair.

I'm using a mixture of terry squares and disposables. The terries are excellent for containment once you have got used to the folds etc, and the washing has turned out not to be the chore i thought it might be. I like to keep some disposables about though for when i'm feeling a bit lazy.

The sling has been a godsend too for the times when she has been fed, winded, changed and we can't figure out why she is still grumpy. A wander about in the sling soon puts bubba in a happier mood. I do like the pushchair for out and about though (useful for putting shopping bags on etc).

One of the baby bouncer chairs is handy too - I was given one of the newfangled ones that vibrates and bounces itself. But she doesn't like the automatic bouncing and prefers us to bounce it the old-style way with our feet, so a basic chair would have done just as well.

I bought two pairs of white bootee things from tesco for £2 which have been very useful as they go with all the outfits and look nicer than socks.

Loads of vests and sleepsuits! They will spend the majority of their time in these rather than fancy outfits in the first few weeks.

Congratulations by the way!