Help needed - what are your recommended purchases for a newborn?

[megmj]

I am due in September and starting to think about buying stuff but getting overloaded with brands and information. I thought that you lovely people would probably know the best things to buy, the best brands and actually what is needed versus what is just marketing hype.

Any recommendations on products and the best brands, or any tips, would be great

Thank you!

[Convex]

Hello,

congratulations!

My tip would be that you dont actually need that much, and things that are a lifesaver for one parent / baby combo might be useless to another. eg a baby bouncer. some babies hate them. some babies love them. etc.

If you want to buy most things secondhand, you need to be a bit more organised so you can buy things as they are available.

But if you want to buy things new, you can just buy the very most basic list of stuff and then buy as you need - you can get most things for next day delivery online and there is a lot available locally.

I think the most basic list is:

Pram and Sling (i rate bugaboo and babyjogger prams personally)

Somewhere for the baby to sleep - moses basket or cot

bottles if you are bottle or combination feeding, plus steriliser

nappies and some clothes - maybe 10 vests and 10 sleepsuits and a blanket and hat for when out.

a water bottle for you - easy to get stuck in one place with a newborn and you need to take care of yourself and make sure you are eating and drinking enough.

i got almost everything second hand and i also bought way more than i needed! most i sold on so didnt lose too much money. i think its worth getting the big ticket stuff second hand - prams, cots, etc - most can be stripped down and washed - as this also means big savings. you do need new mattresses though.

i researched everything to death. you dont need to do this :-)

i found that we spent an unexpected amount at boots and similar shops - just seemed to be a ridiculous amount of consumable things i needed once we had the baby from nipple cream to breast shields to dummies to things i cant remember - so i would advise having some money saved/put aside for that type of day to day stuff.

dont get too stressed out, you will work out what suits you as you go along.

i would like to recommend the baby book 'the baby sense secret' it has a lot of the advice you find in other books in a nice non-judgemental way, so you dont need to buy loads of baby books.

[gatt4950]

Hi megmj. Congrats! I am also due in September and I have a baby spreadsheet haha! It was the only way I could keep track of stuff.

Happy to share it with you if you want :)

PM me your email address and will send over.

[megmj]

Thank you so much for the advice and the time spent writing so much - so generous and makes me realise how amazing the EDF community is!

Will take this all on board :)

Meg xx

[SilverLining]

Hello,

Congratulations! I have a 5 week old. Apart from the basics I have found these things to be really useful for our day to day lives...

Ewan the dream sheep - we've used him at night time since we bought our baby home and now he associates Ewan with sleep (although not always guaranteed to work, he's been really useful and we love him!)

A sling - for when you're on your own in the house and the baby won't sleep, as well as comfoting little one, I've found it relieves my frustration at not being able to even make a cup of tea! And generally helps me to feel like an able body again. Our baby will often just drop off in his if he is tired but refusing to sleep! I made my own from some stretch fabric and some sling rings that I got from the internet,but it's based on the NCT caboo I think it's called.

Get a white noise app for your phone! Amazing for calming baby during those first few stressful nappy changes. There are free ones.

A good nightlight for your room, so you can see enough to do late night feeds, but not too bright to disturb your partner and the baby. We used one called 'my little cloud' it's portable so we can take it with us into the other room when we want to change him in the middle of the night.

Room Thermometers- can be any, they don't have to be fancy, but it does help when worrying about the weather and what to dress your baby in for the day and night.

They're the main things I'd say we couldn't live without at the mo. Other useful but optional things... The sangenic nappy bin, means you only need to sort the bin out once or twice a week. I had mainly newborn clothes, but bought one pack of tiny baby/first size vests and sleep suits and I'm glad I did as the newborn clothes swamped our little one- i woke up one night to find he'd got his arms and legs tucked up inside the body part of the sleepsuit in a little ball!

I hope that helps, as for brands just try not to stress too much, just go with what you fancy (or what's on special offer!) It's not always a guarantee that the baby will get on with what you buy anyway and I ended up swapping a couple of things with other new mum's. I got lots of EDF seccond hand- this is agreat place to hunt things out once you find what you want! I'd also say don't buy too much too soon or too far in advance, as you'll often get given things seccond hand as you get closer/past your due date and meet other mums.

[SilverLining]

I just remembered, a friend of mine bought me some secret support vest tops and I have been living in them since giving birth. All the fiddling and faffing of nursing tops and bra's are only worth the hassle when we're out of the house. The vest tops are great for night time, and getting quick access to milk if you're breastfeeding. I was also given a thermos mug by my husband- you'll find your tea/coffee will often go cold without you even getting a sip in! It's the little things....

[picknmix]

I have 2 babies in 2 years and I can say I have saved so much by not being over excited about the shopping . Firstly, you will have lots of presents from family and friends and babies just grow so fast overnight. If you're not too picky - I advise getting some second hand stuff as most of these are not used more than 5x especially the 0-12mos range. Regarding brands, if you feel deep pockets are willing - of course everyone has their right to spend on their first born ! Congratulations and good luck !

[elizamic]

Definitely a sling - we had a close caboo to start and then a wrap and an ergo-style carrier (we didn't use a buggy until they were about 6 months old), and I also found a sheepskin was very useful for sleeping on or lying down on the floor.

Muslins are useful as well - my two were constantly posseting for the first 6 months and i also use them as a changing mat (over a quilt/sheepskin), sling/buggy shade, a couple of times even as makshift nappies in desperate moments!

We got everything second hand - lots on the forum - and it really saved us so much money as they do go through clothes very quickly and often you try things out and they don't work for you so you can sell them on and not lose money on them.

Most other stuff, especially toys and soft toys are a bit pointless until they are older and you are often given those things as presents.

Congratulations and good luck!

[devsdev]

Buy cotton pads (rather than cotton balls) whenever they're on sale - like in superdrug or Savers etc. You should ideally use cotton and water to wipe bum for first couple of weeks (I know some don't, but I did it for ages and think helped avoid rash).

Coconut oil/olive oil for baby including putting it on his/her bum soon as born and before first nappy. Apply after each nappy change for first week or longer...will make cleaning poo much easier!

Water wipes or Kinder by Nature wipes for the first couple of months - again, buy on sale.

Don't buy too many nappies - babies grow quickly! But have some ready.

Baby grow and sleep suits - don't get fancy trousers and dresses etc...genuinely a faff to dress up a newborn. If you can get zipped sleep suits then do - I wish we'd had them! You can get them easily in the US (Carters etc) or in Australia (Bonds) if you have family or friends there.

Sling - don't get the baby bjorn. South East London sling library is a good place for advice for older baby. For younger a stretchy or ring sling is good.

Changing table and mat - ikea or second hand. With Ikea you can use the cloth boxes they have for storage of nappies and cream etc - very handy.

Buy towels and muslins when on sale as well.

If you think you might want to use dummy, may formula or combo feed etc - again, buy when there are sales or promotions.

Joins boots baby club.

Enjoy your pregnancy :)

[esme]

Baby Centre website has some really useful info e.g. What to pack in your hospital bag, what to buy in preparation etc.

Main thing is shed loads of babygros!!!

Lots of great posts above but my main recommendations would be:

Changing mats x 2 - the large one that dips in the middle avoids them rolling off and is great for changing on the bed if you don't have space for a changing table, and a bog standard cheapy one that you can carry around room to room easily

Travel bag which has a compartment for baby bottle and travel changing mat

Water wipes above can be bought in bulk from Amazon, I'd also get some reusable wipes/wash cloths

Medela electric breast pump (lots of other recommendations on other pages, easy to use, good simple design)

Dr Brown bottles if baby has colic, Colief drops are a life saver again if baby has colic - obviously don't buy unless you find baby had colic!

For YOU look out for Boob (Aussie brand) breast feeding / nursing tops and PJs they're amazing, lots of maternity bras in different sizes as you'll change cup sizes - Bloomers on Lordship lane can measure you and i think there's a bra shop in Forest Hill recommended if you search on this site too.

Make sure you take plenty of changes of PJs/nighties for you to hospital as baby meconium (sticky black stuff like tar!) can get everywhere and you can end up packing for baby but forgetting yourself! Also lots of pants for obvious reasons, maternity pads, breast pads...

Good luck and hope the birth goes well xxx

[megmj]

Wow everyone thank you so much again for all of this and I hope it also helps other soon to be mothers - such amazingly useful information here!

You are all fabulous!