What you really need for a newborn

[MuminMilan]

I'm 5 months pregnant and have yet to buy anything (or even think about buying) anything for the baby. Having spoken to a friend (due 2 days after me) who has already ordered a pushchair, cot, decorated the baby's bedroom and is preparing her bag for the hospital i'm getting a little worried. Can anyone tell me what i really need and maybe more importantly what i really don't need initially. Plus i live in Milan where baby things all come at a premium and so i need to limit my purchases where possible...

[Coppernoddle]

My sister had this problem when she was expecting, she lived in Sweden and the cost of things were astronomical!! She made a tip back to the uk to buy it all!! It was much cheaper! Or order it off the Internet, amazon are cheap and they deliver world wide!
You need a pushchair and a car seat if your driving. A Moses basket or if you have a pushchair with a carrycot you can always use that! Mine went into there cots quite quickly as they kept waking me up and I kept waking them up! A cot but not desperate till baby is born if you have the Moses basket.
Some baby grows, sleepsuits, hats and mits. A few sleep suits as babies have a tendency to poo, a lot, up there backs!!! A few little blankets, a sleeping bag which are great for night time! A few little outfits, nappies (although I never went mad as you need to find the ones that suit your baby) some sudocreme for sore botties, some very mild baby bath, muslin squares, if baby has dry skin best thing to use is olive oil, nipple cream if your feeding and pads. Infacol for the wind, sometimes very useful! Babysafe suncream if it's hot there, and shade for the pushchair!
Pregnancy brain, i've now gone blank!!!
There are heaps of websites for you to look at that will give you a better idea! Good luck

[YBR]

I'm 14 months but with DH being made redundant soon I'm going to have to pick everything up as cheaply as poss, and so also interested in what is not needed!

Random Question: Muslin squares - how big are they? (I'm wondering if I can get a length of fabric cheaper and cut to size).

Also my SiL (due in about a month) says linen cloths are useful ... any guidance on how many and what size?

[Coppernoddle]

YBR hahahaha!! Are you an elephant!!! That's the longest pregnancy in history!! I'd be propper fed up by then!!! Hehehehehe

Muslin squares are tea towel size and yes you can buy material but probably wouldn't be as absorbent, they do their job well!! But don't buy them from mothercare, I made that mistake, there about £20 for 12ish! Get them online there less than half the price. I've got 20! My first two I went through them like you wouldn't believe as they both had reflux. I went through 1 every feed and if your not washing every day then you'll need a few. At home I would use terry's towelling nappy clothes as they were super absorbent but you may not need them.

[Eviepoo]

Just to let you know -I got 24 muslins for £19 on the nappy lady website....I'm planning on using them as newborn nappies - been practising my folds this afternon with a teddy

[LeoTheLateBloomer]

Swaddles are good too for newborns. Some babies are much happier being well wrapped up.

YBR how on earth are you 14 months pg?!?

[anniroc]

I couldn't live without my Baba Sling when my DS was tiny. I think sometimes people assume that they are for going out only, but it was great for cooking, washing up, eating etc, at that stage when newborns just want to be held all the time!

[YBR]

Opps - that'll be weeks Pregnancy brain? Sorry.

[GwendolineMaryLacey]

You need nappies of some description, muslin cloths x 1000000000, 6 vests, 6 sleepsuits, one hat and one cardi.

Job done. Anything else is frippery :)

[Starshaped]

Tesco sells packs of 5 muslins for a couple of quid. I can't believe it'd be that much cheaper to buy a big piece and cut it to size.

My advice would be that you can't have enough vests. DD has the most explosive poos and in the first few weeks, we were sometimes going through three changes a day!

My luxury item would be a playmat/playgym. From about four/five weeks, DD has loved kicking around on hers and it's often the only place I've been able to put her down without any screaming.

[babyonbord]

I think everybodys mentioned everything you need, it's so hard to distinguish between what you want and what you need i went a bit mad in mamas and papas and now have 21 vests having said that if this baby is anything like my first he will need changing 21 times a day, but yeah muslin squares are a must i couldn't have coped without them for my first, we got ours from asda first time round it was 3 for a few quid but i've got mamas and papas ones this time they have cute little embroidery but were a tad on the expensive side. If anyone lives up north boyes do cheap baby bits, they have some really nice blankets and baby gros its worth going to have a look.

[FirstVix]

Can I say, one thing I had lots of (given as freebies and presents) were wet wipes which are great BUT for my DD I found cleaning her with cotton wool buds and water was better for her (her skin got irritated less and it seemed to need less pressure to clean her thoroughly). So I'd say get some cotton wool buds.
Also, some kind of sun hat/head covering in the sun - the one we had bought for us was WAY too big and fell off loads!

[FirstVix]

cotton wool balls not buds - my God that'd be a job using them!

[TrinIsASadSpottyFatRhino]

6 vests, 6 sleepsuits, muslins by a truckload, nappies, wipes, boobs and blankets

[Francagoestohollywood]

I live in Milan too and tbh I don't find baby clothes more expensive than the UK, unless of course you want to shop at Bonpoint.

The two things that are def more expensive here than in the UK are: formula and nappies. For the nappies my advise is to check the offers at Esselunga, 2 months ago I noticed that they had offers on all baby products for instance. I also heard that Scheckler shop sell nappies at a good price. www.ciripa.it/ also check this place out, it's in Opera.

You can also buy baby stuff like buggies or car seats with the points of the Esselunga fidaty card. Chicco sells nice prams/buggies that won't be too excessively expensive.

Next week the sales will start, you can buy vests and sleepsuits then. here's a list of outlets etc in and around Milan The Magnolia outlet in Viale Umbria 3 is said to be very good and also stocks Petit Bateau things at a good price.

[MuminMilan]

thanks for all suggestions - is anyone not superstitious about buying things before the birth, or i am just being dumb?

[GwendolineMaryLacey]

Well, just think of the millions of households like mine. I'm pg with dc2 and my house is creaking under the weight of prams, cots, car seats, baths, clothes, toys...all the shite I said you didn't need to buy in fact :o

If the superstition carried any weight all us second timers plus would be moving all our gear out to big yellow storage!

[babyonbord]

my mil has kept our pram at their shop as she thinks its bad luck to have the pram in the house before the baby is born lol

[babyonbord]

Anniroc is the babasling good then, i've just ordered a blue one today i had a kari me sling given as a gift when pregnant with my first and i did use it a lot but found it quite difficult to set up and get my ds comfortable in it, i want one that is a bit simpler to use.

[anniroc]

babyonbord, I loved the Baba Sling, it's really easy to use, best to put it on in front of a mirror. I couldn't get DS comfortable in the older positions though, I moved onto an Infantino carrier when he was older.

[CountScoutula]

I had a mini meltdown at 27 weeks pregnant, over blankets of all things! Up to this point I'd not bought a thing and began to panic about bedding . We put the cot up when I was 38 weeks, DD is now 9 weeks and still in her moses basket!

Something we found useful was having two changing mats, one for downstairs and one for upstairs. I think so long as you have some sleepsuits, vests, nappies, wipes, bedding and somewhere for them to sleep you'll be fine. A couple of non-essential things we use a lot are the bath thermometer and a digital ear thermometer - DD had an infection when she was born and then a cold for a couple of weeks recently, so we've used this quite a lot.

We discovered that lots of people suggested, bought or donated things they found essential with their babies, which we've found rather useless - e.g. nappy bin, baby bath (she goes in with me or DH, much easier and more fun). I think you don't really discover what YOU need until your baby's arrived and then you make lots of trips to Mothercare!

[CareyHunt]

you need:

Vests 6/8, stretchsuits 6/8, cardigans (maybe 2), muslins, nappies, cottonwool, sling and/or pram/ carseat/ somewhere for baby to sleep , sheets and celular blankets, boobs.

You don't need:

A babybath (PITA to fill and empty...stick it in the bath with a couple of inches of water), fancy changing bag ( It's just a bag...any bag will do, it's just to stick some nappies in), ANY baby toys for tiny babies, nappy bin, nappy holder thing, breast feeding cover ( You've got muslins if you really need them), 'nursery' furniture, like special changing tables etc, any books by Ga Fd.

[babyonbord]

no i never used a baby bath i bought one of the supports when my ds was about 3 months old up till that point i just used to sponge him down on the changing mat much easier with a tiny slippery new born. But 2 changing mats is definatly a good idea, i bought a really nice one for upstairs and a cheaper pvc one for downstairs for bathtime and such.

[gallicgirl]

I bought one of those sponge supports for the bath and it's brilliant. Costs about £8 and will just about last 6 months I reckon.

Gazillions of muslins.

When you buy vests and sleepsuits, make sure they can all go in the wash together and they're ok to be washed frequently. That red and white striped sleepsuit might look cute but it's going to be a pain to wash and baby will only wear it twice before he/she outgrows it.

[PamBeesly]

I've just read this and now I'm confused...I am 6w2d pg and I've never had any experience with babies....what do you need muslin for? I'm sorry if I sound stupid, I haven't a clue....

[adewonder]

I also don't know what muslin is for, I presume sick/spit mopping? First timer, 15wks and clueless. We don't have a bath, havin redone the house from being an old lady haven when we bought it and put in big shower instead- can I shower the baby or is that going to harm it? I was going to get a bath thing and put it in the shower tray, or take it in with me? If I could work out how to use the plug on our ikea sink I guess I could put it in there..?