Preparing for Baby

[confusedat23]

Hey first time mum here!

I'm trying to budget for buying everything over the next few months and i just wanted to know in terms of clothes what will we need?

I was thinking maybe 10 newborn Sleepsuits (as planning to keep on sleepsuits most of the time until a bit older)
20 0-3 months Sleepsuits
20 3-6 month outfits

Also how many mittens and hats etc should we get... its a late October baby so will need to be wrapped up warm!

Xx

[Semaphorically]

Congratulations

I wouldn't buy too many newborn things if you're on a budget. The baby might be too big for them, and also they grow out of them so quickly you really don't need many. Better to wash them more frequently. You may also want sleeveless vests to layer under the sleepsuits. Personally I think baby socks are pointless, they don't stay on, so I recommend sleepsuits with feet.

If you have a snowsuit it will cover hands and feet. Other than that I just kept both DD1 and 2 (both December babies) under a blanket when out and about. I only used mittens if we would be outside for a while, so one pair is fine. Get mittens on a string, they fall off easily. And a few snuggly hats, babies lose a lot of heat through their heads.

[FATEdestiny]

You need two sleepsuit per day (one day, one night) at least. Good possibility you'll need to chance because of poo or vomit.

So I would allow for 3 sleepsuit and vests per day. Then it depends on how often you plan to do the washing.

I was daily, so realistically wouldn't need more than 10. If you may only wash weekly, if buy 25-30.

Don't bother with 3-6 month stuff yet. Pointless.

I would say just but newborn. But some babies are born too big to fit into newborn so need 0-3 month stuff.

Don't forget you will probably be gifted tons of clothes when baby is born. An outfit is the most common thing people buy a new baby.

[greylove]

Have you tried stork sales on Face Book or eBay bundles especially new born 0-3 3-6
A lot of people haven't even used somethings and you wash it all before using anyway I
Sold all of my newborn clothes this way as I had a tiny baby

[SheepyFun]

I was pretty frugal with getting clothes for DD, and we only had 6-8 vests and sleepsuits in each size - I was washing pretty much daily anyway (and definitely every other day). It meant her clothes got a bit repetitive, but she didn't care! We didn't move from sleepsuits to outfits until gone 6 months (December birthday); again a personal choice, the baby won't mind. You might get given quite a bit of 3-6 month clothing as gifts (we were!), so you might not want to get all of it before the baby is born. Obviously you'll need to have newborn clothes in advance.

We used a snowsuit, and would definitely do so again - we never needed mittens, and it had a hood. A colleague crocheted a hat, which we used a lot! We might have had one or two more hats.

We got (and still get) most new clothes from Tesco/Asda. Obviously we were given some, and got a fair bit second hand. If you want to get things secondhand, there's far more for babies (under a year) than older children, because they don't wear them for long, so they don't wear out. We went to a couple of NCT sales, which had a lots of choice at very good prices.

[confusedat23]

Thanks so much for the help!

Sema i did not even think of vests! Thanks and also did you have a travel system? I got a snowsuit and like the big fluffy teddybear style suit because i heard they can't wear the snowsuit if u are using the car seat for the pram bit?

Thanks Fate that makes s lot of sense! I was hoping not to wash daily but no less than twice a week so i'll keep that in mind for numbers! I guess of i work from minimum numbers i can always get more if we arn't gifted any!

Grey i would love to raid the 2nd hand stuff but DH refuses... i'm going to see if i can sneak some in though as it will really help with costs!

Sheepy i agree it seems pointless to move out of sleepsuits too early!... i will be going back to work at 6 months and so may keep on the sleepsuits for a tad longer until i can train DH to pick nice outfits in the morning lol!... i am eyeing up the asda baby event as we speak lol

[arbrighton]

I know muslins aren't exactly 'clothes'

But seem to be useful for everything. I think I have about ten away in the baby drawer

[Semaphorically]

We had part of a travel system. Our pram is a Quinny Zapp (which I love, so tiny and light), so the maxi cosi car seats are compatible with it. I regret not getting a carrycot.

Babies can be in car seats in a snowsuit if the car seat isn't in the actual car at the time. It's only a safety issue when the straps need to restrain them in the case of an accident.

Although it's not great for small babies to be in a car seat for more than half an hour at the time - we could only get away with it because I rarely take DD out in the pram for long periods of time.

[vfoster]

We managed with quite a small amount of clothes at the beginning but invested in a heated drier from Lakeland. We don't have a washer drier so relied on washing what we had and throwing it on the elective tiered drier. Best thing I ever bought! We bought a cover for it and it'll have a full wash of baby clothes dry in a matter of hours. I still use mine today!

[GaladrielsRing]

3rd baby here, due in June.

I have in both newborn and 0-3

5 babygrows
5 vests
5 outfits
5 pairs of socks
2 pairs scratch mittens
2 cardigans.

You'll get bought things when baby is born so I wouldn't go too mad buying everything now, plus you can top up once he/she is born and you know the right size.

I've bought the above, travel system, crib and mattress, Moses basket, electric breast pump, bottles and steriliser, a months worth of nappies and baby monitors all brand new for about £500 total. Just a few more bits to get but do not intend to spend more than £100. There's loads of bargains if you shop around, and baby events seem to swap from shop to shop every few weeks.

Good luck and congratulations!

[confusedat23]

Brighton i have about 15 muslins already 😳... ive basically been buying bits as i see them and ive realised just how much i have already! Lol

Thanks Sema do you know if they can be in the fluffy sleepsuits whilst in the car? I'll remember to keep the snowsuit in there for using the carrycot and carrier... did you have to take DD out after 30 mins? I never knew that about car seats! We do a lot of journeys longer than that so we'll have to plan to stop!

Foster i have a heated airer from Lakeland in storage! Thanks for reminding me i'll have to make sure i get it out.. we have a combo washer dryer but it takes ages and everything comes out so creased its hard to even iron out!

Gala thanks for your list of stuff! I am going to the baby show next month to get a lot of bits so i'll take that with me to remember what to get lol

Xxx

[Foggymist]

They can't be in any big padded/fluffy outfits in the car because they don't get a secure fit with the safety belts if they're in them, for the car put normal layers on them and then a blanket over them.

You can drive for longer than half an hour, babies can be in car seats for I think up to 1.5 hours if you're driving and need them to be in it for safety, it's that they shouldn't be needlessly left in a car seat in a buggy or to sleep/sit in a house etc, but their entire purpose is for car safety on journeys like. We regularly drive/drove 3 hours to my home county stopping for feeds, nappy changes or when he was upset so usually once or twice, if we stopped every half hour it would take forever!

[Semaphorically]

The recommendations have changed for newborns and time in car seats. The new guideline is half an hour at a time. It's impossible to get anywhere! I didn't really go anywhere when DD2 was a newborn though, I just sat on the couch and established breastfeeding and cuddled her

www.nhs.uk/news/2016/10October/Pages/Warning-over-babies-sleeping-in-car-seats.aspx

[Foggymist]

Tbh I don't think I'll be stopping every half hour on what is already a 3-3.5 hour journey before the usual feed/change/crying stops with #2, it's not remotely practical. It's a necessary journey for me, done at 3 weeks old last time and every 4-8 weeks for the last 2 years. I sat on the couch doing the same for the first 2.5 weeks (after he got out of scbu) and was dying to see family & friends while I sat on a different couch feeding! :)

[arbrighton]

But the 30 minute 'guideline' is based on a very very small study, which used a simulator, some preemies who might have issues anyway and even the study says is just an indicator for further research, and they cannot be certain of risks.

There is nowhere near enough evidence there

[confusedat23]

Well i must admit we probably wouldn't stop every 30 mins!... maybe once every 1 hour or 1.5 hours... although baby wouldn't be on its own in the back so could be monitored for extra stopping needs. Interesting the know the study seems biased... sometimes i do wonder if they try and worry us mums more! Lol

Thanks Foggy i'll get some nice cosy blankets!

On a different question what bedding do you need for a cotbed? We are in quite a cold flat so worried about bedding... basically i'm just a bloody worrier lol

[SockQueen]

Some sheets for the mattress, and Grobags/baby sleeping bags in a range of tog ratings (in winter you'll want the higher ones, obviously)

For the car, look up star baby wraps, or Morrck travel blankets. Though we never bothered and just covered DS with a blanket.

You'll definitely need vests, and possibly some cardis/jumpers too - you wouldn't sit around in winter in just one layer, would you? You can get multipacks of vests v cheaply from supermarkets though, so shouldn't add much to your budget.

What's your DH's objection to 2nd hand clothes? It'll all (hopefully) have been washed, and you'll wash it again before using it, and a lot of things may barely have been worn! It saves SO much money!

[Cammysmoma]

Hey! Congrats on your pregnancy, not long until your a mummy and it's he best feeling in the world! I think all the ladies pretty much have what you need for baby covered so I won't make any suggestions, however, can I just say that I had my first son last year and no one told me to expect massive amounts of bleeding after birth for days and days after, I only got a few boxes of pads but trust me, you need a lot more than you initially think!! So if I could make any suggestions it would be to make sure you have plenty of big pads for you!

[Semaphorically]

For bedding, we used a romper pouch when DD was tiny - like <a class="break-all" href="//www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004DJPV0I/?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21" rel="nofollow noindex" target="_blank">this. Then moved on to a wool sleeping bag when she was a bit bigger. We were given a merino kids one as a gift and it's great - wool thermoregulates a bit better than synthetic fill so less worrying about tog ratings. I also have a plain cotton one (no stuffing) for hot evenings.

And don't forget a mattress protector for explosions

[ChristmasSeacow]

As I recall they don't recommend grobags for the first few months so we just used blankets. Grobags are great for later though - I think we used them from c 6 months until about 2.5. The supermarkets sell their own brand ones (definitions Sainsbury's anyway) and they are quite good. But again, that kind of thing is easily bought second hand don't tell DH

I wouldn't worry too much about the temperature of your flat because babies are supposed to sleep in rooms that are actually quite cool. Unless it is hypothermic it is better to err on the side of too cool than too warm. Our monitor doubled up as a room thermometer so we could keep an eye on it and we actually had our heating off at night through the winter to ensure it didn't get too hot.

Regarding the baby car seat thing, the time they can spend in the car seat increases as they get older - when they are very young it's not the best posture for the development of something - lungs? Airway? We regularly drove 1-1.5 hours because we had to (family) but any more than that and we broke the journey up. I also didn't use the car seat as the pram seat except for short errands. Try not to drive yourself barmy but just keep it to a minumum. I think there is advice about how long they should be in car seats in one stretch but also how much total in a 24-hour period. For that reason when we needed to see relatives 4 h away we stayed overnight.

Have fun - it's so exciting looking forward to a baby but especially the first one

[lifesjoys]

I have a 4 week old & haven't bought any clothes for him

Everything I have was either gifted or second hand from other mothers.

I'm about to get enough clothes to cover him for the 3-6 month stage!

I actually haven't paid for anything.

Again, either gifted or second hand.

I'd rather save my money for when he's older.

[Emma2803]

I highly recommend a lie flat bit for your travel systrm. I didn't get one with ds, seat was suitable from birth (though he was far too small for it.) Sil let me her travel system with pram bit and it was brilliant as I left moses basket in bedroom and could wheel him about the rest of the house when needed.

Ive bought one for baby#2 a new one for my travel system is £170 but I got a used one on eBay for £28.50 and it's in perfect condition!!! Gonna buy a new mattress though. Mine is suitable for overnight sleeping so probably won't even use moses for next baby.

[FurryElephant]

The most used thing I bought for my DD was a fluffy coat type thing! Her massive fluffy snow suit got used about 5 times as I found it just wasn't cold enough, she wore her thinner fleece ones a bit more often though. I have a 3-6 month one completely unused (December baby!). Seconding having a million muslins! And bibs are something that I didn't expect to need but we now go through multiple a day. I never bothered with mittens as most baby gro/sleepsuits have the built in hands and mittens just fall off anyway she also very very rarely wore hats as her coat/fleece suits had hoods. When she was small I had a Halo Sleepsack for her which is like a sleeping bag with the option of a swaddle with arms in or out which she liked as she was always very good at kicking blankets off!

[SockQueen]

Christmas you're right - think Grobags/similar are ok once they're over 4kg or whatever weight limit the manufacturer suggests for their newborn ones. DS was huge so this wasn't an issue for us, so he was in them from about 4 weeks - the first few weeks were so warm he only needed a sheet as a cover.

[NapQueen]

Giant muslins are great for swaddling when they are newborn. Some babies dont like swaddlig but both of mine loved it and I found it helped them sleep.