How many clothes?

[MissBax]

I'm 25 weeks pregnant but just wondering how many of everything we'll need for when baby's first born? We've got the pram, cot, etc etc. I still need to get a steriliser, reusable nappy starter set, and other bits and bobs (nipple guards and cream etc) but I'm just not sure how many clothes I need to get me through the first few weeks - how many baby grows, etc?? Also are there other things I need? Mitts / hats? This is my first and admit I'm pretty clueless!

[Oly5]

In my experience they're not in newborn size very long but you still need a lot as they sick and poo through everything! So i would say 7-10 vests and 7-10 babygros in newborn size (just buy cheap ones). Then I had double that in size 0-3.
Never bothered with mitts, they are a waste of time but I had two little hats (they will use one fairly soon after birth).
I never bothered with outfits til baby was older than 3 months.. Life is far easier (changing countless nappies etc) if they are in Babygros.
You need a few blankets that can be easily washed and also maybe a cosy cotton jacket type thing for bringing them home from the hospital. Plus muslin cloths.
Never used a nipple guard, are you sure you need one? A tube of Lanisoh is great though for breastfeeding

[MissBax]

Oly thank you! That's what I was thinking - babygrows for a good while until she and I are both settled. Ah I didn't think of blankets!

[MissBax]

I'd been told nipple guards/shields stop nipple cracking and chapping? 😕

[haveacupoftea]

Don't buy an awful lot - people are going to give you so many clothes in the smaller sizes! Ive been given so much newborn and 0-3 the baby will never wear half of it, and he's not even born yet.

[Want2bSupermum]

Get a 5 pack of onesies and vests. Wait on everything else clothing wise.

For nipple cream I found the best to be motherlove. You also need nipple pads, get the thin ones by lashinosh.

For blankets, I used the Aden and Anais Muslin blankets. Here in the US it's $35 for 3. They have them in TJ Max for less. They are perfect for swaddling, covering the car seat when you are out and about plus they are big enough as a breastfeeding cover.

For a sterilizer, use your dishwasher if you have one or just use the microwave bags.

[Want2bSupermum]

Get the nipple guards. They helped with healing.

For the bassinet you can use the muslin clothes instead of a bassinet sheet. For the crib get 4 fitted sheets. No need for a bumper. I'd get dummy's too. Mine have all been suckers. Gripe water is also very useful to have in.

As far as baby equipment, the only thing you need is the Fischer price rock and play that plugs into the wall. It rocks the baby for you and vibrates. Baby slept in it for months.

[Eeeeek2]

Reusable nappies often are too big for newborns and more difficult with cord still in place so have you got disposable nappies for the first couple weeks?

[MissBax]

Oh wow thanks everyone, some really helpful information here! Eeek I hadnt realised that, would you suggest getting a pack of new born nappies for the first few weeks then?

[Want2bSupermum]

Look my thoughts on washable nappies is that life is way too short plus by the time you consider how much water is used to wash them in not convinced they are better. I use pampers and Vaseline on their bum so they can use it for 3-5 hours unless of course they poop as soon as you change them!

[Want2bSupermum]

Also the first couple of days the poop is super sticky. Easier to remove it with a layer of vasaline on their bum. Also don't use cotton on those first few days. I used bounty towels with warm water.

[Emma2803]

I second oly5 in her recommendation for some newborn, lots of 0-3 and don't worry about outfits til 3-6 months as babygros are so much easier and more comfortable for them.
Cellular blanket are great for the moses basket as they let the air circulate. My baby liked being warm so I folded them in two.
Also some babygros come with foldover scratch mitts built in, go for that!

[Want2bSupermum]

I used socks instead of mitts. One less thing to buy!

[MissBax]

want2b - life is too short, all the more reason not to clog up the environment 😉 I think they only cost about £2 a week in water for washing and a pack of 100 liners are about £2.50 too :)

[MissBax]

Emma - how did you know how warm or cool to keep baby? This is one of my big anxieties - that I won't know whether she's too hot or cold!!

[Want2bSupermum]

That's if you scrap and wash once a week. It never works out that way. If you leave for a week you are using a tonne of chemicals to get the stains out. If using liners, might as well use a biodegradable diaper (ones here in the US are degradable after 2 years).

[Want2bSupermum]

Seventh generation diapers are good as well as naturalies for faster biodegradable. Honest company is one to avoid based on my kid ending up with a black bum somehow.

[MissBax]

want2b Oh my God that's awful!! I'll look into those companies though, thank you :)

[Enidblyton1]

Agree with pps that you need very little clothing to begin with - wait and see what you are given. I'd just buy

• a multi pack of vests and sleep suits
  
• a few muslins
  
• a couple of packs of size 1 nappies/cotton wool/wipes
  
• scratch mitts (though mine never stayed on long!)
  
• Couple of those cotton blankets with the little holes in them (forget the name!) for swaddling
  
• I bought nipple guard and cream and never needed it, but I know plenty of people who have found them useful to worth getting them.
  
• metanium nappy rash cream
  

if you have the basics to begin with, you will then be given presents and anything else you suddenly need to can usually order off Amazon and it will arrive the next day. Newborn babies need very little at the start.

[Enidblyton1]

Should have read previous reply - I meant to say cellular blankets!

[LittleWingSoul]

Personally I would completely forego the newborn size of clothing and go straight for 0-3 months as there is a chance your baby won't fit the newborn size even as a newborn! My 9lb DS didn't! It doesn't matter if the 0-3 are a little big as they very quickly grow into them.

Re washable nappies... I have used them with both DC and think they are great. You are right about the impact on the environment of disposables. The damage done by non-degradable toxic waste far outweighs the cost of purifying water for re-use. However, for the first few weeks I would go with disposables for the reasons pp have suggested and just to make life easier for yourself and for other people who may be around helping you out! 2 or 3 weeks of disposables isn't so bad in the grand scheme of 2 or 3 years of nappy use.

[MelinaMercury]

I bought a pack of 5 newborn babygrow's and 5 vests to start with then bought more as needed once they were born as they were both around the 7lb mark and needed tiny baby size for the first month or so.

I liked Boots and Next baby clothing as the babygrows had built in mitts and most of them were nice bright colours rather than pink/blue.

As for cloth nappies, I used them from when my daughter was 9 weeks until 3 years with the odd disposable thrown in and it really doesn't take any time at all and is definitely better for the environment in the long run but I do agree that disposables are good for the early days when you're just adjusting to new routine's and for the cord etc.

[TestingTestingWonTooFree]

Be wary about people insisting anything is essential, it might have been very useful for their baby, it doesn't mean it would be for yours. I find it usefuk to think about whether it was available 50 years ago and how people managed then (exception might be advances in safety, so you can't just leave the baby in a carry cot on the car's back seat). Some babies just don't get on with some things. My first didn't like swaddling or the v expensive best cushion we bought, thankfully the second does. You need to dress, feed, transport your baby and sonewhere they can sleep day and night. You will have your own preferences on this and if you're lucky, your baby will agree.

You might well not need nipple shields, I think they're are short term measure if things have gone wrong. If you do damage the skin on your nipples, I recommend using paraffin guaze to promote healing (you can get it from the chemist). Lanisoh is quite likely to be useful in the early days. I like reusable/washable breast pads much more than disposable ones.

I've had 7lb babies who were in newborn/0-1 for several weeks. In an emergency I could put them in 0-3 but it'd swamp them. I'd work on 3 outfit changes a day, so have a think about how often you want to wash clothes and how long they'd take to dry. Will you wash baby's clothes with yours? I do because you'd need 50+ newborn babygros in my machine before it feels worth turning it on. There will be sheets and towels too though.

Don't rely on people buying you first size clothes. The most popular size for DC1 gifts was 3-6m. DC2 seems to be 0-3.

[CaipirinhasAllRound]

There are some useful essentials lists on the Mothercare app.
Re nappies, don't be put off cloth nappies because of other people's opinions. Give them a go and see how you get on.
I think a lot of babygros have built in mitts, like big cuffs you just fold over their hands.
Socks don't stay on so babygros with feet are way better. And don't get anything that does up down the back - nightmare to get on!
Have you considered reusable wipes? We loved them and have just bought new ones for second baby. Look at the cheeky wipes website.

[Herbie22]

Don't rely on gifts. Both MIL and DM told me not to buy newborn as everyone would buy me them as gifts. Unfortunately everyone had the same idea and got DD 0-3 rather than newborn. She's 7lb + but 0-3 still absoloulty swamps her at over 3 weeks. She even has some tiny baby clothes she wears. It's hard to know what they will need till they get here!
Ps. Well done you, I wish I wasn't so lazy so I could have done reusable nappies!

[Mysterycat23]

How to tell a warm or cold baby - their hands can be slightly cool, if they're at a good temp. (Not cold or icy!) If their hands and nose are hot they're probably too hot. I kept mine with warm but not hot hands and nose. Didn't let his hands go cool but he was born in Jan so didn't want him getting cold at all.

You might fancy a hooded towel for after bathing. Though we didn't bath DS until after his cord dropped off. One of us goes in the bath with him or we use the kitchen sink. No products simply water.

Blankets - we have cellular plus a cotton swaddle blanket on top.

We found DS shot up in size. He was in 0-3 for 6 weeks and 3-6 for another 6 weeks. Babies grow at different rates! Recommend checking out your local nct nearly new sale for clothes.

Congratulations