What Do I Need To Buy For Babys Arival?

[loveydovey]

Hiya ladies,

This is my first ever s.o.s to all you yummy mummys , I know baby only has basic needs but where do I start?, what products do you recomend as a kind of kit I supose?
how many of each etc.
I have bought my elec breast pump, bottles, steriliser, a grooming kit, and nappy disposal, my mum is buying my travel system as its her first grandchild, and my dp mum is buying cot.
stuck now tho
please help,
im a first time mum who likes to be organised

[chegirlWILLbeserene]

You need suprisingly little.

I bought tons for DC1 but over the years I have got less and less. Due DC5 soon and am hard pushed to think of what to get

You need:

Something for baby to sleep in (i use moses basket)
Bedding
Clothes - baby gros, vests and cardis, scratch mitts and socks, hats and snowsuit/all in one
Car seat
Buggy
Towels
Nappies
Cotton wool/wipes
bowl for washing and bath.
I bf but still have steriliser ready
A couple of boxes (one upstairs one down) are handy for keeping nappies/wipes/cream in one place.

There are lots of other things but you can get them as you go along/need them. Otherwise you end up with a load of stuff you never use. You will probably find that friends and family turn up with all sorts too.

BUT as its your first the temptation is to shop till you drop and I dont think there is anything wrong with that. Its part of the fun.

[nubbins]

a sling is nice to have and a bouncy chair is very useful too.

A stash of chocolate, for you for sleepless nights and a coffee maker so you can have coffee at the touch of a button (if you like coffee obviously!) can be helpful.

[Bumbleconfusus]

i have one of these

I won't let my DD sleep without it as I am TERRIFIED of her snuggling too far under the covers and something bad happening, I know she can wriggle up in her moses basket if she is too hot (and has been able to do this from about 4 weeks old), so I'm sure if she didn't have it she could wriggle down.

[OhFuck]

I agree with the sling and bouncy chair suggestions. Until mine was nearly a year old I used the sling way more than the travel system!

[SmallShips]

With all my 3, the first thing I buy is a bouncy chair (the cheaper the better - the cheaper ones bounce best).

Sling!

I've used an Amby Nature Nest for my 2nd born and have bought another for this baby. Great invention!

If it's your first you will be bought loads of clothes (hopefully) so don't go mad.

(I'd take the nappy disposal system back, the smell of those things will haunt you for life, the smell of 20 shitty nappies covered in some crap air freshener stuff is really quite horrendous)

[Octaviapink]

As little as possible! People will give you things, but also babies are a lot less needy than Mothercare's marketing men would have you believe! You won't need the pump, bottles or steriliser for a few weeks after dc is born (best not to start bottles until bf-ing well established - 3 weeks or so) and b-milk is sterile anyway. (We never sterilised anything, ever.)

Agree on the sling and the bouncy chair - babies are happier in slings than anywhere else - and on the Nature's Nest - we used one for our FB and two sets of friends were so impressed they bought them for theirs.

Other than that, as long as you have somewhere for dc to sleep, something for him/her to wear, and something for his/her bottom, you will be fine. The only thing baby really desperately needs is lots and lots of you!

[EasterEggHunter]

My list
some good books for when you are breastfeeding!
Lanisohl for sore/cracked nipples (just in case it happens, may well not at all).
A small amount of clothes for the hospital and home, as other said, you will bought loads, and once they are bought, you can then get what you might be missing later
something to sleep in
a sling
a car seat if you have a car (i hardly use the pushchair)
nappies/nappy bags/cotton wool
top and tail bowl - seful for first couple of weeks
bouncy chair/rocker of some kind
baby monitor if you will not be able to hear baby when in a different room.
Lots of pre-cooked/easy prepare food, and lots of snacks in the cupboard.
I second the coffee machine!
Muslin cloths or something similar to wipe baby if there is spitup/sick.
A HUGE bag of love.

Good luck and enjoy!

[mumtotwoboys]

ALL of the things you mentioned in your OP I haven't bothered getting lol, and I'm due in 5 days.
My baby has a moses basket (for when he's really small, I suppose he'll be in my bed after a couple of months) then he'll leave my bed when he's 2 or 3 and weaned off the breast if he's anythign like my first DS :-)

Then I have a P+T pram for my 3yo and newborn.
Then a sling which I thing will be a massive help.
And clothes, (about 10 of each vests, baby grows, socks, playsuits, outsfits, bibs, 2 all in one coats..)
blankets, a months worth of nappies..
Some little toys and dummies too incase he takes a fancy to them..
and I think that's a bout it in all honesty!

[mumtotwoboys]

One thing I forgot with DS was hats!
They acted baffled that he didnt have a hat in the hospital so they gave him one.
I felt like a bit of a terrible mother at that point :-/

Oh btw your mum buying the travel system that's so damn nice of her =) bless

[mumtotwoboys]

thankyou for this thread, i cannot believe i fogot the bouncy chair again, they make life so much easier.
Need to take my big fat pregnant self into town and get one pronto

[Octaviapink]

Get Kiddicare to deliver!

[loveydovey]

ahhhhhh, thank you very much ladies!,
im crying my eyes out overcome with emotion (or hormones?) i read all your replys with a big smile on my face .

the slings you are all talking about are they the ones that have been all over the media recently?
i have to say i was looking forward to using one of them but my mil will never forgive me if i do lol.

mabe i should invest! mwhahahahahah

[EasterEggHunter]

you can get so many different type of sling, not just the 'bag' style ones in the media. I had one of those before the news stories and sold it as it never seemed safe to me.

I personally have a mei tai and a baby bjorn front carrier, but others use wraps (literally long peices of material that you wrap baby into) which often get recommended. Take a look at the topic 'slings/carriers' you will find lots of threads about them with links.

[EasterEggHunter]

(i mean i had it, and sold it, before the news coverage! i am not so fickle to sell it just because of the news!)

[Octaviapink]

The Baby Bjorn one is very good, but a lot of people prefer the way wrap slings spread the weight if you're carrying for a long time. (Less of a problem with a newborn, obviously). The baby can be just popped in and out of the Baby Bjorn, whereas a wrap takes a minute or two to put on. On the other hand it has a much longer life - I still stick my 26lb 11mo in it and it's fine.

[Bumbleconfusus]

also the bjorn, although it states from newborn it actually can only be used from 8lbs up, so I had to get a sling for the first 6 weeks till DD reached that weight.

[OhFuck]

I used my wrap sling to carry DS until he was nearly 30lbs!

Also, the reason many people prefer the wrap sling is not so much because is spreads the weight of the baby but because it supports the baby's weight more evenly - the Tomy/Baby Bjorn type things tend to suspend wee ones by their crotch.

But the best thing to do with slings is try some out, most online retailers will let you try and return what you don't like.

[ohgoonthen]

When I asked my mum for advice about this, she said the one thing that is an absolute MUST is a bouncy chair! Apparently, everytime she set me down I howled, so the only way she could eat or go the the toilet was to stick me in my bouncy chair and bounce me up and down with her foot!
Not sure if I believe her as I am convinced I was an angel, but I have bought one already....and I still have 5 months to go

[lifeas3plus1]

MUSLINS, Lots and lots of MUSLINS.

And Scratch Mits, Babies are born with surprising long finger nails.

[NonnoMum]

And don't forget stuff for yourself - oh yeah maternity towels and maternity bras. Don't forget breastpads too. All the glamorous stuff!

Seriously - try charity shops for outfits. Everyone gets given tons of stuff that they grow out of sooo quickly so there is always plenty in charity shops or on eBay.

Good luck.

[jurisfictionoperative]

Helloo.
Whenever someone I know has a baby, I give them a 'survival kit' based on my own two babies. They contain-
camillosan for cracked nippples,
nipple shields, incase they get sore when feeding,
maternity pads,
breast pads,
nappy rash cream,
infacol or gripe water,
baby oil,
a cold pack, for stitches,
muslins,
sudocreme,
a thermometer,
cradle cap remedy,
a good brand of dummy,
chocolate,
earplugs
and a miniature of brandy!
I also include a nice gift so it isnt all bad news! Everyone who has had one has used everything in the kit!
Other than these useful items, most of which you dont realise you need until you need them IYSWIM, I recommend plenty of vests and babygros, (people will give you loads of nice outfits as gifts), definately a bouncy chair, a nice 3in1 pram with a carrycot which can be used instead of a moses basket or crib, (wouldnt touch a travel system personally, but then I dont have to get on a bus!) and a nice wrap sling. I wouldnt bother with a baby bath (use the sink or take them in the tub with you) and I wouldnt buy talc or cotton wool, I still have a full pot of talc under the sink, from ds who is now 14!
If you really want all the gadgets and gizmos, try checking out your local NCT sales, they are fab for everything pregnancy or baby related, and are very reasonably priced. If I wasnt broody as hell anyway, NCT sales would be worth having a baby for! !