Hospital Bag- Is Mothercare the only option?

[Kitty81]

Just gone onto maternity leave at 37 weeks (this is my first baby).

Started filling the days with shopping, and am rapidly gathering stuff for the baby. Got my hospital bag list and am planning to pack it this week, but where on earth do I buy specialist maternity stuff from? The specific items I need to get are breast pads, maternity pads, nip cream etc.

There's no mothercare within easy reach of where I live, so I went on their website. I cannot bring myself to believe that they are the only option. A tube of nipple cream, three packs of own brand maternity towels and a pack of 100 breast pads is nearly £30? Really? Are there no cheaper alternatives?

On a similar note, is there a reason muslin squares seem to vary so much in cost? They are about £1 each from Mothercare, more like 50p each from Tesco; does quality matter, for something which is essentially squares of muslin for throwing up on? We're cloth nappying so was planning to use them as extra boosters too, and so I need lots of cheap ones rather than a few nice patterned ones with ducks or whatever on. Not sure I see the point in pretty patterned cloths which are literally just for pooing on.

And last question: If I buy sleeping bags for the little guy, do I also buy sleepsuits or will I just pop him into it in his vest/bodysuit? He's due in April and I live in lovely warm balmy Eastbourne so expecting nice weather. Our flat is also pretty cosy. And is one sleeping bag enough or am I being optimistic regarding how cleanly a sleeping baby can poo/vom?

Got lots to learn it would seem :) Thanks for any words of wisdom x

Asdas/tescos do maternity pads, breast pads and probably nipple cream too! Get cheap muslins, no need to waste money.

General rule is that baby needs to wear one more layer than we do. I had a summer baby (in the really hot summer of 06) and I always put her in a sleepsuit and used the lower tog sleeping bag. She was fine!

Congrats & good luck

Oh, I'd add that I generally have 2 sleeping bags at any one time (allows for one to get ruined during the night without a shortage occurring!)

Breast pad and materity pads are available in supermarkets - my Tesco and my Sainsbury's certainly have them.

One sleeping bag is not enough IMO. Babies spit up milk a lot and the shoulder straps will be wet. This is what happened with my DS anyway!

Yes, buy sleepsuits - they are very useful regardless of whether you choose for the baby to sleep in them. Lots of people take newborns out in sleepsuits - dressing them is not really necessary when they are just born. Plenty of us keep them in sleepsuits until they start crawling etc.

You can't use a sleeping bag from newborn but we had 3 once dd was big enough. Do NOT underestimate the poo or vom.

You can get everything you need in supermarkets or boots. I've never even been in a Mothercare.

Also, if it is warm and you think the baby will be too hot in a sleepsuit and a sleeping bag, you can just put them to bed in the sleepsuit and leave the bag off - more convenient IMO.

Also sleeping bags come in different togs. 0.5 or 1 in summer, 2.5 in winter I think.

1)Ebay
2) Yes to sleepsuits
3) Lots of bedding-they puke and poo and wreck it
4) A muslin is a cloth to barf on. Quality, price etc are irrelevant!
5) Save on breastpads by buying cloth or silicone ones.
6) The jumbo sanitary towels or Tena from a supermarket will do fine.
Is there a Texo or similar nearer? They also stock this stuff (cream etc).
Good Luck!

Boots online deliver free over I think £40

Over the next few months you will become closely acquainted with the baby aisles of major supermarkets..

Boots do a lot of baby stuff, including breast pads, nipple cream, maternity pads - their website even has a Hospital Essentials section :)

Don't stock up too much on Lansinoh though - a little goes a very long way, I was using my first tube with my second baby 2 years later!

The breastfeeding visitor also told me you could get in on prescription from them so don't need to cough up a fortune for it.

I second ebay too, I got all my muslins there and they're still going strong on the second baby and cost peanuts.

Sorry, just to say - I wouldn't go mad on breast pads either. I breastfed both of mine but never leaked and ended up giving all the ones I stockpiled away.

Yep, Tesco etc for maternity pads etc. You will need more than 3 packs! I used the standard
ones for the first few days then switched to the thinner ones with wings which were a welcome introduction sincey first DC.

Cheap muslins fine - just depends if, as you say, you want colours, ducks etc.

You will need at least 2 sleeping bags - one to wash, one to wear - but neither of mine were particularly pukey/leaky so 3 might prove useful if so. Prob try to manage with 2 baby ones though as they are into the next size up quite quickly.

Yep, agree that you will still need sleepsuits.

Oh, and nipple cream lahsinoh (sp) or nothing. It's v expensive though so maybe wait and see if needed.

Oh - sleeping bags, I wouldn't (personally) both with grobags, jsut get the cheapo supermarket ones or if Boots are still doing 3 for 2 get those.

You will def need more than one though - it can be tricky to stay on top of the washing in the early days.

Newborn babies are excellent at pooing out of the tops and sides of nappies ime, so more than one sleeping bag I would say.

IKEA sell them now if you've got one near, and eBay is good for secondhand ones.

Get cheapest muslins that you can, and large supermarkets will sell breastpads/cream/maternity pads - you can also use normal overnight sanitary pads. Just get whatever is cheapest.

Plain white sleepsuits are very versatile (and as another poster said, you can't use sleeping bags from birth in any case) - pack of 3 from Tesco or similar for a fiver.

Yes and you can normally get little sachets of lansinoh from the mws. You may not even need it all. Likewise with breastpads- I've never used one in my life as I wasn't very leaky.

See how you go- you can always fashion one out of a muslin if you get stuck.

all the supermarkets do the things you mentioned. I would recommend splashing out on Lansinoh (in the purple tube) nip cream - its really really good and 100% natural so if you put it on and then baby wants to feed soon, its fine. muslins, lots of cheap ones definitely the way to go - people will buy you M&S ones as pressies - bit like clothes. Most of the stuff I buy for DS is supermarket but he has lovely stuff from next and gap that grandparents buy (not that there is actually anything wrong with the supermarket stuff). newborns are better in sleepsuits and cellular blankets - just make sure he is foot to foot in the cot so he can't slip down. Last thing - you don;t mention disposable underwear for immediately post birth and you will need some, but DON"T get the horrible paper knickers - they are tiny and uncomfortable. Get some v cheap, cotton big pants and throw them away.

PS if you are lucky enough not to have a mothercare near you, feel pleased that you'll not have to experience their general crapness. If you need internet stuff, try Kiddicare.com

I was up at 4am this morn doing a complete clothing/bedding/grobag change due to DD2's poo explosion! So yes def need more than 1!! Try Tk maxx cos they are cheaper there than anywhere else i've found (bought one on saturday for £10!)...also the cotton lining ones are much better than the jersey lined ones which we found made DD1 get all sweaty and her feet stuck to it!!

Breast pads etc def go to supermarkets as they are much cheaper...Tommee Tippee breast pads are on offer at mo at Tesco, only £2.70 a box, usually over £4 a box (and more in mothercare and boots!) I started stockpiling wipes etc whenever they were on offer 6 months before I was due...DD2 is now 3 months and not had to buy any more yet!

Make sure you sign up to every supermarkets baby club too cos you get loads and loads of money saving vouchers which all add up

HTH, I could waffle all day bout baby buys!!!

Not much to add except to second IKEA for muslins. Also you'll need two or three sleeping bags on the go ( which incidentally you can use from newborn - depends on size of baby). I've put both DCs in a sleepsuit and sleeping bag (with no vest underneath). DS was a summer baby so had a lower tog than DD who was a winter baby.

And finally! Buy yourself washable breast pads. I'm a real leaker, especially overnight, and to be honest the teusablevoned are just much nicer to wear. Disposables make my nipples sore - I have no idea why!!

Oh my god! Predictive text gone mad!

primark do a pack of 5 cotton granny knickers for £2.50 - same price as disposable knickers and much more comfy!

Boots disposable pants are roomier/comfier than Asda's if you do decide to go down that route though...

I preferred washable breast pads as I did use lansinoh and found that it made disposables stick to me.

I got almost everything from Tesco. Their own brand maternity pads are fine, their breast pads were rubbish, but I leaked a lot. Tomytippee were great and usually on offer at tescos.

The only thing I had to get from mothercare was the lansinoh cream but I'd not thought of ebay or amazon. I used to go to proper shops before DD we buy most things online now :)

DD was born in July but slept/lived in a full body suit and growbag at night time. Actually we swaddled her for a few months at night time before moving onto the growbags. You definitely need more than 1 grobag though, and make sure no matter how sleep deprived you are if DC has poo'd all over one in the night you remember to wash and dry it the next morning! The number of times I went to put DD to bed only to realise one growbag was dirty and the other was still in the washer. :o

I used reuseable breast pads which I probably got a nappy site and which were really comfy, normal but superdooper heavy flow period pads, no nipple cream as a midwife said rub your own milk around your nipples and let them dry naturally (and it was fine)!!! Good Luck

Make the most of all the freebies you can get via the likes of Bounty packs or parenting clubs etc. I never bought breast pads - I'm not very leaky but on the few occasions I have been out and known that the length of time away from little one may be leak inducing, I have just used freebie ones from those packs. You can often get free samples by signing up to various websites - I set up a separate free e-mail account so that it didn't matter if I ended up getting junk mail. Similarly, I have not had to buy any sudocrem and have also received freebie muslin cloths, baby towels and, of course, the legendary Boots changing bag.

Tesco, Asda and TK Max have sleeping bags for £10. Ikea has them for a little more. If you're signed up to Brand Alley, there are some sleeping bags on there for £10 as well as some lovely discounted newborn sleepsuits. You'll definitely need more than one but I manage fine with just 2.

Boots sells the Lansinoh cream but it's worth waiting to see if you actually need it. You could be one of the lucky ones who finds breast feeding a breeze. I was not!

In terms of maternity pads, I bought 3 packs - some from Boots and some from Tesco. I don't think I even finished one pack. While I was in hospital (2 days due to CS), the hospital provided me with their industrial sized pads. Once at home, I used the maternity pads for a few days but then the flow reduced enough just to go back to my more normal pads for the remaining 5 or 6 weeks. I wish I'd just bought one pack with the back up that I could send my other half out on an emergency mission to Tesco if it had been necessary.

I bought BIG cheap pants from M&S, rather than go with disposables. I ended up continuing to wear them for months postnatally , partly because of the CS scar but also because my stomach did not just ping back to its pre-preggo size and they were far more comfy. I definitely got my money's worth!

I wouldn't buy too much in the way of body suits and sleep suits at this stage - it's worth waiting to see what people buy you. I bought one pack of short sleeve vests and one pack of bodysuits - both cheapo from Tesco - but we were given loads as presents and, 5 months later, we have only had to buy one more pack of each. I have found Mothercare vests etc to be good but expensive. Tezzers and Asda do the job just fine.

Good luck with your little one!!

Definitely more than one sleeping bag. We had 2 summer tog ones and 2 winter tog ones. They can be used from birth providing that your baby is over 7lb. They have poppers at the side which you use for when the baby is smaller. We found the grobags better as they didn't shrink in the wash as much as our tesco one.

Definitely just buy a five pack of cheap cotton knockers to use after the birth. I also used the always maxi fat night time pads once I got home from hospital as they felt more comfortable.

Sleepsuits are the most ideal thing for baby to sleep on and once the weather gets very warm maybe a romper suit instead.

You need to decide if you want to use disposable or reusable breast pads. I started off with the tommee tip pee ones and then went to a machine washable one.

Supermarkets are great for buying baby/ mother products.

Good luck with everything