Moving to Australia soon after having baby

[IComeFromAMumDownUnder]

Hi all, I'm new here and new to being pregnant too!
We live in the UK but will be moving back home after our baby is born. It will probably take 2-3 months for the birth certificate, citizenship by decent and then passport to all be done so in that time we need a few baby things here for the UK but not so much that we will also need to lug it all the way home with us and also not waste a heap of money getting rid of it.
We also live in a 1br place so bub will just be in with us for a while.
Any suggestions about how to do this, what we should buy for that first little while and what we should just wait to buy back in Aus would be amazing.
Hope someone has done this before that I could learn from because it's a bit daunting!
Thanks! x

I’d say just get a Moses basket with a stand for the UK rather than a full on cot, and then baby can have a cot when you get to Australia. Something you will need is a baby car seat, could that be taken with you on the plane when you go to Australia?

I never bothered with a moses basket for either of my kids, we used a travel cot, which doubled up as a playpen and was also useful for years afterwards. Apart from that, yes you'll need a car seat and possibly a pram, although f I had my time again I'd invest in one of those reclining pushchairs that you can use from birth and not bother with a pram. Some people get away with just using a sling or baby carrier for the early months - but this depends a bit where you live, whether you walk a lot, whether you have a bad back, and whether you end up with one of those babies who hates to be put down.

www.babycentre.co.uk/l25025004/mums-picks-2018-best-lightweight-strollers-photos
www.mumsnet.com/reviews#buggy-and-baby-carrier-reviews

Thanks ladies. We don't have a car here so we don't think we'll do the car seat. Probably just have one bought in Australia and it be ready and waiting for us to land if we have a car ready, or hire one until a permanent car is sorted.
I'll look into the reclining pushchair as I'm not sure what they are exactly. So much to research!

Buying a car seat in Aus is the sensible option; standards are different and they must have top tethers and 5 point harness in infant seats rather than the 3 point they have in the UK.

Also, try to sort out confirmation of vaccines in order to have the Medicare records updated when you arrive.

Babies need very little when they're tiny, really just a place to sleep is the main one. Buy something to suit the first few months, then sell on gumtree and buy the next back in Aus. Depending where you go back to, there are lots of baby equipment rental firms - we rented a bassinet instead of buying.

I used a pram from the start so thought it was essential. They're obviously fine to fly with though. If you think you'll get a capsule when you get to Aus and use it on the pram, just do a bit of a double check you can get the connectors...big brands like Maxi Cosi etc all work fine though

Just remembered that the word 'pram' in Australia = 'pushchair' here in the UK (and 'stroller' elsewhere). To avoid confusion, a 'pram' in England is a lie-flat bed for newborns that clips onto a wheeled base that you can then swap for a seat as your child grows. Some 'travel systems' include three different things to clip on the base - a car seat, a pram top and a pushchair top. Personally, and having raised two kids and had one those systems, I wouldn't bother if I had my time again. They're just really expensive and bulky. I'd get the lightest weight lie flat pushchair I could find and use that instead.

You might like to think about the infant vaccination schedules and work out how you want to transfer between them. The UK uses 2/3/4 months which is relatively accelerated compared with elsewhere - I just checked and confirmed that in Australia the primary course is done at 2 / 4 and 6 months. However they have routine HepB now which is another difference. I'm not certain in your position whether I'd want to go with 2 and 3 month vaccinations and see what they want to give in Australia, or just have the 2 month ones if I was definitely going to be in Australia by 4 months, or what.

Where in Aus will you be moving to? Each state calls their child health nurse something different. It's there that you will do your weigh in's/measurements etc, have child rearing classes, join mothers groups etc. www.healthywa.wa.gov.au/Articles/A_E/Community-child-health-nurses but it's much the same in each state.

As pp beta.health.gov.au/health-topics/immunisation/immunisation-throughout-life/national-immunisation-program-schedule