What do I REALLY need to buy for a newborn?

[mmmcookies]

Hi there, I'm 25 weeks pregnant and starting to think about what I need to get in for the baby - clothes / furniture etc. Does anyone have any recommendations about what I'll really need? I don't have a lot of cash so am keen to avoid buying a ton of unnecessary stuff. Thank you!

Some clothes (vests and sleepsuits), some nappies, somewhere for it to sleep. Feeding paraphenalia if you're not planning to breastfeed. Something to wipe up sick. Nappies. Car seat.

Muslins, nappies, something to sleep in, a few babygros, cotton wool. That's it really if you're breastfeeding. Something to cart them about it - a sling is cheapest - is also a good idea. They don't need much for the first few months except for their mums :)

Haha, snap Christine

bed (cot/ moses basket/ your bed depends if you want to co- sleep or put baby in own bed), travel equipment (pram+ car seat), clothes, bedding, feeding items, muslins to wipe up sick/ milk, nappies, and a dummy (tehehe)(i only say a dummy because wether you want to give one or not sometimes when they are sucking for comfort not food its easier to give a dummy than your nipple/ finger!!) and their mummy!
think thats all you need! and lots of bits are on ebay very cheap/ freecycle/ bootfair/ local paper if you don't want to buy new :o HTH

Agree with aStar and Christine if you're BFing then all we needed was some clothes (although it was summer, so he barely even used those), some nappies, and some cloths of some sort (I had 50p towels from Ikea, and I bought some brushed cotton fabric which I cut into squares and hemmed to use instead of receiving blankets/towels/general covering duty)

I made a mei-tai thing which we're still using 10 months later (rather than a buggy), although when he was very small and floppy I found a wrap (made from 5m of stretch-shirting from the bargain section cut in 3 lengthwise) better.

Oh, actually, we got one of those little baby rockers - but if you need a carseat (no car for us, so we didn't) then that could perform the same duty.

Goodness.. I sound like a lentil-weaver. I assure you I'm not, I'm just stingy and can sew!

I would agree, although I would also say from experience that if you're planning to breastfeed I would also have bottle feeding stuff hiding in the garage just in case, boxed and with receipts. I was desperate to BF but didn't produce any milk (?) and was glad I didn't have to go out and buy that stuff after a week of beating myself up and feeling dreadful. Apart from that, muslins (loads) maybe 8 - 10 vests and sleepsuits and all the other stuff the ladies have suggested. Personally I didn't go for the full on furniture bonanza, but we did have the cot set up which was extremely useful for putting the millions of gifts in 'til I got round to writing thank you cards! Honestly, wee babies just need lots of mummy and daddy cuddles and somewhere safe and warm to sleep, a car seat and a sling/pram. Good luck!

I forgot the carseat though :o

Wow! That was quick! Thanks ladies. I am planning on breastfeeding so that should keep things simple. One thing I forgot to ask though - sizing - is it best to go 3-6 months? If the baby's big it might not get into newborn. I guess I could wait until further along and see what the dr estimates.

I'd get some cheap newborn - just don't take them out of the packet..

My totally average sized baby was in them for a couple of weeks - the 3-6 month stuff was hopelessly large at first.

I never used newborn, I started in 0-3. But 3-6 would definitely be too big for a newborn.

Buy cheap newborn stuff from Tesco - it costs buttons. My DS was positively drowning in 0-3 for the first few months (he was under 7lbs) so you do need some teeny stuff. But not a lot. Breastfed babies don't poo often

Ah yes, I forget there's newborn and 0-3 - I'd still get a few cheapies, like Christine I found the 0-3s a bit too big at first (even with sleeve rolling)

Thanks again! I was confused by the 0-3 & newborn... isn't 0 newborn :)

Clothes is always a problem really till the baby arrives! My DD was 7lb 4 at birth but was in newborn till she was 3 months old!
Also my Bf baby did poo lots.....especially at night

Arf Christine - my breastfed baby pooed constantly And copiously.

ref the BF pooping - DS was BF, and OMG that boy could poo for england - he would do one, have a fresh nappy I kid you not 5 mins later would poo again then again after a repeat, 3 nappies later he'd decided he'd finished. needless to say I soon got wise to his tactics. :o

Mine only pooed every 10 days. And then that was his entire bodyweight :o

That has been the experience of everyone else I know too but I guess they're all different. Be prepared for poo OP!

I was on my own when dd was born and kept baby stuff to a minimum.
You will generally get given quite a bit of stuff as well and if you are not too precious things like cots and moses baskets are easy to get second hand.

you will need newborn baby vests and grows at least 7-10 of each.
Baby blankets
Nappies
cotton wool
a sling (I got this 2nd hand as well)
a baby bath and mat (these aren't very expensive)
if you have a car a baby car seat (don't buy 2nd hand!)

I wasted money on buying an expensive pram only to realise that it was really unnecessary, if I have any more babies I would buy a cheaper but comfy buggy that lies flat and would use a sling for the first couple of months.

Great that you are planning on bfing, maybe get some breast pads for leaky boobs!!! Also see if you can find out in advance if there are any local support groups.

I and my friends fretted about getting the baby's bedroom ready but to be honest it is a glorified dressing room for the first 3-4 months. They sleep in your room and they have so few "things" it is like a cupboard to keep the presents in.

That said you will also fret about this... I think its called nesting.

Congrats and enjoy your shopping

Also thinking about it, some cloth swaddling sheets (my mum made me some!!) they were worth there weight in gold!!!

I'd recommend:

Plastic Backed Bibs - milk soaks through fabric ones and makes their necks sore and clothes all damp.

Babygros - I never bothered with proper clothes as I was too tired to bother dressing them up and you don't go out much in the first few days/weeks. Mine lived in their babygros.

A pacifier - whether you love or hate them, they do soothe them off to sleep, provide comfort and research has revealed that they play a part in preventing SIDS. They don't effect the speech or teeth as long as you're sensible.

Babywipes

Don't buy special furniture like a changing table unless you plan to churn out loads of littleuns. We just got our stuff from Ikea.

Don't buy an expensive pram - just get a pushchair that's suitable from birth.

I never bothered with special towels, faceclothes etc. I just used the family towels and they were fine.

Metanium Cream is great for nappy rash.

Don't buy loads of first size clothes as they grow out of them very quickly.

One of our best buys was a little recliner seat that had music, light and vibration. We'd pop ds2 down to sleep in it after his feed and he'd sleep really well. You can use them from being about 3 months old. He'd also kick which would set the music off. It was great just to pop him in to so that you could get a cuppa or a shower. He could also see what was going on around him too.

What I was really grateful that I had in the week after the birth was a kilo of prunes. Seriously, you don't want to have to push a thing out for at least a week.

We don't bother with wipes except for out, in we have small cotton wipes and a dish of water. We have coconut oil for nappy and massage cream.

My larger than average baby would have been lost in 3-6m stuff to the extent it would have been impractical. Remember, by 5 months they have doubled their birth weight...

Oh! We had a shed load of muslins and I still don't know what to do with them.

Random selection of the things we bought and didn't use:

Baby bath - I put her in with me

Pram, pushchair, travel system (yes, all 3! all good ones but from ebay). Am too lazy to faff around with them and just bung her in a sling as I find it a lot less hassle. They're not actually mandatory, I was amazed to find!

Changing bag. now have cheapie rucksack as easier to carry.

Clothes. Mostly we got these free but DD seems to have managed with about 3 babygros and 5 vests at any one time, plus a jacket and snowsuit and woolly hats. I've only just started putting her into actual "clothes" at 6 months and then not very often. We were given enough stuff to clothe a small country and used a fraction of it.

Cot and moses basket bedding. Then we got given a couple of sleeping bags and all she needs are two bottom sheets.

Bouncy seat - a cheapy. Never really had on occasion to use it. Might have done if it had music and lights.

BF tops. Tried and failed - gone for the vest with no sleeves under normal tops option.

and for the birth - disposable maternity pants, nursing nighties - wish I hadn't bothered as I just ended up using old knickers and a stretchy normal nightie - I kept clipping the night bra onto the nightie by mistake in the wee small hours and nearly garrotted myself when getting changed on more than one occasion.

Calpol, infacol. Not all babies get sick! Depends how far you live from a chemist of course...

DD only got her "own" room a month or two ago as we wanted somewhere we could keep the dog out of (she sleeps under our bed). Not for that it would probably still be a fair way off. Needless to say, it has not been redecorated and the furniture is all second hand and very cheap/free from ebay/friends. Suspect she hasn't even noticed yet!

Good luck - hope it all goes swimmingly!

You will need:

• babygros and vests - newborn size probably 5-7 sets. People will give you stuff too, but they are usually sensible and will give you 0-3 or 3-6 stuff. Don't bother with cute outfits when they're tiny.

• nappies - more than you might think. Mine pood for England when they were little (were fully BF) and then went through a once-in-10-days- stage when they were about 3 months (when this happens, make sure you have at least 5 changes of clothes and a million nappies with you if going out. You will need them ALL)

• A sling. They are lifesavers. Look at second hand so that you don't lose much money (and can resell) if a particular type doesn't work for you and you need a different one. But they are BRILLIANT and keep babies very, very happy. Babywearing is great.

• Lots of ratty towels. Ask your friends if they have any horrible frayed old towels they want to get rid of and take them. You can put them on your changing mat (because plastic is nasty to lie on and babies will wee/poo when you are changing them). You can drape them over your shoulder instead of muslins - much more absorbent and cheaper. You can let you baby lie on them for bare babytime after bath - babies love this. Ratty towels are the biz.

• A lie-flat pushchair. You really don't need a fashionable pram.

• A bouncy chair - they are excellent.

• I really wouldn't get formula and bottles in so early if BF doesn't work, the temptation is too great, and in case of emergencies it's really Dad's job to run out and get this stuff if it's realy needed.

• A cot - Moses basket not needed, we had one but only used it for 6 weeks (dd1) and 4 weeks (dd2) respectively because they were so long. Go for a cot straight away, get it 2nd hand but buy a new mattress.

• Tea tree oil and lavender oil for in the bath. This is for you when you come home with ore muscles where you didn't know you had muscles, swelling where you really don't want swelling and general discomfort

• Lansinoh or other nipple cream. Really useful in the early days of BF. By the way, BF is a tough gig to begin with, don't let anyone tell you different. Just get help the moment you feel you need it (pm me if you want) and whinge, whinge, whinge. People tend to see it through rose-tinted specs and don't tell you that it can be hard to get going. I say this as someone who BF two children for 13 months each. And once you've got it working, it is a dream.