Newborn essentials

[Nobhobs]

So far we have bought

• Next 2 me crib & mattress
• Shnuggle bath & jug
• Bath thermometer
• Electric Swing
• Sling
• Playmat
• Bouncer
• Travel system

We obviously have loads we've not sorted yet, especially clothes. Just wondering if anyone has any essentials that they'd recommend?

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This thread is a little old now so some of the suggestions may be out of date, but if you’ve landed here looking for the ultimate baby essentials checklist, we’ve recently updated our newborn essentials article with the must-haves Mumsnetters think you can't live without when your baby arrives. We hope you find it useful.
MNHQ

Nappies, change mat & bag all your nappy change gear

Sleeping bag, cellular blankets, white noise teddy if you want one, nightlight

If you're formula feeding you'll need all the gear for that - bottles, steriliser, perfect prep, formula etc. If you're BF maybe a pump - at least a hakaa to collect let down/relieve over supply

Mirror for car to see LO in car seat

A million muslins

We got a rocking chair which i wasn't sure I wanted/needed but it's fantastic for settling baby when we're tired

A thermal mug to keep a drink warm for you. A million box sets (although I guess that’s less necessary now with Netflix etc.). Meals in the freezer for first few weeks.

Erm...for you...glycerin suppositories for when you can’t poo. Witch hazel to soak maternity pads (pop them in the freezer). Breast pads and lanolin cream. Lavender oil in the both is nice. I found big cheap black supermarket knickers were better than paper ones (and cheaper!).

Sorry, I realise that’s all for you but this was the stuff nobody told me about!

Thermometer. I'd certainly recommend a digital thermometer even though they can be a bit pricey, I have an ear one and it has been great when I'm worrying about whether ds has a high temp or not(invariably he doesn't so it is really reassuring!).
Calamine lotion for rashes. Sudocrem is also good for almost anything!
Other things I've found useful are saline nasal drops and a nasal aspirator (weird squeezy thing to suck the snot out - yum! ) - my ds had a really blocked up nose in the first couple of weeks which made it v difficult for him to feed and so they were very useful. Also worth getting in some infacol or something similar in case your baby has difficulties getting wind up.
Nail scissors
Calpol from 2months, nurofen from 3mths. calpol better for fevers, nurofen better for things like teething, so definitely worth having both available. both have different dosing regimes so be careful you know which is which when using. Make sure you get a syringe for dispensing these - much the easiest way to get meds into a baby.
Nursing bra and breast pads if you’re going to breastfeed. You can get eco friendly bamboo ones, but one step better are the reusable ones.
I loved the Weleda nipple balm.
Bath thermometer
We did buy baby bath towels, but to be honest, you could easily get away with using a small bath towel.
A soft sponge. Pretty basic really, I’d always go for a natural sponge over a manmade one. More eco-friendly and kinder to baby skin.
The Tommee Tippee Sangenic nappy bin is one of the few products that I really don’t think I could have got through the baby months without.
There are some who say you need a changing table. Certainly there is something to be said for not having to lean over too far and therefore saving your back. However, space and cost can be an issue. We used a changing mat on our bed for the first few months.
Worth getting a bottlefeeding kit even if you plan on solely breastfeeding. It totally took the pressure of me with breastfeeding. We had the Tommee Tippee closer to nature bottle kit, which has bottles, a steriliser, a bottle warmer and all you need to keep bottles hygienically clean.
Breast pumps take a little getting used to but in my experience it is so great to be able to express milk. It’s a great way to get your partner involved in feeding your baby and also super useful if you don’t want to breastfeed when you are outside of the house.
3 washable crib mattress pads
2-4 fitted crib sheets
4-6 soft, lightweight blankets
Baby monitor. You can go for one with a camera, but we went for an audio one.
Black out curtains
Stock up on a good non-bio laundry detergent. You will be doing a lot of laundry!!
The Grobag can be used from birth and is such a lovely, snuggly way for your baby to be wrapped up for sleep.
A mirror for the rear facing car seat.
If you have a wide circle of family and friends do bear in mind that you will likely receive lots of baby clothes as gifts once your baby is born.

Aldi baby event is coming up in April. Their cellular blankets were great.

Tbh you've got the essential s except clothes. I think it's often good to get things as you need them as the hormonal pregnant brain can overspend.

Zip up sleepsuits are incredibly convenient, thought weirdly rare in uk - Gap (online) was where we got ours, except for random ones that popped up in john Lewis etc

If Breast for, I found the traditional lansinoh very very thick, sticky and hard to spread - would loved to have used weleda one mentioned above but made me tingle/sting - recommend multi mam nipple balm

*breast feeding

You also need a room thermometer (though some bath ones do both).

Nappy cream, recommend the Weleda one.

Lots and lots of handwash and hand moisturiser, as you'll be washing hands constantly.

“The Grobag can be used from birth and is such a lovely, snuggly way for your baby to be wrapped up for sleep”
Just be aware that even though they say from birth, grobags are only suitable from 8.8lbs.

Monitor - we brought a video one
Perfect Prep if bottlefeeding
Good foldable changing mat for your nappy bag as the changing tables out and about are often grim.
Handcream
Best thing I did was stock up on all the everyday items that you forget about till it's too late - UHT milk for emergency tea needs, loaf of bread in the freezer, brought extra dishwasher tabs, washing up liquid, washing powder, foil, bin bags etc so I didn't need to worry about running out for the first few months.

I would say a changing mat for upstairs and downstairs. Saves lugging it around. In fact we had 2 of everything for changes. If you are having a boy i epuld suggest boxes of tissues to prevent any hose guard accidents. Just place one over as soon as you open nappy

@Moralitym1n1 they do zip up sleepsuits in Sainsbury's now ( mostly online) and they are really reasonable. Sooooo much easier!

Sleeping bag
Baby grows
Vests
Jumper
Blanket
Snowsuit
Car seat
Nappies
Wipes
Boobs/bottles

I have almost never used a muslin and i'm still not clear what they are for!

Within a couple months i felt like we needed some toys. Love our play gym and assorted extra dangly things. But someone also gifted us a play gym where the arches are too high and the baby can't reach the toys - don't make that mistake. I also love little textured links which they sell in mother care. One of the first toys she could grasp and play with.

Get a dresser instead of a changing table that way you can use it afterwards. We have an Ikea one: www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/storage-furniture/chest-of-drawers/hemnes-chest-of-8-drawers-white-art-40374281/?cid=gb%7Cps%7Cpla%7C%7C%7C%7C&gclid=CjwKCAiAwojkBRBbEiwAeRcJZBVZg0sNVmMMIsEMZHv7OMDpSoINkCz4n-BEPFsGkwNarOQBGSz7HxoCU4MQAvD_BwE

Keep an eye out on fb. We got so much for our nursery from there, babies don’t use things for long so most stuff is in great condition.

For clothes I would get short sleeve vests x8 onesies x8 and longsleeve vests x4 all size newborn or a few places do upto one month size. By the time they have been through the wash and dryer they’ll shrink a little bit. The hospital said our bub has to wear a vest and a onesie at all times. Maybe get a snowsuit too for out and about depending when you’re due. Our LO slept in a long sleeve vest and grosnug to begin with and since about 4!weeks has slept in a LSvest and 1tog grobag. When baby is here you’ll have a better idea of what clothes to buy and so many people will buy you little outfits as gifts some will hardly get worn.

Enjoy

We bought a swingy chair from Mamas and papas - it's proven a god send! Can pop baby in it while I do chores.

Also amazon prime has been great! Next day delivery and access to loads of tv shows and films. Win win!

2 changing mats - 1 for upstairs and 1 for downstairs.

A hundred bibs!

Plenty of sleepsuit a. I find that even though my DS is 5 months old, I still mainly dress him in sleepsuits as they seem comfier for him and are easier when changing him than trousers/tops etc. You can never have too many sleepsuits or vests.

A GroEgg so you can easily see the temperature in the bedroom at night.

A remote controlled bulb/lamp so you can use the remote to put it on very low when you're feeding in the night so you can see what you're doing but the light isn't so bright that it will fully wake the baby. We bought a lamp and remote controlled bulb from Tesco and it's amazing!! We keep it on the far side of the bedroom where we make the night time bottles and keep the nappies etc. It's a genius invention and as we have a Next2Me crib on my side of the bed and I no longer have a bedside table, it's used every night, many times so I can check DS and see him to put his dummy back in.

Also, I've found that Mam bottles are far better than Tommee Tippee ones if your LO has colic.

Feeding cushion.
LOL at the electric swing! 😂😂

Thanks all! Some really helpful suggestions