What do I need for a newborn?

[FirstDD19]

What do I need to buy? What are ABSOLUTES and cant live withouts?

Something for the baby to be put in, whether to nap or so you can eat lunch and go to the toilet. We had a bouncy chair which he went in from about 4 weeks.

Breastfeeding cushion even if you bottle feed. The half moon shape is great for supporting your arms while they nap.

Cellular blankets as they are usually too small for sleeping bags to start with.

If you live in a house rather than a flat/bungalow I would suggest a downstairs moses basket for naps so that if you're downstairs when they fall asleep you can just pop them in that and get on with bits rather than worry about taking them upstairs.

You've got the obvious bits, I think there's an essentials list somewhere on here that lists like 7-12 vests/body suits, muslin blankets etc.

Congratulations x

Sleepsuits and vests in the following 3 sizes:
Tiny baby
Newborn
0-3 months
You never know what size they'll need from birth.
In my hospital bag I packed 3 freezer bags (each labelled with one of the different sizes) of clothes so that I felt organised and knew I wouldn't have to rummage through piles of clothes.
There are obviously loads of other things but can't think right now. Good luck

Ooo I need to follow this. I was a paediatric nurse for over 10 years but have no idea!

What is a cellular blanket?

Watching with interest OP. It's so overwhelming (first baby)

@NotMyRealName123 Its a blanket with little holes in it...

Thanks MN - any things you couldn't live without? I have heard sleepyheads are good?

Nerves of steel. Your mother and your MIL WILL know better than you - on EVERYTHING. To compensate? Your DH will know absolutely nothing, regress to an imbecile and just annoy the fuck out of you.

So you need to have a reminder set on your phone, every day - I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE.

I used my pram tip as a carry cot in the lounge and Moses basket upstairs. Always covered pram mattress with a cot sheet in case lo was sick

I really liked the little bath support from Mothercare that looks like a dolly's slide

I had a bouncy chair from almost day 1 so I could put him down to eat/do jobs etc should've bought in advance of birth tbh

If I was doing it again I'd look seriously at Stokke trip trap with baby insert as he could've sat to the table whilst we ate then (they are pricey but we had 2 similar chairs once he was bigger - a babydan that fell to bits and then a hauck - they do well on 2nd hand sale sites

Car seat base without a doubt & car seat adapters on pram so you never have to carry car seat (just use sparingly)

And a lovely real wool pram blanket which we still have in the car and ds is now 6

Good luck op xx

I didn't have a sleepyhead and all was ok. I'm sure many swear by them though!

The sleepyheads seems expensive and babies can't sit up? Has anyone else used one? I thought this was better > www.babybjorn.co.uk/baby-bouncers/bouncer-bliss/

Thoughts?

@FirstDD19 I have 7 week old DD and we have a sleepyhead which has been really useful for naps in the daytime downstairs. We don’t use it upstairs in her crib anymore as I didn't want her to rely on it at night time, and also I’m not sure they’re recommended for unsupervised sleep when you’re asleep too because of SIDS risk. I know a lot of people do swear by them for day and night sleep and you’ve got to do what works for you!! The bouncer is useful too but different purpose from a sleepyhead - more for soothing and getting a baby off to sleep as you probably wouldn’t want to let them sleep in it for long periods (I let my DD nap in there for a little bit before transferring her to the sleepyhead).
Other things I’ve found useful are a sling / front carrier. I use it out and about but also round the house so I can get jobs done / eat lunch hands free but also great for calming things down if she’s been unsettled.
White noise is great too for helping get her to sleep. I started off using my phone as I’d got an app which played white noise in hospital and now have a white noise “machine” (looks like a little owl with a night light and plays lullabies too) from amazon. There’s Ewan the stream sheep too which we have but isn’t very loud!
We also have a side sleeper cot which is brilliant and makes feeding at night time so easy. I don’t have to leave my bed!

I’ve just seen your point about sleepyheads being expensive - they are, and so are spare covers! We got ours second hand from a friend who’d hardly used it so while I’ve really loved having it, I’m not sure how I’d feel if I’d paid full price for it as a cheaper Moses basket does do the same job!

I would wait to get a Sleepyhead, you might not need one and baby might not like it- wait until they're here and see if they'll sleep happily without one (ours did). Amazon Prime is very handy, there were plenty of things we didn't know we would need but arrived super quickly. Essentials I would say are: somewhere safe for baby to sleep, ideally one upstairs and then something downstairs; muslin cloths- so so so handy; i was planning to BF but bought some bottles in case (which proved useful as my milk didn't come in due to the birth); has been said different size babygrows; cellular blanket; Ewan the dream sheep! If you are formula or mixed feeding a perfect prep machine makes life a lot easier. Things like a baby bath they won't need straight away as they recommend a top to toe wash with cotton wool/a flannel and water to start with, but if you see a bargain it's worth going for!

Cot or snooze pod or whatever for upstairs . Somewhere to nap safely in living room
Car seat to get home from Hospital.
Sleepsuits in newborn and 0-3 months plus vests plus a bbay hat and stcratch mits.
Cellular blanket
Cot sheets for cot/moses basket.
Baby bath or something that you intend to use for bathing the bbay in. Bbay towel (mine pood or weed regularly. Out of the bath)
For yourself: breastpads, maternity pads, things you feel comfy in eg pj's that unbotton if breastfeed or breastfeeding tops. Big pants. Also a refillable cup for water and I got a hot cup for tea etc that I could close lid on to keep warm. I never fi ished a drink and it's important to stay hydrated. High energy snacks like granola bars etc that you can stash in places round house.

Snoozeshade is the best thing we bought - it’s the ONLY reason she naps (nosey sod)

If you buy tiny baby, newborn and 0-3 don't wash it all. We never used tiny baby and could return them.

We loved the sleepyhead. Got a bouncy chair from a charity shop which was also brilliant. Play mat for tummy time. Cellular blanket. Baby bath was useful for first few months. Sling was great for us too. Had moses basket downstairs and next to me crib upstairs. Reusable nappies and wipes were great for us too. You never run out! Manual pump for first few weeks if baby sleeps long stretches.

We got a growclock thing with the temp on, not that useful and unplugged it mainly.

The gros with inbuilt scratch mits are best, otherwise they just fall off.
And YYY to the snoozeshade. Got told off online for putting a muslin over the pram... Who knew!

We have a Schnuggle bath which he still uses at nearly 8 months. Fantastic use of £20.

No sleepyhead here but we do have a Ewan set to womb noise.

Our bouncer was the Fisher Price Kick and Play. I'm sad he's outgrown it!

We never used a baby bath as we had good sized sinks,also better for your back.

Not comprehensive but our best things from the early days (DD now 4 months old):

Sleepyhead (we use ours on the bed so we can co sleep without rolling on her)
Schnuggle bath
Sling - changed my life when I could walk around with her freely and she got better sleep napping in it. We have the Mamaruga Zensling.

And my biggest and best advice - buy vests and bodysuits with wrapover fastening. We ended up getting rid of all ours that went over the head / down the body - no one needs that stress with a newborn. Good sources of wrap ones are H&M, La Redoute, Uniqlo and Vertbaudet.

Also M&S does vests that popper up the front