What to buy newborn

[firsttimemum79]

I'm feeling so overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I still need to buy. Just wondering what people bought for newborns that was the biggest waste of time? And what stuff you couldn't have been without

Congrats! Trying to think back 2 years ago to when dd was tiny:
Lots of baby grows and short sleeved vests.
Muslins
Nappies
Moses basket or next2me
Cellular blankets
Scratch mitts
Bouncer or rocker
Playmat
A few toys or squishy books for newborns

Maybe : white noise machine of some kind, swaddles

Hope that helps a bit!

If you plan to bottle feed, you don't want to stock up on just one kind before you know what works the best for you and baby. Get a few varieties to start with, see what wins over the others, and use gift cards or any cash you might receive after the baby is born to add to the collection.
You don’t need a bottle warmer (heating in hot water takes the same amount of time).
Don’t buy loads of baby clothes. Most newborns grow quickly and end up growing out of their newborn sized clothes pretty quickly. My daughter was out of her newborn clothes within her first month.
Don’t bother with socks. They don’t stay on. Buy some footed babygrows and pjs to keep their tootsies warm.
Don’t get any special baby towels. Believe it or not but the towels you already have will work every bit as well on a baby as ones with adorable animals on them.
I’d recommend a video monitor. I can sum up the benefit in three words: peace of mind. It’s comforting to always be able to see your child peacefully sleeping. And if he or she is not sleeping, it’s certainly nice to see what he or she is up to. It’ll also help you know if it’s a good time to go in to get your baby.
While a swing has proven very useful to me when it comes to calming a fussy baby down or having a place to put the child if I need to get something done, I learned very quickly that it wasn't necessary to get one — either before my due date or at all. I love mine and have used it often, but I could have done without it if I'd had to, especially in the newborn phase, when they're too little to hold their heads up well anyway.
If your pushchair or buggy has a carrycot, it can double up as a first bed. It's smaller than a cot and is more of a snug fit for your newborn.
Fitted sheets are time-savers and stay in place. Two or three sheets should be enough.
In a few months, maybe a year, get a membership card at your local public library instead of buying books.

Things I found useful: sleepyhead (expensive but soo worth it!), muslins, aveeno nappy cream (never had nappy rash), myhummy white noise machine, baby sleeping bag, bt room monitor, room night light (feeding and nappy changes in the night), oh and lots of biscuits and coffee 😊 congrats xx

If you have a Google Home you can use this as white noise, we play 90 minute womb sounds on repeat!

A good electric breast pump if BF and a tomme tippee perfect prep machine if not.

Moses basket.

Baby grows, muslins, hot water bottle for making moses basket warm if they wont settle.

Mine didn't play with toys for ages but we used to lie him on a baby gym so he could look at the toys.

The first few weeks are just a lot of cuddles, figuring out how to feed/wind and thinking how the fuck am I going to survive waking up every few hours?! (It passes). Good luck!

1. Clothes. Try not to go crazy. Get some nb size and more 0-3. Doesn't matter if a bit baggy.
2. Bf/bottle stuff... Bottles/perfect prep machine, i recommend Mam bottles of using. Or breast pump, breadt pads
3. Changing station stuff. So maybe a thing to store nappies/cream etc you need to change nappy near your changing table.

So you'll want size 1/2 nappies. Don't go mad. Babies grow. Some cream for nappy rash.

A top/tail bowl we used to begin with. And cotton wool.

We use these little flannels i found on amazon to dry bum after too. People may do things differently.

1. Muslins, burp cloths, bibs.

1. Moses basket and bedding.

1. Next to me cot for first 6mo. Bedding. Sleep bags for baby, correct tog.

Groegg or thermometer.

1. Olllie the owl. Mostly good for you. Nbs are noisy sleepers!

1. If you want bouncer or swing don't go crazy. Normally I'd say get one 2nd hand. My one doesn't care fur them so don't go spending hundreds on a contraption they don't want to touch.

1. Play mat. A few simple toys. Mine didn't give half a hoot fur anything other than my face for first month or so.

I didn’t buy anything to do with feeding. Figured I’d try BFing and if it didn’t work out, there’s always the supermarkets.

What we bought were:

6 Newborn sleepsuits
6 newborn vests
6 0-3 sleepsuits
6 0-3 vests
Couple of Cardigans
Some nappies
A travel system bought by my DILS
A Moses basket & bedding
Muslins
2 changing mats, one for upstairs and one for down
Cotton wool

And that was it. He was our first and we got given tonnes once he’d arrived. One of my DCousins had 6 baby gyms given to her when baby arrived!

You really, really don’t need that much. Much better to save your money and see what you need once there here

I certainly would not spend money on a top and tailing bowl. Any bowl or tupperware will do just fine.

Don't go too crazy with newborn clothes. Babies grow very quickly.

Most of our newborn clothes were from friends with older children.

If you are breastfeeding, Lansinoh lanolin cream is apparently best. You can get it on Amazon.

Get a nasal aspirator. We have one that you connect to a vacuum cleaner.

Sleeping bags, grosnugs or groswaddles for a newborn are great.

Haakaa breast pump if breastfeeding

Dozens of muslins

A bouncy chair. DS hated his at first but I think he was too small for it - nearly three months old now and it’s perfect to stash him for a few moments whilst getting on with housework
A sling - stretchy wrap sling best for newborns

Also depending on your house, you can have a changing station in the bedroom or nursery and a also small basket with a few nappies, folding changing mat and wipes in the living room.

My biggest waste of money was Ewan the Sheep - way too quiet, I used the white noise app on my phone instead.

My best purchase was the Nuna Leaf chair, was the only thing she would settle in at first and where she had her naps for the first 5 months. She stopped wanting to use for a while when she was learning to sit and crawl but at 10 months now loves it again, she will just wander over and chill in it. They’re not cheap but can be used to around 4 years so are a good investment.

And get some nice things for yourself, I didn’t think about this beforehand. You’ll no doubt spend a lot of time trapped under a feeding/sleeping baby so get some stuff to make this easier. I used to have a tray on the sofa with a water bottle (one that can be opened with one hand!), a non-spill travel mug so your coffee doesn’t go cold, nice snacks, magazines, etc.

JiltedJohnsJulie has a good list and you could certainly manage with less. Don't buy things before you know whether you need them would be my advice.
My reality was a pram , a car seat, a Moses basket ( used by 2/3 of my children ;DS2 was a limpet) .a changing mat , nappies and 6 0-3 sleepsuits , 6 0-3 vests , a coat and sheets for the Moses basket. I also had a sling . If I was having a baby now I would use gro bags . Having newborn size babygros are nice but not essential as they only fit for a few weeks.

My friend sent this list:

• decent travel mug,
• good dressing gown
• kindle unlimited subscription/audible
• lansinoh if breast feeding
• gel packs to freeze or heat
• flip top water bottle
• flannels.

Thanks so much to you all for replying! That's so helpful, I've made a list of what people think are the most essential items and am working my way down. I'm not due until August but it's just been a bit of a panic , checking how long the delivery is for everything and ordering my pram without pushing it. Hopefully it won't be too long until we're back to normal and I can go shopping!