I'm off to John Lewis to get my 'newborn baby kit'. What do and don't I need?

[hackneybird]

I am now 32 weeks and due in October. Getting things ready and out of the way early as I don't want to be shopping when I'm bigger and just in case it turns up early.

As the baby is due on Oct should I only get long sleeved full baby gros or get some little body suits too?

Am planning on breastfeeding, but should I get a couple of bottles too - for expressing or in case we end up having to use formula?

Am confused. Really don't want to waste money on stuff I won't need.

everything's been covered I think! do not underestimate how many gifts of ultra-cute clothing you will be given - really, don't buy anything more than essential sleepsuits yourself.

second not buying whopping great travel system - I did this with my first and have always regretted it. Get a relatively lightweight pram that can be used from birth - one that reclines right back. Get a car seat that you can use from birth till age about 4, like http://www.johnlewis.com/230530585/Product.aspx this - obviously this is fitted into your car and not removable but it will save you faffing around choosing another car seat when baby outgrows the infant one, iyswim. you out it in rear facing until the baby is about 1 year old. I hated carrying my dc's around in their infant car seats but I now that some folk prefer that option. those things are heavy though!

Also, I had a similar swing to this for dc3 and I found it to be the best thing I had ever bought for any of my dc's! It was soft and cosy, soothed him to sleep in the newborn days, entertained him as he got a bit older - utterly invaluable. I know some folk don't agree with 'devices' to soothe babies to sleep, but my ds2 is 8 months old now and can self settle in his cot etc so it hasn't been an issue for us. You need somewhere to out the baby and I found this way better than a vibrating bouncer. Baby needs to swing!

Congratualtions btw

oops try again

car seat

For you.
Painkillers that are compatible with breastfeeding.
Arnica tablets - I was sceptical when a friend recommended tham but they really did seem to help healing after both a vaginal birth and c-section.
Huge cotton pants. The most enormous you can find to keep pads in place and fit over your scar if you end up having a section.
Absorbent breast pads.
Nursing bra.
Loose tops for easy access.
V or nursing pillow for support.
As for baby, well all it needs is food, clothing, an occasional wash and sleep so bear this in mind while the stores try and flog you all the unnecessary kit.
6 vests and 6 babygrows should be just enough to wear, wash and dry even if you have a sicky baby.
I did have a couple of bottles and a steriliser just in case.
I actually found my breast pump invaluable but I know other people don't like them.
Somewhere for the baby to sleep. I used the carrycot attachment of my pram which worked as well as a moses basket.
3 cellular blankets and 3 sheets to fit whatever you go for.
A bath or a bath seat for the baby. Try and think ahead about which option will mean less heavy lifting for you. Your back will be knackered for a while.

What a fab resourceful postings - I was researching all this stuff too, and am so glad to find the bath seat that was posted rather than a baby bath!

Good luck Hackneybird

....though I must be the only one on here to find the baby bath useful - we were in a flat with 2 shower rooms but no bath

I would get a pack of vest babygro and a pack of longsleeved.

I remember putting a vest under the longsleeved ,when it was very cold.

If you are going to breastfeed, I would wait until baby arrives and see how you get on. I bought both, but didn't ever use the bottles. I'm sure someone could buy some, if you need them. If breastfeeding works then you won't need the equipment for a while, as it is best to let your flow moderate to baby before expressing (which can increase flow).

If breastfeeding is shortlived you will still have time to buy bottles.

Ikea is worth a trip, they do lots of stuff like bedding, change mats etc, and are so cheap that if you never use, it will not break your heart that you paid for it. Its quite nice stuff too.

We got a baby bath, and admittedly stopped using it after about 3 months, but it only cost 4 quid, so no problem.

I found towels with a hood on them very useful, again ikea does nice ones on the cheap.

We were given a travel system bugggy thing second hand, but as we don't have a car, it was very useful when going to grandparents etc as didn't have to carry a car seat around, but if you drive then its a bit pointless.

Also, were given a swing - best thing ever, rocked the boy to sleep, calmed him when grumpy etc. loved it and was sad when he got too big for it. Would defny recommend!

More or less everything's here already! My last one was a very sicky baby, so my list would be:

• lots of muslin squares, for holding over your shoulder/lap while winding, mopping up etc

• lots of newborn baby bibs. My son wore them constantly - lots easier to change a bib than a whole babygro (and less washing)

• Vanish pre-wash stain remover spray (bright pink bottle) was invaluable for newborn runny poo leaks on clothes

Wishing you all the best!

My personal newborn essentials as a mum of 3 are:

• 7 vests and 7 sleepsuits
• couple of packs of nappies, newborns go through them surprisingly quickly, but do grow out of the 1st size quickly too, so only 2 packs for at first should be enough until you know how big your lo is.
• couple of bags of either big cotton wool balls or the pleated stuff which is even better for cleaning up poo.
• top and tail bowl.
• snowsuit for a winter baby
• couple of hats (don't forget to take them with you when you go into labour)
• sling, I also think a wrap type sling is perfect for nbs think Moby.

-baby sleeping bag for when lo is ove 10lbs. No chance of getting sheets over face this way.

• a place to sleep downstairs. With us we used the pram, so didn't get a moses basket.
• bedding for sleeping places
• muslin squares, they're useful for all sorts of things.
• changing mat for downstairs. I change 90% of the nappies downstairs in a corner in the living room, saves me from traipsing up the stairs every time lo needs a change, especially important in the early days when you're still recovering from the birth.
• baby monitor isn't essential in the 1st few weeks imho. I find you tend to keep nbs with you. I think with all of mine I didn't start using the monitor until they were about 2m.

for yourself:

• plenty of thick maternity pads. At least 2 packs.
• 1 or 2 nursing bras
• breast pads. I'd say dont get too many, you might not leak, but you might leak heaps. Personally I didn't leak and ended up with a big box of unused pads.
• comfy loose fitting clothing to start off with. If you bf a top + bottom combo is the easiest.

No extra bottles if you're planning to bf. They'll just wither away in the cupboard + will cause temptation during more difficult days. There's usually 1 bottle with a breastpump and that's all you need really. I ended up selling the bottles on eBay after no1 and haven't really bothered with them with no2&3. Big expensive steam steriliser isn't needed either if you're bf. You can use a big box and sterilising tablets for the few times you might use a breast pump or get a smaller microwaveable one. My breastpump came with a small microwave steriliser and is all I need really.

Personally I find those nappy wrapper things a bit unnecessary either. Nappy sacks do the job just as well. In fact the nappy wrapper is the thing that put me off disposables and onto cloth because it was so clear how many nappies I was going through.

Oh - just thought of something else....make sure that you have a separate bag with all the newborn bits in when you go into hospital - then you can hand it over to the midwife after the birth without having to scrabble about in your overnight bag for all the bits.

I put in a vest, babygro, nappy, mittens, hat & swaddling blanket.

Congratulations! This brings me back to last year when my LO was due in Oct. Loads of good advice here but I'll add my penny's worth -

Muslin squares, loads - just get white then no faffing with sorting washing into colours/white etc.
Nappies - you will go through loads but they will grow out of the very first size quickly
Cotton wool pads - to clean bum initially as they don't recommend wipes for the first few weeks
Nappy bags - I agree that a nappy wrapper is a waste of time. Only takes a minute to drop a dirty nappy in the bin outside (unless you are in a flat of course)

Sleepsuits, 7 ish - but agree with previous posters that baby can grow out of them quick. I had loads of problems with leaking nappies initally so had to do a full change of clothes with nearly every nappy for the first few weeks. Get sleepsuits with fold over scratchmitts, the seperate ones never worked for me.
Short sleeve vests, 7 ish - for under sleepsuits/clothes. I think something close to their skin keeps them warmer.
Snowsuit/padded all in one - for going out for walks when it's colder
Cardigans, 2ish - for those walks when it's not so cold, quite possible in Oct.
Hats and mittens, 2 - again for outside
Swaddling blanket - though I used a muslin initially while baby was small
Milk bibs, 7 - lots of posseting in the first few weeks

A fan for you. No-one told me I would be a horrible sweaty mess for the first while with the hormone storm that goes on!

Good luck! It's a great time

Things we didn't need:

1. A cot (DD slept in a moses basket next to me and the cot just sat in a corner until DD was about 4-5 mths old)
2. Ditto baby monitor until DD was 6 mths old and went into her own room.
3. An electric bottle warmer. What the hell was I thinking?
4. Fancy padded burp cloths. Muslins are much easier to use and wash. And BF babies don't really need to be "burped" like that anyway.
5. New born "clothes" and "shoes". Seriously - they just want to be in a cuddly sensible sleepsuit that covers their feet properly. And you will weep trying to get them into clothes until you think, what the hell am I doing?

We really appreciated:

1. Moses basket - totally versatile beside the bed / on the bed / in sitting room during the day.
2. A lovely soft cotton swaddling blanket someone gave us. Not just for swaddling, it was always on her when BF or whatever as they can get so cold and it was so soft and cuddly for her.
3. Short sleeved vests (since you asked!). DD was born in Sept and during winter she wore ss vest plus sleepsuit.
4. Cute hooded zip up cardy or hooded all in one with domes all the way down the front. i.e. something you can easily put on over a sleep suit and voila! they are dressed and ready to go out.

You have a lovely time ahead of you!

have just been to John lewis and had a giggle to myself listening to a mum to be bossing her DH around about what she wanted (she was a bit imperious actually, I'm sure the avalanche of breastmilk, vom and meconium will put her in her place tho ) and her useless suggestions IMHO were a temperature thing for the bath - WHAT'S WRONG WITH HANDS AND COMMON SENSE? and then she said "oh yes amy was going on about these sleeping bags and said we had to get one that was natural merino...." poor hubby's credit card was starting to melt I think....

I borrowed loads and was most pleased that I didn't rush into buying things as borrowing meant less clutter and still really nice stuff. I borrowed a stand for putting moses basket in as our bed is quite high, was useful when I needed to sleep with one hand on LO's tum to make sure she went to sleep...

Sorry for hijack, but those people who have mentioned a v shaped pillow - are they really worth it?? I almost bought one today and then didnt.
Oh and about muslins, I never used them with dd or ds but everyone on here raves about them, why are they different to bibs? Are they solely for bfeeders? (although I do plan to bf the last 2 times have not managed it longer than 2 weeks).

IMHO you need:
Lots of little vests and babygros, i packed 3 for the hospital which ds got through in one day
Get a breast pump just in case
One snow suit
Sleeping bag/grobag
Baby bath, but dont bother with that top and tail shite, theyre babies, how dirty is it going to be??
Changing mat for floor, just a cheapy will do
Bag for going out with - you wouldnt believe the amount of crap youll take out with you

Oh yes and when you think youve gone over the top with maternity pads, double that amount and you should be right

Don't buy the yucky paper pants - you feel far nicer in cheapo, Asda, black (big) pants that can be chucked away if necessary(although I sadly still wear mine!). Apart from that, don't worry too much about what you may or may not need - I would buy the minimum as life doesn't stop after you have had your baby - you can always send someone to the shops, or venture out yourself pretty soon. Then again, I am the most disorganised mum ever, so that may not be the best advice to follow!

Good luck and enjoy your baby when s/he arrives.

Ah, just tought of something. If you can find some, buy wrap over baby vests like these. I found them invaluable with newborns as pulling clothes over nbs heads is a bit difficult/scary as their heads are so wobbly.

Just noticed. I meant thought

A sling: I found the Babasling the best for a tiny baby. Invaluable.

V shaped pillow was excellent- I only got one with ds4 and I noticed the diference loads, I like my Boots inflatbale one myself

And another for bath support; baby baths were a faff (I do ahve a rough abck though so lifting an issue) but I always used sink then with the younger 2 bath support, wow!. Bought for both sisters when they were pg as liked so much.

For dd we had; crib, travel system, blankets, babygros, sleepsuits, a few outfits, a bath, cloth nappies and 2 nursing bras. That was it I went out and bought a breast pump and bottles at 5 weeks once feeding was established, waste of money til then.

With ds1 we picked up more clothes as dd had ruined everything with her reflux and we bought him a bouncy chair too as with 2 to manage i needed to be able to put him somewhere. I can't think of anything else we picked up for him pre birth.

ds2 now is our SLB (spoiled last baby) and was far better equiped prebirth We actually bought him a vibrating and rocking chair, a new carseat, new cloth nappies and.... oh wait, that was it

Blankets and babygroes are the only necessities i think anyone needs to have in advance (other than carseat obviously), i quite like shopping with newborns so anything else i buy as needed post birth.

• sleepsuits for the baby.
• sleeveless vests.
• lots of muslins.
• lots of cotton wool and two small bowls: 1 for cleaning poo etc, 1 for cleaning face, body...
• ergonomically shaped plastic bath support
• bath thermometer
• nappies, nappies, nappies!

-lansinoh nipple cream

• lansinoh breast pads.

don't buy too many things as you'll see what you need when your little one arrives

ok - admitting I haven't bothered to read all the replies - apologies.

Firstly - congratulations - we have 2 ds's and have just decided against a third dc so i am never going to be in your position again!

must haves:

5 of each thing -
long sleeved bodysuits
short sleeved bodysuits
tousers (like pyjama trousers so you don't have to put them in all in one sleepsuits if you don't want to)
long sleeved sleepsuits

some hats - just a couple

scratch mitts - we just used tiny socks

some nice things - www.babiesinsheepsclothing.com - have some lovely merino ponchos and hats for newborns

nappies - lots

don't ever buy wipes on full price

whoever said joining boots parenting club - totally agree

grobags - see how your little ones is as if they're in a moses basket to start off with you won't need grobags, just cellular blankets

lots of muslins! if you don't end up using them straight away they are a great substitute for fancy facial cleaning cloths

peppermint tea for gas if there's any way you might end up with a section

dried fruit for after birth to encourage your digestion

lip gloss for in hospital

breast pads

don't bother with a room thermometer - i had ds1 in summer 2006 and it was over 30degrees in his room and i couldn't do anything about it - windows open etc, and beat myself up badly over it!

o'h and don't forget the top up card for the internet access in your room / bay so you can get onto MN asap after

good luck!

a friend who had a baby 7 weeks ago said in the first couple of weeks she found most useful:-

the baby feed wheel that I gave her, a Grobag Egg Thermometer and swaddling blankets.

Has anyone mentioned flip flops for the hospital showers yet? and I loved the posh smellies that a friend gave me to put in my hospital bag. Oh, and if you have any food intolerances/allergies, take your own food and have stuff at home your dh can bring in for you , because you may well go hungry otherwise!

you may find some useful stuff onprimaryschoolstrader