Anyone got a good shopping list?

[Annie456]

I've been looking online to try to find out what I need to buy in prep for DC1 and i have started about 5 different lists and feel completely overwhelmed!

I'm heading out on the first shopping trip this weekend and I'd like to come back with a little more than vests, scratch mits, dummies and bibs!!!

Does anyone have a good list of neccessary items that I NEED to get before the birth? I'm quite happy to go second hand for lots of things so not too worried about cost...just don't want to be under-prepared / buy too much!

Thanks!

there are LOADS of things on the mothercare need list that you DONT need!

You NEED:
A car seat to bring bay home in
A buggy pushchair pram thing. (or some people baby wear with just slings)
somewhere for baby to sleep. (cot and / or moses basket / crib)
LOTS of sheets and linen for the place they sleep
Some baby chair type things will be very very useful
as will a baby mat and gym for them to play with in the early days
LOTS of clothes in small sizes.. babys can get through 3 / 4 + outfits a day by leaky nappies and sick! (sleep suits that dont have to go over head are ideal in early days)
Lots of vests
a cardigen type thing
a little coat & blanket (and / or snow suit depending on season)
scracth mitts (or sleep suits with built in scratch mits)
LOADS of muslins
either a bath (or just a bath insert (or giant sponge thing) to use in adult bath)
They dont need loads of lotions and potions, water is fine and best.

baby will need nappies / wipes etc... can choose cloth or disposable.
ideally a mat to change on
probably some type of bum cream for nappy rash

probably bottles / steriliser etc (unless you intend to only BFdirect FROM your breast)

i think if you have all of above baby will be fine and happy and have all needs met for fisrt few weeks / months

a comfy cushion to use feeding will be useful

Invest in some Lasinoh cream if you intend to breastfeed. It's pricey but apparently a God send! You can get it from Boots/big supermarkets..

Good-luck!

Sorry meant to write...Lansinoh

This was my list of things to get (obviously not all essential):

BABY SHOPPING LIST

CLOTHES
Bibs
6 front-fastening cotton sleep suits/or all-in-ones
2 pairs scratchmits (if your sleep suits doesn?t have any ?built in?)
6 to 10 cotton baby vests with poppers (long and short-sleeved)
a couple of cotton hats
2 cotton cardigans
4 pairs of socks
2 pairs of booties
At least one wide-brimmed hat to protect your baby from the sun during outings
A warm suit, hat and mittens for going out in cold weather

SLEEPING
cot
Crib / moses basket (crib would last much longer, they grow out of moses baskets very quickly & you can delay buying a cot until later if you get a crib)
new baby mattress
3 cotton cellular blankets (not fluffy - the ones with the holes in)
4 top / flat cotton sheets
4 fitted mattress sheets for your cot or moses basket (be sure they fit tightly round the mattress)
A couple of pram-sized blankets
Cotton sleeping bag (grobag)

BATHING
baby bath or large plastic bowl or newborn bath support (or even just the sink)
Pair of baby nail scissors/clippers
Nasal aspirator
Baby Hairbrush
Medicine dropper (most medicines comes with one)
Thermometer (worth getting a good one)
2 soft sponges (one for face, one for body)
2 or 3 soft, baby-size bath towels
2-3 baby washcloths
Aquaous cream
Sudocrem
Vaseline
(You don't need any baby toiletries - most dry their sensitive skin out,. just water & small drop of olive oil is good enough)

CHANGING
Newborn disposables/reusables
Nappy bucket with lid
Nappy sacks
Nappy stacker / changing box
Nappy cream (sudocrem/vaseline)
Changing mat & cover
Cotton wool
baby wipes
Tissues

FEEDING (edit as necessary for breast/bottle)
nursing bras
Breast pads (disposable/reusable)
Breast pump & accessories
Feeding pillow
breast milk storage
Bottles & teats
Sterilizing bags/sterilizer
Lansinoh lanolin nipple cream (a godsend & a MUST-HAVE)
Gel nursing pads
Cabbage leaves!

EQUIPMENT (apart from the car seat, nothing is essential)
Baby car seat
Pram / newborn buggy
Baby sling / carrier
Baby monitor
Bouncy / cradle chair
Travel cot

OTHER ITEMS
Changing bag with portable mat
2 packs of muslin squares (A MUST for EVERYTHING)
Raspberry leaf tea tablets/tea

LABOUR BAG
Pregnancy notes & birth plan
For Baby
Couple of baby grows & baby vests
Shawl / blanket
Scratch mits
Socks
Hat
Cotton wool for cleaning baby
Car seat
nappies
For mum:
2-3 front open night dresses
Socks
Dressing gown and slippers
Nursing bras & comfy knickers/disposable knickers
Breast pads
around 6 packs MATERNITY sanitary towels
Couple of dark towels
Soft flannel
Antibacterial wipes for the toilets/bath/shower at hospital
Arnica tablets
Toiletries
Lip balm
Music
Something to drink
snacks (for you & birth partner)
Magazines
Writing paper & pen
mobile
Camera (make sure battery is charged)
Pain killers
Comfy clothes for going home (this will still be maternity clothes )
Loo roll
Jug for watering down the fist wee

AT HOME
Stocked cupboards & freezer
Bottle of bubbly in the fridge
lavender oil and/or epsom salts (use in the bath - numbs & aids healing)
witch hazel (sprinkle few drops on maternity towel)

Hope this helps.

wow littlemiss that is some list...i think i might have to move house!
I'll have a proper look in a sec but one thing I didn't understand was

"Jug for watering down the fist wee" whats is this exactly??

;) The first wee after you've given birth can be really stingy & if you can water it down it stings a bit less.

ohhhhhh I see [clueless and slightly scared smiley]! x

If you're never going to own a car and intend to travel in a black cab back from hospital (and live in London so never travel by car in any event), is it really necessary to buy a car seat? I always see this listed as an essential, but I can't imagine any circumstances where we'd ever use it.

if you give birth in a hospital then they wont let you leave without one.

Even if you do travel in a black cab, baby can travel much more safely strapped in in car seat.

Really?! If you and the baby are healthy, and you plan to travel back in a black cab, or even public transport, they'll still insist on your having a never-to-be-used car seat?

Yes!

(doesnt apply to homebirth)

littlemiss I think I love you! Your list is sooo useful! Going to print it out. I had made a (less detailed) list, but I forgot so much. Particularly the hospital bag list, very useful! :o

Excellent list littlemiss.

A few things from the list that I didn't have/use:

Scratchmitts
booties
aspitator (?)
medicine dropper (ask midwife for a syringe)
hairbrush
aqueous cream
feeding pillow
Lansinoh
Gel nursing pads
Cabbage leaves (didn't get mastitis or similar until I stopped BFing at 15 months)
raspberry leaf tea
ANY of the labour stuff (EMCS at 32 weeks)

I think at least 12-20 muslin cloths.

You will need a car seat to travel home in a cab from hospital.
You wont need a carseat if you are going in the cab alone and your DP walks home the baby in a pram or if you are going on a bus with the baby, but if you go home from hospital in a car (whether its your own or a cab) then you will def need one.
If you honestly think you will never use one again then perhaps just borrow one for that one use when you come home from hospital? or ask on freecycle for a finished with one?

It is against the law for a taxi driver (any driver for that matter) to carry a baby who isn't in a car seat...so quite rightly they won't do it. It's not some b0ll0x health and safety thing, but to stop your baby being flung about the back of a cab if there is an accident. Even in a relatively low speed impact you will not be able to keep hold of the baby and it will smash into the partition or windscreen.

Maybe try NCT or something they might lend them out in London?

Taxis are actually exempt from that law so long as it's a fare-paying passenger (i.e. not their own family). Surely tho you can take the baby home in a pram and wheel that into the cab?

Some hospitals will have 1 or 2 to take babe home in as long as it is returned following day! But check with hospital!

I am giving birth in the Homerton (London) and the midwife leading the ante-natal classes said they have no policy of 'banning' parents from taking their babies home without car seats. For starters, half the population of Hackney don't have a car, and many of them are going home on foot/public transport in a pushchair. She said even if you were going home in a taxi they wouldn't BAN you from leaving without a car seat (although whether a taxi driver would take you is another question). We're getting one because when we visit grandparents etc or take a taxi we'll need one for use in their cars, but don't expect to use it much.

The most useful thing in my labour bag was bendy straws.

The most useless thing I was advised to take was a book to read. As if!

hi
i give birth to my first baby at the hospital as we dont have a car, i call a mini cap, i didnt need a carsit, i just hold my baby in my hand in the back sit, not problem, i do that even when i am going to the airoport, never been ask for car sit. no need if you dont have a car, you dont need a lotof chairs for the baby, a bouncing one will do the job for the first 6months, if you ar breastfeeding dont need bottle and sterilizer, one bottle do the job if anythink happen, than you will buy after if you're in need for formula milk.
i bought a lot in my first baby, now i am bregnant with my second, but learned a lesson

i went to john lewis to do a baby shop when i was 20weeks pregnant. i picked up a shopping list in the baby department there which was really good then did a lot of research online to find out what i would really need and get the best value/prices. i just bought some bedding and a few outfits at that point. i bought reusable nappies after going to a demo/talk by a local rep, borrowed a pram till we had baby and had a better idea about what we wanted/needed/were doing with baby - the choice is mind boggling and they grow out the carrycot bit within a few months so it was cheaper/easier for us to borrow one then buy a proper buggy.

sling was very useful when nothing else would settle baby
bouncy chair
i got a baby bath cause i'm tall and don't like leaning over the bath but hardly used it. there's a foam bath body support you can get which is meant to be really good. cotton wool, olive oil and plain baby soap was all i needed for the first couple of months.

most other things i waited to see if we really needed them (monitor, travel cot) we also got given so much stuff like a bath thermometer, nice baby blankets for car seat/buggy, so many soft toys we don't know what to do with them!

MCB - I took 2 books, my knitting, my MP3 player and a netbook. I think I thought I was going on holiday!

OP - I honestly didn't buy all that much. I had a lot of clothes passed on to me, a pram, a sling (my saviour) and a moses basket. At the risk of sounding negligent, you don't need to buy everything before baby arrives, it's just as easy to figure out what s/he needs and get it as and when.

Oh and we didn't need a carseat to get out of hospital.

The 2 things I couldn't have got through the first week of breastfeeding without were lansinoh cream (takes a few days for your nipples to toughen up and this eased them when they started to ache) and gel pads to put in the fridge then into my bra - felt like I had boulders in my chest when my milk came in, so heavy and skin felt so tight, these really eased the aches!I took arnica tablets for about 5 days after birth to help heal everything up, and put a few drops of tea tree oil and lavender oil in my bath each day to keep my stitches clean. For baby I'd suggest loads of vests and sleepsuits, we got loads of cute outfits and he hates being dressed up in them, particularly jeans! Loads of muslin squares, everyone told me I'd use them and I didn't see what for but bought them anyway, and would now be lost without them! Plenty of sheets for Moses basket, they are constantly being vomited on! For hospital bag the best thing I took was a bottle of orange squash, I get bored drinking plain water but wanted to make sure my first wee was really diluted, and it also kept my blood sugar up! Oooh, and don't forget to buy loads of maternity pads!!!

If you're planning on breastfeeding, I'd get the inflatable 'banana' type feeding cushion from Boots. It's about a tenner and an absolute godsend for your baby to lie on and feed. Saves you holding her/him the whole time as you just need to keep a hand on them to make sure they don't roll off! Also, because you can increase/decrease the amount of air in the pillow, you can adjust it so that the baby is at the correct height for your nipples!

HTH, and good luck