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!

You need very little. If you are very lucky you will have a short labour and a non-sicky baby like me. We also got so many gifts after the birth that most of it went in the attic in the packets. Buy minimum of everything e.g. 2 sets bedding, 6 sleepsuits. Get more as required Supermarkets sell most things you really might need quickly.
Baby needs somewhere to sleep and bedding. Towels, sleepsuits, soft sponge, baby wipes, nappies, somewhere to put dirty nappies, 1 hat (every cute set of clothing you are given will have a hat). Something to trainsport baby sling/pushchair. 10ish muslins covers most things.
You will need something to labour in, stuff for showering, big pants & maternity pads, breast pads, lip balm, straw for drinking, food for after, sleeping stuff, flipflops/slippers, comfy clothes to go home in.
If all goes very well you won't need much.

There are loads of great items here, and you will probably try and buy as much as possible so you are prepared.

However, people will give you loads of presents and stuff you need urgently you can always buy online and it can be with you the next day - i am a huge fan of amazon.

My top buys were:Tippitoes mini baby bath www.amazon.co.uk/Tippitoes-BM3-Mini-Bath-White/dp/B0037ZTT2A
bathing your newborn is terrifying enough - DP and i bathed DS togehter in a sink till i found this. DS is reclined so covered in water and nice & warm but can't slip.

Wait and see whether you can definitely breastfeed before buying all of the gear, although a feeding cushion of some sort is handy. if formula feeding, the microwave steam sterilisers are superb.

With nappies, look out for offers. I have tried all brands and pampers are the best for DS.

Good Lord, I have never owned most of what's on these lists and i have 3 DCs.

With regard to clothes, don't bother buying anything much because people will give you loads.

Bedding: my DCs have always slept with us so none needed.

If you are breastfeeding, don't bother to buy an expresser until you need one. Borrow one first and try it out - not everybody takes to them. But don't worry about this until your baby's older.

Don't buy Lansinoh - get your GP to prescribe it and save yourself a a tenner.

Doln't bother buying a loads of special muslin cloths and all that sort of stuff - you don't need them. You can wipe up baby sick with a tea towel!

I would invest in a good sling if you intend to babywear but that is all.

Of course, if money is not limited and spending it on your lo-to-be is fun, then go ahead but many of these things are not essentials at all. Mothercare etc would have us believe they are for obvious reasons.....

Theres a good list on here: Birth&BabyBlog

Oops, I meant here: [http://wp.me/p1k0Oy-1H Birth&BabyBlog]

Bloomin' eck - I can't get this right! I meant here: Birth&BabyBlog

Whilst I'm at it, here's a Hospital Bag link too: HospitalBag

I have no idea why anyone ever bought us scratch mits or bibs. What is the purpose of a bib for a newborn, does anyone know?!

Good lists on here already. I don't have much to add, but one thing I don't know if it's been mentioned is, if you want to swaddle your newborn there are some really good specially designed blankets that help make this easier when you are tired in the middle of the night and you have a newborn with flailing arms... can't remember what they're called but look out for them and see what you think...

If you are buying socks, the only ones that ever stay on a newborn are the ones from Baby Gap.

Oh this is a great thread - first timer here as well and was starting to panic about everything we would need but Littlemiss' list is bloody brilliant

I'm a bit at the post from first supermum; I'm sorry, but i think that is irresponsible. I too live in London and we don't have a car; the thought though of the 'worst case' scenario is enough to make me not doubt my decision to buy one. We will look either for a second hand one, or one in the sales so we don't spend loads of money on something we won't use very often, but you are responsible for making sure that that baby is safe, at ALL times. And the thought of there being a car accident and you just holding your baby in the back makes me feel sick. PLEASE keep your child safe and buy a baby seat.

A ring sling is wonderful

^ bugger. By buying 'one' (second hand or in sales) I meant a car seat, not car!

I would absolutely recommend one of these:
www.mayawrap.com/

my shopping list:

Disney dvd's (currently buy one get one free at Tesco)
a new roller ball Dyson
Some more patio plant pots
cakes.....lots of cakes

I have given all shopping responsibilities and list making to my baby mad friend. and anything she has forgotten I am sure Mother will buy :)

Dudesmummy - does the ring sling not pull on your shoulder, leaving you unbalanced? I have a moby wrap (which I love love love!) and I've tried tying it on the side but just can't get on with it at all. Am I missing something?

I'd get a couple of nighties with drawstring bottoms - they are very useful for nighttime nappy changes and they look very cute in photos as well.

A £3 top and tail bowl can be generally helpful for all sorts of minor cleaning up jobs. Water in one half and cotton wool, flannel, toiletries or whatever in the other.

A travel size baby powder is useful for unexpected wierd rashes or sore creases. You won't need much. And a bar of baby soap is all you really need for keeping them clean.

Special cold packs for your ladygarden are worth having around. Called Femepads.

I always get a disposable bottle and a carton of formula in as well as a pessimistic act in case I collapse unexpectedly or something. The formula is generally thrown away after its use by date.

Reasonably flattering yoga trousers and top good for hanging around the house afterwards and even for shuffling to the supermarket in if necessary - like a mummygro, no sartorial effort required.

You'll probably need more breast pads and nursing bras than you might think, as well as plenty of t-shirts, as leaking can be an issue. If you get stuck, sports bras can do the business but you have to undo them to feed.

Muslins are brilliant - you can use them for all sorts of things, including improvising an emergency nappy for a smaller baby from one of these with a plastic carrier bag if you run out while out of the house. It will get you home.

I didn't have a baby bath and never needed one. Also never needed bottles. DD had a healthscare 1st day and never slept in her own bed for 1st 6 months.

Loads of pop up vests/babygrows. Muslins for sick, milk dribbles. I was very pleased with the gift of a lovely snuggly shawl.

My mind is a blank for everything else.

I haven't read the full thread but Lillypadz (instead of bulky cotton breat pads for leaky boobs) I wish I had discovered them earlier.

Oh and chocolate chip cookies for after birth - both mine were born very early morning and I was starving with no breakfast in sight for hours!

I couldn't see the point of a top and tail bowl until we were given one! Used as bofffin suggests.

We ended up putting a folding muslin under ds's head in his Moses basket as he was a very sweaty and sicky baby and it was easier to whip out and change that than his sheet.

Muslins are still in use now as tea towels!

i have taken dd in a black cab in her pram loads of times with no car seat. it is only black cabs you can do this with though - no min cabs. also nonone at my hospital in plymouth was bothered about a car seat.

dont buy one of those cuddledry towels that were on dragons den or whichever programme. my lovely auntie bought me one for dd and it is beyond useless. i bought a nasal aspirator and found it useless too.

if this is any use i bought my moses basket from ebay and sold it when dd outgrew it for about a quid more - i was made up he he

I Needed -
Sling
Cloth nappies
Babygros/vests

optional
Carseat (homebirths but travelled ot see relatives after a couple of weeks)

didn't use
cot or cot bed linen
baby bath
etc

Ooh one thing I found really useful in the early days when I was leaking boob milk left, right and centre was a breast cup/shield I think they're called? It collects milk that leaks and you can reserve it in a bottle, some days i'd get 1-2 oz every hour doing this and if you're expressing it really saves time.

My baby was 8 weeks premature and we had literally nothing. It meant that we did not buy loads of expensive equipment which we never used/used for a fortnight. If you have quite a lot of cash to spare and would enjoy the shopping, buy all the things on baby lists, but it is absolutely unnecessary.

People gave us loads of second-hand clothes, but what we actually used was:

babygros - not a sicky baby so not changed too frequently
vests - ditto
real nappies
nappy liners
bucket with a lid for soaking nappies
little cardigans (all donated)
washing up bowl for baths
ordinary towels for baths
tea towels / spare nappies for wiping all sorts
nursing bra
breast pads
sling
car seat (but we do have a car)

we needed somewhere safe to put her for naps so bought a second-hand pram for £5, but rarely took it out of the house. If we had lived in town it might have got more use.

no hats/gloves/coats/bibs etc
no special baby bed linen - co-sleeping
no dummies
no changing mat - used a towel

much later on we needed a breast pump and bottles, sterilzer and a pushchair which went down farly flat and a 'snow suit' for winter

The one thing I really really wanted for her was a wonderful teddy bear, but I never quite made my mind up and as soon as she could epress any kind of preference it became obvious that she loathes bears.

buy some really big maternity pants. Even if you are planning on having a natural birth, if things go pear shaped you may end up having a c-section and normal pants will rub on the scar. You may never wear them but its worth taking some cos it saves DH the embarrassment of having to go buy some from tescos like my poor hubby had to.
Also if you are giving birth in hospital take a huge bottle of water for your husband, our hospital didn't offer husbands drinks - i know not all hospitals are that bad but you don't want a dehydrated partner to worry about.
my best buy ever was really lose comfy breast feeding nighties - i still wear them and my DS is 18 months.

Before DD1 we bought absolutely nothing. We'd had multiple losses, high-risk pregnancy and we just did not feel comfortable assuming we'd get a take-home baby. Whilst I don't recommend anyone goes to this kind of extreme, I think our experience demonstrates that you can get by with surprisingly little.

Whilst I was in labour, DH ran into town and bought six babygros (correct size), a pack of nappies (size 4 - she was 5lb 1oz!) and some cotton-wool balls. Thank God the hospital gave us nappies until he'd had a chance to go to the WRVS shop for some size 0.

The next day DH acquired a car seat and a push chair, and the influx of borrowed / gifted clothing began. I don't think we bought any more clothes, other than perhaps one or two short-sleeved vests, for about 6 months. We didn't need a cot but had an armsreach cosleeper which was great for night feeding. If there's one comment I've heard from all my mum friends, it's that they wish they'd bought less for their baby in advance.

After DD2, I wish I'd had a basic v-shaped pillow the first time around - so worth it, particularly in terms of feeding hands-free, and DD2 still sleeps cuddling the pillow at night. The push chair was great as both my little ones have been around 5lb and almost every sling / carrier you can buy warns you not to use it with a low birthweight baby. Once they were big enough, they transitioned to being worn.

ear plugs. proper wax ones. its noisy in hospital. and afterwards your baby will be a surprisingly noisy sleeper. you hear anything that matters.