If you could only buy ten things.....

[LikeACandleButNotQuite]

What are the 'essentials' for preparing for the LO? It's my first, and I am amazed at the range of essential money grabbing items it is deemed necessary for me to buy... what are the most essential, what ten things can I not avoid buying?

hmmm ok well for me it would be (in no particular order):

1. nursing bras
2. muslins
3. sling
4. pushchair
5. cot (although would prob co-sleep mostly to start with)
6. nappies
7. car seat

k that's all I have for absolute essentials. so the last 3 will be helpful things that are nice to have but you can do without

1. bouncy chair/swing/beanbag to put baby down on when they get a little bit bigger and want to see around and you need to go to the toilet/cook dinner etc
2. baby monitor? but only if you can't hear baby from your room/downstairs etc

10. cake. actually this is really an essential but i can't be arsed to re-number

ooooo i'm in the same boat as you, there is so much stuff you don't need but big companies play on your insecurities. I'm gonna have a go at this as it will make me actually think about it! Right, lets see

1. Reusable Nappies
2. Cot bed
3. Muslin
4. Pram
5. Frozen home cooked ready meals
6. Bedding for in the cot
7. Vests
8. Onsies
9. Hat & Coat (we're having a feb baby)
10. Baby bath (we only have a shower)

10 is not enough!

love how yesterdays baby doesnt need clothes!

Sorry, this is a list of don't needs as well! You don't need breastpump/bottles or anything if you're planning on bfing. Don't need cot bumpers, or any matching bedding. They will vomit on everything. Don't really need toys tbh, you could wave any bright thing in their face for the first few months. You don't need a moses basket AND a crib AND a cot. Try to borrow a basket as they grow out of them very quickly. In fact, try to borrow, or get from somone finished with them, everything! Except a new mattress.

Worth buying breast pads and maternity pads, in addition to the above fab lists, for bfing and post birth bleeding. Lansinoh, if you are breastfeeding. If you don't use it all, it makes great lipsalve.
Pyjamas you can breastfeed in esp if your house is cold at night and you don't want to be half naked. You don't have to buy maternity pjs though, just something which opens.

Sorry, that hasn't really answered the question!

maternity pads are a definite essential btw

Go to an NCT nearly new sale and get cheap stuff, especially with baby clothes (which they do need!), all they do is throw up on the them and their poo leaks everywhere until you get the hang of nappies properly, and then even sometimes leak anyway.

Oh - you don't need a changing bag, just a rucksack you already have.

oh how could i forget clothes???? lol

although to be fair, ds1 was given so much that i didn't need to buy anything new until he was about a year old lol

Thanks mrsRbutler, should have been more clear - not just worth buying!! Probably top of the list with baby clothes, otherwise you'll be bleeding down your legs for 3 weeks!

1. nursing bras
2. muslins (10 pack from a cloth nappy website about £15-£20))
3. sling (wrap sling like mobywrap will last you longest, £37 online)
4. pushchair (from-birth like Maclaren XT about £150, own brand cheaper)
5. Moses basket and/or cot (from NCT nearly new sales, moses baskets are £10-20, cots are £10-30, you'll need a new mattres for these eg from mothercare/ebay)
6. nappies (cloth or disposable- cloth cheaper in long run and lots of advice on the internet if you google for it)
7. car seat (size 0: good makes eg maxicosi start at £60 on Amazon. Depends on the make of car. Don't get secondhand.

8. backup 4 oz bottles x2, teats x 2 (eg Avent) and few cartons of newborn formula (eg aptumil) just in case babe needs feeding at 3am and you can't fpr any reason. Steriliser if you plan to bottlefeed later, otherwise sterilise bottles in a tupperware in the microwave. Boob nazis may slam me for this one but I was run over and carted off in an ambulance when DD was 3 months old and knowing there was backup formula stopped me worrying about one thing at least...

9. bouncy chair or baby gym- somewhere safe to leave baby while you wash up/get their bottle/your meal/a drink.

10. a bag to put changing stuff in so you can get out of the house with baby to stop you going insane. Doesnt have to be a branded changing bag- any comfy rucksack/shoulder bag with several compartments will do. School bags can be good value.

i think i have probably only bought about 10 things for ds3! so this is so far what i've got and using a lot

1. moses basket - although mainly using the cocoon from the buggy but if i did not have that would have been in moses basket only. you can just put them straight into cot but imo moses basket being able to move from room to room very useful for newborns and they are so tiny for a cot, moses basket is really worth getting imo
2. baby bath - i considered not buying one & just making do as ds2's one is being used for something else but found it too much of a pain, so had to get another one. i also buy the baby bubble bath but you can use plain water if you like, alot of people prefer that for newborn
3. clothes - only essential ones are vests, sleepsuits, hat, fluffysuit thing for outside. not the outfits for newborn if you wanna cut back to essential only
4. nappies & wipes
5. changing mat- you can do without if you want but comes in handy really
6. bouncing chair - i find they come in really useful for somewhere to put them down, would say go for one with vibrate function & fisher price are the best most durable. more useful than the baby gyms and mats imo. not bothered digging out those for ds3 yet but the bouncy chair i couldnt do without
7. maternity pads
8. pj thats comfy for breastfeeding (as mentioned above no need for maternity ones, the ones from primark & peacocks do the job fine) & couple of nursing bras
9. lansinoh - its expensive & normally you never need to finish the tube but i would say worth it. the avent one is also ok and bit cheaper i think?

10. blankets

also you will need to get a pushchair & car seat. if ff then bottles, steriliser, formula etc..

i think thats about it?

oh yeah changing bag.. get the free one from boots it does the job. free with size 1 nappies, they send voucher in the post

For Baby:

Car Seat
Digital Thermometer
Baby Monitor
Gro Bags
Room/Bath Thermometer
Bouncy/Rocker Chair for Baby (not you)
Cot Bed
Buggy
Nice teddy
Changing Mat

For you:

Nursing Bras
Inexhaustible Supply of Breast Pads
Lansinoh
'What to expect - The First Year' book
iPhone (brilliant for MNing one handed)
Breastfeeding pillow
Baptiste Dry Shampoo
Chocolate (for those long breastfeeding sessions)
Thermos cup (for the reasons described above)
A 'No Cold Callers' sign for the front door (because they always bloody call the moment you've got the baby to sleep!)

For me the ten essentials are:

Pushchair from birth that lays flat-don't spend a fortune, second hand is definately worth looking at.
Carseat-brand new.
Wrap sling-some days my DD is clingy so this is fab!
Bouncy chair type thing so you can have somewhere safe to pop baby down.
Changing mat-basic one on floor or bed, poo and wee can travel an amazing distance!
Basic clothing for early days-bodysuits and sleepsuits as they are easy to change and wash. See note about poo above!
Nappies and cotton wool or wipes
Something to sleep in-borrow Moses basket if poss as only used for short time. Cotbeds are better value as they last longer.
Lansinoh and breast pads if you intend to breast feed.
Changing bag, but no need to spend a fortune!

With my first I bought loads you don't need, and everything was new. Such a waste of money! With the second I bought only essentials and quality second hand items. Spent less on the second than I did buying just the pram for my first! Good luck!

My ten

1. Maternity Pads (essential)
2. Washable nappies/wipes (will save you a fortune)
3. Baby sleepsuits (when they are little it's the most convienent clothes and you will be bought 'outfits' from other people)
4. Birth to 4 carseat (More expensive but last longer)
5. From birth pushchair/buggy (again shoudl see you right through how long you need it) / sling (thats a cheat one added on I know)
6. Nursing bra's
7. Cotbed (will last you much longer - I'm going direct to cot, you don't need a basket as well)
8. Chair or bouncer (from experience babies need to be put down sometimes, you need to go to the loo etc sometimes and have them safe, my DD LOVED her bouncer and would happily sit in it while I made dinner etc)
9. Baby sleeping bags (practical, warm, safe)
10. Baby warm snowsuit - all in one jacket thingy (depending on when your baby is born think about the size, I live in Scotland, we had lots of days at -7 last year, some nights getting to -16, so for early mornings heading out in the car or days out in the pushchair or sling (which BTW is so much easier than a pushchair for when it snows), I would say essential. This LO is due any day now so my mum got a gorgeous fluffy thick warm one in 3-6 months size back in the spring sales. With DD I used them right up until she was about 4...you can get waterproof ones when they are at the playing out in the snow age).

I echo other advise of check out NCT sales, Jack n Jill markets etc to pick up second hand bargins (everything except mattresses and carseats are fine second hand).
Also consider buying out of season, like I said back in March my mum had great fun in the sales buying winter stuff you just have to plan ahead re the size. A friend of mine always does the next sale for her kids clothes - she just buys the next sizes up.

Bedside Cot if space permitted - if not crib and cot bed
Baby Jogger City Mini
Maxi cosi Cabrio fix
Reusable nappies
9 gender netural sleepsuits
9 gender netural vests
maternity pads
breast pads
Blanket (you will get given some as presents)
Fitted Sheets (4 is about right)

Seems so simple yet I have a nursery full of "stuff" for DC2 albeit most if from DC1

Maternity pads
Nursing bras
Breast pads
Sleep suits
Vests
Cardigans
Jacket or snowsuit depending on time of year
Car seat
Nappies
Cotton wool
Change mat
Blankets for swaddling
Sheets for pram and Moses basket
Muslins
Lie flat pram

No need at least at first for wipes, baby bath, gym, sling, cot, toys or bouncy chairs. Baby will be safe on the floor on a folded blanket or in the carrycot of pram.
Teddies look nice for parents but are not of any use or interest to small babies.

Later get
cotbed
Bouncy chair
Wipes
Sleeping bag
Toys although you will be given loads.

If you do go for reusable nappies, I still strongly recommend disposables for the first 2-3 weeks - meconium's impossible to get off cloth nappies and it goes EVERYWHERE, whether or not you use a liner! And you will probably still need disposables as back up, e.g. if you're going out for the day/got a long journey, etc, unless you're really die-hard. DD couldn't go more than 2hrs in cloth, so was in disposables at night. I still had to change her twice a night. She was a heavywetter though.

Muslins are obviously necessary - can I also suggest a pile of old towels?! Useful for nappy-free time, for covering the sofa, as a liner for the changing mat... DD had/has severe reflux so I'm probably more extreme than most but we had towels everywhere for the first 18 months. Now she just clears up her own puke :-)

Has anyone said nappy bags?? Even if you use reusables, trust me, you don't want to put poo cotton wool straight in the bin.

LAUNDRY DETERGENT - more than you ever thought you'd need in a year. Not just the baby's clothes, but the muslins, the bedding, your bedding, your clothes... you get the picture! So much easier to stock up on the supersize ones now, rather than try to drag a buggy round a supermarket because you've run out.

New memory card for your camera. Ours had space for just 7 pictures when DD was born. Didn't even think of checking beforehand...

plus all the obvious from above...

1. Somewhere for baby to sleep (moses basket/cot/or check if your bed is suitable for co-sleeping)
2. Appropriate bedding for that place (sheets, cellular blankets, grobag for once they are big enough)
3. Some way to move the baby around (sling/pushchair/car seat)
4. Appropriate seasonal cover for that thing (ie, snowsuit, cosy toes/sunshade)
5. Nappies, wipes (resuable or disposable) and changing mat, disposable nappy bags.
6. Muslins
7. A bag for baby stuff when you go out (can be a handbag/changing bag/rucksack)
8. Stuff to help with feeding (nursing bra, breast pads/bottles, formula and microwave steraliser)
9. Seasonal clothes for the baby (mostly babygros for the tiny sizes)
10. cheap wire framed bouncy chair.

You don't need to buy any of these new, ask around and see what friends might not need anymore, look at second hand places.

1 Selection of sleep suits and onesies
2 lightweight blanket large enough for swaddling
3 electric breast pump and a few bottles (completely disagree with woowa!)
4 a dummy, no matter what the midwives tell you
5 nappies and Simple brand wipes (or H2o from waitrose)
6 buggy
7 cotbed
8 muslins and flannels
9 bedding with spare sheets
10 bath thermometer that doubles as room thermometer

Things I have but almost never use:
Breast pads (I never leak in spite of a healthy supply)
Cotton wool (very messy, wipes are better)
Lasinoh (tommee tippee cooling pads were tons better)
Scratch mits
Booties (socks stay on better)
Hats (DD hates them)
Grow bag
Breastfeeding pillow (interferes with positioning, just use a normal one)
Baby bath (a sponge bath thing for £2.50 in my regular bath has been fine)

Things I didn't use initially but did later on:
Play mat
Swing
Toys

1. Bigger house
2. Bigger car
3. Sleepsuits
4. Vests
5. Nappies
6. Coat
7. Maternity pads
8. Breast pads
9. Cot

10. Pram or sling

Excellent advice I got from NCT teacher was "You live in London! There are SHOPS!" So don't buy all of Mothercare (overpriced anyway) beforehand - apart from some clothes, sleeping place, and transport thing, get everything else once you have the baby. It'll get you out the house, too.

And then you'll have what you need, not what someone with a different life and baby needs.

But entering into the spirit of the thread (I'm now expecting no.2)

1. Lay-flat pushchair (eg Maclaren XT) with warm muff
2. Bundle of newborn clothes, eg from an Ebay person doing a clearout
3. Decent snowsuit / warm outer
4. Raincover for pushchair and anorak for you!
5. Lamp for room where baby sleeps
6. And a comfy chair for that room, ideally rocking one
7. Pile of washable nappies for when the free disposables you get coupons for run out!
8. Swaddling blankets
9. Shedload of decent ready meals, or ideally get Mum to make loads to put in the freezer

10. Basic baby bouncer for putting baby in.

Grobags, bath gear, breastfeeding help stuff, dummies etc can all be got later if/when you need them. Borrow a moses basket, see if a friend has a baby car seat, and quite likely anyone with an older child will love to dump all their baby clutter on you!

Just wondering what Lansinoh is? I looked it up online but seems to be a brand with various products including breast pump.

The nipple cream I think.

Funny, I read through the first few posts thinking "really"? It's very much a case of what you personally think, how you live your life and what you want - and then of course it'll only be months down the line you'll think "what a fecking waste of money + space"!