Do i need to buy these things...

[vix1980]

im currently 28 weeks and have only just started looking into things i think i need, but im planning to breastfeed and express so i can leave baby with dp when needed.

obviously I need a breastpump and have had a look at some already, but do i need a bottle steriliser or can I just put them in the dishwasher... i dont remember my mum messing about with all this when my brother was born!

also cellular blankets, what the hell are they and do i need them? I have a few fleecey blankets and a couple of the sleeping bag things.

Im ok with the babygrow situation I understand all that (although I still dont know whether they were sleveless in summer??) i.e could i put the baby in a babygrow with short sleeves and then in a bag thing? or would social services come a knocking?

so confusing but i want to get started on buying things i do and will need instead of clothes as i have been so far, i have the cot and pram stuff its just the last little bits im unsure of, thanks in advance

I think you need to sterilise until 6 months. We got given a steriliser, but I found it easier to just use a big container & sterilising tablets. I was only expressing once a day & not for long though.

Mothercare Microwave Steriliser Pod - White- Now: £7.49

Even the hot cycle on the dishwasher is not hot enough for sterilising. If you don't want to buy one, you can do cold water sterilising with tablets as mentioned above, or you can boil stuff in a pan for ten minutes (a bit of a faff though). I was told you need to sterilise until a year old.

Cellular blankets are the ones with holes in. You do need them. They are safer than fleecy ones as if they end up over the face the baby can still breathe. However, if you are going to use sleeping bags you won't need very many especially in the summer. The fleecy ones might be best as pram blankets. Cellular blankets are in the supermarkets and in Mothercare. I got some very cheap from Matalan. They will be next to the cot sheets. Perhaps just get 2 or 3, you'll probably want one for hospital bag anyway.

if you look on the Grobag website they tell you how to dress the baby at night according to the room temperature and the tog rating of your sleeping bag. Usually, if the room temp is 16-18, the 2.5tog bags are designed to be used with a short sleeved/sleeveless vest and a babygrow. If it's hotter, then perhaps you won't need the babygrow and could use a long sleeved vest instead, or use a 1 tog bag.

Steriliser- yes a plug in steam one I found easier IMO.
Cellular blankets- maybe for the pram or just to put over baby when they are two small for gro bags. I swaddled mine in a cotton swaddle blanket then straight in a gro bag when he weighed enough. They do sheet ones when it's really hot- July baby.
Layers- babies need one more layer than you. In the summer I just put mine in a long sleeve vest and a sheet gro bag. Maybe short sleeve if it was really hot.

hth

Too not two! Argh iPhone!

Steriliser - we bought a tommeetippee electric one - its meant to switch itself off after the cycle and didnt - took it back and swapped it for an Avent one. Same thing happened - rubbish waste of money! Baby was in hospital and they use a big plastic pot with Milton in - so I now use a pan and a glug of Milton - sterilised in 15 mins and takes up no room - brilliant!

Nurses in scbu said that fleecy blankets restrict airflow and don't allow babied to regulate their own temperature - cellular all the way for us :) Asda do lovely ones for £4!

Good luck with your baby xx

right so cellular blankets are a must then ill get some today, as for the steriliser i appreciate the link to the mothercare one but from reading the reviews you need a huge microwave and i dont, i also think id like a plug in one so will look out for a tommee tippee one as ive already bought those brand of bottles and see if that goes ok.

still confused as hell about the grobags and babygrows, my brain is mush at the moment so its like trying to read chinese, im sure it willl all come to me anyway!

thanks for all your help

what's confusing you about the babygros and grobags? :)

and can I ask a silly question of my own save cluttering the board with a stupid thread

if a baby is due in Winter and going into a pram, do they wear a snow suit and then blankets too or just a thinner jacket/knitted stuff over their clothes and then blankets?

You don't need a steriliser if you are only going to use a bottle on odd occassions. You can just sterilise by boiling in a saucepan for ten minutes.

foof - my DD was born in the middle of all the snow this year and when we took her out in the pram she wore a short-sleeved and long-sleeved babygrow, a snowsuit, a hat and the snowsuit hood, and then a blanket. Actually, typing that out I', realising that she still wears all that in this weather! I'd always go with wrapping them up really warm, because you can always remove the blanket if they seem warm. But if it is the kind of weather where you want a thick coat and hat even when you are walking then remember your baby is just lying still so they'll want to be wrapped up tight

I can't be any help to anyone, but I'm equally confused over bedding! I was going to start a new thread about it, but then saw this one and thought someone here might be able to help.

We're expecting a June baby, and were planning on having her in a swing crib until she goes into the cot. I was planning on swaddling, so do I still need a crib bumper and blankets? Also, are fitted or flat sheets better, and how many do I need of each? Also, my friend told me to get a mattress protector for the cot, but I can't seem to find them in crib size, so what happens to the mattress if her nappy leaks when she's in the crib?

Thanks, and vix1980, sorry about high-jacking your thread!

vix I use the tommee tippee breastpump, it comes with a Tupperware container with a hole in the top, to sterilise you put it in the microwave with 100ml water for 6 mins.

foof in a pram in winter you will need the baby in vest, sleepsuit or trousers and long-sleeved top, pramsuit/snowsuit and a hat as well as a blanket.

silver bumpers aren't recommended because of SIDs but you can buy air flow bumpers. My 4 month old spins herself round in circles in her sleep and we don't use a bumper so I'm not convinced that they're necessary. She has also always hated being swaddled so buy extra blankets in case yours does too but if you do swaddle then you won't need extra blankets on top. I never used mattress protectors either, any explosions of poo were all over clothes, blankets and sheets but never went through to the mattress. They also tend to stop doing such explosive poos and stop pooing through the night around a few weeks old so less to worry about then.

Silversage dont be sorry at all, im due in june and havent a clue about anything really, i though asking here would help me out a bit but now im equally if not more confused about if i need a cot bumper or not, some say it can trap them and stop them breathing others say they could bang there head on the rails.... i just need an answer!

if you do need a matress protector though i know dunel mill have some, i got some sheets there at the weekend, not sure if they were in crib size. i was planning on having a moses basket then a cot bed for later on.

ive just ordered the medela swing breast pump after reading some reviews on amazon, as this is my first i plan to use it quite a bit yet so dont mind spending a bit extra for something which i think will last.

growbags - there a whole other universe though, i just went for a winnie the pooh one, didnt know they came in different tog sizes though, ill have to have another look at them, knowing me ive probably bought a thick winter one for a june baby!

DS is 18 months and still does mammoth poops at night so not convinced about them stopping around a few weeks! :) We find fitted sheets stay on better (you'll prob need two - 1 for on, 1 in the wash) since he wriggles a lot, and the mattress has a waterproof covering so don't have to worry about that. But he is also in a grobag so generally any leaks only get that far...

Would highly recommend grobags but prob only from a few months down the line. DS is a little wriggler who ends up in all sorts of positions in his cot! At least if in a bag he is always covered! In the early days we swaddled him (in moses basket) which he seemed to find comforting. Due to newborn reflexes they can't control their arms initially and this can wake them up.

In terms of temperature, DS was a premmie who couldn't control his initially, so I got a bit paranoid about checking his temp! Stick two fingers down onto their chest and you will get a good idea. Ours generally slept in long sleeved babygrows (and with extra socks in winter). He also wore short sleeve vests under all clothes until about 6 months to catch drafts. Cot bumper doesn't do anything for us except look pretty :)

Oo medela swing breast pump = good choice :) Think moses basket then cot/cot bed is good way to go. Well it worked for us anyway.

vix regarding the bumper, it is recommended when they move into the cot initially that they have their feet at the bottom of the cot so that they can't wriggle under the blankets. So this means that the baby, being so little, is way down at the bottom of the cot anyway, meaning the cot bumper is a little useless... Now our DS sleeps all over the place in the cot though, so bumper still useless... I still like the look of it though

Hi,

So it is more for decoration then is it? i thought it was useless if there down the other end to be honest but as it comes in the bed set obviously must have some use - now i know its to bump up the bleedin price and make it look nice!

right blankets for swadling from birth, bags for when they go in the cot? i actually think im getting it!

Grobags can be used once the baby is 8lbs :) for a summer baby you'd probably be ok with a 1.5tog and by the time it needs the next size up it'll be winter so you can get a 2.5tog then.

Have you a TKMaxx nearby? they sell swaddling blankets/wraps

Yep sounds about right :) You can use the grobag right away but I'd recommend seeing how the swaddling goes first...

Re the sleepsuits, we used to put dd to be in just a short sleeved vest if it was really hot but then she was a winter baby so was 6 months by then.

Re winter babies and prams, I use to put dd in pram suit then into pram, OR thinner clothes and layer up with blankets. Don't need both unless it is baltic. But then we had a cosytoes that zipped up like a sleeping bag on dd so only her head was exposed and that had a blanket on it.

I can highly recommend the MORRCK WRAPS, they stay in your carseat and you just strap baby in and fold the blanket and hood around baby. Saves dressing baby in fiddly clothes and you can easlily ajust it if baby is too hot or cold. Have a look on line, it is a real lifesaver!!!