First baby due in November and we are clueless

[DebbsyandBibby]

we need to know if possible everything we need to get,so far we have the nursery sorted having The Treacle and Bubble range (lollipop lane)and we have 2 snow suits a few baby grows,bibs,and i think they are called romper suits no legs and no sleeves.We really do need lots of help and recommendations wouldnt go amiss.Thank you in advance

Hi, I've only skimmed through this thread (I'm getting tired!) and the only other thing I would suggest is getting a box of formula milk in, just in case breastfeeding doesn't go to plan. I didn't do this with DS1 (my first child) and DH was phoning everywhere we could think of one Sunday night to try and find some!! HTH xx

gosh, without reading through all of this, just a couple of tips.

don't buy a moses basket unless you really want to - if you plan on buying a port-a-cot, this will do insead of a moses basket, and it saves you the money of buying both things (if you see what i mean)

you don't need a top and tail bowl - a couple of old margarine/plastic containers works just as well

try to stay away from any type of mobile that is sound activated (unless you want to stimulate your baby as they are going to sleep )

Congratulations! Mine were born Dec, Jan and Feb so definately agree with the advice to get your Chirstmas shopping out of the way before you're too big.

I think everyone's covered everything you need really.

The only thing I'd add is pick up a few packs of cheap knickers, Primark poss, for after the birth and then you can just throw them away if you need to, instead of getting bogged down with washing.

And lots of pads aswell

Firstly congratulations. You've got great advice on what not to buy and what to buy. My list of great buys to second everyone here:
Grobags
Cellular blankets
Hats/mittens for baby for walks
Cosytoe for pram/buggy
Bottle warmers - I had two.
Lots and lots of cotton wool balls
Sudocrem - fantastic for sore bottoms and anything else that needs antiseptic cream
Plastic backed bibs
muslin squares

But as SittingBull said, follow your instinct and do what you think is right and most of all enjoy your bundle of fun and love.a

With regards to the sleep suits with feet - I have this wonderful bottomless sleepsuit.. you can get them in mothercare. It looks a bit like a dress ... its really long, goes way over their feet, and they come in one size. We used it with DS from birth and it lasted until he was about 7 months. He is a december baby so I bought him a couple of pairs of tights!! navy blue and deep red, so that his little leggies wouldnt get cold.

DD wears it now... sans tights, as it is summer.. one of the best things I bought actually, have got loads of use out of it.

One more thing... Bibs, bibs and more bibs! I have hundreds and it still never seems enough.. my babies are incredibly sicky!

Oh yes, nightshirts are briiliant for tinies - it's a real bummer trying to get the baby's legs down the right holes and doing up a million poppers with your eyes half shut in the middle of the night.

When you get babygros/sleepsuits, get the ones that popper all the way down the front and along both legs. It may be a hassle getting all the poppers lined up at first, but it's much easier to get the baby into them than it is to get them into the sort of babygro that only has poppers at shoulder and legs, or shoulder and back.

I second the "get your Christmas shopping done early" comments! My dd was born in November, and there is no way I would have wanted to take her out Christmas shopping.

The other thing I did was have all the Christmas card envelopes done, and all the cards written, with room just to add "and dd" on the end.

It meant that once dd was born, I could concentrate on her, and sleep as much as possible.

Novemberrrrrr????

Listen, girl, go and get some good novels. Order them from Amazon if you can't face a bookshop. Buy some chocolate at the same time.

Then put your feet up (good for you anyway) and luxuriate in a glorious, undisturbed read. Come October, nip to the shops and buy a few things.

Definitely agree with those who say get Christmas shopping done early. Our ds was due end of November, arrived early December, and I had everything bought and wrapped by mid November. And, boy, was I glad I did that! Struggling round busy shops,with a tiny baby, when you are feeling exhausted would have been a nightmare.

The best advice for equipment I can think of is to try and buy what will suit YOUR lifestyle. E.g. some people like top'n'tail bowls, because they always use cotton wool and water for claning, whereas others never use them, as they always use wipes.

The things we used a lot were:-

Pram/pushchair combination - I don't drive, so that thing did miles and miles.
Car seat (dh drives, so we needed it.)
Cot (but initially used carry cot from pram).
Bibs.
Muslins.
Sleeping bag things when they get a bit older.
Top'n'tail bowl.
Nappies.
Monitor.
Bottles and steriliser (can be useful even if you bf, if you ever want to give expressed milk.) We had an electric one rather than microwave one, as although we have a microwave, not all our relatives that we stay with do.

OH, and personally I wouldn't bother getting a "changing bag", but rather a reasonably plain rucksack, which will hold all your stuff (you'll definitely need something for all the clobber), but still be useful as the baby grows up.

Don't get too much you willget given lots of presents in the way of clothes. Buy vests and babygrows and sock,hats and a smowsuit thing.
Car seat,pram cot, muslins.
We used a babybath as I was too nervous to use the big bath and din't likethe thought of the LO pooing or weeing on me if I got in too.
A couple of packets of nappies (you use up to 10 a day in the first few weeks) and some nappy sacks.

Do your X-mas shopping early. You won't get around to it afterwards. I was in Oxford St with my mum on my due date trying to finish mine off (Nov too)
Gets lots to read as you will be sitting at home feeding a lot.
Catch up on all your sleep now.
The advice for stocking up the freezer is a good one.

I've only skimmed through this so I'm not sure if anyone has told you already....but

MORE MATERNITY SANITARY TOWELS THAN YOU CAN FIT IN THE SHOPPING TROLLEY!!

When I had ds3 I had 8 packs of 10 and they were all gone is 3-4 days!!!

this time I'm going to buy them wholsale

lol at motherinferior

for being so right

I was skimming through this thread going 'for heaven's sake' and there you are, the voice of reason

Oh! Shopping for your first is so much fun. I had a spreadsheet

In contrast to everybody else I did use a baby bath. DD was born in December and it was freezing, so I used to fill the bath and bath her right next to a radiator to keep her warm. I could also never work out how to get me and a slippery newborn out of the bath without either falling or us both getting cold.

Second the hooded towels, to keep their head warm afer a bath in winter.

I also had those great nightshirts with a drawstring at the botton for DD when she was newborn - much easier to change nappies in the middle of the night. I moved onto a grobag when she was 10lb.

My DD grew out of newborn clothes within 2 weeks, so do be careful about what you get. So many clothes just didn't get worn, we didn't have time! I think she grew out of 0-3 after another 8 weeks.

Don't forget to think about your hospital bag at the same time & things like dark nightie or t-shirt (bear in mind that maternity wards are VERY hot, but if you leave buying this until winter you won't be able to get anything too lightweight) for giving birth, maternity knickers, arnica, lansinoh etc. Perhaps a hospital bag thread?

Hey debbsy, you do sound so much more organised than I was (although I did do xmas shopping online during mat leave as bored rigid when ds 2 weeks over). Best thing we had was a tiny love mobile which played Mozart, Beethoven & Bach (15 mins each = shower!). £40 new I think from m/care (although one w/out remote is cheaper & remote pointless) although we bought ours on ebay. Loaned it to friends since & recommended it to everyone, I would have paid 100s pounds for it as it was only thing to give us peace!

some basic vests
some basic rompers/babygrows
some cotton wool/soft flannels for bottom wiping
lots of pads and cheap knickers(i had pad+disposable knicks + cheap big knicks-for comfort)
a buggy and car seat combo
dinky little hats and socks and scratch mitts
THE outfit bibby will make his/her trip home from hospital(if you're doing hospital) in(this outfit will be in lots of photos and if you're like me will be one of the most important decisions in those last few weeks!!!!)
blankets/sheets for swaddling
nappies
some bottles whatever your plans re feeding.
lots of muslin clothes
a bottle of bubbly and some plastic glasss for your hospital bag
a large supply of dark chocolate for IRON replacement when you at home in the first few days.(honest suggestion)

Everything else will be given to you by friends/family/neighbours you've never had a full conversation with. IT is amazing how generous people are around newborn babies.

Now I'm off to write my christmas shopping list myself since Santa's bringing me my Bean.

at the clothes thing - I can't be the only person who dressed small baby in a baby gro until about 10 weeks? Was enough effort to get myself dressed somedays, let alone trying to organise a baby wardrobe.

And you will not believe how many breast pads you get through!

A friend of mine had a supply of breast pads in fruitbowls in each room of her house.