I am SO unprepared... What do I need?

[superlambanana]

So far we have, for our pfb:

Moses basket (need mattress)
Pram
Car seat (need pram adapters)
Assorted clothes (donated by friends)
Changing bag (donated!)
Top and tail bowl (ditto)
Stokke Tripp Trapp chair (present)
Will buy a second hand cot

That's about it... We are on the tightest of tight budgets so need to get only essentials, plus anything that will make it easier for me in the first few weeks. Recommendations very much appreciated!!

Moby wrap - we got ours for £10 at a second hand sale.

Something to bathe baby in? Could be a large washing up bowl, a sponge insert for your bath, your kitchen sink etc

Nappies.

Something for baby to sit in/ lie on when awake? bouncer chair maybe?

Nappies
Cotton wool
Water
Baby grows
Maybe bottles and formula in case you have feeding difficulties.

You don't need a cot yet. You don't really need a baby bath - kitchen sink is perfect whilst they're tiny!

I second a bouncer. Means you can take him/her with you if you go for a shower etc!

Muslins - you need those. Loads of them! Big ones if you intend to swaddle.

Need a blanket to tuck them in the car seat.

stargirl I'm expecting no 2 any day, and DD is only a small toddler. Are the moby wraps good? Not a faff to put on?

how are you planning to feed? If you're hoping to breastfeed, then maybe a box of breast pads. If not, then bottles, formula, sterilising equipment etc. I'd also stock up on maternity pads- you can never have too many in my experience!

I got to grips with mine very quickly. I did have incentive though. DD had silent reflux and just screamed all day long. She would sleep in the wrap as she was upright. It saved my sanity!

Changing mat - I got mine at a supermarket for about four pounds. Primark do a foldable "travel" one I used for a while, but it is quite thin and did get discoloured over time.

Interesting point up thread about muslins - I was given some but never really used them - are they for if baby brings up a bit of milk after a feed? Mine never really did. So might be worth just getting a few, to see how much you use them.

Car boots are starting up again at this time of year, and are great for loads of good quality, often hardly used baby stuff at bargain prices.

You sound pretty set up.

I loved my moby wrap, so cosy and easy, ds lived in it for the 1st few months.

I don't think you really need a chair/somewhere for the baby to sit, we used to put ds down on a spare duvet on the floor.

Car seats are not good to have on the pram, a lie flat pram is much better, if you don't have a lie flat bit for the pram could you use a moby wrap until the baby is old enough to go in the sitting bit of the pram?

If you're going to bf, don't bother buying bottles etc. if you don't end up using them it's a waste of money, and supermarkets are open 24 hours if you do.

Def get a stretchy sling. There's a group on fb called affordable slings for sale or swap - join and post there that you want a budget newborn sling and someone will sort you out.

If you have a Tripp Trapp have you bought the newborn seat for it too?

I highly recommend the Tummy Tub bath, great for soothing your baby especially if they have wine or colic.

Don't under estimate the number of baby grows you might get through in the first few weeks if you have a sicky baby, I bought lots of cheap supermarkets baby grows and vests and worried about nicer clothes later. Muslins and cellular blankets are also worth buying a few of.

This is great - thank you! Please keep the advice coming..!

Yes my very kind mum did buy us the newborn attachment too, though I'm assuming the same applies to that as to car seats - ie don't leave them in there too long.

How many vests / babygrows is enough? It's due at the end of June so who knows what the weather will be like... Should I get ones with feet / legless / short sleeved / long sleeved?

Yes, DS is 10 weeks and likes to sit in there for 10-15 minutes a few times a day, mostly as meal times.

I think I bought 10 vests and 10 long legged/sleeved but then bought a few more once he was born as I was constantly washing and drying. He was a January baby though so no option to dry the washing outside, a summer baby will be easier. Not every baby goes through so many so you can always do a supermarket dash later if needed.

A baby bath isn't a must, as a poster above said the kitchen sink is a good alternative (and you don't get back pain bending down holding a tiny baby in the baby bath)

A bath seat for when they're older was really useful for me, I think we got ours for about £10 from asda but I'm sure you can get them a lot cheaper online or in charity shops.

Lots and lots of baby grows and vests, sleep suits etc. We received loads of clothes and only bought vests for DD.

I wouldn't buy loads of baby shampoo, bubble baths etc as we have loads (gifted) that we've never opened 7 months on. Water really is all they need for baths.

Can't think of much else but I'm sure things will pop in my head!

I use short sleeved body suits (vests) and baby grows with feet. I would say get 3 or 4 packs of vests in 0-3 size and get them all in white otherwise you find the yellow/pink/blue ones sit in the washbasket for ages waiting for a wash.

Oooh, another one. If you're planning on breastfeeding then I don't think you really need loads of fancy (and expensive) nursing clothes. I found a £2.50 stretchy vest top from primark under normal tops meant I could pull the vest below my bra and pull my top up. Minimal tummy exposure and you don't need to always have button down tops (however I know a few people do like the proper nursing clothes, I'm just cheap and wore boring, plain primark tops)

Get loads of meals made and freeze them. Like enough for 4 weeks. Or buy jars of pesto and dolmio and then eat them with penne pasta so you can eat with one hand. Frozen pizzas stuff like that. I was a domestic goddess when pregnant and make everything from scratch but couldn't stop breastfeeding for long enough to do ANYthing of the sort for at least 4 weeks.

Bouncy seat is a good shout people. Then you can sit them next to you safely so you can bath/shower/do your hair.

Really really comfy scruffy clothes clean and dry. Babies require a lot of snuggly times on the sofa.

Pads. Pads. More pads. Nappies. Babygros.

Get yourself something LUSH to pamper yourself with even if it's just a really nice hand cream or bubble bath.

Sounds like you've got most stuff covered apart from nappies, wipes and changing mat. Other stuff is so personal-I never used breast pads for example and found a baby bath just took up space.
A kari-me sling was so useful and I still use it 7 months on.

One other thing that is not really for your newborn but will be worth its weight in gold is a freezer full of easy meals.

X posted with ithoughtofitfirst....funny that

Try sites like gumtree and fb in your local area...we got a cracking deal on our silver cross travel system :) £60 and its hardly used, looks like its just came out the box and the car seat was still in is packaging lol last week out of the blue we had a brand new cot bed and matress, timmee toppee complete steriliser starter kit, high chair, baby monitors and couple of other lil bits turn up from my long distant family friends :) helped us out no end as we dont really have to spend much now :) got another friend who is sorting us out some clothes and baby grows n stuff :) were on a tight budget aswell so understand. We are gonna wait for our grant to come through now and go bargain shopping then put the rest away :) xx

If you're on a mega budget then I think you have all the essentials other than nappies. You can buy more later if you need it. For example:

• muslins : many needed for sicky babies, 1 or 2 if not sicky, if you know someone with a sewing machine it's possible to buy muslin cloth from a haberdashery (cheaper), if not then get big 70x70 ones you can use as swaddled as well
• baby bath : a sink works when they're tiny, about 5cm of water and a folded towel in the bottom of the bath when they're bigger. Water and a cloth is fine to wash them, no soap needed
• lots of clothes : see muslins. DD has a fresh vest daily but often wears the same sleep suit (pjs) or babygro (day) two days in a row as she's not sicky. NCT nearly new sales, car boots, eBay etc are great for clothes - but just get a few and see how you go
• bouncer : not essential if you're on a budget, we put DD in various places - bed, couch, etc. always careful she can't roll off and supervised of course! You can also carry the Moses basket around if needed
• flat carry cot for pram : we've just used the car seat attachment, it's fine as long as they're not in it for more than an hour
• maternity pads : some people have lochia that lasts a week, some 6 weeks. Buy more pads if you need them (don't use sani pads they're not absorbent enough plus plastic backed ones give you thrush)
• breast pads : washable are more economical but you do need these if you want to breastfeed

Some things that you might want to get later if you need them:

• Lansinoh if you b'feed, invaluable for sore nipples
• washable nappies are more economical than disposables, you can get good deals (eg see nappy lady specials) and local authority support
• wash cloths or similar are useful for top/tail and nappy explosion clean ups, cheaper in the long run than cotton wool
• ikea have lots of good value baby bits and pieces if you have one close to you
• weleda nappy cream is amazing

Congratulations and enjoy your new baby!

This was hands down our best buy.

Are you going to breastfeed? If so, this can keep you sane, honest! (Might work too if you're not BFing, I don't know)

We got [[
www.amazon.de/FabiMax-Beistellbett-Babymax-Matratze-Auswahl/dp/B0053FIPAY/ref=pd_sim_by_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0G9MB7Q4M0JKHX501G6T this three sided cot from German Amazon]]. The cot attaches to the side of your bed.

If your baby's in a separate cot, you get much less sleep than if you use a 3-sided one IME.

This is because, your baby has to get your attention when they need feeding at night (possibly by crying, so they are awake). Then you need to wake yourself up, go to the cot, get the baby, perhaps feed sitting by the cot, or bring the baby back into bed with you. You're totally awake, the baby's awake. You feed the baby, then settle them back in their cot (this could be instant or take a loooong time). Then you go back to sleep. And repeat, possibly every hour, some nights. This is what we did, with DC1, when we had an ordinary crib. Many babies really want to be near their mother, not just milk and will keep waking up if they're not near you.

With the three-sided cot, the baby is close to you, this will reduce night wakings for a lot of babies, which equals more sleep for you. Also, when they do wake for feeding, you're right there. Neither you nor the baby really needs to wake up much to feed. You can reach over, the baby can latch on, and you can feed your baby lying down, without either of you having to wake up too much. When you're done, you just slide your baby back over.

You can get three sided cots in the UK, but they cost about £250+.
The one from Amazon is just over £100 including delivery from Germany.

To use German Amazon, use Google Chrome to look at the website, and it automatically translates everything for you. You can use your usual (e.g. UK) Amazon account with the German site, it works fine.

3 sided cot linky

Or, if you're on a budget, research co-sleeping in your own bed perhaps. Not a product as such, but good preparation IMO.