Please tell me what else I need

[Peaceloveandbiscuits]

First baby, no friends with children, no family babies, never even held a baby. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing! We're not that well off so have been picking up bits and bobs every now and then to spread the cost, but now I've done an inventory I don't know how useful this approach has been! So would you mind looking through my list and telling me what other clothes I need? I don't know the sex, so all babygrows rather than outfits, due 27/12, and I suspect baby will be over 8lbs (three generations of big babies in the family), if that affects how many newborn items we need.

NEWBORN:

• 7 long sleeves, no legs
• 5 short sleeves, no legs
• 3 no sleeves, no legs
• 2 hand-knitted cardigans
• 2 hand-knitted hats
• 3 pairs of socks
• 2 pairs of hand-knitted booties
• 1 pair of hand-knitted mittens

0-3 MONTHS:

• 3 long sleeves, no legs
• 9 short sleeves, no legs
• 1 sleepsuit with feet
• 3 no sleeves, no legs
• 2 hand-knitted cardigans
• 1 fleecy snow suit

3-6 MONTHS:

• 3 sleepsuits with feet
• 1 hand-knitted cardigan

Also got 5 bibs, about 25 muslins, 1 hand-knitted blanket and 3 cellular blankets.

I can definitely see we need more newborn and 0-3 sleepsuits.

Similarly, how many sheets do we need? I've got four each (all jersey) for Moses basket and cot. Apologies for my absolute cluelessness, and thank you in advance!

Definitely more sleep suits. My dd is 6 weeks and we can get through 3 in a day if she's sick or the nappy leaks. Do you have any hats?
I would imagine 4 sheets is ok but you may need more if you have a mattress in your buggy.

Mine lived in sleepsuits for the 1st 6 months, didn't bother with booties or socks, vests or the like.

Sleep suits wash great, don't need ironing & are cheap.

Stock up on nappies & wipes, I got things like washing powder so that I didn't have to budget for it while on mat pay.

Have you got an all in one coat, a must for a wide get baby while out & about.

Winter baby

I would buy 6-8 sleepsuits in up to 1 month size (tesco do it and I'm sure there will be other places) then see how it goes. Sounds like you have plenty of vests etc.

4 sheets always seemed enough for us, you will need a couple of blankets I think, a baby sleeping bag maybe if you want to use one.

An ear thermometer. Good investment.
Gro bags or swaddle bag thingy (tho I swaddled my massive son in a muslin and left his feet free to kick

You need about 6-9 long sleeve/long legs baby grows in newborn and 0-3, and the same in short sleeve/ no legs body suit vests. A couple of warm hats, a couple of cardies and an all in one snowsuit thing. Some bibs. That's more than enough to start with.

Every single first baby I have ever known has been inundated with clothes as presents, and the shops will still be open, you will still be able to get out and if not you can order on line!

For bedding, a couple of sheets and blankets did for about 6 weeks, then we moved onto Grobags, which are fantastic.

You can never have too many muslins though.

If you think the baby is going to be big id stop buying newborn stuff and get 0-3 instead. My ds grew out of newborn sizes in a week or so and he was only 8lbs 14oz

I never thought of a coat, or do you mean all-in-one like a snow suit type affair?

I'm gonna get a few newborn sleepsuits and see how we get on as I appear to have gone a bit mad on buying that size when I know they won't last long.

More handknits are in the works (blankets and cardigans). Got two hats that will stretch, but should I get some non-knitted ones too?

Nappies etc are in hand, just concerned with clothes and linen at the moment.

A sleeping bag might be a good idea. I haven't got one yet because they're expensive, but will research further!

Thank you everyone, all advice is very gratefully received

Oh and very good advice on stocking up on washing powder. We are due a visit to Costco so will get a few 150 wash boxes!

Most shops now do an up to 1mth sz which was the old new born sz so I would check weights on them as if u have all upto 7lb new born clothing 0-3mths sz is a big jump in sizing.

Its important to look at the weight on the label. Tesco newborn is only up to 7.5 lb which is useless for an 8lb baby. Mothercare new baby is up to 10lb which is perfect. Next and tesco do the 1 month size which is also up to 9 or 10lb. My average sized babies were in these for 3ish weeks. Size 0-3 is usually too large below 9lb but it does depend on if your baby has long legs.

I wouldn't worry about a snowsuit. Much easier (and safer - padded suits should not be worn in car seat) to have a cardi and layer blankets ime of two winter babies. Otherwise you are constantly having to wake baby to remove it when you go indoors/the car or risk them overheating. Both of mine were 7lvs ish and in newborn for a good month at least. At birth newborn even swamped them a bit. Tbh it sounds like you've got things covered, you can always stock up when baby us here if you have a sucky baby that requires a lot if changes.

Peace, I think all you need for sure is more sleepsuits and another hat or two. A snow suit may be useful, my ds was a winter baby and we managed just with layers and blankets but I can see the benefits of a big puffy suit if you plan to have the baby in a pram. We almost exclusively used a sling so baby was tucked up warm on me or dh whenever we were out.

I had fairly average 8 and a half lb babies, all were in newborn size for about 4 weeks but I guess if the weights vary then it may have been from places where the newborn size is larger, 0-3 was definitely too big initially.

I wouldn't stock up on washing powder - DD (born 27/12!) was allergic to the one we used to use...

They're not supposed to be in car seats for longer than 2 hours anyway IIRC. We got one that didn't get removed from the car at all, so removal from snowsuits was fine. Fleece jackets were always useful as then you could add the required blanket layers.

Just thought of something else! The very best thing we were given for a winter baby was a snugglebundl. It's a small blanket they lay on which has fabric handles, so you can move them from the car seat/Moses basket to wherever without waking them. If I put ds down on a cold sheet or cold pram he would wake so I thought it was genius! Not the cheapest but you could drop hints and try to get one as a present

We use a microwaved what bag to warm the mattress before putting him down and its also very nice if you have backache after labour.

Avent make a room thermometer which we keep in our bedroom but it can also be thrown into the bath to measure water temperature. I find this really helpful as I get very worried about stuff like that.

I used the sleeping bags from asda they are £14 each, ds was in them from about 10 weeks so plenty of time.
I preferred separates to sleep suits on my ds so body suit and stretchy trousers then layer accordingly. We were given about 5 snowsuits in different sizes and never used any as he was either in a sling or in the car.
I got an ear thermometer cheap in aldi was a great buy.
Sounds about right for enough sheets, thou a tip if you have a spewy baby, put your pram mattress in a pillow case which you can flip over if necessary then clean it when you get home.

Having never had a baby, and having just as much of a clue as yourself I don't know how good this advice will be, but one pair of knitted mittens doesn't seem much, if baby sucks or sicks on them you'll have nothing to prevent babe from scratching him/herself.

? Only a guess though.

Aye there will be more mittens in the works, they're just so dull to make

Mittens don't stay on well. If you buy sleepsuits from next or mother are they have fold over cuffs which cover hands if need be. You will need to keep your baby's fingernails short anyway. I hate doing that as i am so anxious about it so it has become a daddy job!

If you get presents they are likely to be long legged, long sleeved sleep suits, rather than the vests you already have. That may help. Or outfits for older.

I think you have enough sheets, as easy to wash.

A grobag when a few months old can be useful. I find the cheaper makes from supermarkets affordable and you can probably get away with one to see how baby likes it and use blankets if cannot get washed and dried same day until you know what works for you. You may find once you have a baby people give/lend those items too once you meet people at play groups.