first time mum - shopping checklist

[MidnightRun]

Evening mumsnet lovely people!

I'm 21 weeks pregnant with my first and with Being due in February my dh and I are wanting to start buying a lot now to spread the cost out, especially with Christmas in the middle! I Have found a list from mothercare (www.mothercare.com/on/demandware.static/Sites-Site/Sites-MCENGB-Library/default/v1384996278608/pdfs/baby-checklist.pdf) that lists all the things I will need but I'll be honest there's a few I just don't think I need, and then some I think I'll need more of such as baby sleep suits etc.

Just wondering if anyone has any advice? We already have the pram and car seat thanks to my parents. And chosen a babystyle furniture set for the nursery.

Also we are thinking crib rather than Moses basket, but is there anything anyone would recommend for baby sleeping downstairs during the day?

X

Lots of advice here.

I would second the don't overbuy advice. However it s fun picking up a few bits and pieces before he baby s due and it makes it seem real!

One thing I found handy in winter was gro bags -
From when baby is about 6-8 weeks old - fab because they don't then kick off the blankets.
Another thing was a cosy footmuff or snuggle suit for the pram when I wanted to get out for a walk -
I was then assured he baby was warm.
You can also get cosy v
Covers for the car seats (you re not supposed to put baby in the car seat with bulky snowsuit/ jackets.)

I loved out Stokke high chair with a baby insert - that was worth the investment. As was a baby bjorn seat though again we didn't use it until
Baby was 2-3 months old.

Plenty of baby vests and suits -
For the realty days but they grow so quickly I wouldn't spend too much on them.

I found hooded towels for baby handy and cute too. And I definatly used the baby bath lots - saves filling up the bath plus we used in the sitting room as it was warmer there. And we actually used it for the kids as they got older (paddling / foot washes, a bottom wash when toilet training etx )

Another thing I found useful was the baby monitor - again used it moreso when baby was a bit older and more settled in routine.

Bumbo - no way.

Plenty of Muslins (both mine were pukers) and dribblers.....

Comfy clothes for you for after baby arrives - stretchy trousers, tops you can breast feed in.

Breast feeding pillow comfy for me and baby and my sister who did not fb also used for feeding and positioning baby later on.

A changing mat and basket or chest of drawers downstairs for baby s stuff - nappies/ wipes/ changes of clothes etx - saves you running up and down stairs several times a day if you ve got the space is great too.

One thing I would say is don't buy fussy outfits! Sleep suits/all in ones are so much more practical, especially if you have a sicky baby like my LO. Some days we would have 5 clothing changes before lunch!

I bought 20 muslins then never used any as neither of mine were pukey. I'd say buy three to start with. You can get more if you need them.

Okay new plan.. Scrapping the mothercare list that is obviously designed to make me spend a fortune! (Clever mothercare!) now I'm writing a mumsnet list! :)

Thank you all so much! We already have a baby bath, we got it from sil but it's probably going to be used a lot because the bath just now isn't in a great position for holding a baby in.

I'm planning on breastfeeding, Iv got back breaking boobs so I'm damn well going to make sure they are useful for once in my life!

Thank you for your suggestions on what baby could sleep in downstairs, we were going to get a bouncer seat thing but the pram cot is quite but so that should be fine, it baby doesn't like it much we'll cross that bridge when it comes to it :)

On top of the suggested I have also decided to get a toddle pod. They are expensive and maybe a bit gimmicky but I thought if I go out with bubs and they want to sleep at a friends house instead of bringing the whole pram the toddle pod is a lot easier (by sleeping at friends I don't mean a sleep over just a nap )

Perfect! It's far better to say ' ok baby doesn't like this, let's try this, than buy every option at the start'. More spare cash for 101 trips to coffee shops you end up doing with babies...

Oh one thing I recommend, not exactly for baby, but a kindle for you if you can. It means if your stuck sitting down feeding in the house/ bed/ coffee shop ( see above!) etc you can pass time reading from it one handed. I read so many books the first 6 months each time due to this. Feels like your being productive also

bree a couple of months after they're born you're going to need somewhere to put them down in most rooms of the house.

That would be the floor then :P

and agog at the MC list!!

If your planning on breast feeding then definitely and some lansinoh (think that's how it's spelt) nipple cream. It comes in a purple tube and is around £10, but it's by far the best one and will last forever.

Don't bother with proper outfits for your new born, just buy a lot of sleepsuits and some baby grows in the January sales (if you get loads then you can always bin them when dealing with a poo explosion rather than wasting hours stain removing and washing)

Get some colourful muslin squares - all the parents at baby group will have white ones, so it's super easy to identify yours if it's bright yellow/purple/etc.

Maternity pads - buy these in bulk so you have lots of them and won't run out

I was bathed in the kitchen sink until I was 5 (they were a bit bigger back in the day.......)

Large washing up bowl?

It is good if you have plenty surface round the kitchen sink and you don't need to bend.

I'll 2nd the lansinoh nipple cream... It also makes a fab lip balm!

Hello MidnightRun and congratulations! Im due in November and I read loads of MN threads as well, they are so useful and everyones tips are wonderful ( same goes for the hospital bag tips btw!) sounds like you have your 2 biggest items already.

What we did, was buy bundles of clothes on eBay (LO will grow out of them quickly and you get a good spread of sizes)
Keep an eye out for baby sales, MIL got us a steriliser for £25 ( even though I want to BF she insisted at least she didn't pay £50
I got some square cotton wipes from Amazon and some "cheeky wipes" that I have heard good things about. We bought the cheeky wipes new - it was the same value almost as the ones on eBay.
MIL has bought bottles and baby bath ( I didn't really feel we needed a baby bath but hey)
Couple of little bits int he Aldi sale - lit hooded towels and muslins
Nipple protectors from Boots ( I have read they might be useful) - if you join boots parents club, you can get all sorts of offers and points, which comes in handy. We bought a co sleeper from boots and ended up using Quidco, which gave us points and cash back of £9. its not mega bucks, but a little here and there always helps :)

I agree with everybody on here as well. Dont buy too much, you will get loads of little clothes given to you, and once little one get here, you will have a better idea what other things you might want to buy. x

Don't buy any outfits no matter how cute that do up at the back until the baby can sit. Total pita to change them into.

When supermarkets do their mother and baby events stock up on nappies! - we did and they have lasted until now (he's 3 months)

Agreed baby bath is waste!

Invest in a poddle pod! Lifesaver for daytime naps!

Good luck

Congratulations!

For us, the only two items that I would class as absolute essentials were the car seat and structured sling (we got an Ergo360), without which I would have gone completely mad.

I agree with the other posters though that using a sling library is a good idea before a big purchase, but do consider getting a cheaper stretchy wrap for the first few weeks to give you precious hands-free time in the house. (I bought a second hand Close Caboo and sold it back on a few weeks later for the same price so it was completely cost neutral. In fact, I would wholeheartedly recommend getting whatever you can secondhand as most things are used so fleetingly).

Other items that we used everyday were:

• co-sleeper cot (we used the Chicco next to me for over six months, and it doubled up as a travel cot)
• baby sleeping bags (1.0 tog for naps, 2.5 tog for nights)
• baby monitor (we splashed out on a video monitor, which is still in daily use a year on)
• padded changing mat

We were given more clothes (both new and hand-me-downs) and toys than we could even make use of.

Other items which I would consider essential purchases for you as a new bf mum:

• nursing bra (don't waste your money on maternity bras - if you buy good nursing bras these will double up during pregnancy too)
• breast pads (and I second the lanolin cream too!)
• maternity pads (I actually used Tena lady pull-up pants for the day after my waters broke and for a couple of days after the birth and although they were about the least glamorous thing you could possibly wear, they were also by far the most practical).

Good luck!

My children are grown up now but we travelled around the world for 20 years so they really had very little and found we really didn't need that much. We first went when our son was 4 months and the mothercare list would have taken up most of our luggage allowance.
Now bringing up a grandson and got nearly everything for him from car boots sales. Toys clothes equipment everything really cheap and new or like new. People buy, or are given, far too much so if you're not sure if you need something you can buy it there. Massive competition, so many people selling the same things so amazing bargains.
Our last 2 babies, were 6 week old african twins. We were asked to take them at around 30 minutes notice so had literally nothing. We found cardboard boxes made very good beds until we could get some baskets made.
My advice would be to ask experienced parents and only buy what is essential (apart from the odd irrestible outfit).
You'll get given / lent loads also.
My best buy ever was a massive Silver Cross pram from a junk shop in the 1970s. In excellent condition, really well sprung and easy to push. Fitted a baby, 2 year old, 3 year old and loads of shopping.
It was an anachronism even then and when we left for Africa even the charity shops wouldn't take it. Sadly ended up at the tip.
Still remember it fondly and would cost £1,000s to buy now.