What do I actually need for a baby?

[AlbusPercival]

Does anyone have a definitive list?

Baby boy, due end of Octiber. Plan to breast feed. Planning a chicco next to me crib for our room and also a normal cot for the nursery.

What other furniture do I need?

In terms of clothes, bearing in mind the seasons. How much of each item in each size? Thinking of sleep suits most of time in at least first few weeks

Also ask if anyone has a baby bath you can borrow. We've lent output several times. It's bathed lots of babies. Cheaper and better for environment!

Baby gros with built in scratch mitts as shelves fold over

Look out for aldi baby events.

Consider how things will work if you need to stay in hospital longer, make sure you can explain where spare clothes for you and baby are and think about how you would change the way you look after ba y if you need a c section.

Don't bother with baby toiletries either.

I had a baby with reflux, Ikea have towels for 25p each, I've never seen 4 muslins for £1.

I would say 5 ish vests and sleepsuits in newborn and 0-3 - we got lots of outfits for our dd and literally haven't bought any clothes yet at 9 weeks old (though I did exchange some to get the right mix of sizes for things like cardigans). She was in newborn/up to 1 month for about 5 weeks (born 8lbs). Do check any clothes you get as some of our 3/6 vests where smaller than the 0/3 ones! I would recommend h&m vests that have poppers across the chest - easier to put on a screaming baby! Also vests that close up the middle are easier than those that go across diagonally. Also recommend soft bibs - as then you have to change clothes less. We use lots of muslins too.
Stuff wise, a pram that baby can sleep in in the day is useful and the bouncer gets use as somewhere to put her down when she's awake (useful for eating/showers!).

How much lansinoh/ how many breastpads do you go through? Is sudocrem (applied lightly so it doesn't make nappy absorbency dysfunctional) the best barrier cream for nappy changes, or something else?

We are overseas and postage is stupidly expensive (and everything costs 2-10x as much here as it does in the UK), but DH is visiting the UK in August so I was going to send him to Boots with a shopping list, for lansinoh and breast pads and possibly barrier cream...

M&S free postage overseas is a godsend...

I wouldn't usually use a barrier cream at all. My dc have only had nappy rash very occasionally, usually coinciding with teething. For mild/moderate nappy rash I'd use sudocrem, if it was more serious I'd go for Metanium. Once the rash has cleared I might use Bepanthen for a day or two as a barrier (the other two are more healing). But Tbh I never needed them for a new born at all, only after perhaps 6 months or so.

I didn't leak a lot so didn't use a lot of breast pads. I could never be totally confident so used two in the morning and fresh ones for night. This was from around 3 months. I used more in the very early days. Have you considered re usable ones? I'd go for perhaps a pack or two of disposables and a pack of re usable. I used Boots own but they did two: a cheap one and a slightly more expensive one. The dearer ones were much better, individually wrapped, bigger and more absorbant. Lansinoh ones are also good. I had a nightmare bf ds so got through lots of Lansinoh, 3-4 tubes at least. Dd was much easier but I was nervous so still applied a lot, maybe one tube? It's nice (but not essential) to have a few so the you can have one downstairs andone by the bed. It's not something I would want to run out of. You can flog them unopened on e bay if you don't end up using them. If you're going to pay loads more abroad I'd get three whilst you're here.

• I bought loads of muslins and hardly used any. In retrospect I wish I'd splashed out on the large ones though as they're great as pram sun shades
• nappy cream wasn't needed until my dd was older but then I used metanium if bad or sudocream for low level rash
• gro bags were a must!
• not initially but a good play mat is important
• Lamaze toys were a huge hit
• changing mat
• nappies and I used cotton pads (cotton balls get fluff everywhere!)
• sling (life saver)
• I've heard great things about the sleepyhead but didn't have one myself
• newborn and 0-3 vests and babygros. My dd needed newborn size for a while and we didn't have enough
• multiple cardigans
• snowsuit
• we loved Ewan the sheep but it doesn't do a thing for some kids
• maternity towels and breast pads. The cheap ones leaked for me so I used lanosil ones
• large baby towels
• baby bath
• gentle baby wash

Just looked through others and agree:

• cot bedding
• car seat
• pram
• Thermometer (important- I would invest in good one)
• depending on house size - monitor
• bouncy chair
• I lasted a few weeks without a changing table and my back killed so I would def add that to my list. Or similar things
• good anorak for many times you'll be trekking in rain with the baby in pram (prob at later stages)

My DD is 6 months and we have tons of stuff. The invaluable bits for us are:

• A red nightlight for bf - red light doesn't inhibit melatonin too much, but all other colours do. Everyone sleeps better.
• Gro egg
• 2 Sleeping bags - relevant tog for your house/time of year.
• 2 Cellular blankets
• SLING! We used a stretchy then Ergo. If I could only have 1 thing it would be a sling. Find your NCT sling library and get advice.
• White noise app
• Breast pump - we bought a cheap Medala

hand pump as I intended to bf and not express too often. I spent some miserable mornings trying to hand express after waking up engorged.

• 2 Swaddling muslins
• Bamboo breastpads
• Lasinoh cream

-Bouncy chair for the kitchen

• stretchy sleeping bras you can pull to the side to feed in. I stayed in these until my milk supply had established at about 6 weeks and I could get measure for nursing bras.

We have a Sleepyhead. It's great, but expensive. It helped with reflux and the startle reflex when we stopped swaddling. We also use it as a travel bed. It's non essential but pretty handy.

I wouldn't bother with baby baths, clothes (aside from sleepsuits, vests, cardigans, hats), toiletries, toys, books until you have a need for them. It's also likely you'll be given a lot of stuff.

Good luck!

I think most things have been said.

Definately the baby grows with built in scratch mits as a pp said, and nail clippers (I was and still am amazed at how quickly a newborn's nails grow!)

Loads of muslins and bibs- DS is quite sicky and this has saved us from loads of outfit changes. The big muslins are useful for covering yourself/furniture

When they are very little they need to wear a hat whenever they go outside- I have a few to just keep his head warm and another with a lip to keep the sun out of his eyes if it's bright.

Baby sun cream. Obviously babies shouldn't be uncovered in the sun anyway- the cream is for the shade as they can still catch the sun in the shade. It's about £3 for a small tube. I just put it on any exposed bits of DS's skin if it's a particularly sunny day just in case.

A changing bag with pockets or different sections. My first one was just a satchel bag and I could never find anything, now it's much easier and I can keep my bits in there too. Most come with a travel changing mat.

We keep a travel cot up in our living room so DS has his naps in there during the day (although for the fist couple of weeks he was in the Moses basket, I just got fed up with dragging it down the stairs every morning). Not an essential buy but it's been useful and we have used it to visit relatives already. As a pp said Aldi do great baby events quite regularly- we picked up the cot from there for under £20.

Someone asked about barrier cream- I like the boots own brand one. It's not too thick, cheaper than the branded ones and is often on 3 for 2 (if you are part of the parenting club you often get offers on it as well). DS is 14 weeks and only had very mild nappy rash once (I did use sudocrem o clear it up)

Also, bouncy chair is fab (a must for showers!) but DS didn't like his until he was about a month old so you probably don't need it straight away.

I would look into whether to use scratch mitts. We were told 5 years ago they recommend now you don't use any as it restricts baby being able to use their hands for exploration of themselves and you. Ie they learn from using their hands to find their own face and yours and with constantly covered they can't

Aldi now do some baby products that are available to buy online

Great answers to this question, following avidly:)