Experienced mummies... how much did you buy and how much did you need?

[Muffintops87]

I am trying to work out a checklist of essential things that I will need for when my little one arrives but there is so much I foresee me going over board and buying too much and buying useless things that I don't really need.

So how much did you all buy in terms of clothes etc. and how much did you really need?

Also anything that you could not have lived without?

Trying not to bankrupt myself!

Don't buy too many newborn sized baby clothes - they only fit up to 9lbs and dd1 was born 9lb9ozs!

I was pleased I didn't buy a Moses basket- had a crib and then went straight to cot.

lovelongweekends thanks for your reply, very helpful. Most of the clothes I have been looking at have been labelled as 0-3, I feel I may have a big baby! One of the girls I work with just had one at 10lb 15oz!

scarydinosaurs this is good to know. I keep seeing moses baskets popping up on various facebay pages, I think I will give them a miss. Roughly what age do you transfer from crib to cot?

If you plan on breastfeeding I found I couldn't have enough muslin cloths, especially for the early days when my milk was coming in I used to end up drenched! I agree about clothes, I'd only buy a few newborn things and go for the next sizes up after they're really not in them long. Also nappies, you'll probably notice the nappy sizes are pretty generous so we only bought one or two packs of size 1s and stocked up on 2s and 3s after that (DS is still in size 3 at 7m and 17lb). You can never have enough baby wipes and cotton wool either (poonami!). Also we found having a swing/bouncer was invaluable for being able to eat dinner in the early weeks!

Things I found useful were,
Nappy sacks which were bulk bought,
Wipes again bulk bought,
Muslins,
Baby swing as DS hated bouncer & being put down.
Caboo sling - hands free as baby would not go down & hated the pram.
Nappy creams/breast pads/maternity pads, I bought enough for 2 weeks & still needed to buy more.
Baby gros I had mainly 0-3 but some up to 1 month as DS was tiny but 0-3 was fine too plus I knew of many babies who wouldn't fit in up to 1 month.
Also a playmat but he was 4-5 months before interested in it.

Things I had & never used was
Gro egg, steriliser & bottles as breast fed, bouncer, actual baby outfits before 6 months as baby gros were easier, baby shoes before signs of walking.

Oooh I second the sling too! We still use ours daily and prefer it to the pram.

Agree with no Moses basket... I got given one and bought new mattress and bedding for it but shouldn't have bothered it was hardly used. I have a Chicco next to me crib which lasts until 6 months and doubles as a travel cot, just transferred DC into big cot shy of 6 months, thought it was good but mattress is quite firm.

I transferred as soon as DDs could sit unaided- so between 5 and 6 months. Crib was lovely!

Thanks for all the replies, lots of useful tips here.

I have been thinking about a sling but my back is not so great so nit sure that it would be suitable.

I hadn't thought about a bouncer but I think this might be quite useful as the floors throughout downstairs are either wood or tiled.

If I was starting for scratch today, the big purchases I'd make for day 1 would be:

Bedside crib (we have a bednest)
Sleepyhead
Stretchy wrap sling
Babybjorn bouncer
Car seat
Travel system (maybe)

Car seat and sleepyhead I would buy new, everything else I'd be scouring eBay, NCT sales etc.

We barely used our travel system - in the sling most of the time when tiny, then we switched to a lightweight stroller. But I bought for £80 on eBay and sold it for the same, so was no loss to have it - but glad I didn't fork out.

Never had a changing bag - just a folding mat and and bag containing nappies and wipes etc transferred into whatever bag, rucksack we happened to use.

A newborn sized sleep-sack rather than blankets.

Other than that - a few baby grows and whatever layers you need for the time of year. Nappies, cotton wool, waterwipes, and other basics.

Amazon prime membership so you can order all the extra crap you need for next day delivery (and for Amazon prime TV for all the boxset watching you can do!).

Useful

Muslins - sick, dribble, stuffing down bra for inevitable leakage from the other boob if you are breastfeeding, light blanket if it's too warm for a proper blanket etc

Cheap big blankets e.g. From primark to put on the floor to put baby down on, we have all manner of bouncers etc but they apparently shouldn't spend too long in those even if it says from newborn

Clothes - dd was born 7lb6 and was in newborn/up to 1 month for 6 weeks then has nearly grown out of 0-3 months by 9 weeks! I would buy barely anything clothes wise, just bare essentials then wait to see how many thousands of presents you get and what size baby is and take it from there. Also don't bother with the plain packs of vests etc as you will want to put them in cute little clothes not boring old white vests .

baby nail cutting set - scratch mitts are crap and our dd likes to have her hands out anyway so much better to cut the nails tbh. Also get a soft baby hairbrush for brushing out inevitable cradle cap!

Bath stuff - we got a cheap washing up bowl for the bath and use a sponge/cotton wool to clean her and baby Castile soap (no nasties) then after bath massage with almond oil. Johnsons stuff is full of crap

Aldi nappies!

Cheap portable changing mats from bm bargains (2.49) so we have one downstairs, one upstairs, one in change bag and one in the nursery

Microwave steriliser, any brand. We have an avent one but use it to sterilise everything and have no avent anything.

If you are breastfeeding - breast shells (can create a store of excess breastmilk for the freezer etc without having to pump), breast pads!!!, a Netflix subscription!

pointless

Scratch mitts
Bibs (unless bottle feeding)
Loads of clothes - they don't get dirty unless they're sick really so if you don't have a sickly baby then you won't get through too much washing
Baby t-shirts! Why?! They spend most of the time ridden up by their armpits!! Grrrrr such a con
Baby dresses - see above

Ooooo forgot the sling - we got a cheap second hand one as allows me to put the washing out/cook etc when dd is being needy and wanting to be held. I never use it for walking as its not supportive enough (cheapy tesco one) but is a lifesaver for getting stuff done in the house

If I remember rightly I had one pack of newborn & one pack of 0-3 vests. The same with sleep suits, once baby was here I ended up buying an extra packet of each and people gave me lots of clothes as presents too.

My logic was I didn't want to buy too much newborn until I knew what size baby was.

This time I will have a sling, they weren't so mainstream 6 years ago but I can see how they make life much easier. DS liked to be carried around or sleep on me but he kind of tied my hands up so couldn't do anything else.

Had a bouncer but really could have lived without it.

I used a crib then into the cot. Daytime naps were in the carrycot from the pram.

OP with you back, is there a sling library by you? Or a sling meet so you could try out different slings to see if it works for you or not.

I had the ergo 360 from when DS was 6 months & it is really supportive as it straps around the waist as well. John Lewis stock them if you're able to get to one & see.

Thanks again everyone for your input. I think I will wait until baby is here before buying a sling, then I can try a few out and see what works for us. We do live close to a large John Lewis with a huge baby section so will go there and try a few.

I think I will hold off on buying too many clothes too for now.

I am going to be on a tight budget so will be scowering the new and nearly new baby markets for bargains, I'll see if I can pick up a good bouncer.

I like the idea of cheap blankets from Primark too for the floor.

Other pointless items, matching bumper / quit sets for the cot. Safety of bumpers is questionable and need to be removed by 5 mths. Quilts shouldn't be used before 12 mths if I remember correctly.

Tons of stuff can be bought second hand. Babies are really only babies for 9 - 12 mths so things like bounces are really only used for a short spell.

I did use my steriliser for dummies and the occasional expressed bottle. But could have used a bowl and sterilising tablets.

Somebody up thread said no to plain white vests, I think that might depend on seasons and where you live. DS was a winter baby so we used vest under baby grow until summer then used them again in Autumn. I preferred plain white they don't shine through other clothes (and can be used for next baby boy or girl)

Don't stock up on nappies until you know what fits. Different babies of the same weight have different shapes and suit different nappies.

Bibs are pointless esp if BF.

Don't buy too many toys, really easy to go over board with them. I never bothered with a cot mobile. I was given one but it was too big for the crib and he was too big for it by the time he went into the cot.

Top and tail bowl pointless. I used a plastic bowl washed face first then bum in the mornings night time he had a bath. If bum was really dirty a quick bath was sometimes easier than faffing with wipes etc.

Buy the absolute minimum that you think you need. Nothing to stop you deciding actually I need X and sending someone to the shops for it.

Just a thank you for all the advice!! Useful post which i will continue to follow.

Baby sleeping bags were very handy!
I had Ewan the dream sheep in hospital which was soothing for both DS and I during the night (makes white noise)
Get more comfy button down pjs/nursing bras than you think you need for hospital and beyond. They are not something you can send someone else to pick up for you IME. Ha.
I'd recommend a changing table to save your back, unless you change on the bed. We made ours out of a small dining table.

A rocking moses basket for naps really saved us. And at night we had a snuzpod that is still in our room as attic is full of 'for the next one' bits

Also you may find yourself buying things you need, and then some friend or family member brings round a whole bag of what you want by lucky coincidence. People just love handing down baby clothes. I'm waiting for someone I know to get pregnant as I have about 6 bin bags full of outgrown/unsuitable baby clothes I need to get rid of!

Congratulations!

I bought a rocker rather than a bouncer and used it all the time. I'm now using it as a toddler seat so definitely worth it for me.

I didn't buy many newborn sized clothes and ended up sending my DH out for more on day 2 because my average sized DD was far too small for 0-3. I'd always recommend getting up to 10lb sized unless you expect to have a very big baby.
I needed a lot of sleepsuits and vests because DD had reflux and had to be changed several times a day. M&S do 7 plain white short sleeved vests for £10 which wash well and are perfect for under sleepsuits. I didn't bother with anything else until she was 3 months. Didn't use a coat or snowsuit when she was still in the carrycot because I could layer blankets and take them off if we went inside without disturbing her, and she didn't have a hood under her head.

Ewan was a big hit too and wish I'd bought him sooner.

Aldi cellular blankets are lovely and soft. M&S are my favourite for muslins.

I'm still using the buggy part of our travel system at 18 months. My DD hated facing out until very recently and even now seems happier in a higher seat (also have a city mini).

This time I also want a changing table or we might put change mat on top of existing ikea drawers. I ain't changing baby on the floor again kills your back.

I used top to toe wash for a long time rather than separate bubbles & shampoo. I'm still trying to figure out what baby oil is meant to be used for.

I'll keep thinking for you.

On bibs - mine was a sicky baby, who then turned into a dribbly baby - bibs are still an essential for us after 2 years! Saved us many many outfit changes. But you can buy them if and when you need them.

I would suggest grabbing a 20 pack of the old fashioned terry cloth nappies - useful for wiping up vomits, using on the change mat (at first with the disposable mats in the early poonami days and later on their own), using as a change mat while out and about, wiping up wees during nappy free time etc. My daughter is 18 months and we still use them daily

Also watching closely excellent thread!