Help preparing for baby, please? Questions!

[Newmum90]

Hello!

Im a first time mummy to be at 35 weeks and am looking for some advice on what else we need to have organised before baby arrives.

We have ordered the maxi cosi pebble and base, sorted out nursery furniture, basics of clothes, changing goods, bath and a pram.

However i still have questions on a few things so if anybody could help id be grateful (we are clueless!)

How many cellular blankets / cotton sheets am i likely to need?

What other blankets do i need along side the carrycot to take baby out in pram (he will be an autumn/ winter baby). Id a cosy toes thingy necessary?

Im hoping to breastfeed but would like to be able to express in the future so OH cam help with the feeding. Is there a particularly good expresser i should be using or a set i can buy with latex bottles and steriliser etc included?? There is so much choice we have no idea where to start.

Baby carriers - should i wait for baby to arrive to test these out??

Any other general advice would be very welcome

Thanks in advance from a new, nervous amd somewhat clueless mum!

Hi, I can help with a few of these,
Cellular blankets, I'd get 3, if you're going to swaddle you'll need a couple of swaddle blankets too.
Sheets, get at least 4, you'll want to put one in the pram as well as the cot, babies tend to leak from both ends at any moment.
Get 10 muslin cloths, you can fold one up under the baby's head to catch dribble when on a playmat, in pram etc.
I didn't use a cozy toes, we had a snowsuit which worked great, but depends how cold winter is where you are?
I bought the baby born carrier, which I loved, we used it from 1 week old. Fits both dh and me, even though we are very different sizes. I couldn't have been bothered trying out loads of carriers and just read reviews instead.
I spent a lot of money on a medela pump. Then found I didn't actually make enough milk and gave up bf at 3 months. I'd say see how you get on with the feeding for a while before investing.
Another thing, you need somewhere to put baby down, a padded baby gym or a bouncy chair is ideal.
Good luck. Actually babies need very little, is a different story when they're toddlers and your house is full of plastic crap.

We got a cosy toes type thing for our Quinny, and it also fits any buggy. We got it in the sale for £30 and it's been great for keeping our DD snug and wraps up all around her. Footmuff, that's what it is.

We had around four cellular blankets and two large aden & Anais muslins for swaddling.

Pump wise, I was given a medela mini pump, it was great for me and I used it a lot alongside breastfeeding in the first three months, then decided that breastfeeding was much easier and quicker than sorting out a bottle. That was just me though.

I had a sling when my DD was newborn, it wasn't a great sling and I wish I had waited and researched after she was born. I now use an Ergobaby 360 carrier and absolutely love it, my DD still happily goes in it at 15 months and it supports the knees really well, I probably would still use a soft stretchy sling/wrap for a newborn though and the Ergo later on. Sling libraries are pretty good for trying different ones out.

I had a cosy toes and snow suit... I used the snowsuit once maybe and realised he was sweating in it. I used a hat and a jacket with cosy toes instead. And don't use a snow suit in car seat.

I had a couple of cellular blankets and a couple of crochet blankets... Probably used one of them regularly

You need a fair few sets of sheets for where baby sleeps/ pram... We have had lots of superwee nappy leaks!

Best advice I could give is order some incontinence sheets from amazon they are dead cheap and put them ontop of mattresses but under the fitted sheet. In the first week OH was up cleaning the chico mattress and drying it with a hairdrier in night from wee leaks until we had the idea to try the incontinence sheets and they have been such a time saver

Best pump is the medela swing but I would wait til you get the hang of bfeeding before investing.

I would also make sure you know where to get bfeeding support from if you're struggling in the early days and also read up about the problems and solutions (as well as normal things like cluster feeding) you might encounter so you're informed.

I have no problem with formula, my DS has a bottle of it a night now as I am too lazy to express all the time, but I see lots of women stop in the early days because they don't have enough support.

Kellymom.com is an excellent resource, as is la leche league.

I would say at least 6 sheets and 3 waterproof mattress protectors. We found that layering them up before bed made it much easier in the night because you can just whip off the top layer instead of changing the bed several times in the dark.
I bought 2 cellular blankets but but blankets seemed to be a very popular present with my friends and family so we ended up with about 15! Needless to say they're not getting a lot of use
Also like Rozdeek says, read up on breastfeeding so you know what to expect and look out for... I wish I had done this because cluster feeding made me convinced I was failing at breastfeeding rather than just resigning myself embracing it and settling down in a comfy chair for a few hours. Also I'd recommend stocking up on bottled water, little juice cartons and flapjacks to keep at arms reach for cluster feeding sessions!
Agree with the advice to wait until you've got the hang of things before spending a lot of money on a pump. Before DD was born I bought a Lansinoh manual pump in the sale, which was fine in the early days to take the pressure off if your boobs are killing, and babies only need a small amount of milk in the beginning it's not a massive chore and if it doesn't work out you've not wasted a fortune.

Thank you so much everybody for taking the time to reply. Lots of good advice!

Lots of good advice here. Just to add.. I would move to sleeping bags ASAP, so much easier and provide peace of mind for safe sleeping too.
As for carriers, see if there is a sling library nearby. There are lots to try, avoid the baby bjorn type, particularly if you have back problems, lots of people have these but they are actually a bit crap. I have a caboo for tiny baby and a Tula for larger baby

Cosy toes not really necessary for a tiny one - it will swamp a newborn. I never got on with snowsuits either as if you're going in/out a lot (eg shopping) then you have to undress them or risk overheating baby when indoors. Overheating is why you can't use snowsuits when carrying a baby in a sling too. Blankets are much easier to whip on and off, especially if the baby has fallen asleep.

If you're planning on breastfeeding, read kellymom website now so you've got an arsenal of ideas and knowledge of how it works. I wouldn't bother getting bottles or formula now, they're in supermarkets so if you decide to express/mix feed/formula feed then you can buy when you need. You don't want to waste the money if you might never use it.

Also read now about safe cosleeping - it was the only way DH and I got to sleep at night with both DC. Moses basket, carrycot, cot, crib all a complete non starter for ours, who just wanted to be right next to another human all night.

Ditto the sling library - we like kari-me/hana/moby wraps, but it might be a pain for a winter baby with the ends going on the floor. The close caboo is similar but with less fabric, so that might be a good choice. It makes a huge difference to try them out, I fell in love with Action Baby Carrier at the library and ours gets used on a daily basis.

Choose your TV box sets for feeding/sleeping baby cuddle marathons! I got through so much telly with DD1, sadly with DD2 it's much more cbeebies than murder mysteries and period dramas...