What do I need? First baby

[Littlejayx]

Good Morning all,

I haven't seen a previous thread that goes into detail what you need with your first baby in regards to clothing!

It's our first and we aren't going to find out what sex the baby is, Can someone help me know what to buy? I've bought a few bits for newborns, what else?

Any help would be VASTLY helpful.

thank you!

Cot
Moses basket
A swing or bouncer
Maybe a sling
Push chair
Car seat
Lots of muslins and bibs.
Vests
Body suits
Socks
Buy bulk nappies from somewhere like kiddicare
Babywipes
Cotton wool
Dont use baby powder
Dummies... if you want them. But i wouldnt before 3 months
Blankets
Baby monitors
Bottle steriliser and bottles if bottle feeding
You can get special cover uos for breastfeeding if you wish.

For you:
Breast pads feeding or not you will leak for a while
Extra thick sanitary towels and comfy knickers
A comfy few bras until milk has dried up or keep using if breastfeeding.

I think thats the basics.

Just trying to think about things i have actually used for my kids and will use for baby no3.

I am sure a few others will come along with some things i have missed

Remember to look closely at sizes on baby stuff. I have been given a couple of presents for my baby (due in ten days) which I am almost certain s/he will never fit into, since they are 'Newborn' or 'First Size', meaning up to 7.5lbs. And given my size, my partner's size, and the info I've had from growth scans, it seems highly likely my baby will be heavier than that at birth!

I've bought some vests and babygros that go up to 1 month, but most that go up to 3 months, on the assumption I will have a large baby and won't get much use out of the little things.

I got all 0-3 clothes as we were told baby was going to be big...he wasn't! Luckily dm had bought a small baby baby grow so he went in that till we could get out and get a couple more!

So I would say have some back up newborn baby grows and vests (don't need to be expensive, try Tesco or primark)

I found most people gifted clothes in size 3-6 so maybe avoid that size until baby is here? You can always get them later anyway! Moses basket was a lifesaver but we wasted money on baby bouncer as he hated it! I would recommend a sling if you have a dog or like beach walking!

Good luck x

You do get through quite a few vests/sleep suits in the early days! I would suggest getting maybe 10 vests and 10 sleep suits in newborn, up to 1 month and up to 3 months. You can always keep them in the packets and return them if needs be! They don't have to be pricy ones.

Once you know what size baby is you can get more as needed. If baby is due in the summer you might need some short sleeved/legged rompers. My ds was born late June and he lived in shortsleeved rompers as it was boiling! This sort of thing http://direct.asda.com/george/baby/all-in-ones/3-pack-assorted-whale-print-rompers/G005605810,default,pd.html?cmpid=ppcgeorgergeggle-plaOD36BABYABY--dskwid-s927000136887279855dm&gclid=CI1wNmA5dICFXAA0wod9voKJQ

Remember to pack clothes of both newborn and upto 1 month in your hospital bag. Ds was 6lb 11 so went into newborn but if baby is 9lb they'll need the next size up!

Both my DD's have used first size/tiny baby (up to 7.5lb) clothes, but I know most don't.
We were gifted a lot of clothes in 0-3 months plus.
To start off I would suggest a few packs of vests and sleepsuits in up to 1 month and 0-3 months. Don't take all of it out the packs so you can return if not needed. Most stores are really good at exchanging baby clothes even without a receipt.
We had some wrap around vests which were useful before the cord fell off.
The only other necessities are:
Somewhere for baby to sleep, ours sleep in the carrycot of the pushchair. We have an Uppababy Vista so it's approved for overnight. Highly recommend it.
Car seat
Changing mat and table - not everyone uses these but we do
Bottles and steriliser if bottle feeding
Muslins. Lots and lots of muslins
Blankets
Hats for first few days
Pushchair/pram that lays flat
Sling. Get along to a sling library if you can to try lots out.

Breast pads
Maternity pads
Comfy pants and trousers
Lanolin cream if breastfeeding
Boppy cushion if breastfeeding

Sorry to hijack but how many newborn/ 1 month sleepsuits would you recommend?

I would say you need 10-15 of each to start off with then you can get more if needs be. We regularly changed ds's clothes three times a day with a combination of sick/nappy explosions!

Thank you!

What you actually need is very basic-I'd say nappies (reusable works out cheaper in the long run but are more work-worth it for me), a stretchy sling and some vests and babygrows (NCT sales or handmedowns are good, as they aren't in the first clothes very long) and a car seat.

For yourself, maternity pads and breast pads (again, reusable are an option).

I went shopping mad before DD was born and regretted it as I didn't use half the stuff I'd bought. With DS I bought the bare minimum and then topped it up as I worked out what I really needed.

Oh, and muslins. About a million of them 😆

Thank you all so much for your advise!

My main worry is over buying things we do not need and regretting it.
I bought all the cutesy nursery things at a really good sales discount so that is sorted. ( i understand baby won't be in there for a while ha)

I have bought so far:

• Moses Basket & Stand
• 3 in 1 travel system
• 3 of those gifty upto 1 month sets with hat, mittens, full all in one and vests
• 4 Multi pack short sleeved baby grows in upto 1 and 0-3
• 4 Multi pack long sleeved baby grows in upto 1 and 0-3
• 5 packs of 4 Muslin squares
• 2 packs of scratch mittens
• changing mat
• Massive multi pack of baby wipes
• Johnson's new born starter set (no Powder!)

As we know we are going to find out after birth, I don't want to over buy on the neutrals.

And for me i've bought Breast pads and a couple of massive massive knickers. I know bottles and things, but i'm planning to breast feed and dont know how much I need.

You sound a lot more organized than I was! Ours came early, and In retrospect I put a lot of it off as I was shitting myself about having a baby. In a way it was good because we didn't buy things unless we needed them (e.g breast pads were on my list but I never leaked at all so I didn't buy any). DS had to make a few emergency trips to the mall though!

Make sure you have maternity pads for after the birth because you'll bleed for quite a while. I'd also recommend getting a few sets of nice pjs as I was barely out of them for the first few weeks (that was quite lovely actually!). A few box sets on Netflix for late night feeds!

Oh, and definitely buy a thermometer (Botha room thermometer and a baby thermometer). I have a Tommee Tippee one that's great for checking the temperature of the room (so I don't overdress DS) and it doubles as a bath thermometer.

And buy the maternity pads well in advance - my waters broke and I had nothing in the house to stop me leaking everywhere

YY to thermometers for room and baby.

I'd get a lot more long sleeved babygros...I packed 6 in my hospital bag thinking it would be plenty, and baby weed through all 6 in first 24 hours. Same with nappies. DH had to leave hospital to buy more. You go through a fantastic amount of wet nappies for the first few weeks and then it settles down a lot...I'd buy about 4 weeks worth of nappies (keep receipt you can always change them for bigger ones) but we were forever down to 1 or 2 nappies at 11pm!

I'd get water wipes or use cotton wool and water for the first month rather than other baby wipes that might be a bit harsher.

An insulated coffee holder if you haven't already got one...every cup of tea or coffee you make will otherwise go cold.

Also, not baby gear, but as many meals in the freezer as you possibly can, just stuff them in there..I used to wonder what people found to fill their time all day with a baby hahahahahahah! many a day in the first six weeks whereby if i hadn't had something precooked I would have just gotten into bed hungry as i just didnt have a second to start cooking.

Oh yes and a baby bath!