What do I need to buy?

[Babybear1117]

Someone please feel free to link me to a thread I’ve missed if this is somewhere else!

So I found out about 3 days ago that I’m 3+ weeks got ny booking in appointment Monday 😊

My next worry is how we are going to afford everything we need to buy! So if you all have any ideas please let me know so I can make a list to budget for!
So far I’ve added:
Pushchair
Car seat
Coat bed
Bedroom furniture
Moses basket
Clothes - not much
Changing bag
Bottle steriliser

I would only buy what you need for a newborn as people will often give you items they no longer need such as cots (and the bedding) and high chairs. Supermarkets regularly have baby events. Keep an eye out in charity shops and jumble sales for clothes, baby bath and bedding. I only bought 0-3 month clothing some was a little big at first but we've had plenty of wear out of it.
I used a chest of drawers with a changing mat on top, now DS is bigger the mat is on the bathroom floor. I do have a small wardrobe it's one of those 1940s gentlemens compactum wardrobes but I've not used it for the baby clothes because they're either in the wash or in the airing cupboard! You've got plenty of time to get things.

We had a hand me down cot bed and bought a new mattress for it in the Boxing Day sales. Chest of drawers from IKEA which we already had which has a changing mat on top has been working fine for 16 months. We did buy a chair for the nursery which has been really helpful but it doesn't have to be an expensive one, second hand or IKEA will do the job.

We had a next to me type cot which was great but if you're not going down that road I'd probably go for a standard crib or petite cot over a Moses basket as they grow out of the Moses baskets so quickly and given that they're supposed to sleep in the same room as you until 6 months I suspect you'd end up buying both. Can get the crib second hand and just buy a new mattress.

Look at mamas and papas for prams, they quite often have good package deals and I think they can be a bit overlooked.

Congratulations!

The only things you need to get from new are a car seat and mattress. Aside from that just keep a close eye on eBay/ facebook selling sites and you will gradually pick up all you need for a fraction of the price. We got our nearly new buggy for £80 as opposed to £450. Talk to parents about what is worth getting and not - there are hundreds of expensive gimmicks that will seem essential- they are not.

What works for some people won't necessarily work for you so hold back until your baby is here. I remember stressing that we didn't have black out curtains for our room- baby couldn't give two hoots and actually sleeps better with the light!

@putputput @sunshinegirl82 @bluebellwoods123 @silkpyjamasallday thank you I’ve been thinking of just getting s chest of drawers with a changing mat on top. I’ve had a peek on the selling sites and there’s plenty of bits about so I’m not worried about the majority I’m sure they’ll be plenty on there when we want to start buying.
The only thing that I’m worried we need to think through is the car seat. Anyone have any recommendations?

I’m hoping Black Friday might yield some baby bargains this year! We have most stuff but it might be good for cot mattress, car seat etc

I looked on which magazine for the best buy car seats. I think you can view car seat info online free, if not libraries usually stock them. Then I joined the mother care baby club and waited for the car seat to be in a sale and used the money off vouchers mother care had emailed as well.
One word of warning though I didn't unpack the seat until I was in labour and it had no instructions. Mother care did email instructions but they were the wrong ones, I didn't discover this until DS was about 8 weeks and when I accidentally adjusted the car seat and couldn't adjust it back again. Thankfully I was at my parents and they looked on youtube on both occasions. The seat I have is a cyber aton, it is very good and easy to strap in the car.
The boots baby club also has good offers and a couple of freebies.

@bluebellewoods123 thankyou! I’ll sign up to all the sites!

As a new mum, my advice will be to buy only the absolute essentials, things you need for when the baby comes home. Other extras you can get as you need them - you'll only really know when the baby is here! I'd recommend Amazon Prime to overnight any deliveries!

And I'd splurge on one baby thing for fun. We didn't buy anything until month 7 and it still didn't feel real to me, do we bought a pack of baby gros from Sainsbury's, which helped 😉.

I bought a lot of stuff I thought I might need, thinking i was saving money in sales, and then found I didn't need them afterwards.

I don't think a changing table is necessary either - when baby starts rolling you'll want to change them on the floor.

Also recommend booking an appointment with John Lewis for advice on baby stuff. They are very generous with it, enormously helpful for cots, buggies and car seats where there is too much choice, no pressure to buy anything, plus free coffee and cake after!

And calendar in the next NCT and mum2 mum sales after baby is here. It's easy to go a bit nuts and buy stuff you wouldn't normally buy so I'd wait until baby is here, make a list of things you need, and have fun.

Don't forget you'll need to include maternity clothes and probably bigger bras in your budget too. I was lucky and didn't have much of a bump, so got away with just wearing loose dresses and jumpers and a pair of maternity jeans for my pregnancy, but you may not be so lucky!
I didn't buy a special baby thermometer, just used ours.

-Maternity wear
-Breastfeeding bras (look on eBay/amazon)
-Pyjamas for feeding in (nighties with buttons down the front are good)
-Cellular blankets
-Muslin cloths
-Bibs
-Baby clothes - I just use baby grows/vests/cardigans/booties for the first 3 months
-Changing bag
-Padded changing mat - can be bought second hand, I have one for upstairs and one for downstairs.
-Draws and/or wardrobe (full size ikea ones)(baby size coat hangers from eBay are useful too)
-Cot - I wouldn't bother with a moses basket but I'd either get a co sleeping crib (like a Next2Me) or attach a cot bed to your bed so baby is at your side. You need a new mattress but can use a second hand crib.
-Sling - A stretchy wrap or ring sling is good for a newborn, you can check out your local sling library to borrow/try some out then buy one second hand.
-Pram - Not essential, you can manage with a sling but if your on a budget I would definitely buy second hand as you can get prams in very good condition for 50% or less of the price.
-Bouncer - Can buy second hand cheap, I use one for downstairs and one for the bathroom upstairs so I can shower and don't have to move them up and down the stairs.
-Car seat - Buy brand new, either get an infant carrier (Maxi cosi are good or the Joie Juva is very good for the price, it was on offer for £35 recently) or get a car seat which will last until 4 years rear facing to save money in the long run (Joie Tilt was on offer for £60 recently, Joie stages and Joie every stage are also good seats for the price).

If you are planning to breastfeed, go to your local La Leche League while your still pregnant to get to know the leaders incase you need any help as you can call them for free anytime and also each LLL has a library of books you can borrow to save buying them.

Thankyou to all @menorcasunrise @cheerfulmuddler @unicornberry thankyou all so much!! Your advice is amazing I will look into all the car seats and kee my eyes pealed on the sale sites!!

Didn’t get any special furniture except a changing table -and It has tons of storage so I used it to put vests , sleepsuits and socks , plus all nappies , wipes , sacks , cotton wool and toiletries. Pretty much almost everything baby related went into it . He’s now 20 months and we still use it !

A sling - second the close Caboo. Get second hand as only use for the first 8-9 weeks . Followed by a connecta / integra .