So babies......what do they need?!

[Rosebud1302]

Hi ladies,

Ok so the title makes me sound much more naive than I am (I hope) but really looking for a couple of lists here:

What is essential for a baby up to 6 months old?

What is nice to have but not essential/what did you wish you bought/will buy next time?

Also, (and this one probably is stupid) are the toys you can buy in shops like Early Learning Centre etc for 0+ worth it for young babies or is there just no point? With so much stuff on the market I want to make sure I have everything I need. I'm not adverse to spending money if it will be beneficial.

Thanks in advance!! :)

Essentials:
Somewhere for them to sleep
Some way to transport them (sling or pram)
A car seat if you have a car
6 to 12 babygros
6 to 12 vests
some cardigans
a wooly hat

My first, I was convinced she needed a full wardrobe and half the mothercare catalogue.
Once my second came along, I realised that all they actually need is clothes, nappies and a pair of boobs!!

Newborn babies need: milk, clothes, nappies, a safe place to sleep (your bed qualifies fine, as long as you follow cosleeping guidance), something to be transported in. That's literally it. Everything else can be acquired later (and milk comes for free with your boobs).

In all honesty I wouldn't bother with 0+ sensory toys to start with. The favourite occupation of DS2, who is 9 weeks, is staring at the wrought black headboard of my bed. Tiny babies like simple bold patterns and high contrasts and they can't use their hands for a few months.

They don't need much. And the only things they need new are mattresses for their sleeping surfaces and ideally car seats.
Definitely: A food source, safe places to sleep, regular nappy changes (I recommend hiring a reusable nappy kit from a nappy library), a transportation method or two, enough clothes suitable for the season, and lots and lots of love and attention.

sorry...pressed enter too soon...
A snow suit if its winter
nappies
wipes

Nice to have but not essential:
Muslins (some people swear by them but I'm still not totally sure what they're for)
Baby bath

Toys:
Mine weren't interested till about 3 months tbh
I clearly remember packing little soft toys in my hospital bag. I don't know what I thought DS was going to do with them! When they are tiny they want to sleep. When they wake up they want to feed, have a nappy change and then sleep again. Play comes later.

Ps. Most second time parents will give you a much longer list of stuff they bought that was total useless gubbins than stuff they wish they'd bought. Anything you want to try AFTER the birth can be obtained in 24 hours using the internet. My honest advice before the birth is buy only the real essentials, and strongly consider going secondhand for these, because once you see how much money simply ends up pissed down the drain on fancy new baby stuff it starts to look obscene.

When they are tiny they want to sleep. When they wake up they want to feed, have a nappy change and then sleep again. Play comes later.

^yes, this. A newborns needs are extremely simple (although it sometimes doesn't feel that way when you're a clueless FT parent). Babies get all the stimulation they need from daily life for quite a long time.

Only buy sleepsuits with buttons all down the front. Don't buy too many clothes in newborn size as they'll probably out grow them quickly.

They start grabbing at toys at around 4 months so I don't think you need them until then. They much prefer to look at your face.

Teething gel (you can use it from 2 months) I didn't realise how soon teething could be an issue, well before the teeth actually came through.
Toys with lights, music, white noise, or pics with black and white contrast, are good for newborns until they can grip something there's not much point with anything else. My husband actually used videos on YouTube designed to entertain newborns in his phone, I wondered what he was doing holding his phone over the moses basket but she did seem interested.
I second only getting sleepsuits that open down the front, if you have to pull it over their head things can get messy/awkward.

Agree with everyone else! I’m on DC3 (4 weeks) and so far literally the only things we’ve used are vests & onesies, nappies, wipes (plus cotton wool + water first couple of weeks), muslins, car seat and sling. That’s the entire, exhaustive list. We have a playmat which we’ll probably get out in a few more months once she actually cares about looking at stuff and is robust enough to withstand toddler DS charging about but so far she seems perfectly happy with absolutely bugger all - she just likes a chat and a cuddle when she’s awake it’s nice and exciting buying all the baby stuff, esp first time round, but less nice and exciting when you realise how much money you’ve wasted on useless crap (particularly when trying to survive on mat pay!)

It's so long ago that I had a newborn that I'm struggling to remember, but eventually (not immediately, maybe within a couple of weeks) you'll need some means of dealing with the baby's nails. We still have a pair of scissors I got in Boot's which have rounded points. I believe some people bite them but I was worried about biting the skin instead.

Can't remember now about Calpol (baby paracetamol, syrupy pink liquid, comes in a bottle). It was a big feature of our lives while my children were small and going through one cold after another, but I have no idea when I first started administering it. You can get infant ibuprofen too. They can't have aspirin because of a very rare but serious side effect some children get.

That's it! Everyone else has covered the basics. Don't get too many tiny garments, they will grow very fast in the early weeks.

Can't remember now about Calpol (baby paracetamol, syrupy pink liquid, comes in a bottle). It was a big feature of our lives while my children were small and going through one cold after another, but I have no idea when I first started administering it.

You can't give Calpol until two months, and ibuprofen until 3, so for me those are definitely things to worry about after the birth. You can buy it for the 8 week jabs.

My baby is nearly 5 weeks. The amount of presents we got and continue to get is unreal. We bought waaaay to many clothes!! We have more than £200 in vouchers that we have nothing to spend them on either cause we bought everything before she was here!

• car seat and pram wheels (we have barley used the pram top!)
• soft sling - babies love it
• muslins - use them for everything - sick, drool, milk spillage etc
• 6 short sleeve vests
• 8 babygrows
• cardigan
• outdoor coat
• couple of blankets
• bouncy chair (ours has a vibrate setting which has been invaluable, the only way we can eat our meals with 2 hands 😂)
• somewhere for baby to sleep
• couple of grobags (saves faffing about with blankets and disturbing baby during the night! I just use blankets for day naps and trips out.)
• tonnes of cotton wool (amazon is your best friend for this)
• aldi nappies
• some thing to feed baby with ie boobs or bottles etc

That's really the essentials. I have done a lot of amazon prime ordering at 2am during the night feeds if I think something will be useful. Don't go overboard. They just need food, snuggles and warmth.

Honestly bare essentials are simply:

Somewhere to sleep- be that a Moses basket, crib, cot, box.. really doesn’t matter provided they are safe and honestly, babies don’t care.
Clothes- not tons and tons in one size as they grow rapidly. I don’t even bother with newborn as I have large babies. A few vests, few babygrows, hat, cardigan, jacket and snowsuit if born in cold weather.
Pram or sling- either or is fine.
Car seat.
A couple of blankets.
Nappies and wipes. I use reusables and have about 10-12 nappies plus some liners. If using disposables then get a couple of boxes in first size and a box of wipes.
If you are bottle feeding then bottles, formula, bottle brush and a steriliser. If you are breastfeeding then nipple cream, breast pads and MAYBE a breast pump (definitely get an electronic one) and bottles.

Those are bare essentials, anything else is an added extra. Bouncers are useful to sit them in when downstairs and toys are good from about 4 months onwards.

Something to eat
Somewhere to sleep
Something to wear (supermarket multipacks of babygrows and vests are fine)
Nappies
Something to be transported around in
A credit/debit card and/or amazon prime subscription for anything else you decide you want in the middle of the night.

Thanks everyone this has confirmed in my head that I need to not go too mad!!!!

I do like the idea of a bouncer still - those of you that have them, any recommendations?! Is it better to spend money on one that has the vibrate function, music etc or just a bog standard one?

Thanks :D