Feeling completely unorganised

[Bobbielee91]

My partner and I are expecting our first child in October however, we are also in the process of buying our first house and we are living with my mum until it goes through.

I knew that buying a house would take a while but didn’t expect it to take this long. We are now 20 weeks pregnant and I REALLY want to be able to move into my new house and get everything sorted.

In addition to this, we are both inexperienced when it comes to children and we don’t even particularly know what furniture we will need or what we need to be taking to hospital with us! Our midwife doesn’t give us a lot of information at all tbh .

Any help with what we need in the hospital bag would be appreciated .

The last trimester of your pregnancy will feel like it's a year long so don't worry about time, I moved house at around 30 weeks pregnant and that final 10 weeks after we moved still seemed to take forever even though there was loads to do.

The baby should be in the same room as you for the first 6 months so you need somewhere for it to sleep in your bedroom and somewhere for it to nap downstairs. Other than that any furniture is optional rather a necessity.

There's loads of hospital bag lists (and some are a bit excessive in my opinion) and to an extent it depends on where you are planning to give birth.

You can get most things delivered within 24 hours these days and the supermarkets are also 24 hours so I would buy as you go along as needed rather than trying to be too prepared.

The basics of a hospital bag btw:

Something comfortable and easy to remove to give birth in that you don't mind throwing away if needed.
Something for the baby to wear once it born (vest, babygrow, hat)
Big cotton knickers (buy a cheap supermarket pack in a size larger than you are usually)
Maternity Pads
Newborn size nappies
Something comfortable in dark colours to wear after giving birth, with access for breastfeeding.
Phone and charger
Make up bag with hair clips and bobbles
A nice shower gel
Toothbrush and toothpaste
Food and drink- cereal bars, crisps, sweets, and a few bottles of water.
Painkillers

That's for a birth at a birthing centre where you don't stay overnight. For longer stays you may need more of everything.

Agreed with PP that the last trimester takes an age. I also moved house at around 32 weeks with DC2 and it wasn’t easy but we managed to get everything sorted before she was born. Nesting instincts kick in and you find yourself wanting everything in order and the cleanest it’s ever been. I recall waking in the early hours, not being able to go back to sleep so deciding to scrub the toilet .

Anyway all you really need is somewhere for the baby to sleep (Moses basket, crib, one of the co-sleeping things that attach to your bed or a cot will all be fine), a pram (this decision can be overwhelming. I would recommend a travel system one that includes a car seat so you kill two birds with one stone) and a bouncer is completely optional but a god send to many parents. Then it literally is just clothes, nappies and wipes unless you are planning on bottle feeding then it’ll be formula, a steriliser, bottle brush and set of bottles too. Since your baby is an Autumn baby I would recommend getting a snowsuit, blankets, vests, babygrows and socks. That honestly is all I can think of.

Good luck with everything.

Ah bless you, it can be daunting and especially when there’s all these companies saying you need this and that!
In my opinion I would stick with basics and research lists of basic newborn needs. I agree with pastabest, in that you need something like a Moses basket some bedding for it. Basic packs of sleepsuits, vests, hat, scratch mittens to begin with. Most supermarkets sell multipacks at great value. You’ll need a few blankets and bibs, depending on how you wish to feed as well you’ll want to get breast pads etc or bottles and sterilising equipment. A baby bath, nappies cotton wool. You’ll get lots of things bought I am sure but these are my basics. Your baby will be with you for the first months anyway so don’t panic about the nursery. Oh also a car seat if you’re going to hospital to bring baby home in.
Have a look and sign up to emmas diary or bounty, not only do you get freebies ( always good) but they send me emails with discounted bundles of baby stuff so like a pram system, cot and bouncer for example for few hundred pounds. In answer to your question re hospital check lists I found a good one on HiPP organic baby food, bounty and also Pinterest has some good ones. Hope your move goes well.

Thank you everyone.

So I feel that we might not be doing as bad as I thought. We have our Moses basket and pram already and we have started to buy nappies and wipes. We have clothes bought too but I still feel that we need more haha.

I am going to bottle feed as I seriously HATE having my nipples touched 😂. I am not even sure what formula is the best!

Would anyone recommend a TENS machine?

Thanks

Don’t worry, when our second DS arrived unexpectedly early the cot was still in pieces in the loft and my mum was looking after an elderly relative for the week so couldn’t come and look after first DS Best laid plans and all that... we muddled through.
Some women recommend TENS machines but I just found it annoying and didn’t keep it on for long.
Hope everything goes well

Don't worry! I moved into my house at 30 weeks lol. My partner was working away and basically did it alone.... (did have removal men and some very helpful parents) all I had was a pram too!

Anyways.. I felt the same but I'm 38 weeks now, everything came together very easily. It's nice to have a fresh start in a new house! It's our first baby too xx

All formula is essentially the same, it has to have the same ingredients by law. Any variations are minor and haven't been proven to be beneficial. I would go for the cheapest formula that is easily available to you, don't get suckered by marketing hype. For the hospital you may find that you need to bring ready made formula, check with your midwife. You can buy "starter packs" of most brands that are single use bottles with disposable teats.

Don't stockpile too many clothes or nappies. They grow out of stuff really quickly and you get given loads of first size clothes.

You also have to look at this stuff for MONTHS yet, I refer you to my earlier point about the last trimester lasting about a year. I'm expecting DC 2 and put the cot together again at about 35 weeks. I'm now 39 weeks and the bloody cot has already been in my way for what feels like several months now but is only actually 4 weeks. Equally the maternity pads etc I bought at about 30 weeks have been taking up cupboard space for over two months now.

I know it's exciting now but try and save some of the excitement of buying stuff for the later weeks when you feel like shit and are ridiculously uncomfortable and need to get excited about the pregnancy again to get through it.

34 weeks and waiting to find out if I'm going to get to move into our new house at 37 weeks or if it'll be delayed because of a conveyancing issue. Also waiting to find out if I'll be induced early (blood pressure and potentially big baby).

Haven't started packing, only just washed some baby clothes and can't face thinking about hospital bag.

When we went to have DD, we somehow managed to forget/not realise about a hat for baby even though it was Christmas, nappy changing equipment ( take cotton wool balls and a pot of vaseline). Turned out I found breastfeeding excruciating and we were given some starter bottles of ready made formula. I would take one of these packs with six bottles in your first day bag. People on the ward who were staying for a few days and bottle feeding had Milton sterilisers next to their beds and washed up bottles/made formula in the kitchen on the ward. Two small stainless steel flasks- one for hot water and one for cooled boiled might be handy for next to your bed if for any reason you are immobile after the birth.

Thank you all so much!

I am glad I am not the only one in this position and I will take your advice and wait until the later weeks to start buying the essentials .

I don’t seem to feel so stressed out about it now as I am taking a few weeks holiday prior to my maternity leave so I am finishing work at 36 weeks so will have plenty of time for shopping .

Thanks again!x

I’m also 20 weeks and have made a list of everywhere we want to go and what we have to buy for ourselves ie finish house put new flooring down paint etc and the plan is to buy one thing a week but 5 weeks of that is taken up with holidays so I’ve 15 weeks to finish the house it’s daunting