Baby stuff, equipment etc - views on where to start, what to buy and when! Thanks!

[MrsMcJnr]

Ladies ? clueless first timer here the more magazines I read and shops I go to the more clueless I feel! Any tips on what I should be buying and when would really help. For example, electric breast pumps ? seem expensive and obviously only needed one if I find I can BF but will I really be able to go and get one after the birth or should you get all that stuff in advance? Baby clothes ? I?ll need to wash them all won?t I so need to do that in advance? Also worried about the cost implications. Thanks in advance for all your tips! I?m only 14 weeks so suspect you?ll all tell me it?s too early ? I just want to be prepared

Useful thread, MrsMc, so thought I'd bump it. I'm pondering over the shopping thing too at the moment. I'm 32.3 weeks, and a bit worried because I'm not really going to have a chance to shop until I'm 35 weeks (I'm lucky to have lots of hand-me-downs, but there are still plenty of bits and pieces I need, like nappies, mat pads etc). Is 35 wks too late?? Does anyone have any suggestions of things I really really ought to buy before then?

And any more general shopping tips would be most welcome!

Hi Mrs Bumblebee

Well, the good news is that you've probably done things the right way around if you haven't bought too much yet, because while there is some peace of mind from being surrounded by all the stuff weeks ahead of time, towards the end you can be twiddling your thumbs a bit and wishing you'd left a bit of baby shopping for the "hurry up and wait" stage!

Right now I would just get a couple of packs of cheap newborn babygrows from asda, a pack of newborn nappies, cotton wool, maternity pads and a few little bits towards a washkit (just toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, flannel, hairbrush and an old towel will do) and shove them all in a bag with a couple of nighties. That will put your mind at rest in case you go early. I can't think of any other emergency essentials... I spose a birthing (gym) ball can be nice to have for the later weeks when you're achy.

The rest of the stuff can wait a few weeks. You can start making a mental list of what you need and make getting the carseat and somewhere for baby to sleep a priority, as if he does come early he'll need both (mind you, in my gran's day they used to put newborns in a drawer with a few folded towels and sheets....all isn't lost if you do go early!)

And then you can spend your maternity leave picking out little clothes and pushchairs!

Loads of baby clothes and equipment available free on freecycle.org. A brilliant way to get free stuff and do your bit for the planet.

Tesco value pants for after the birth SO much more comfy than paper ones (can't stand the thought of rustling!)

That?s a good idea Mrs Badger

MrsBumblebee ? thanks not long to go now for you! At 35 weeks my mother had had me and my sister had had both of her boys! Hence my trying to get all this down early but as Bananabump says, it probably is like doing your Christmas shopping in the Summer and then seeing things you would have preferred to have bought nearer the time

Rudirednose ? thank you good tips!

If you don't have this yet get a boots advantage card and join their parenting club. You get vouchers for lots of things - money as well as points and best of all was a huggies changing bag complete with freebies including a brilliant travel changing bag - free with a packet of nappies - £26 otherwise. I've never used the bag but the nappies have been invaluable. They continue to send you vouchers every 3 months from pregnancy onwards.

Don't forget to try the car seat in the car before you need it. We couldn't manage to get the seat belt round it the first time we tried and had to ask a friend to show us how it went in. Very glad we didn't try for the first time coming home from hospital - would have definitely ended in tears! The best thing we bought was one of those french bath things that attaches to the bottom of the bath with suckers - meant both of us could bath her - think blooming marvellous have them - else an excuse for a booze cruise to cite europe near Calais to buy one at Carrefour. Also, I had to work away from home (Cheshire) in London when 31 weeks and we nipped over and also bought a 3 in 1 which was a lot cheaper than in the UK. As I remember it was about £150 in 1997 and had seat belt attachments to put the carry-cot on the back seat of the car. Also, get a tube of cream for sore nipples - worth it's weight in gold for when you're still at the toe-curling stage when latching on! Gripe water for after 4 weeks, a Boots advantage card, Ignore everything you read in Emma's diary if it's still given out and trust yourself - you will know your baby better than anyone else. Finally, getting some sleep in the afternoon if you can will help build up the richer hind milk which will help stop the baby grizzling all evening. I stupidly thought that sitting on the settee watching TV was resting, but it wasn't enough.

Good luck

I didn't think I'd need a breast pump or steriliser so didn't even look at any. Then I had a huge problem with latching on (inverted nipples- sorry if TMI) and the MW suggested a pump. Cue sending DH out on his own to get pump and steriliser. He had no idea which to buy and young shop staff were useless. It would have been helpful to have checked them out beforehand and sent him out to get a specific model.

Didn't think we'd need a monitor either but found we couldn't hear the baby between floors. That waited until I was able to go out.

Ditto an ear thermometer- midnight dash to all night pharmacy at 4 weeks old...

I didn't wash any clothes in advance.

What you need is somewhere for the baby to sleep (cot, crib, carrycot, moses basket). 2 sheets. A shawl. 3 or so blankets.

A car seat

Several vests (all supermarkets do cheap multi packs)

Several stretchsuits (ditto)

Outer suit

Hat

couple of cardigans

A pram

changing mat

two packs of new baby size nappies

cotton wool/ wipes

Everything else you can buy later. Remember that most supermarkets are open all the time

travel chaning mat in bag

What else does the DC wear with a vest - do you get mini pants/trousers too? (SOrry - am 33wks and learning a lot from this thread)

I'd wait until breastfeeding is well established, around 4 weeks, before getting an Avent Isis manual pump. One really useful thing is a plastic reclining bath seat for newborns, which goes in your bath. Leaves you two hands free, but of course can never be left unsupervised. I never washed new babyclothes before using them . Continue your pregnancy vitamins after the new arrival so lay in a store! So exciting, first baby!! Hope it goes really well

Rach - if its warm, newborns wear a nappy and a vest. A bit cooler, and you take the vest off and stick a babygro on. A bit cooler, and they wear the vest and the babygro. Cooler still, and you stick a cardigan on top.

This is day and night, and if they're not dirty you don't need to put a new set of clothes on just cos it is morning.

When they are about 3 months old, you think about putting clothes on them - trousers and tops and skirts and stuff.

Or 6 months, for your second baby.

Or when they start walking, for your third baby!

More ideas

Some kind of feeding cushion so you can have both hands free while bf'ing (for the remote control, the telephone and your lunch - newborns can bf for an hour and then do it all again an hour later).

Breastpads for when you suddenly go into overdrive milk production on day 3. Lansinoh washable ones are nice.

Bathing: you don?t need baby soap, shampoo, talc, baby oil, or any of the other million things Johnsons try to sell you. You?re not supposed to use anything but water to wash them with for the first couple of months (does something to skin ph balance and can trigger eczema). Later on you only need the ?top-to-toe? wash stuff and a big tub of aqueous cream (moisturiser ? you have to ask for it in Boots, they hide it behind the counter because it is so cheap). And I?ve never worked out what a ?top?n?tail? bowl is for. I?ve not had a baby that needed a hairbrush. And cotton buds? Baby powder? Baby oil? What are they for?

Cotton wool to clean them with, and Sudocrem and Metanium cream (kills all known nappy rash just by looking at it)

Bouncy chairs are useful - the really cheap sort with a bendy wire frame that bounces when the baby moves. The more expensive ones don?t. And the babies often ignore the toy bars and all the bells and whistles anyway. Its nice to have lots of different places to ?put? the baby cos they get bored after 10 minutes. And they like to be in the same room as you always. Although with your first baby you can just lay them on the floor.

A cot mobile - get one that plays a tune that you can stand to hear repeated endlessly

Obviously you can go shopping for most stuff after the baby is born but you might be sore and exhausted at that point, and shopping with a pram is just not as much fun. Shopping is one of the plus points of pregnancy! And your last chance to slowly browse through a shop, rather than dashing along waiting for the little ticking time-bomb in the pram to go off again.

Hi, i would say beg borrow or blag as much as you can get away with from anyone who has got kids already. We were given a lovely Mamas and Papas cot from friends who had co-slept mostly so barely used (but nb ALWAYS buy new cot mattress, for SIDS risk reduction), other friends lent us moses basket (he was only in it 7 weeks until he got big enough to start rocking it on the stand, eeek!), a sling (fabulous for skin on skin contact and leaves you hands free to do other things, or just to nip out to local shop without lugging buggy), we asked for a nice baby bath as present from relatives, and were lent a bouncy chair but ds hated it screamed the place down so glad we hadn't spent loads on one. Best present in the first 3 months was a Tiny Love musical cot mobile, from about 6 weeks he was fascinated by it and it gave me a good 15 minutes to have a shower without worrying about him - that's bliss I can tell you! oh, and speaking of showers, i'd pack some flipflops in yer hospital bag, the floors in communal postnatal bathrooms ain't always so pleasant!!

and totally agree with fruitful, you don't need anything except water and cotton wool for them for at least 3 months or you risk knackering their skin. We only bathed ds every second or third day and put plain olive oil on for baby massage afterwards and he has great skin now ( i boast i boast ). You can also forget baby nail clippers it's hideous trying to clip a tiny one's nails i found it much easier to just bite them when he was feeding as they are so soft for the first few months. And we were advised by a friend's husband who is a podiatrist to not bother with ANY of those baby soft shoes, its much better for their bones, muscles etc to be barefoot 'n' kicking for as long as possible. My ds is 14 months soon, just started walking and is still only in socks or barefoot. Makes getting first PROPER shoes really exciting, so looking forward to it. Sorry i'll shut up now, have gone a bit off the point......

And don't get a bottle warmer (sorry if someone has already said) - utterly pointless

baby bundlers- a kind of nightshirt- they are great- no poppers on legs for constant nappy changing!They last a long time too, as it's the feet babies seem to outgrow on sleepsuits first.

my ds was not pukey, my dd had reflux, but I used a muslin as a drawshhet under her head so didn't need to change her bedding constantly.
so- lots of muslin squares-they can do so many different jobs.

breastpump- needed it as soon as I left hospital as couldn't latch ds on at first- but they sell the really good isis pump in tescos- you can send someone for it if you are desperate.you can always hire a milking machine from nct...

nappies- used nature baby nappies for first week or so, then tots bots, non-aplix, with a nappy nipper. they are fab, you can get away with just using size 2 as a birth to potty if you like. motherease rikki wraps are my fav.
get a big bucket- the bigger the bucket the bigger the gap between washes.

don't bother with flushable liners at first- bf poo too runny!

sling- wrap around slings really are THE BEST. baby carriers don't last long with people, the baby gets too heavy to be comfortably carried in them too quickly, you also don't have baby next to you in the same way. I have a didymos, but there are lots to try. The hiring tip is a really good one.
If you plan to wear your baby it's worth giving it the same consideration as you would buying a stroller.

do borrow as much stuff as you can.

oh and moses basket- don't think they are all that useful. we had a crib that pil bought. lasted both babies 7 months each, you can rock it with one toe out of the bed! my friend is using it a the mo (with a new mattress), we've really had our money's worth out of it. just a thought.

BTW I've found that Sainsbury's and Tesco's vests/sleepsuits etc are great and wash very well, but Asda ones get really thin very quickly - worth spending that extra £1 on a pack!

Hi,
Our daughter is now 4mths and is just going into a cot/bed convert. Her pram (silvercross)converted into mosses basket which she slept in day & night with no problems.I bought 3 sets of sheets so can wash 1, have 1 on & have 1 spare incase she was sick.
When buying pram look for one which you can use from birth onwards, convert into pushchair & also lets you change the direction the baby faces. Seeing baby while out for walks is great for interaction & developement. Buy in sale before baby due.

I'm bf & have an electric pump which is great, bought before baby due. Used to help empty breasts when baby has not taken all you've produced especially in the first few weeks when your getting used to bf. Microwave steriliser is great too, all done in 4 min.
She lived in sleepsuits day & night until about 2mnth then slip on/off type tops & trousers as she didn't like getting dressed most were bought as gifts from family. Ask some family members to buy you next age group as they do grow fast! & take all 'hand me downs' going.

As far as nappies go we bought 2x huggies newborn boxes before baby due. Just follow weight guide on box. You could buy small pack of few different brands to try out once baby born & you know their weight.

We bought change table after she was born wasn't going to buy one but had c-section & it has been invaliable. We have cot mobile over it which she loves helps distract her while we clean her up.

Car seat a must & have it fitted before baby due or you'll not be bringing baby home from hospital.

Baby bath is used every 3/4 days, you could just use a clean kitchen sink until baby out grows it. We use head-to-toe wash stuff in the bath water and massage oil after plus a nappy rash barrier cream, thats all.

Both these things thave already been mentioned but I just wanted to highlight them- as a clueless first timer a few months ago I had no idea how many maternity pads and breast pads I'd get through! Had to send mu mum on emergency mission to boots. Also sanitary disposal bags for the maternity pads....

Just thinking about prams.

We're wondering whether it's worth getting one at all as we have a 1-bedroom living space and small car. If I'm out with the LO it will either be walking locally, or driving long-distance followed by public transport.

Would a sling followed by a compact folding buggy at 3mo work, do you think?

One of our best buys was a bit of a fluke - a pram that was on sale as en ex-display model. We did wheel it round the shop and test ease of folding, but it was the £170 reduction that really sold it . The great thing is that it has 3 parts that all snap onto the wheels: pram (used for first 8 weeks, also good for day time naps, as similar size to moses basket - I know some people who didn't bother with a separate basket and just used this for the night time as well); car seat - great when you're just nipping out quickly, you can snap this on the wheels for a quick whizz round the shops; buggy - reclines, has zip around rain cover. So, a very good buy - I recommend the Loola by Bebe Confort.
Best other purchase - Fisher Price Kick & Play bouncer chair: the vibrations send DS off to sleep and he likes looking at himself in the mirror
I know others will disagree with this, but I have been using Burt's Bees Baby Bee products at bathtime, and DS's skin is lovely. Although quite expensive, a little bit goes a very long way, I am still using the original bottles I bought - and the powder is talc free. They do a trial pack of everything for £10 so you can see if you like it before investing in the big sizes. It's all organic, no chemicals and the ingredients list shows exactly what is in it.

Oh, and if you're using dummies - get a couple of those clip things that you can attach the dummy to bib/dungarees etc...it means they only drop 4 inches, and don't get covered in floor flith!

My biggest mistake was buying small size cloth nappies - ds1 grew out of them in 2 weeks. you would not believe how much they grow in the first month. would have been better waiting until in next size up.
not terribly relevant just yet but best buy was one of those door hanging baby bouncers - very popular from about 3-4 months.
ds1 hated sling, loved pushchair. he used to sick continuously on me so i hated it too. BUY LIGHT is my best pushchair advice.

I also recommend the Fisher Price bouncy chair 'Kick and Play' - I got it for Xmas for my Jan baby. If relatives ask you what you need for Xmas have a list ready as this can be a handy way to get those lastminute nice-to-haves.

Wish I'd got a travel system from tesco for half the price of the mamas & papas one!

Also I didn't bother with moses basket as I have a baby who likes to stretch out to sleep so he was in the big cot from the beginning. If you have a carry cot with the travel system they can also use that for day sleeping anyway.

good luck and enjoy the rest of your pregnancy!