What to buy as a first time mum??

[BabySquid]

Hi All, I'm just trying to make a list of things to buy as a first timer. Obvs I need nursery furniture, car seat and travel system.
But like, clothes... how many of what? I'm due in Feb so it'll be cold. Feeding pillow, what kind? How many blankets etc? This all sounds so lame asking but I'm honestly clueless and I hate being unprepared 😔

Ooh. I can't help but I need to know! So joining thread to catch the answers! X

Sleep suits
Vests
Nappies (ooh try to cloth bum if you can! I wish I had! Minimal effect on environment and very little risk of nappy rash)
Cotton wool balls
Muslin squares
Dribble bibs

Honestly you don’t need much. Bath them in plain water, dress them in lovely soft sleep suits that you’ll change multiple times per day because they poo so much!

Are you going to have a baby shower? If so I’d recommend making a gift list. I ended up with 3 sets of the same bibs.
I use www.thingstogetme.com/ myself for Christmas lists etc and my friend used it for her baby shower and it was great knowing what she wanted.

Oh, re feeding pillow, I just used my V shaped pillow that I had when I was pregnant. It was just a cheap one from Argos!

@sueH1983 thank you so much. I was tempted by reusable nappies but I'll need to go back to work fairly soon after so I think disposables will be easier overall.
With the cotton wool, do you use it as a wipe instead of wipes for the first few weeks?

Following!

We're expecting DC1 in January. Have already bought a very, very small amount of muslins and dribble bibs, only cos we saw them in Aldi. We're leaving the gender to be a surprise, which is going to make shopping somewhat more difficult!

@crazymuseummumtobe we're also leaving the gender a surprise... well, hoping to... our 20w scan is tomorrow and I really don't wanna find out, but have been told stories of people having boys who weren't shy, and just these testes on the screen!!

One or two Grosnugs - Can pick them up on Ebay or marketplace fairly easily. You don't need to use a blanket with these, which takes a lot of stress away ( I worried a lot about him getting smothered by blankets overnight).

Cheeky wipes for nappy changes.

Depending on your home, also really helpful to have a crib downstairs / living room. Even better if it has wheels! We had a Chicco Babyhug 4 in 1 (recommended) which meant we could just wheel him about with us as we moved around!

Feeding pillow - Theraline i had from pregnancy was good as not too rigid.

Also, more muslins than you think you'll need! The vomit is plentiful and frequent

If you have a lot of friends and family and/or are planning a baby shower you will probably get a lot of clothing gifts. We didnt find out the sex so we didnt buy many clothes to start with - just loads of neutral sleepsuit and vests. Definitely dont bother with dresses or outfits. For the first few weeks/months it is way easier to just have sleepsuits.

Look out for nearly new bargains on fb for furniture/travel systems, cots etc. You'll save a fortune and i found nearly everything in near-pristine condition. I got a Next to Me for £65 and sold it on for the same price and just bought a new mattress. I bought stuff as i went along too as i knew LO would be in our room for first few months. So didn't buy a full size cot til DD was 4 months (also off facebook for £20).

Clothes wise a good selection of vests and sleepsuits in newborn and 0-3, but keep tags and receipts so you can exchange for next size if baby skips a size. Same with any outfits you buy, keep tags on til you use them just in case you need to upsize!

I would say buy less than you think you need. You can always get more. I’m due baby number 2 in Feb so will reuse most of the things from DD1. I would say clothes wise have about 10-12 long sleeve vests and 10-12 baby grows. Some newborn and some 0-3 to start with. I honestly wouldn’t bother with outfits- people tend to buy those for you anyway. Some cotton hats, couple of cardigans and a snowsuit will be handy for Feb. Prob around 10 muslins and 3 cellular blankets and some dribble bibs. Remember you can always buy more!

I agree with the feeding pillow- just use normal pillows or a v shaped one- just more useful.

Cheeky wipes or other reusable wipes for nappy changes are super easy. I likes 2 changing mats- 1 for bedroom and 1 downstairs and then had a little box of nappies, wipes and a change of clothes in each- saved a lot of running around.

I wasted lots of money on blankets and cot bedding sets.

All you really need is a grosnug for sleeping in and I used a Tuppence and crumble star wrap and another thick blanket for in the pram for my January baby.

I didn't use Muslins anywhere near as much as people on here do. I think two or three packs of three would be more than enough to start with.

I'd have seven sleepsuits. Seven capped sleeve vests and wouldn't bother with long sleeved vests or sleeveless vests for now. I never used long sleeved ones until the weather was warmer and even then just for sleeping.

Congratulations! I'm having my second in Jan! My top things are breast pump (I didn't have one at first last time and I was so sore!!), vests, baby gros..... Sooooo soooooo many! Don't buy too many actual clothes, they are fiddly when they are tiny and people will buy you them anyway. If you are going to breast feed get yourself some washable breast pads, the throw away ones are so itchy. And some breast shells to collect the over flow when you feed or express.... You will get so wet!! Happy shopping!!

I agree with the grosnug recommendation although you might need a couple; ours get covered in wee fairly often. I am too anxious to use blankets for sleeping. We also have a cellular blanket which is useful when DS chooses to nap in a strange place or feels a bit chilly. Lots of sleepsuits definitely, it's so much easier not having to faff around with socks. And definitely more muslins than you thought you could ever need. We have them everywhere and get through lots every day!

Groswaddles or swaddling blanket
Feeding pillow - even if you intend to bottle feed they are really handy
Next to the bed cot was amazing would definitely buy again
Floor baby gym DS loved the lights and music
Set up a downstairs changing station. I had our dining table set up with changing mat, wipes, nappies, bin, bibs and spare clothes so I didn’t have to go up and down the stairs all day. Was a godsend!
Baby bath I had a Shnuggle which has a ridge to support under the bum so you can bathe them a bit easier.
Baby health kit- scissors, nail clippers, brush, thermometer, baby calpol for after their immunisations, nose syringe (I bought one of amazon with a tube attached that you put in your mouth to suck the snot out! Worked better than the squeezy ones)
Steriliser. We had an electric one that broke after 5 months and I switched to a cold water tub. Having used both, I’d go with the cold water it’s much easier and less faffing.

Clotheswise:
Scratch mitts
Hats
Socks
Booties
Bibs - they do ones with padding around the neck called milk catchers which are great.
Vests
Sleepsuits (pretty much wore everyday for 2 months)
Short sleeved bodysuits for under cardigans
Long sleeved bodysuits
Cardigans
Pramsuits
Maybe a snowsuit
Swimwear if you intend to go swimming when a few months old
Grobags (get the out of season togs in the sales when you see them. They’re expensive full price but you can get some 0.5 tog ones now for next summer)
Blankets for pushchair or out and about

Muslins. I’m still using them with my one year old. The giant ones are super useful but normal size ones are easier to pack in the bag.

Flannels and towels. You need more than you think. Especially flannels as once they’re on solids they get food everywhere so they’re a great investment!

Supermarket baby clothes vary wildly in sizing. I found Tesco are at the smaller end and Asda at the larger.

@Rarfy &@mynameiscalypso you guys are suggesting the opposite for Muslins.. what do you use them for?

In the smaller sizes stick to sleep suits rather than actual outfits, I didnt put my baby into outfits until his 0-3 clothes, its just too much messing around when they're so little and not used to being naked, sleep suits are just so much easier

You will probably receive more clothes as presents than you ever imagined possible.

For starters I would go to Asda or somewhere and get a pack of 6 basic plain white sleepsuits 0-3 (unless you know you are having a really tiny baby), pack of 6 plain white long sleeved vests or if in packs of 3 get 3 long and 3 short, 6 or 8 plain white Muslim squares really handing for winding/burping, lying on a cold changing mat and all manner of things (especially if you get a sicky or dribbly baby, half a dozen plain white bibs (that way you can bung everything in the wash every night and your whites stay lovely and white and not grey).

Fairy washing powder or similar for washing babies clothes and some Napisan to go in with the wash to keep your whites looking white.

Buy some cotton wool balls for babies bum in the first couple of weeks, but no baby bath wash or talc, sudocream, baby shampoo, some wipes (just incase your out and about.

Extra coffee, tea, sugar and biscuits (for all the visitors. I also bought a couple of packs of blank thank you cards some stamps and bought in any birthday cards I needed for a couple of weeks before and after.

If you know whether you are having a boy or a girl I would maybe get one nice outfit and a snowsuit but i’m sure you will be absolutely inundated.

I had one of those long little nightie things for baby to sleep in (in white) whereby you could do a quick bum change in the early days.

A hooded baby towel you don’t necessarily need one but babies look so cute in them.

This may sound insane but I had an amazon prime membership and it was invaluable! I didn't buy a whole lot before baby came but when I remembered something in the middle of the night while up with baby, it was bought and delivered next day!

I would say with something like muslins they're super cheap so probably better to get quite a few just in case. We used them for mopping up sick or leaking milk, breastfeeding cover, as a makeshift change mat, as a blanket, as a comforter. They're just generally handy.

As others have said sleepsuits and Muslins are a must!
I also had a Moses basket downstairs which was a godsend.
Breast pads galore!
If you end up formula feeding a prefect prep machine is a life saver especially for night feeds.
I didn’t buy many clothes myself just the odd thing in bigger sizes but we got so many gifts, DD is now 8 months and I still have a full draw of 9-12months clothes that were gifts we got so much in all sorts of sizes.
Something I loved was a light projector, it would soothe the baby and keep her entertained for a while and if I struggled to get her to sleep I’d pop that on and she’s go off.

All the things that @BeanBag7 said! Plus we quite often use one to protect ourselves from a fountain of wee when we're changing DS...

Some babies have bulletproof skin, others will get instant and raw nappy rash from wipes, so best to have some cotton wool about or reusable cotton wipes that can be laundered. Newborns do a great line in exploding diarrhoea though so definitely have some wipes about the place/in a nappy bag.

For you:
Lansinoh
Some instant "disposable" bottles of premixed formula in case BF'ing does not go well. [I had a CSection so needed a few days worth]
Sterilizer, bottles, pump etc if you plan to bottle feed or pump or both. An amazon / late night Boots can take care of this if plans change.
Clothing that you can BF in - front buttons/cardigans etc.
Pale clothes are useful if you have a pukey dribbly feeder.
Ditto a pale coloured throw for the sofa - Homebase had a cheapo cream fleece one. Washed and dried instantly.
Baby
Muslins
Babygros - poppers up the front. Slightly large is good, imagine trying to dress a cat.
People will give you fancy clothes as gifts. Don't buy anything that needs ironing, has poppers on the back or itchy fabric. [I bought a rollneck jumper for a newborn. She just puked into it whereby it massaged it all into her neckrolls....]
Cot, cot linen, car seat if you use a car, pram of some sort - seriously look at Gumtree/ebay. Many people buy very fancy systems at huge expense and have to ditch them as soon as a second child turns up or find that they don't work with their lifestyle. There's great value in barely used prams.
Grobags are good, some babies love a snug blanket for swaddling.

General
Tumbledrier - pays for itself in no time. I needed far less clothing for a second child with a drier in the house.
Good travel mug - safe to use around a baby and a chance of drinking something more than tepid occasionally.
Water bottle - if you are BFing, you need to drink lots of water. Handy to have bottles left wherever you will sit and feed. It's an opportunity to refresh. Ditto with a phone charger [for mumsnetting in the middle of the night on todays panic du jour, online supermarket shopping and emailing mates at 2am]
A list of quick and easy lunch and dinner recipes = inspiration for when you are both tired and someone needs to produce some food. Store cupboard ideas are particularly useful.