First time mum-to-be and feeling completely overwhelmed

[Ghost88]

Im 24 weeks due in February. Decided to put a list together of things I need as I have bought nothing but a couple of baby grows and now I feel completely overwhelmed.

What do babies wear?
Do they wear vests under everything?
Do they sleep in blankets or gro bags?
From what age do they need toys or teething toys?
When do they have their first bath? And do you just use water or baby wash?
What temperature should the house be???

Such stupid questions I know. Everyone says it will come naturally but im starting to feel like a bad mum before shes even here!

Does anyone have a good site or list they can point me towards that they found helpful? :(

Did anyone else feel like this?

I have been so good up until this point, I have really tried to not overthink anything and take each day as it comes, but I found one list of wardrobe items I need on the internet and have gone into a complete meltdown!!!

And breathe.

Don't panic now. I can tell you I brought way to bloody much half of it he didn't wear! 🙈

Firstly, to get the right temperature purchase a gro egg. They will let you know what temp is ideal.

February is still quite cold so your baby will probably be in a vest and a baby gro.

I used a swaddle me blanket for my DS but he was born in July. Have a look at swaddle me and see if they do a thicker tog. Or you can use a thicker blanket to swaddle with.

My DS is 3 months and using some of his teething toys. Don't worry about them yet.

I waited a week before his first bath, didn't use anything in there. 2nd bath is when I started to use baby products in there and at 1 month started using moisturiser after the bath.

I'm afraid that I don't know the answers to your questions, but I am shamelessly place-marking as I also need to learn to look after a baby and have no idea! I'm 21 weeks and haven't begun to think about this at all, so don't worry as you are not alone we still have plenty of time to work it out 😊

Hello! First time mum here too, due 2nd Feb. I’ve asked loads of other mums and tried to read as widely as I can and here’s what I’ve found:

1. Babies wear sleep suits for the first few weeks. Apparently they poo loads and sleep loads so don’t worry about buying any cute outfits as they may grow out of them before you’re able to put them in the outfit. I’ve bought 2 ‘going out’ outfits for 0-3 months. Other than that I’ve just stocked-up on sleepsuits and vests. I’ve also bought: extra scratch mits, 2 pairs of baby booties, 6 cotton hats and a knitted hat and mittens. We’ve also bought loads of large muslins.

1. babies need one more layer than us. As you’re baby’s due in winter, I’d get some long sleeved and short sleeved vests. Say 5-8 newborn size and a similar number for 0-3 months.

1. I’ve bought 2 sleeping bags that they can go in at 8lbs and up (2.5 tog) and I’ve also got some swaddle blankets. I’m not planning to put any loose blankets on my newborn as I’m worried about SIDS (unless they’re in their buggy or I have eyes-on all the time and can make sure the blanket doesn’t cover their face).

1. I’m not sure about teething. Hopefully someone else will be able to help here.

1. From what I understand you shouldn’t wash your baby for the first week after birth. I’m going to try a baby friendly wash and will moisturise with olive oil afterwards.

1. I’m going to keep mine between 16-22 degrees C. I can remove layers I the day if it’s warmer and at night when the temp drops to 16, I’m going to put them in a long sleeved vest, sleepsuit and then into their 2.5 tog sleeping bag.

It’s really hard to know what’s right and although I’ve asked so many other parents, I think my DH and I will muddle through and hope everything is alright. Don’t worry, we are all in the same boat.

Babies dont need a lot at first. My ds was born end of january, and indoors he wore a short sleeved vest, with a long sleeved baby gro over the top for the first few weeks. If we went outside I'd add a thicker all in one outfit over the top, and hat, mits, socks, and then pop a blanket over him in the pram. Sleeping he had a vest, babygro and swaddled in an xxl muslin, with a blanket over that if he was still cool. Remember when adding blankets and swaddling, each fold of the blanket is a layer. So if you're swaddling the traditional way, you might end up with a couple of layers of fabric. If you put a folded blanket over baby, that's two layers. Sounds obvious but it never occurred to me until midwife reminded me.

Teething generally starts around 6 months although some start sooner. We were giving ds teether toys from about 4 months, he liked to gum them, and they were a good size and shape for him to grip. In terms of other toys, from birth he had a baby gym thing, which he lay under and could bat the toys hanging off it, and watch the lights etc. I could pop him under that on the bathroom floor for long enough to take a shower and brush teeth, so it was a godsend really. Other than that he wasnt that interested in toys until about 5 months.

• Babies generally wear baby grows with the occasional outfit. In winter they need a short sleeved vest underneath, long sleeved if it's very cold. Sizes vary between shops and, obviously you don't know your baby's size yet but I needed 8-10 new born vests and 8-10 baby grows in new born size. You can always buy some and not open them so they can be swapped for 0-3 months if you don't need tiny ones.
• I bought cellular blankets for my dc to sleep under as new born as they were both around the 6.5lb mark and most gro bags can only be used from 8lb ish. We got sleeping bags later. I'm going to disagree with the pp about the gro egg, some gro bags come with a room thermometer but in any case, just have your home at a normal temperature. We had a gro egg and became weirdly and pointlessly obsessed with it!
• I bathed mine after a few days in plain water (no washes or anything), whenever their belly button came off.
• They don't need toys for a few months. My 2 got their first teeth at 10 and 12 months so don't worry about teething yet!
• Silly little things that I didn't realise I needed included touch lamps (with 3 light strengths so you can touch them onto a dim light) and a waterproof coat with a hood (can't hold an umbrella and push a buggy).

And breathe
Sometimes you're going to get those things wrong. And it will be ok. It really is ok to learn on the job, your baby won't remember if they didn't have a vest on. Only that they are loved. Talk to others, read etc but mostly just give yourself the space to love your little one. The rest really does come

Another clueless first time mum here! You've had some great answers which I've saved to read back when I start buying things 😉
Good luck, I'm sure we will be fine x