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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

How baby stuff much do I need (not clothes)

15 replies

Epli · 16/02/2022 18:36

I am doing count of what I got/bought and I wonder if following quantities are fine for the first ~3 months?:

  1. burp muslin cloths - 12
  2. 0-3 love 2 dream bags - 4
  3. big muslin cloths for swaddling - 4
  4. waterproof mattress covers - 2
  5. mattress sheets - 4
  6. dummies - 2x day and 2xnight
  7. blankets - 2

Not purchased yet but how many do I need:
8) baby hats - for the first 3 months
9) bottles - if I plan to mix breastfeeding/pumping (baby permitting)
10) nursing bras

Thanks! :)

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Epli · 16/02/2022 18:37

Obviously the topic should be: How much baby stuff do I need (not clothes); brain missing in action ;)

OP posts:
MoreThanRubies · 16/02/2022 20:56

1-5 sounds good! Don’t know about dummies. Maybe another blanket? Useful for in car seat over straps, or just lying baby on the floor. People may give blankets as gifts, we ended up with loads.

Hats: 3? They don’t really get dirty (except the one the midwives put on the freshly born baby), so you don’t need loads. Again they are a popular gift so you might end up with lots.

Bottles: not an expert but I ended up breastfeeding and topping up with expressed milk. Had four bottles, which was not enough long term. Any thoughts fellow mumsnetters?

Nursing bras: I would get cheap stretchy ones to start with and enough to have at least three-four changes in 24 hours (spit up, milk leaks, and sweat), with some in the wash. Enough clean bras made me feel better.

A lot of these numbers are dependent on your capacity and energy to do laundry. A sicky baby (who spits up a lot) may mean that you end up buying more muslins, sheets etc just to take pressure off laundry.

Exciting times!

Tina8800 · 16/02/2022 21:15

People usually say newborns don't need much. It is true, they don't. But you do if you don't want to go insane. I have a 4 weeks old baby and I also mix breastfeeding/pumping/using bottles. I would suggest to get the bottle steriliser and warmer as make things so much easier. I have around 10 bottles, use around 5 for feeding and 5 for formula prep. Also buy plenty of small milk storage pots, especially if you are planning to express milk.
I don't use nursing bras...I feel more comfortable to take my bra off if I'm home feed or pump, and if I'm out I bottlefeed anyways.

Epli · 16/02/2022 21:23

Thanks!

People usually say newborns don't need much. It is true, they don't. But you do if you don't want to go insane.

Exactly what I was thinking, although I am surprised by the amount of nursing bras needed :d

OP posts:
MoreThanRubies · 16/02/2022 21:33

I am surprised by the amount of nursing bras needed

Grin yeah maybe that was excessive but I had a baby who was sick after and during every feed, and would break off feeding if my letdown was too strong. Wishing you a less messy child!

whattodo2019 · 16/02/2022 21:37

Infacol - in case the baby is windy. It really helps.
Baby bouncer chair. My DD used to sleep in hers in the day time
Nappies
Cotton wool (instead of wipes for when you are at home)
Nappy bags/ nappy bin? They can really smell!
Pram/ car seat
Bath towel with hood and an apron for you to wear!

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 16/02/2022 21:43

Dont buy too many nursing bras beforehand. I discovered that a certain style was giving me blocked ducts. Wait and see whats comfy.

Have you got towels of a suitable size?

twoofusburningmatches · 16/02/2022 21:51

I found nursing vests much better than nursing bras. I have many nursing vests. And two nursing bras which basically have never been used. So I’d just buy a few bras and vests and buy more when you see how you get on.

A few baby hats will be fine. You’ll probably get some as gifts/with outfits.

LollyLol · 17/02/2022 01:38

Definitely agree about waiting before you buy lots of nursing bras; when your milk comes in, your size can be quite different than it is a few months later in my experience.

Nappy bins just end up stinking too, I preferred to simply take nappies straight to outside bin.

Also I planned to combi feed but both my babies absolutely refused the bottle after getting a taste of the good stuff from mummy! So I wasted my money on bottles.

unicornpower · 17/02/2022 01:58

I overdid it in the hats and she didn’t really wear them much except outside and she has her thicker woolly hat for that!

Never too many muslins! Ours used to soak herself,me, everything in milk- once she was a little bigger I found bibs worked better.

We have a nappy bin and it’s fab, Tommee Tippee and it doesn’t smell at all so definitely a good buy

A bouncer chair! Great for them to be somewhere safe.

Nursing bras are a tricky one as you’ll find your preference, I leaked a lot and baby soaked me when feeding so I have 7 as needed to change it each day and it depends on how often you want to do washing. Buy a couple now, and then a few more once baby is here. H&M do great ones!

Not sure on bottles, but I would see how you go? You’ll just get into your groove and require a certain number, start with 4 and then see how feeding goes ❤️

Carbis · 17/02/2022 02:08

Breast pads for leakage. Get bamboo reusable ones rather than the disposable ones that stick to everything except your bra! I have so many of these but a bit like bras, you might want to try a few types and then buy more of the ones you like the best.

EarlGreywithLemon · 17/02/2022 02:49

Hats - I’d say get two to have in hospital - after that they’re not supposed to wear them indoors at home. Then again it depends when the baby is due. If winter you’ll need wooly hats, if summer sun hats, but if spring the cotton baby hats might be useful for outdoors too, so you may need more.

For bottles, we had a mam set of two and a tommee tippee set of three (we were given the latter). We also had a Medela pump and storage bags. But we were lucky breastfeeding worked, I didn’t get on with pumping and I hated sterilising bottles, plus she didn’t like bottles herself - so they were used twice and never again. Maybe buy one set and see how you get on from there?

We bought one blanket and were given two, but we barely used them at all. Only used sleeping bags when sleeping as they felt easier and safer.

Definitely yes to breast pads - Lansinoh reusable are great - comfortable, absorbent and wash really well. Do wash them in a laundry bag though - mine blocked the washing machine drainage a few times when loose!!

Nappy bin - agree that it helps.

We found an angled baby bath with in built support (Shuggle in our case) really helped with bathing.

An odd one that helped us was two pram sheets - our daughter was a very vomity baby so it was easier to put them in the wash than clean the pram every time. I’m guessing that’s not necessary for everyone though!
Depending on what high chair you’re getting - some come with a newborn attachment. We bought one because my back was very bad and I struggled to put her in the bouncer in on the floor, but it was a godsend for eating. Being at eye level with us sitting down to eat meant she was happy watching us, so there were fewer interrupted meals.

Poppins2016 · 17/02/2022 04:05

Nursing bras: I would get cheap stretchy ones to start with and enough to have at least three-four changes in 24 hours (spit up, milk leaks, and sweat), with some in the wash. Enough clean bras made me feel better.

Just for balance, I'll add my experience, which is quite different to the above (I'm not saying it's invalid or wrong in any way at all, just saying that everyone is different)!

I wore nursing vests 24/7 during the early days (a change for day and night) and then switched to only wearing them for sleeping (it's nice to have some support during the night, but I don't feel I need the same support as a nursing bra). I wear the same bra all day and just insert fresh pads when required (I used disposable at first, but switched to reusable a couple of weeks in once my supply was a bit more settled and I needed fewer pad changes per day). In your shoes I'd just buy the same number of bras as you'd usually buy on a regular basis for routine wash and wear. I agree that relatively inexpensive and stretchy (definitely really stretchy for the initial bras) is the way to go, you won't be able to predict how engorged you'll get or your 'breastfeeding cup size' (which will probably fluctuate somewhat anyway).

...You'll have lots of people say 'you need this, you need that'; we had friends tell us we needed tons of muslins and bibs, so we stocked up, but the reality is that we only needed a third of the amount that they did because our babies were much less 'sicky'! My point is that nobody can really tell you how much you'll actually need of anything, because your baby, your body and your experience will be different. It's easy to shop for items fast these days, so I'd ensure you have the basics covered and then buy as necessary after that.

Bearing in mind what I said above, I'd suggest the essentials would be:
Hats - 2 (one to wear and one spare/to wash)
Bras - as many as you'd usually buy for routine daily wear (minimum of 2, one to wear and one spare/to wash
Bottles - I'd initially buy 2, if you're planning to breastfeed. If you only use bottles because you're expressing milk, you'll need to sterilise the breast pump regularly and so having one bottle to use and one to sterilise on rotation would work until you figure out what works for you long term. Mam or NUK are good teat shapes for breastfeeding, just make sure you go for the right size and flow for breast milk. With my first child I never got beyond using two bottles on rotation (and then phased them out as I no longer needed or wanted to pump), same goes for my second baby (although I didn't actually touch the breast pump for weeks, until I needed to pop out for a couple of hours on my own!).

SunnySideUp2020 · 17/02/2022 06:56

I needed at least 4 nursing bras because I was leaking a lot in the first few weeks. Especially at night. Big mess...
I would get washable breast pads. Lots of them!

Hats. 2 max

Bottles you can start with 1 and see if your baby likes it. Then you can buy more...

What I did not have enough of was first size clothes as my baby kept regurgitating some amniotic fluid in the first 2 days. We had to change many many times a day. So it sounds ridiculous but next time I will pack ALL of the suits in my hospital bag!

SunnySideUp2020 · 17/02/2022 07:01

And re muslins.
We found really useful to have a couple for drying bum area and a couple for burping/laying in pram or cot.
Best to kind of color code them.
We didnt use wet wipes much in the first months. We washed her under the tap with water when chaning the nappy. And then dried with the muslin as it was much softer and convenient than a towel.
I don't know what people normally do but that worked well for us!

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