To be told my newborn essentials list is a waste of money? What do you think?

[Mummatobe98]

I made a list with my partner of the items we need to get together before baby is born, my MIL has seen it and told me it is not needed. We will be given items such as the pram, however I feel that the items I have written down to get before I give birth are essential. Im 20 weeks now

Here it is:

Bedtime

Moses basket - someones given us this
3-4 cellular blankets
2 tog baby sleeping bag
Fitted sheets for moses basket matress
Nightlight/room thermometer
Dummy

Feeding

Burp cloths/muslin squares pack
Feeding cushion
Breast pump (optional)
Milk storage bags
Formula just incase
4-6 bottles
Bottle warmer
Steralising equipment/milton
Bottle brush

Changing

A changing mat
Nappies
Wipes
Barrier cream/sudocrem
Nappy bags

Clothing
Baby grows x 8
Baby Vests x 8
Cardigans x 3
Socks x 10
A warm hat x 1
1-2 special outfits (optonal)

Bath
Baby bath
Cotton wool
3-4 soft towels
3-4 wash clothes
Baby wash

Outside
A car seat
Push chair/pram
Changing bag
Baby sling (optional)

Health
First-aid kit
Nasal aspirator
Soft hair brush
Nail scizzors

Your list looks great. Some things with hindsight I would have had are

I would make the nightlight also white noise (we have a sleeping sheep thing)
A knitted blanket
Lansinoh nipple cream

Backseat mirror for baby

I have had a lot of kids and I wouldn't bother with these things. On the other hand buy whatever you want! You don't need to justify it. Don't forget that you can buy all the bottle feeding stuff from a supermarket so unless you are planning on bottle feeding I wouldn't personally buy it now

Breast pump (optional)
Milk storage bags
Formula just incase
4-6 bottles
Bottle warmer
Sterilising equipment/milton
Bottle brush
Nappy bags...we just chucked them in the bin.
Clothes... you'll get given loads. If you buy anything buy what you love
Socks x 10... wouldn't buy so many
Baby bath...always used the sink!
3-4 soft towels...we used what we had
First-aid kit
Nasal aspirator
Soft hair brush
Nail scissors

Declaring she doesn't need breast pump or formula assumes she will be able to nurse. Lots of women don't. Hospitals won't give out formula. Adding to the sense of failure women often feel if they can't breastfeed doesn't help anyone

Great list! I found socks never stayed on for longer 8 seconds. We used body suits until they could crawl then they just crawl out of the legs. I’d get 8 million more muslins, more bodysuits/babygrows (you could get through all of that in one particularly bad day!) and something snuggly for winter months.

I bought loads of newborn clothes that I didn’t use as DD was too big. Would suggest buying basics in a range of sizes- your baby will grow into them eventually so it’s not a waste.

It's a very complete list with , imo , quite a few 'nice to have' rather than essential items. It is fun buying for babies and if money is no object then it really is none of mil's business. My only comments would be that with Amazon and long opening hours now you can get anything you need within a day or two so it isn't necessary to have lots of standby / just in case items .secondly that we all are going to have to think about reusing and recycling and the future of the planet for the sake of our DC and DGC so the more you can get second hand the better.

It's a good list and we have fairly similar, I would say to anyone though that you can/should buy some things more gradually because you don't need the volume you think IMMEDIATELY.

For example, yes, you need nappies, but you don't know what size until they arrive - and they build up a pooing regime over a week. For formula as a back up - again, you won't need to emergency back up with five minutes notice. There will be time to buy formula if you decide you need to make the switch. For the bath, they don't need bathing much at all at first, and can't regulate their temperature easily for a full bath.

I mean, don't get me wrong, we do have almost all of these things and I'm still pregnant!

Just a bit of reassurance really if anyone is panicking over not having this stuff immediately.

They reduce SIDS risk, and they really help colicky or refluxy babies. So I’d have done orthodontic newborn ones just in case. I used them from 2-12 weeks, and then ditched them. I only used them to soothe a screaming baby in the day, never the night. And I removed it before they fell asleep so they didn’t become dependent on them to sleep.

So many people don’t understand how to use them it seems, and retain a foolish snobbery

Foolish and ignorant snobbery about them*

The list is fine.

If you don't have a particularly refluxy baby 8 vests and grows will be fine too. We did a "courtesy change" every 24hours but they were still clean and while we had about 10 Muslins we only used about 3 in the entire first year. 8 babygrows and a 5 pack of muslins would have done us fine.

i only bought sleep suits with feet as couldn't be bothered with faff of socks.

There is some stuff you won't use much just because of the type of baby you have (eg Muslins) but you can't know ahead of time.

If money is tight I'd look at 2nd hand for nightlight thermometer etc you.pick those up for a fiver Vs £20+

It looks very comprehensive to me. I wouldn’t get a pump straight off. You’re not really supposed to pump until your supply settles at approx. 1 month. If you need to pump before that you can rent hospital grade pumps. Depending on how breastfeeding goes for you then you can look at buying one.
I wouldn’t bother with the formula, steriliser and bottles etc. you can do all that very easily if you need to.
I found Napisan brilliant for soaking clothes when the nappy leaked. I never had any stains on clothes and I had a projectile pooer. Aldi’s nappies up to and including size 3 are the best on the market.
If you want a baby bath/seat you can always pick them up second hand very easily. I got most of my babies stuff secondhand.

Your list looks so good I’m going to copy it .

I needed more than 8 babygros: both mine loved a down the leg or up the back poo. DS managed to aim into both his armpits once. Both were “poo after every feed and feed me hourly” newborns. But secondhand bundles are a lifesaver!

I wouldn't bother with the bottles and feeding equipment if you're breast feeding. Just get some pre-made formula bottles in your hospital bag just in case. If you decide that you want to bottle feed then you can buy the other stuff eg bottles and steriliser later. I also wouldn't bother with a moses basket and specific bedding that can only be used in a moses basket.

I was gifted all the clothing items you listed so I wouldn't bother buying any yet.

It's all needed! Instead of getting bottle warmer etc I would stick up in a couple of boxes of aptamil ready mixed formula for newborns which are in their own disposable bottle. IF you need to use formula you can use these for a couple of days and then get
The bottles and sterilizer machine later. You might be able to explosively breatfeed in which case you don't need all the bottles and kit.

I use sleeping bag for night but blankets for when they fall asleep in arms and are then popped into cot or Moses basket and also for the pram

I like the special nappy bin for poo especially its very helpful!

You might be able to explosively breastfeed
Now that's a cracking typo!

Rather than a breast pump you might want to get a Hakka which is something you put in the other boob to catch what's dribbling out while feeding and you can save that

Don’t be so contentious.

I also said she doesn’t need a feeding pillow or milk storage bags, so I’m obviously not assuming she can nurse.
I’m just being realistic.

OP obviously wants to BF and if she can’t then the hospital will provide her with some formula and then her DH can buy more of the appropriate formula.

Not everyone has endless amounts of money to spend on things, just in case they are needed.

It’s much better to buy the basics and then add to them, as and when you need them.

I don't think a hairbrush or nasal aspirator is necessary or a dummy. And if you are planning to breastfeed I wouldn't bother with the steriliser or all the bottles.
I would definitely buy a sling though.

It’s not the same list I would make, but it’s not bad.

i would rank a breast pump as mandatory, skip the bottle warmer and all the assorted supplies, and buy only one small bottle of ready made formula to have on hand for an emergency.

i would not class a sling as optional.

my biggest advice though is to buy very little. You need some clothes, someplace to put baby down safely, and some method for dealing with waste. I personally recommend cloth diapers.

After that, the best thing you can have is a stash of cash so you can buy things as you realize what is working for you and what isn’t. you will find that there is one blanket or swaddle that is superior to all others and honestly you will want to throw the inferior ones in the trash . You will find that one outfit fits your baby best and you will want to only use that. Then two weeks later it will change . You will decide to introduce a bottle and the baby will decide that only the strange one you got in a promo pack that you are going to have to special order from Antarctica is acceptable. Money is the best thing you can get.

oh and a tiny screwdriver. It will be a lifesaver.

@Nowherenew OP obviously wants to BF and if she can’t then the hospital will provide her with some formula and then her DH can buy more of the appropriate formula.

Those are not the only options though. Yes it seems like the OP wants to BF but considering a breast pump, milk bags and bottles were all on her list it also seems obvious she wants to include some bottle feeding into her schedule too so it seems weird to them tell her she doesn’t need it.

What's a nasal aspirator?!

Snot sucker