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

The only thing on OPs list that I didn’t have was the nasal aspirator. Neither of mine accepted dummies but I had a pack of two just in case.

Everything else is pretty much needed IMO.

Looks fine to me but if you are thinking of BFing I'd just get some breast pads and a couple of nursing bras. The rest you can get later, once you know what you want to do.

Should have said add some breast pads and maybe breast shells. I exclusively breast fed but I still had bottles for expressed milk and cooled boiled water in the summer. I did have some formula as the hospital wouldn’t discharge us unless I had formula available.

Congratulations!
Agree with others that if you are planning to BF then the bottles etc are not required. You can get them very easily if you decide BF will not work for you if needed.
It's a good idea to express colostrum from 36 weeks so baby will always have something in the early days if BF is not working out for you.
A nightlight (already on your list) is handy for nighttime breastfeeding.
For you don't forget breast pads and I found silver cups handy to relieve nipple pain in the first couple of weeks.

If you plan to breastfeed, I wouldn't bother with the pump. Most pumps available at retail are only effective once breastfeeding is established. If you need a pump in the early days you're better off renting a hospital grade pump.

Otherwise the list is all good. Not excessive at all.

I used almost all of those things.
Except the baby bag, as we didn’t go anywhere due to COVID.

Obviously if she is planning to BF and formula feed, then she is going to need both but most people don’t choose to do both from the get go.

No one is trying to put her off formula feeding.

Don’t forget maternity pads for yourself.

I know that I bought a bf cushion but don’t recall using it 🤔

I would buy even more babygros and vests than that, mine were constantly in the wash.

I’d definitely get nappy bags otherwise you’re putting explosive pooey wipes and nappies in the bin 🤢 not nice for anyone, including the binmen.

And loads of muslins. I had to drape then over my leaky boobs at night (sorry!)

I used virtually everything on that list (although the nasal aspirator was an waste of time). It seems very sensible to me.

I wouldn’t bother with a lot of that. You don’t need..

Dummy
bottles
feeding cushion (any cushion / pillow is fine)
formula
bottle brush
bottle warmer
steriliser
milton tablets
nasal thing
nail scissors
hair brush

The ONE thing you do need is a digital thermometer. It’s essential, they’re about £50 but my children are 4 & 6 and still use it all the time.

Why is MIL opinion important?

Her opinion is not important. You decide what you think you need.
Read Pp thoughts on what’s useful. You are 20 weeks so revisit your list in a few weeks perhaps after you have done a few antenatal classes. There’s no rush.

You need to decide on whether your doing breastfeeding or not.
If planning on breastfeeding you need a good pump which is expensive. It’s a big wasted expense if your not going to feed. Likewise you don’t need a steriliser and all these bottles if planning to BF.
I would suggest a mam starter kit. This was all we used the whole time until she went onto cups.

I never used a nightlight or room thermometer, hairbrush, nasal aspirator or feeding cushion.
The rest yes.
Baby bath, don't bother. We got one for DC1 and used it a handful of times. Just dunked him in the bath thereafter. DC2 was dunked in the bath from birth.

I'm not sure you need so many towels or wash cloths but other then that seems straightforward

Bedtime - everything except so many cellular blankets. Plus you may get gifted blankets. We got gifted loads and as my DS always used a swaddle bag/sleeping bag we rarely used the blankets. I’d suggest trying a swaddle bag and seeing if baby gets on with it. If they do get another one or two, or if not try a different type.
Just get one dummy initially. My DS didn’t take to the dummy.

Feeding - I never ended up using the feeding cushion personally and only used bed cushions/sofa cushions which I found comfier. But that’s personal opinion!

No hurry to get the pump or storage bags. See how you get on with bf first. I got on well but didn’t produce much from pumping at all until several months in.

And depends how often you bottle feed to how many bottles you’ll need. I almost exclusively bfed and found two bottles plenty as was only used when I was out. Likewise, the bottle warmer is only really necessary if bottle feeding regularly.

Changing - definitely yes to all

Clothing - Yes! Mixture of short sleeved and long sleeved vests are useful.
I barely used socks when my baby was teeny as he was always in sleepsuits with feet covered. But when you do use socks ‘sock ons’ are amazing and will save you constantly losing socks/putting socks back on! Best £5 purchase!

You’ll probably get gifted lots of clothing too.

Bath - We’ve managed fine with two baby towels. Other than that, all needed.

Outside - Yes to all. The sling I’d say is essential. But no hurry. Maybe wait til baby is here and try some different ones onto see what feels most comfortable for you and baby.

Health - yes.

If planning on breastfeeding you need a good pump which is expensive. It’s a big wasted expense if your not going to feed
Eh? You don't need a breastpump to breastfeed. You might want one if you want to express and bottle feed breast milk, or you might have difficulty latching and need to pump but that's much less likely. It's a big wasted expense if you find it goes fine.

I used a pump with DC1 just to be able to go to one specific event, it was nothing to do with getting bf started. And with DC2 i couldn't be arsed with the faff of it so never used the pump or any bottles.

I loved pumping! My son fed mostly from the boob but loved giving my partner the opportunity to feed his son

Lol that made me giggle too!

What did?

I loved pumping! My son fed mostly from the boob but loved giving my partner the opportunity to feed his son
Fair enough. Still nonsense for a PP to claim it's a necessity.

All that is needed!
I think you will need more clothes, but yeah it is sensible to buy it after the baby's arrival because you can never be sure of their size and they grow up a lot at the beginning, plus yes, you are very likely to be given lots of clothes.
I think you will also end up needing more bedding? Because they can throw up quite a lot! Leaky nappies...

Congratulations!

I used a baby bath (still do for my 6 month old but I should change over now he’s getting a bit big for it). It helped have better control in the early months rather than bending over the main bath. Plus it’s less water used than in the main bathtub. Also I bathed him in the livingroom. We didn’t buy it MIL did.

I bought two sleeping bags for 0-6m and haven’t used them. Still new in the packaging. Instead we used blankets (micro ones). We had planned to use sleeping bags but ds was in scbu and in there they used blankets so we got used to using them.

This is personal preference but scratch mits- we have four sets still new and unused. The sleepsuits/baby grows usually have them inbuilt so in the early weeks I would fold them over if they were needed.