What do I need for my first baby?

[Nat777]

Hello there, I have just found this site after watching the programme 'Mums the word', the site is great! I am 24 and 14.5 weeks pregnant with my first child, so far it has been a really tough pregnancy with sickness, headaches and a urinary tract infection! But I am VERY happy with the prospect of being a Mum!

I am after some advice in relation to what we will need for our first baby. To be honest I am confused about cribs, cots, moses baskets, travel systems etc etc! And with family asking what they can buy for us, I have no idea what to tell them! So I am wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction?

Thanks so much, Nat

Hi and congratulations!

This is probably the most fun thing you will do in your life! I say that from experience

The most important things are a) somewhere for them to sleep and b) a car seat (else they won't let you go home from hospital!

Cot/crib/moses really depends on your house/flat. A lot of people find a moses basket downstairs helps for naps when the baby is tiny (you can carry them up when asleep) and a cot for them to grow into! We had a swinging crib because our room didnt have enough room for a cot, and when we moved (and he grew out of swinging crib!) we got him a cot!

FOrgot to add, I'm 21 with a ds of 10 months

Travel systems make life very easy with a new born, jjust life car seat in and out of car, slip onto pushchair... we love it.

Once they grow out of the travel system car seat though - you start to realise the buggy itself is a bit bulky! Ah well

hi nat a big welcome to you.

its really confusing, but keep it simple. babies just need somewhere warm to sleep, some nice warm clothes (baby vests and babygros are all they need for the first few weeks), something to transport in (you dont need a big fancy pram, get something to suit your lifestyle - do you walk everywhere or do you use the car most times you go out, or the bus?) how much can you spend?

and lots of cuddles!!!!!!!!!!

it depends how you plan to feed baby as well, if you are wanting to bf then you hardly need anything, opposite if you are wanting to bottle feed

you also need stuff for yourself, like comfy clothes, bras, breast pads, sanitary pads for a few weeks after having baby.

there are things like baby monitors too, that may be useful depending on sleeping arrangements.

a moses basket is lovely, but they are expensive considering how long baby sleeps in them, 6-8 wks usually.

you will get hundreds of bits of info and advice here, dont worry!

lots of luck with baby

look after yourself xxx

Tons of nappies, tons of wipes, tons of sleepsuits... again a must!

And in this household... a dummy (runs off)

I just bought a cot and didn't bother with a crib/moses basket. ds was happy in the cot from the start.

I just bought a stroller that could be used from birth, much lighter and easier to push than some of the big pushchairs. Obviously you will need a car seat as well.

A few things that I had that aren't really essential but very useful are a baby bath, sleeping bag (grobag), baby carrier sling thingy, bouncy chair.

omg how could i forget nappies?

bum cream
cotton balls
wipes

erm..........

millions of bibs

don't bother buying clothes in the tiny sizes, just get 0-3 months as they grow SO fast. and you will probably get given lots of clothes as gifts.

If you don't have a tumble dryer you could ask your family to buy that, I wish I had one.

@ nailpolish

we never used bum cream, or cotton wool! After it all stuck to that first black poo we were like 'right! sensitive wipies it is!'

Carrier was only useful when he was really small, we did get a baby bath that was a change table as well - but we don't use it anymore either!

SLEEPING BAGS

how could I forget!

ESSENTIAL ESSENTIAL ESSENTIAL!!!!!

INFACOL!!!!!!!!!!

life was so much simpler after i discovered infacol

Message withdrawn

sod infacol COLIEF!!!!

Another vote for sleeping/gro bags - no kicked off sheets/cold baby.

Congratulations Nat! And remember, you don't need half the stuff available, it's just stuff. Baby will need you first and foremost, a clean bum, a full belly and somewhere safe to sleep.
NB Newborns do NOT need toys, especially those "only suitable for children 36 months and over" - thanks SIL!!!!

Technically, you just need a carseat - our DS2 (5 months, nearly) sleeps in our bed, at home, and in the pram, on the go. He does have a cot, but hasn't really been put in it much.

And pram choices are really guided by your lifestyle. We have a big three-wheeler, which is rubbish for cars, but ok for buses and tubes, if they're not too busy, and great for walking. We barely ever go in a car, so a travel system would be pointless.

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Apart from the obvious stuff, the best thing I bought and the tning that I recommend to everyone is one of those big spongy things to sit them in while they are in the bath - very cheap and absolutely invaluable.

Congrats Nat777! It's just so exciting isn't it!!?

If people are asking you what you need, but you know they are only wanting to spend £10 or £20 then ask for NAPPIES!

Loads of people bought us nappies which meant that we didn't run out until Ds was about 6 wks old! That was great.

So many people buy you outfits.... but then you want the pleasure of buying them yourself so you end up with too many! 1st time around I kept them all, 2nd time with Dd I just took the ones with labels on back to the shop and changed them for a size that would fit her when she got a bit bigger. That way I was getting the pleasure of choosing..... without spending my own money.

If you are planning to breastfeed make sure you have some nipple shields just to help if you get a bit sore in the 1st few days. They helped me carry on breasfeeding for longer than I would have without them. AND BOTTLES! Even is you are going to breasfeed make sure you have some bottles so you can express and let DH/DP do one of the feeds at night.

If you don't plan to breastfeed make sure you have about 8 bottles. The Sterilisers hold 4 at time, that way you can do them all in 2 lots. I had a steam steriliser with my ds (3.5yrs), then a microwave one with dd (6mths). The microwave one is amazing! 5 mins and its done.

I was given tons of baby lotion and baby bath, but my 2 had dry skin/excema so couldn't use them! And a bottle of Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo will last until the baby is about a year old.

Your pregnancy sounds like the same as my 2nd pregnancy. By 25 wks I felt FANTASTIC though!

If people are still struggling to know what to get you..... Boots Vouchers are always are favourite!

Don't knock back any hand-me-downs (unless it's really shabby). I have used a hand-me-down bath for both kids. I didn't feel the need to buy a new one. Same with the moses basket, I bought a new mattress for it. Dd only slept in it about 3 times though!

Good luck. I'm looking forward to hearing the birth announcement in 6mths time.

Muslins!!!

Congratulations Nat. You can tend to go a bit mad with your first. I (and everyone who knew me) went overboard and I ended up with much too much 'stuff'.

FWIW, I think a cot, a carseat and a bouncy chair are essential. If the bouncy chair is a good quality one that lies flat you could wrap the baby up and put him/her there for sleeps when downstairs. They usually have carry handles too so you can carry baby upstairs if necessary.

Borrowed a baby bath but never used it. you can fill the big bath with a couple of inches of water of even in the early days wash baby in the sink!

Regarding a pram/pushchair, after 5 months I only ever used a lightweight buggy. Then used it to death for 4 years! (Had to get another one for no 2) You can buy ones which lie flat so suitable from newborn, and they're so light and portable it makes a lot of difference when baby gets a bit older and becomes a toddler. However if you have a car and therefore need a carseat buying a travel system is handy, esp those where you can just clip the seat onto the chassis and not the pushchair itself (ie swoppable items on the same chassis). But to be honest I would buy a travel system secondhand, lots of people only use them for a few months until baby has outgrown the carseat (normally abt 9 months) so they're often in quite good nick. Be careful to check a secondhand carseat hasn't been damaged tho.

Apart from that, if I were you, I would wait until baby is born and see what you need. And get your family to give you money!! You'll never have any again!!

Ikea faceclothes.... £1 for a pack of 10!

If you are going to breastfeed - get one of those v shaped cushions - in fact get one anyway - they're very comfy for you and for baby when he's a bit older.
I took most of my clothes back to the shops, ds lived in babygros till he was about 5 months. You don't get any benefit from their proper clothes until they are at least sitting up and/or crawling around. Plus your baby will be bornwhen its still hot at the tail end of summer? will prob only need nappy and thin babygro.
ds never sat in his bouncy chair - so try yours out first on someone elses. ds always wanted to sit on me and howled when he went in his chair.

a hand blender for when you start weaning baby. essential for helping you stay away from jars.

congratulations, hope the rest of the pregnancy goes smoothly.

you don't have to think about weaning for a while yet but I think a mouli is more useful than a blender.

a baby gym is quite useful, I didn't have one at first and had nowhere to put ds down when he was awake but not needing attention.

Get as much as you can second hand. Otherwise you will be wasting loads of money. If you have a look on here there is nearly always somebody selling something.

Buy some ready meals or prepare some meals for yourself and dp for when the baby is born because you'll either not want to be bothered cooking or you'll be too tired.

I never had them for dd but I would buy some muslin squares because babys dribble milk alot!

Buy 1 pack of small all in one's. I bought 0-3 months and when the midwife un packed my bag at the hospital she laughed and said "how big do think your baby will be?" So dd was put in to some of their clothes and she was a healthy 7lb 3oz! DH had to go out and buy some smaller ones before we came home but she had grown out of them in 2 weeks.

Dummys, if you plan to use them.

Another thing I overlooked was Formula. I was going to BF but bought steriliser and bottles just in case. By the time we got home we were bottle feeding but had no formula!!

Also set everything up ready, like your sterilisers, baby moniters etc

I wouldn't have done without our nappy bin either.

Last but by no means least...

NAPPIES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck

WOW!!!! So many replies and I only popped to the shops! Thanks so much to you all, all the messages are really helpful, it is all quite daunting at the moment. One Mother said to me just dont over do it and buy lots of things as you will find you dont use most of them! So that is definetly something I am going to bear in mind.

Cant wait to have the healthy pregnancy glow and to feel better! Fingers crossed I do!

Thanks also for the congratulations messages, I shall definetly keep you informed! I cant wait!