essential kit for a first time baby!

[Emmadufo]

Hi All

I am expecting my first baby in June and just starting to try and get organised with all the things I will need from me, to the nursery to the baby themselves!

Having attending the baby show on Sunday, my first foray into it all, I am now completely flummoxed! Can anyone recommend a website or anything that can you give you a definitive list of all the things you need to consider from breast pads to baby monitors!

Thanks

Things I turned out to actually need;

Sling,
pram,
bouncy chair,
bedside crib,
changing mat
bibs
Zillions of baby wipes and nappies

Things I got but never used;

Bottles,
sterilizer,
formula,
smelly baby lotions/powders,
baby bath,
dummies,
cot.

Notes;
Turns out you're advised NOT to use any scented baby products (baby lotions etc) for a long time anyway.
H ended up bathing and sleeping and feeding with/from me.

The absolute most important thing I found to be was a damn good pram!
Spend money on a good strong durable pram, otherwise you can get through 5 or 6 of them.

also breastmilk expresser was never used.

Moses basket very important if you have to take baby everywhere around the house with you.

nappies.

babygros

boobs

Baby moniters another waste of money!
I wasn't letting him out of my sight or trustign some technology for anyone, lol
feirce momma bear

Breasts
babygros
nappies.

That's it.

Oooh, incidentally about prams; when I had DDs 2 and 3 we lived in a town and absolutely, I needed my P and T no question. We now live in the country and DD3 just needs her car seat really, very rarely use the P and T.

Hi there,

I spent hours on the internet over this before having first ds last January - you can literally drive yourself mad!

This would be my list:
Essentials:
Car seat
Pram (we thought about Bugaboos but got one in M&P sale for £189 and it's been absolutely fine)
Moses basket (borrowed from friend - ds was huge so wasn't in it for long)
Elasticated sheets for Moses basket and those small-holey blankets (sorry, can't remember name)
Muslins (lots of - useful for so many things as you're constantly wiping up with little one)
Baby-gros
Bibs (lots of - ds was a river of saliva!)
Baby monitor (I found it reassuring)
digital thermometer
Bouncy chair
Nappies and wipes
Good hand cream (you wash your hands all the time with changing nappies and they dry and crack like nothing on earth)

I wished I'd had a bumpto3 catalogue when pregnant and would say it's definitely worth a look at their website. There are lists on Boots and John Lewis but you don't really need all the stuff they go on about.

Good luck and congratulations!

Congratulations!

If I was expecting now (and I have got rid of all baby stuff) I would look at:

Prams/pushchairs - you do have to choose one for your lifestyle though (buses/cars/walking) - and changing bag which attaches to it somehow - a nice Oi Oi or Skip Hop one probably.
Sling - that was great
Babygros and vests
Grobags
reusable nappies (but then I know I can cope)
Muslins
Car seat
I'd go to Ikea and buy some cheap colourful nursery stuff, flannels, bibs, mobiles etc.

If you see anything you like at the Baby show put it on a list for well meaning rellies to buy. The discount you might get at the show is only worth it if you are positive you need the item and it's a bargain.

Pram, cot , even sleeping bags I would buy secondhand - there are loads on ebay and they lose so much value from new. The most striking thing about babies is how quickly they grow up and then you are trying to shift that £250 cot and £800 pram and redecorating the nursery in Spiderman (my youngest is now 4!).

for the baby

iso fix Car Seat

cheap bouncy chair

cheap body suits and sleep suits (they poo straight through them so don't buy anything which is over £1 a suit)

nappies and wipes

An umbrella fold pushchair which reclines fully (not a travel system, had one and hated it, too big, too heavy and was a total waste of money as we got rid of it very quickly to be replaced)

a cot (bought a moses basket but he hated it so he slept with me for the first week and then went into a full size cot)

a couple of grobags

For You
good soft comfy cotton maternity bras

Lansinoh breast pads (I leak a lot and all other brands fill up and leak very quickly)

lanolin based Breast cream

tops which are easy to open or push up for feeding

Ah I can remember wondering what on earth to buy when I was at your stage (DS is now nearly 6 months old!)
If you google newborn baby essentials you'll find a lot of lists out there, but they contain almost everything you can buy for babies and a lot of it you won't actually use. Recommendations on here and from friends/family will probably be more helpful but then it depends how you will parent so it may be useful to think about your lifestyle and how you want to care for the baby. Eg the above poster found she didn't use her baby monitor whereas I put our baby for naps in his room once he was about 8 weeks old rather than keeping him with me all day (he wasn't sleeping well in the noise of downstairs) so our baby monitor has been well worth the money.
Here's the things we found we needed in the early days:
swaddling blanket
Moses basket & stand, fitted sheets & cellular blankets
Room thermometer for bedroom
lots of all in one sleepsuits (had lots of changing of clothes due to exploding nappies... you have all that to look forward to!!)
Napisan & non bio washing powder
vests
muslin squares
bibs
baby monitor
support/seat for the bath
sponge, thermometer & towels for bath time
baby oil for post bath massage
bouncer
lots of newborn nappies, nappy bags & we used cotton wool pads & warm water to clean his bum cos the wipes gave him a rash until he was a bit older
bepanthen in case of nappy rash
2 changing mats (one for upstairs and one downstairs .. how lazy am I!!)
Ear thermometer - the Braun digital one is excellent - we used to rule out a fever when we had no idea why he was crying!
Decent pushchair suitable for newborn (lies flat)
car seat
base for car seat so don't have to fiddle with seat belts when getting in and out of car
sun shades for car
sling or baby carrier
changing bag
White noise cd to help calm baby
breast pads, nursing bras, electric breast pump, milk storage bags, bottles & steriliser
maternity pads
camera to take lots of photos of your lovely new baby

Hope that helps!

hats & coat

Oh and if anyone offers to knit for you, ask for a soft, colourful blanket that you can pop over baby in the pram/car seat.

I would recommend a hot water bottle - pop in the basket/cot 5 mins before you put them down and it reduces the likelihood of them waking from being laid onto cold sheets!

Baby bath was a waste of money - DS hated it, invested in a tummy tub - expensive but worth every penny, hes 15 weeks now and has loved it from being 6 days old , i know it is essentially a bucket but its so much easier and uses loads less water, plus the smiles i get every time he has a bath are priceless

Also a sports bottle with squash/water in if you are intending to b/f - have it next to you whenever you are feeding to make sure you keep your fluids up.

We got lots of bits from NCT nearly new sales

Oh and sock ons...they sell them in mothercare - baby socks come off all the time and it drove me mad until i found these, £3 a pair. I know it may not seem like something you will care about what will everything else to consider but after a few weeks i would recommend getting some - i swear ive saved hours already not having to put socks back on ds feet every time he kicks them off!

These were my essentials -

Cot/moses basket - moses baskets are very expensive for the amount of time you will use them, but if you get one second hand it will be invaluable.

Pram/car seat - one or both depending on whether you have a car or not

Sleepsuits, vests and socks

Blankets and cot sheets

All-in-one fleecy sleepsuit thingy, hat and mitts for outdoors

Nappies/wipes/cotton wool - you will need LOTS of these!

Baby bath - saves so much water

Sling - for getting things done when you have a grizzly baby

Dummy - I hated these things, but had two very sucky babies. You might find it useful. Try and get rid of it before they turn one though, or it's harder to get it off them.

7000 bibs - (ok, that's possibly a slight exaggeration )

Baby bouncer chair

Some interesting chewy/rattly/squeezy toys

Changing mat and very large bag

This thread is excellent, I'm taking notes!

Another soon-to-be first-time parent here (35 weeks today). Can I just ask - do you have to use cellular blankets? We have a couple of soft fleecy type ones. Will I be OK to use those in the moses basket, or must I use cellular ones? We've got 0-6 month sleeping bags for when he goes into the cot, but was just wondering about the moses basket.... Thanks!

wow! Thanks everyone this is seriously helpful stuff!

Amyboo,You can use sleeping bags in the moses basket if baby is happy. You can also use pillow cases as moses basket sheets (put mattress in pillowcase) if you don't want to buy lots of spares. And in hospitals thay often use towels instead of blankets. I felt a bit happier rolling my dd in a cotton blanket when it was hot but ds used a fleece blanket as he was a winter baby.

I have found this book called "What to Buy for Your Baby: Choosing the Equipment That's Right for You", invaluable. It's written very objectively and sets out pros and cons of lots of different things, but leaves you ultimately to make your own mind up based on your own personal situation. Best of all, it has loads of handy lists, which is brilliant if, like me, you are a bit of a list person!

my dd is 4 weeks, so far I have found the following invaluable

breast pads
maternity pads
nappies
cotton wool
baby shampoo for bath - my DD has a lot of hair!

babygros
socks for going outside
little cardi/jumper type things as our house isn't very warm.
snow suit (probably unnecessary for a summer baby though)

Sling - I love my Wilkinet.
Car seat
changing mat
bouncer (because you do need to be able to put them down sometimes )

Gro-bag
bed guard (for co-sleeping)
lots of blankets
baby towel with a hood

Haven't used my pushchair yet - just use the sling.

I love the tip of having the local takeaway number

good lists, thanks everyone!