Advice on shopping for first baby

[northlondonchoclover]

Having my first, and looking for advice on the best one-stop shop for baby things e.g. clothers, nappies etc? Mothercare?

Also is it worth buying a moses basket? How long do babies sleep in it?

Is it worth buying a baby bath?

A bit clueless so any help would be appreciated.

x

most of what you buy is down to personal choice, DD slept in her moses basket for about 8 weeks and I don't expect DD2 will be any different. However we did use it a lot in the day when DD was small so I could move her from room to room without waking her.
As for nappies and clothes, you can't beat the supermarkets.
We did buy a baby bath and we used it quite a lot as it sat easily on the kitchen table and meant we could bath DD without bending over the bath etc. Will be using it again but you can pick them up cheaply at second hand sales (NCT etc)

Mothercare is pretty good if you are looking for a one-stop-shop.

Moses basket - it's up to you. We needed one because the cot wouldn't have fitted in our tiny bedroom, but it isn't essential and they are only in them for a few months before they start hitting their heads on the top.

Bath - ditto, only needed for a short time - we very quickly moved to using the real bath (with sibling at the other end "assisting").

Try and borrow as much as you can, or find a local NCT Sale - you'll pick up equipment very cheaply.

I would advise you not to buy things like high chairs etc. that you don't need from Day 1. You won't know what you want until nearer the time.

I've given up on my moses basket and am using the carrycot from my pram (which is stated to be safe to use for sleep - not sure if they all are???) because it's bigger and the mattress is thicker and baby seems to sleep much better in that. DD is 3 weeks old so the moses basket was a bit of a waste of money!

I'm bathing my baby in the bathroom sink as our sink is quite big and it's at the right height. I haven't bothered with a baby bath. When she outgrows the sink I'll put her in the bath with me.

I wouldn't buy too many clothes as this is what most people buy as a gift. I got 2 sets from Marks & Spencer that were brilliant - they were £15 each and they consist of 2 vests, trousers with feet, long-sleeved top, cardigan, sleepsuit and bib. They're what I've used the most.

I found Mothercare quite expensive and the range a bit limited. We ordered quite a bit of stuff from kiddicare.com i.e. cotbed, car seat etc (the big stuff) and found it to be decent quality and good value price-wise. Next and M&S have nice clothes that are reasonably priced. I would get one of the M&S sets and then wait and see what you get as gifts. Also be aware that you won't know how big the baby is going to be until he or she is born - I was expecting a huge baby as DH's family produce giant babies pretty consistently but as it turned out DD was 3 weeks early and born at 6lb so I didn't have any clothes small enough and my sister dashed out to buy another one of the M&S sets in 'tiny baby' size.

Are you planning to use disposables or washable nappies? I bought my washable nappies (as yet unused as DD is too small at the moment) from babipur.co.uk and disposables you may as well just get in bulk from the supermarket.

I would recommend getting a couple of packs of muslin cloths for wiping up baby dribble and if you're breastfeeding they're good for catching any drips (!) Also if you're planning to breastfeed I recommend the widgey pillow. A friend bought mine for me and I've used it so much - it's great.

I've given up on my moses basket and am using the carrycot from my pram (which is stated to be safe to use for sleep - not sure if they all are???) because it's bigger and the mattress is thicker and baby seems to sleep much better in that. DD is 3 weeks old so the moses basket was a bit of a waste of money!

I'm bathing my baby in the bathroom sink as our sink is quite big and it's at the right height. I haven't bothered with a baby bath. When she outgrows the sink I'll put her in the bath with me.

I wouldn't buy too many clothes as this is what most people buy as a gift. I got 2 sets from Marks & Spencer that were brilliant - they were £15 each and they consist of 2 vests, trousers with feet, long-sleeved top, cardigan, sleepsuit and bib. They're what I've used the most.

I found Mothercare quite expensive and the range a bit limited. We ordered quite a bit of stuff from kiddicare.com i.e. cotbed, car seat etc (the big stuff) and found it to be decent quality and good value price-wise. Next and M&S have nice clothes that are reasonably priced. I would get one of the M&S sets and then wait and see what you get as gifts. Also be aware that you won't know how big the baby is going to be until he or she is born - I was expecting a huge baby as DH's family produce giant babies pretty consistently but as it turned out DD was 3 weeks early and born at 6lb so I didn't have any clothes small enough and my sister dashed out to buy another one of the M&S sets in 'tiny baby' size.

Are you planning to use disposables or washable nappies? I bought my washable nappies (as yet unused as DD is too small at the moment) from babipur.co.uk and disposables you may as well just get in bulk from the supermarket.

I would recommend getting a couple of packs of muslin cloths for wiping up baby dribble and if you're breastfeeding they're good for catching any drips (!) Also if you're planning to breastfeed I recommend the widgey pillow. A friend bought mine for me and I've used it so much - it's great.

Moses basket is good in some ways - we had DS sleeping in it in the living room, while we were up, then carried it upstairs at bedtime, so it was handy for that. BUT he was 9 weeks when we stopped using it, so if you can possibly borrow one, thats the best bet.

Bath - I found this the biggest waste of time and money - water all over dining room, then a struggle to empty it in the kitchen. Some people sit theirs in their main bath, but ours didnt fit. This time I'm going to buy a bath seat for the wee one (to avoid shoulder pain holding a baby awkwardly), and use the big bath from day one. Like this -
www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/0983017/Trail/searchtext>BABY+BATH.htm

hello. john lewis for lovely soft babygros, etc. And baby baths. little green earthlets for eco disposable nappies, lovely for newborns if you not doing cloth. And cuddly things for baby sleep with, my lo loves the keptin jnr toy

If you do go the moses basket route, be aware they come in different sizes, something I didn't know. Ds had outgrown his by 11 weeks yet a good friends is still in his at 5 months. Not saying you do or don't want them in it that long, but nice to have the option! SIL otoh put hers straight in a cot. You can get drop down cots that go by the bedside, but we went for a cotbed (massively reduced at kiddicare) that lasts them until 5. It's whatever suits your circs best. Make sure you get the right size bedding to go with moses basket/cot or cotbed - fitted sheets on the bottom imo work best, and then they advise cotton sheets and a cellular blanket to go over baby, although when they are a bit bigger they can go in a sleeping bag.

We have a plastic baby bath but imho it was a waste of money given it's limited use (pain to empty unless it goes in the bath which rather defeats its purpose!) - we used a moulded bath seat to leave hands free for wiggly baby or baby goes in bath with us.

Kiddicare or similar is very good for the hardware - prams, car seats, cots, baby monitors, sterilisers etc - but not clothes.

Clothes wise - be aware that some stores like Next come up small in their newborn sizes (7.5lb) whilst M&S newborn is more like 9.5lb. Personally I liked M&S and Mothercare as they didn't shrink, bobble or have stupidly small feet.

Do not bother with nappy bins (if using disposables or liners in reusables put them in nappy bags you can buy from the supermarket and then outside bin), top cot changers (waste of space and you'll end up changing them on the floor once they start to roll).

Congratulations!

I found mothercare a bit rubbish quality for clothes although they grow so fast it doesn't matter. I was told that people buy you loads of clothes, but in our case they didn't (toys instead!!). So suggest you get some basics - a few sleepsuits, long sleeve vests and short sleeve vests. Also trousers as changing nappies when they're in a sleepsuit is a bugger. And something to keep warm if you have a winter baby - a cardie, hat and gloves.

Don't worry about going to one place - just make a list and you can get most stuff online at kiddicare, mothercare, next and M&S (great clothes), john lewis etc.

Moses basket - used it for a few weeks. We bought one after DS was born as realised we did need one. Depending on the size of your baby, you might use it up until 5 months as some people I know did.

Baby bath - used for 4 months. We got given one. See if you can borrow or get a cheap one. It's easier than using your own bath or sink (if your taps get in the way!). To be honest, you don't need to bath every night anyway. Best thing we got and use every day for washing and nappy changes is a top and tail bowl. Cost about £5.

Nappies - don't spend a fortune on reusables as we did . Get a sample pack and have some disposables on standby. We found reusables too big for DS at first.

Don't bother with nappy wipes unless out. You can buy a pack of cheap flannels and use with warm water. Much better for poo!

Other useful things: muslins, swaddle blankets, bouncy chair, sling (a must), sleep bag (much easier than blankets unless you swaddle at night), BF pillow if feeding and a flask (if you're BF, you'll want a hot drink on tap for the nights ).

hello! thanks for all the replies..

We do have shallow double sinks in our bathroom so perhaps use one of the sinks instead of buying a baby bath. And possibly the bath cradle - although our bath is quite deep so might be quite a painful position for the back of the adult.

It sounds like babies grow out of moses baskets very quickly so I will just put the money towards getting a cot instead.

As for nappies, I am planning to use mostly washables and disposables for going out. There are so many types of washable nappies - initially thought of just using terry/muslin cloths and perhaps try out a few of the washables? The reviews seem to vary so much from baby to baby so its tough to know which to choose. Do people still use terry cloths with a safety pin in the front?

The M&S and john lewis tips are great, I will check out the websites. The baby is due in winter so will just get long sleeved one pieces with booties. These baby clothes are so cute but am trying to be sensible and list down necessities and stick to them

Should I get a breast pump??

Yes get a breast pump. I have an electric phillips avent. It came with bottles as part of a deal from Boots. Although you don't really introduce a bottle until 4/6 weeks so perhaps wait and see how BF goes first?

On the moses basket - we tried the cot and DS was just too small and didn't settle (and he was a big baby). Hence buying a basket after he was born (as we thought we didn't need one). So if you've got a pram you can use, great, otherwise you might find the cot too big. You can get a basket for about £30.

Also clothes wise you can get bundles of secondhand stuff from ebay.

Washables are much more sophisticated than terrys and pins nowadays, but I'm not an expert - I'm afraid dh was working for Pampers so you can guess what we used.....

Don't get a breast pump until you have established breastfeeding. If you don't bf, for whatever reason, you'll have wasted your money! Even though I bf all three dcs, mine came out about three times.

It is possible to go completely mental with new babies and buy everything you can think of, but they really don't need much in the early days, certainly not in the way of clothes. Most of us don't have money to burn! Anyway, you'll want something to shop for once they've actually arrived!!

Oh, it's all so exciting, enjoy the next few months.

Clothes - you just need vests (short sleeved with poppers) for underneath and long sleeved babygros with feet in. And maybe a cardi. Seriously.

We had DD in her Moses basket until she was six months but she was quite small!

The gro-bags are good (baby sleeping bags) but my DD didn't take to it until she was a couple of months.

Bath - we still use ours, but personal preference really.

At first, cotton wool balls with warm water on are fine for nappy changes.

Good luck, enjoy!

Mothercare rubbish. ebay and netmums for your local area ace! I have got a moses basket, a snuggle nest, and got two bags of clothes from mumsnet, containing more than enough for the first while. mum got me a baby clothing starter pack from mothercare which is good. We also got a baby monitor. we have a renewable nappy trial pack, but we are going to use disposables for the first tow or three weeks.

Sorry, we got the clothes from www.netmums.com local for sale board, not mumsnet!

I never used a moses basket, we had a bouncy chair for during the day and straight into cot for night-time.

I loved my baby bath, DS used it until about 8 months- I found even when he could sit he couldn't sit in the bath to begin with and he hated the babyseat for the bath, so basically outgrew it! And it only cost me £9.

It's recommended that you don't pump while milk supply is settling down so I didn't use my breast pump until DS was about 10 weeks old but I did buy one when pregnant as I was determined I would breastfeed and wasn't told that I shouldn't pump in the early days before I had DS. I did buy a few bottles and a steriliser too.

I agree that Grobags are fantastic but I didn't but DS into one until he was 12 weeks.

I didn't like John Lewis for vests and sleepsuits I found they went bobbly very quickly, but I agree that supermarkets are great for all the essential baby bits. I prefer the all-in-ones without feet and using socks as I found the feet are the first thing to be too small in sleepsuits.

I also disagree about nappy bins, I loved mine and used it for a long time. I know a lot of people don't like them but I always changed DS on his changing table and it meant everything was in one place and I didn't need to go outside to the bin 8-10 times a day, or leave a pile of nappies outside the front door as many friends did!

And muslin cloths definately! I didn't get any to start with and was lent a couple by a friend and very wuickly went out and bought a pack of my own, great for wiping sick and milk-which there was a lot of in my house. You can keep one everywhere and you're always ready to wipe up!

I do like mothercare but they are quite expensive! COngratulations, enjoy your shopping

haggisfish - how do you get a renewable nappy trial pack?

I am also having my first, I have bought a moses basket but bought a 'nearly new' second hand one - didn't see much point in buying a new one when they aren't in them for that long. I have also been keeping an eye out for the supermarkets special offers on nappies and baby wipes - Asda were selling them off in bulk the other week at a reduced price. Poundland has sorted me out for bottles, creams etc and I much prefer the clothes / blankets in Asda and Primark to the expensive ones in mothercare that wont fit them for 5 minutes, they are really nice quality at both of those shops and don't cost the earth. As for the bath, I have bought one of those that fits into our main bath tub.

Unless you are very wealthy I'd really recommend trying to borrow or buy secondhand as much as possible. I was given that advice when I was expecting DS1 but was too overcome by the shopping opportunities presented to expectant mothers to listen...5 years of being a SAHM on a very reduced budget and the advent of DS2 have totally changed my mind on that and I kick myself for the stupid extravagance surounding DS1's babyhood.

You do need very little and should also remember that when your baby is small not only will the shops still be there but you'll enjoy mooching round with your baby in their buggy or sling (before they start walking and making shopping an almost physical impossibility) so you don't need to get masses in advance. As you can see from this thread one woman's necessity is another's nuisance.

We never had a baby bath, just used a washing up bowl a few times then got in the bath with the DSs, which we all loved. A changing mat's a good idea. I gave up with reusable nappies (google realnappynetwork for details of subsidies) but I exclusively used terry wipes which are better than disposables and will save you about £500 per child.

Don't get a breast pump. You really shouldn't interfere with bf for 6-8 weeks and many women bf without ever using a pump or bottles.

A stretchy wrap sling, like a Hugabub would be a good early buy. Personally, I liked having a lot of vests and babygros so I didn't have to have the washing machine on all the time (babies are usually prone to throwing up a lot when new) and you can pick them up very cheaply from all the supermarkets.

Great advice ladies.. I am working at the moment but trying to save as much as possible so that I have the option of staying at home with the baby for as long as possible.

TheHouseOfMirth - did you use the muslin squares with safety pins? The reusable nappies do seem expensive, and they would have to be washed anyway so not really labour-saving.

Even with washing costs you'll save a lot of money with reusables. The cloth nappy board here is really good for advice. As is this site.

You can buy ridiculously cheap clothes in eBay for day to day stuff and supplement with a few more expensive things from shops. Babies grow really fast from 0-9 months then they slow down a bit and things last longer so it's mad to spend much in the early days. I have a bag of organic cotton and baby cashmere stuff DMIL bought for DS2 which was only worn a few times before he got too big and it's hearbreaking because they're so beautiful. Better to splash out a bit when they're bigger.

very much agree that you shouldn't buy expensive stuff for babies - I found that by the time they'd been washed/dried/put away they were outgrown. We had some lovely gifts which DD2 only got to wear once or twice.

The only issue with not getting a basket (or crib or pram that can be used for sleeping) is whether you can fit the cot in your room. Ideally a newborn should sleep in your room for the first 6 months - I haven't found anyone that's gone beyond 3 months, but you should certainly do it to start with. We haven't got space in our room for a full-size cot so will be getting an inexpensive moses basket for the first few weeks as it'll fit by our bed. We might be given one by some friends, but if not, John Lewis do a nice one for under £30 - I don't understand spending much more on a basket!

A bath support is useful even if you get a baby bath as it means you have both hands free to wash baby and grab towels, etc. One thing you can do with a baby bath if your sink isn't suitable, is have the baby bath on the kitchen counter next to the sink - makes it easy to fill and empty and it's quite a good height for most people. I'm getting a baby bath as I have a bad back so can't bath the baby leaning over the big bath.

Although you can express from early on (a few Mums do when they can't get bf-ing established or if the baby is premie or sick from birth), you ideally don't want to offer a bottle at all until bf-ing is well established.

I'm going to use a lidded, lined basic bin for nappies and then empty it a few times a day as needed. But we're hoping to use reuseables some of the time at least once over the newborn muck stage.