Frugal List of "Stuff" for Newborns

I'm just going to go through your list and give you my own experience ...

Clothes
Sleepsacks -
you'll use only cellular blankets the first couple of months - I think Guineys do these quite cheap. The recommendation is to use one folded in half for the first couple of months, I would buy 3-4 in case you have a pukey baby and end up having to change it a few times during the day/night. I'd hold off on buying the sleepsacks for a while - some babies are always too hot, some babies are always too cold, so you may end up buying only 1togs or only 2.5togs etc. So what I'd advise is just a couple of cellular blankets to start off with.

sleepsuits -
yes. Lots of them! Look out for ones that button up the front as opposed to ones that go over the head - very important! Ideally get ones that have scratch mitts incorporated - I was never comfortable with the idea of leaving separate scratch mitts on in the moses basket, in case they'd come loose and end up in his mouth during the night. May be worth spending a little extra on these as they'll be worn a lot and washed a lot. Mothercare have the ones with scratch mitts - far too expensive at full price, but if you go to the one in Charlesville (if you're in Dublin) they have a massive sale section all year round with brilliant bargains on this sort of thing.

Bodysuits (short/long sleeves) -
We found short-sleeves were best when they were younger, for under the sleepsuits, and only started using the long-sleeved ones when he got to around 6months+, to put on as an extra layer under Tshirts. It's very hard to get a sleepsuit on over a long-sleeved sleepsuit when you've a wriggly baby - the sleeves end up all bunched up together! So I'd avoid long-sleeved ones for the first few months, unless you have a very cold house.

cardigans -
nope, never used one once. Just not necessary.

Hats -
You will need one or two for hospital, but not once you get home. Even if you're going out of the house, a little hooded jacket would be much better ... if you're in the car alone with baby, you don't want to be worrying about the hat falling off and him stuffing it into his mouth etc, when you can't see him in the back seat (it happened me once, thankfully no harm done, but it made me see how easily and quickly these things happen! It was hoods from then on!)

Socks/Booties -
maybe it's just us, but we got sooooo many socks as presents for 0-6 months ... barely ever used. Now he's in creche, he needs them every day, but is always running out! I'd hold out on buying socks - get them if you find you need them, but in my opinion it's unlikely. Booties - I never once used these, personally I love little proper shoes/trainers etc on tiny babies if dressing them up, so cute!, these are very cheap in Dunnes for very cool ones (but definitely a luxury, not a necessity!) You'll probably get some as presents anyways.

Coat (January baby) -
yip. And definitely a coat rather than one of those big puffy winter all-in-one yokes, far too awkward, and too warm, considering baby will be all wrapped up under a blanket anyways. Buttons may be better than zips (the top of the zip may irritate around the chin/neck. Penneys might be a good place to buy - in general I don't find their clothes wash very well, but this is something you hopefully won't be washing too often, and it would be a pity to spend a lot of money on something they'll grow out of very quickly.

Blanket for stroller
Blankets for at home
- I can almost guarantee you you'll get an abundance of blankets as presents! I would definitely hold out on buying any blankets for now. Also, this is the type of thing you could get great value on if you use Adverts.ie etc.

Muslin Cloths
Bibs
- We have a pukey baby, we couldn't (and still can't) have enough of either of these. However you might get lucky, so I wouldn't stock up too much in advance, unless you see any great deals! Guineys are good.

Hooded towels
- Nope. We got a few as presents alright, and we use them because they're there, but zero need for them. Use a normal towel, and then re-use for your own shower.

Crib sheets
- We had a moses basket, we only ever used pillow cases as sheets for both the moses basket mattress and the pram mattress. I imagine they'd fit a crib too ... however my advice is to skip the basket and crib and put baby straight into the cot or cot-bed - no reason not to. Definitely don't waste money on crib sheets if pillow cases will fit, at least you'll use them again!

Swaddlers?
- I don't know what a swaddler is, so I'm going to say it's not essential anyways!

Consumables etc
Babywipes
- If I were on a superstrict budget, cotton wool and water works out a lot cheaper. That's all a lot of parents use, and that's what's used in his creche. Also best for babies with sensitive skin. If baby doesn't have sensitive skin, try out the supermarket own-brands.

Nappies
- Keep an eye on the Bargains thread on the Newborn & Toddlers forum, you'll get great bargains and reviews there

Nappy bags
- No harm having a box for when you're out and about (no need to use these at home, except for real stinkers!) Go for whatever you can find cheapest (don't necessarily need to be specific nappy bags, a box of small plastic bags will do the job.

Formula
- If you're exclusively formula-feeding, definitely SMA or C&G rather than Aptimel. Aptimel is much more expensive, but the advantage is that it's closest to breastmilk so best for combined feeding ... SMA and C&G are heavier, so stay down easier. SMA is most likely to be on offer in the 6month+ range. Oh and always have at least a couple of cartons of pre-made formula in the press - just in case. You never know when an emergency (baby-related or otherwise) might arise, you'll be happy to have them there.

Baby Body wash
- We were advised to wash only with water for at least the first month. I'd hold off on buying this until you know if your baby has sensitive skin.

Bottles
Bottle tops
- No idea what's best/cheapest ... most brands are often on offer ... look out for Aldi/Lidl sales, they often have the big brands for cheap. We got a Tommee Tippee set half price in the Christmas sale in Mothercare. Also, don't forget to include a steriliser in your budget! Try not to go for a brand-specific one that only fits certain bottles, as you may end up needing to change bottles e.g. if baby has reflux. We got the Mothercare steriliser (which was also half-price at the time), it fits any bottles as well as soothers toys etc.

Cotton pads/swabs
- as above, handy to use instead of wipes. Also useful for topping & tailing etc. Tesco own-brand etc are probably cheapest.

Digital thermometer
I mentioned to a mother the other day how this was the one baby purchase I was so happy I splashed out on, she was shocked! She has two toddlers and has never once used a thermometer, and if she did it would have been a normal underarm one she used. The thing is, with the underarm/mouth ones, you need to hold a squiggly hot cranky baby very still for at least a couple of minutes. Far easier said than done! A digital thermometer will take the temperature in a second, no need to even wake the baby. I wouldn't say it's an essential, but it's a really good thing to have. Look out for sales, also it's possible you'd pick up one cheaply secondhand.

Baby nail clippers
- yip

Vaseline/Sudocreme
- I'd say we've used sudocreme/bepanthin maybe 5-6 times in total on our eight-month-old. Other babies need them at every change. I'd hold off on spending money on these, it really depends on the baby. Even if you do end up needing them, it mightn't be until the baby starts eating/teething/etc.

Fever reducer (infant)
Neurofen and Calpol. Neurofen for pain, Calpol for temperature. You can alternate these, just make sure you follow dosage instructions, and ring a pharmacy (any pharmacy) if you're ever unsure. But do make sure you have a bottle (or three!) of each in the house, rather than looking for a 24-hour chemist in a panic at 3am some morning!

Soft brush and comb
- Yup - lots of babies don't have hair, but these will be needed at some point! Just go for cheapest possible, pound shop etc.



Other essentials.
- Buy a pack of baby spoons, if you see them on offer (you obviously won't need them straight away, but handy to have them there when the time comes.)
- Snuffle Baby is a gel you put on their chest if they have a cold, which they're very likely to have at some point, good thing to have in the cupboard.
- Soothers (if you plan on using them) ... I'm very fussy about using only orthodontic soothers (no idea if it makes a difference, but anyways!) ... Tommee Tippee, Avent, MAM, all the big brands are on buy-one-get-one-half-price in Boots at the moment. Soothers are surprisingly expensive - like, really expensive - and disappear into nowhere all the time, for us anyways. So I would advise to stock up if you see them on offer, BUT on the other hand some babies just don't take soothers, so keep that in mind!
- Good to have things on hand for teething - Neurofen is great, but best not to go straight to that! Bonjela is good but controversial, make sure to read dosage instructions. Teetha gel is brilliant, keep it in the fridge and put a bit on the soother.
- Look out for ice-cube trays with silicone bottoms - to freeze pureed portions of veg etc. Homestore & More usually have these. Buy labels, too, if you don't already have some!

OK there are probably a million and seventeen other "essentials" that are far more important, but those are the only ones coming to mind at the moment!

I love how Millem and I did basically the same thing, but with completely conflicting advice on a lot of points ... I think the moral of the story is, every baby is different, do as much research as possible into everything you want to buy, but buy as little as possible until the need arises!

Millem wrote: »

Our Velcro ones are still going strong after 8 months I close them when I put into the washing machine. My OH refuses to use the poppers!!

Problem is when they get to the stage of working out how to use the poppers and velcro! Our boy is at that stage now, bibs that tie with strings at the back work best, because he can't undo them.

Side velcro ones were always my favourite in the early months. I don't know why but I always hated the poppers and much preferred velcro all along!

On the other hand, I was worried we'd have no newborn stuff, so my sister - knowing this - bought a pack of newborn babygros from mothercare. He was seven pounds three, and they were huge on him! I'm sure we'd have gotten plenty of wear out of them if they hadn't been nicked when I was still in Holles St. Thankfully my favourite one - the one used for his all-important first photo - wasn't taken, it had already been taken home. Other than this though, only two people brought us newborn sized gifts.