What to buy

duploelabs · 13-01-2009 12:06pm #1

Hey Folks,

My partner and I are due in about 6 weeks time and the panic planning has started. Been reading all the books etc, getting a lot of conflicting information, and wondering what are the essentials to buy i.e Moses Basket, wipes, nappys, car seats etc for the first few weeks and anything good deals I can get in the sales.

Not reaching for the ejector seat button anymore but more the jar of valium.

Ta

humberklog · 13-01-2009 4:19pm

I think your kinda there with the wipes etc.
But good bibs. Ones that don't need to be tied, have a waterproof backing and cheap as you can get. Bibs and loads of. Saves changing whole outfits.

I'm taking it your the guy?
If so then then another thing to consider seriously is to get the otherhalf a night away in a health spa for about 3months time. You don't get to go.

Davidth88 · 13-01-2009 4:51pm

I hope everything goes well for you.

You will need to take nappies /babygro's/wipes/cotton wool/bibs to the hospital

We stayed away from wipes and used cotton wool and warm water, nicer on little one's bottom we figured.

Bibs bibs bibs ... totally agree

If you can venture up to the north you will find the prices a lot cheaper , but don't stress about it.

Ohhhh.... nappy bags ( they stink otherwise )

Enjoy the experience !

RosieJoe · 13-01-2009 5:32pm

duploelabs wrote: »

Hey Folks,

My partner and I are due in about 6 weeks time and the panic planning has started. Been reading all the books etc, getting a lot of conflicting information, and wondering what are the essentials to buy i.e Moses Basket, wipes, nappys, car seats etc for the first few weeks and anything good deals I can get in the sales.

Not reaching for the ejector seat button anymore but more the jar of valium.

Ta

Essentails to buy:
Moses baskets, nappies, wipes, sudocream, bottles (x6), formula (if not breast feeding), sterilizer (steam or milton), vests, baby grows, romper suit to keep them warm, soothers (optional), baby bag to cart the rubbish around in, definitely loads of bibs, car seat and buggy.

I would recommend a trip up north as you will save a fortune if you bulk buy now. - EDIT highly recommended by everyone now

Also, nip into Mothercare and pick up a brochure as they have a list at the back of things needed. Go through it and pick out what is required.

Expecting our third in 5 weeks and still cannot remember if we have everything

Ludo · 13-01-2009 6:05pm

Agree with everything bar the Moses basket. We had one but never used it. Got it free so wasn't a waste of money though. We just had them in a cradle upstairs and in a travel cot downstairs which was also used when going to visit the out-laws.

We bought everything big (cots, buggy, car seats, etc) online and saved a fortune over the prices here and also cheaper than in the shops up North.

Lizzykins · 13-01-2009 7:01pm

Borrow what you can is my advice like Moses baskets and baby baths. Your relatives and friends will only be too delighted to get the stuff out from under their feet!
I never bothered with baby wipes. Cotton wool and warm water or Johnsons Baby Lotion is the way to go. Plenty of baby grows and bibs and sheets and blankets as you'll be amazed how many times nappies leak when they're on tiny babies with little chicken legs!
Glass bottles for bottle feeding if you can get them. They're much easier to warm up at night when a baby is roaring it's head off!
Wish I was doing it all again!

axel rose · 13-01-2009 9:15pm

Ah best of luck to you

definately all of the above, also mitts (pennys are great), hats, and maybe a baby bath and baby bathtowels (penneys again). I also found facecloths to be very handy for moping up spit and the like.

If you can beg or borrow as much of the newborn stuff as you can (moses basket and babygrows etc) as you dont know what will suit you and you are done with them in a couple of months.

Oh yea one more thing THE BABY HAS NOT AND WILL NOT EVER READ THE BOOK!!!

DinoBot · 13-01-2009 10:22pm

A baby monitor, so you can hear the baby from a different room ?

Good luck with it, the first few weeks are hell and then it gets worse

:D

stovelid · 13-01-2009 11:25pm

Not much to add to what's here.

Tell all your friends and relatives not to run out and buy a load of newborn/3-6 clothes for presents, no matter how cute. If somebody had a child now, I'd actually consider buying them a bulk job of babygros or nappies.

+1 for the suggestion that you borrow as much as possible. Especially stuff like a Moses basket which is outgrown so quickly.

Get a big pack of muslin cloths. Great for wiping up milk and puke.

deisemum · 14-01-2009 1:45am

Borrow as much as you can, both of mine only got about a month in the moses basket as babies sleep on their backs with their arms stretched out.

When I had my 2nd the midwife running the ante-natal classes told the class not to waste their money on moses baskets and that a new born can be put straight into a proper sized cot, just put feet to the foot end of the cot.

Every week my local newspaper has a long list of second hand baby stuff for sale so you could get some things secondhand ie unit for putting soiled nappies in, bouncy chairs etc.

I can remember being pregnant on my first and all the pregnancy magazines were certainly targeting first time mums to be and I was left thinking I needed so much. In reality a lot of what you think you'll need are not necessary and don't get much use.

I used cotton wool and warm water with my first, second time round I used wipes from the day he was born.

Stock up on maternity pads, the hospital lists normally only mention 1 or 2 packets but a new mum could easily get through that amount in a day. They can always be kept at home and only have a couple of packets in the hospital bag. It might be a good idea if mum to be could show dad to be where they are stacked in a chemist or supermarket in case he has to get more, at least he'll know what he's to get and where to get them.

Disposable knickers are handy, or else keep old knickers that can be disposed of. Breast pads, disposable or washable cotton ones.

noby · 14-01-2009 9:55am

Along with all of the above, we got a changing station for our first, and I would highly recommend it. Ours is like a chest of drawers with a changing mat on top, so you're not bending over all the time. All the bits'n'pieces needed for changing nappies are kept in the top drawer. The changing mat 'lid' also lifts up and there's a baby bath underneath. It was just a flat pack job, but it's currently being used on our third (after being loaned out for a while)

Zynks · 14-01-2009 11:30am

I agree with the idea of borrowing as much as possible. If you borrow a crib (much better than a moses basket), buy a new mattress.

We bought a travel cot for the first baby, but never used it and gave it away at the end.

Another thing to consider is that family and friends tend to buy a lot of clothes for presents, so consider that when you are buying them yourself. Another smart thing might be to ask some people to buy for 6 months+ (or you can just swap them yourself). Our baby number 3 had something like 30 dresses and she didn't wear half of them.

Warning: the mother could enter into "nesting mode" in a few weeks. She will be cleaning the place as you have never seen before. If you want to help, get your stuff out of the way before it starts!

Another idea which worked very well for us. We always gave bottle to the baby at room temperature. If you start warming it up they will expect it like that, which means much more hassle for the mid-night feeds. Once they get used to room temperature, they don't like it warm either. My kids never had colics and I suspect this may have contributed.

axel rose · 14-01-2009 11:39am

Yea great idea about the tepid bottles, breast milk is tepid, heating bottles gets to be a pain very quickly. Also unless you want to live in one of those houses that plug out the phone and disconnect the bell when junior is sleeping, make loads of noise when you first bring them home during nap time. I was known to hoover around the baby!

Child could sleep through a hurricane.

Dades · 14-01-2009 11:47am

Buy baby clothes that open from the front...

While aesthetically pleasing... you will learn that babygro's etc that button up at the back are a pain in the arse!

deisemum · 14-01-2009 12:14pm

I agree about making normal noise and not trying to keep everything as quiet as possible.

Look at all the noise babies hear in the hospital and they sleep through it no bother. Same with bottles in hospital, I believe they're served at room temperature.

wolfpawnat · 14-01-2009 12:33pm

axel rose wrote: »

Also unless you want to live in one of those houses that plug out the phone and disconnect the bell when junior is sleeping, make loads of noise when you first bring them home during nap time. I was known to hoover around the baby! Child could sleep through a hurricane.

Yes I am 36 weeks pregnant and I have all my bits and pieces - except I am told that I am being given a moses basket only no sign of it but I have my cot regardless! Yes my friends brother has a 3 momnth old and we had children running around playing (never a quiet moment) and several adults talking loudly drinking tea and coffee and the small fella unconscious and gone to god! apparently he wakes up when its too quiet!?! I wanted to steal him:)

But OP I had people buy me nappies, baby wipes, and Johnson products (shampoo&bath wash) they are expensive and add up in price v quickly when you've to get them, although go on the recession all the baby bath stuff is 2 for 1 in Supervalu! But for the first few weeks apparently you are in shock at the amount of nappies you need! :eek: how much can something that small poop and pee? I guess I'm going to find out!

RosieJoe · 14-01-2009 4:02pm

wolfpawnat wrote: »

But OP I had people buy me nappies, baby wipes, and Johnson products (shampoo&bath wash) they are expensive and add up in price v quickly when you've to get them

Got a similar present for the first 2, a hamper made up by an Aunt with loads of creams, nappies, wipes, soaps etc...

Also, pick up some Calpol or Paralink. You most likely will not need it but is handy to have at hand as opposed to shopping for it when the baby is not well.

Best of luck wolfpawnat, the 4 weeks will fly in for you

deisemum · 14-01-2009 4:15pm

I agree with packing early, I went 15 days early on my first (waters broke in the middle of mothercare

) and I went a month early on my 2nd.

RosieJoe · 14-01-2009 5:13pm

deisemum wrote: »

I agree with packing early, I went 15 days early on my first (waters broke in the middle of mothercare ) and I went a month early on my 2nd.

I remember shopping for stuff for baby 2 in mothercare. Asked when the baby was due and I said 6 weeks. Was told that I had plenty of time. Response to that was that the baby arrived the day before

So, yes, definitely pack early

Zynks · 14-01-2009 6:02pm

But keep in mind that it is very common for first babies to be late a week or two, so don't let expectation build too much up or it can be frustrating.

What to buy

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