Baby essentials

I made an Amazon baby registry which was awesome because it helps guide you through every “department” for a baby: clothes, toys, bath, medicine, etc. After I made my registry I went out to stores and just browsed. I didn’t buy much unless I was like “oh no I NEED that” but I did buy a box of diapers with each paycheck. They go through so many and I’m glad my fiancé and I did that because even if baby outgrows the size you can take it back to Walmart/target/ wherever and switch it for a size up as long as it isn’t open.

I started with buying lots of diapers because they go by so fast and lots of wipes and baby blanket and one big comfy one umm the bassinet or if u prefer the bed that's fine or a crib baby wash cloths and definitely just buy the ones where they zip the button one is a struggle in middle of night and bath towels for baby and lots of baby soaps to wash

Check with the big things (cot, pram etc) what the delivery times are, the pram especially can take way longer than you'd think to arrive. I'd highly recommend an i-size rotating in car seat rather than one of the carry ones, everyone I know has switched to that, or just leaves the carry one in the car anyway. You'll need somewhere for day sleeps, I used the Scottish baby box for this but if you're elsewhere maybe borrow a Moses basket.and buy a new mattress . For clothes just get short sleeved vests and sleepsuits and cardigans for the first while, getting real outfits on a baby is a hassle, and people will buy you other things. I'd also get in touch with your local sling library about a carrier for early on, a lot of people buy in advance and find it really doesn't work for them, and they're great if baby doesn't want to be put down.I don't think they'd let you return nappies like above in the UK. You can scroll here for the baby box contents to help with other things https://www.parentclub.scot/baby-box

The essential bits are;
- moses basket or something to sleep in
- Cellular blankets, then when big enough (usually from 8lbs) I highly recommend sleep bags!
- bottles if expressing or formula feeding (recommend MAM as you don’t need a steriliser)
- Dummies (again recommend MAM as they can be self-sterilised in the microwave)
- bibs (and lots of them) & muslin blankets
- Nappies/nappy cream/wipes etc & a changing mat
- Pram and car seat/travel system (we got the Ickle Bubba Stomp V3. Reasonably priced & currently in Black Friday deals)
- Sleepsuits, bodysuits in a few sizes. Our LG was 6lbs 10oz and in tiny baby for a few weeks before newborn and now she’s 8 weeks and 9lbs 4oz she’s just borderline newborn/first size and 0-3 months if that helps
- cardigans/coat/snow or pramsuit/hat gloves & bootys/blanket etc for extra layers in the house/outside
- a changing bag/mat for going out and about
- bath towel etc
- if formula feeding, highly recommend a prep machine but not essential.

I would wait for the last scan before buying some clothes, as they will be able to tell you an approximate weight, or at least if it a smaller or a bigger baby. Many babies go in the newborn size for around 2 weeks before they are ready to wear 0-3 clothes, but some also need “tiny baby” size first, or go staring into 0-3. It’s just easier to get these first sizes in the end of pregnancy.

Oh ik sorry I forgot to put for the sleepers the one where it goes all around baby

Basically I put everything on the registry and the day after my shower bought the rest of the essentials. My main things: some diapers, something to clean and change (I use oleocalcaire liniment and cotton pads), a portable wipeable change pad, pacifiers (Avent Soothies are the best), some bottles (I have 4 different ones because I don’t know what he’ll prefer, I think you can get sample packs at some stores), formula, a breast pump, somewhere for the baby to sleep (I got a mini crib rather than a bassinet, or some parents use a pack & play), and then I bought just basic white long-sleeve onesies, a sleep sack, and footie pajamas. People got him a lot of “cute” outfits but I think most people just use zip-up pajamas when they’re little because they’re so easy. I have a Solly Baby wrap for me for wearing him and a BabyBjorn carrier for his dad. And you’ll need a car seat right away and a stroller at some point.

Hey, you should check out my last post. I posted a list and everyone's comments were amazing. Super helpful I definitely added some stuff but don't start too soon or go crazy over buying lots of stuff 💕 we've literally bought a pram and two moses baskets 🤭 that's it. 28 weeks on Saturday xx

My advise would be not to buy too much clothes wise. You will quickly develop a preference to what you like your baby in. For the first few weeks generally just babygrows as they are comfy but even those that do up at the sides or bottom rather than down the middle I find a pain to get on and off so quickly preferred others. Then when you start putting them in outfits with my girl I quickly found I preferred dungarees to dresses or tops as they roll up all the time so a lot of her stuff is unworn. Also she was expected to be big so we bought bigger and considered the seasons for each age, then she was born at 33 weeks and was small and had trouble gaining weight so all our seasons are now wrong in her clothes. So if I went back in time I would just buy a few babygrows in newborn and 0-3 and then buy more when she arrived.
I second the MAM bottles, they’re great. Also sleeping bags are really good and we have a ewan the sheep to play white noise and she loves him, really helps xx

Also I would recommend looking at things like swings and even slings second hand, they really aren’t in them that long so a nicer second hand one was my choice and don’t regret it. And pushchair, I wouldn’t go crazy and spend loads, you’ll end up kicking yourself every time you get it in and out the car trying not to scratch it! X

As much as you want to buy cute outfits etc I would hold off, we ended up with that many clothes that half of them have been given away with tags still on because he outgrew them, don't buy too many bottles to start with, I had the whole tommee tippee set with bottles steriliser etc(luckily we didn't buy it it was a gift from work) but in the end the bottles didn't agree with him and we had to switch. Don't rush to do the nursery it'll be a while before they use it.
We stocked up on nappies and wipes and have about a million muslin cloths(believe me you need them!!)
I would also recommend registering with Emma's diary, you can get all sorts of discounts on the app for anything from nursery items to prams, we got the full travel system including isofix base for £370 x

Honestly , the essentials are whatever he/she will be sleeping in, diapers/wipes, bottles, pacifiers, clothes, diaper rash cream, gas relief drops, windi gas inserts, nose suckers, formula (if you end up needing it), car seat, stroller, bath supplies, baby monitor, sound machine (handheld,l - this is not essential but Its a lifesaver- babies love white noise. Those are the things i use every day. Everything else is nice to have, but not essential. (Muslin swaddles or zip up swaddles are so helpful the first 8 weeks, bouncer or glider for baby to sit/sleep in when during daytime, babywearing wrap, burp cloths (you can just use towels too), bibs eventually, changing table/pad, diaper bag, breast feeding cover, nursing boppy, freezer bags for breast milk(if you're planning to BF obv), nursing bras/shirts, haaka suction breast pump, nursung pads, nipple cream... These are the main things I can think of! Congratulations😊

This I use everyday.. humidifier, baby Frida nasal saline, baby Frida nose sucker. You use more sleepers and onsies more than real clothes in the beginning. But kholes is having a amazing sale right now if you wanted to buy online for later.

Scottish baby box list gives you a really good idea of what’s actually essential. Not enough quantity wise, but there’s one of everything key apart from nappies and wipes.

Everything else is nice to haves.

My little girl is 7 weeks, and in hindsight I’d have done things differently - so this is what I’ve learnt.

1. Facebook market place is great. Baby stuff doesn’t get used much or much wear so second hand is almost always in great condition. Get an idea of what you want and keep an eye on market place and buy things as they come up. Much better than picking up nappies each month. Stuff that’s particularly worth while to get from market place:
Pram - fraction of the price they are new. And babies grow out of the carry cot travel systems really fast. Don’t spend hundreds on something you’ll only use for a year. Once they’re a bit bigger people tend to swap to buggies.
Clothes - buy bundles of new born /0-3 month stuff.

Travel system with isofix is a must if you have a car. So much easier to attach car seat to pram ro go shopping rather than having to take bsby out the car seat then put them back in. Especially as my baby always falls asleep in car. Don't start buying clothes now as you will pick up wee bits here and there and end up with somlnay thay don't get worn. At the beginning it was sleepsuits and vests and they grow so quick you don't get much wear out if them if you buy too much. For nappies newborn aldi premium are 99p for a pack and o for really good. I bought quite a few things from aldi baby event, moses basket, next to me crib, changing mats, baby carrier, sling, bottles. Dummies, steriliser. Also they do box boxes of wipes for 299, I bought 1 every week with my shopping. All their stuff is good quality and reasonably priced

I got my big stuff: pram, cot, bassinet (second hand), car seat (first hand), and a few cloths second hand.
Then walked around baby bunting and put a registry together, that way whatever was left over after the baby shower/not purchased I got myself.

I went very basic, didn’t get the crazy gadgets that social media suggests you get. But you’ll also work out how much of the baby stuff you actually want to get/use

I’ve read some of the above but not all

My top tips are

1. Make a list of what clothes you’ve bought in what size do you can check it and not get too many. Also if someone asks incase they want to gift clothes they may ask snd you can check
2. Only wash and take tags off of 0-6m clothes. Put everything else away in diff size labelled bags
3. Don’t buy newborn size clothes, get up to one month. But know bub will outgrow fast
4. If you’re going to stick up on nappies (I see some have recommended to) keep the receipt. Baby may grow out of them and not finish your stock
5. Bibs are yoir best friend 🤓
6. Set up a changing station (you don’t have to buy one I just put a changing mat and little box full of stuff I need for changing on a chest of drawers)
7. For baby prams / car seat etc - make sure you’ve seen and tried in real life before buying. Make sure you’re happy with how it opens and folds and will fit in your car as well as be able to store at home

Talking with other moms, just like this! Here is everything that we used from our registry (or wished we had added!) with our baby, I hope this list helps! 💕 https://www.rootandriseblog.com/what-to-put-on-a-baby-registry/

Eufy night lights.

Cheap, battery powered that last forever, motion activated night lights.

I made a list of what I would need, priced everything new and attempted to find second hand of everything to save money.
The first thing I brought was the pram because i found one on marketplace for $450 in such good condition! (Prams cost like $1200 on average here)
I then just slowly picked up items as I budgeted each week, I found afterpay very helpful to budget in larger purchases- I'm now 30 weeks and have basically brought and paid off all my purchases and I still have about $1000 sitting in allocated funds for baby stuff, and will use some of that for the small incidental stuff that comes up! But I feel like I've definitely saved money by starting early, researching and buying second hand so that would be my advice 😊

Work out what you want to do for bottles on the go. Hot water flask / portable bottle warmer etc

I started with the buggy lol I got the buggy just to help myself come to terms that its actually happening lol after 4 miscarriages it was hard to accept this one was real.
Don't buy too much clothes yet!! Buy what you need for the first few weeks and then when your baby is out and your able to go outside. You'll just keep buying new things at every chance you get lol I have sooooooooooo much clothes he only wore once or not at all because I made the mistake of buying too much clothes before he was born.

I started by talking to my friends who had babies the year before asking them what their go to baby products were. I then compiled a list of things I needed to get with the help of my mum and nan. I was extremely ill throughout my pregnancy so if it was for family help my little one would have nothing they helped me pick out things and told me what to avoid I was so clueless. Writing lists definitely helped I had one for baby, one for me and the one for the hospital, also by having the lists you don't feel so overwhelmed as you know what you need to get and can prioritise items based off your financial needs x

I started by looking on Pinterest for “Newborn essentials checklist”

Get a shusher and a white noise machine. They have made sleep so much better 8+ hours a night straight since the hospital

First thing I bought was the big buys so a travel system and bath. Everything else I bought near the time as I could just pop in the shop and grab what I need. I made a list and followed that - I put it on my insta if you want to use it

Tommee tippe machine was a god sent for me, definitely recommend x

I've done a list, I just googled essentials for a newborn and went from there. The main thing is somewhere for baby to sleep, a few pieces of clothes to start off and something to transport baby, pram/pushchair, sling, car seat if you have a car and bottles / feeding system if you're not planning on breastfeeding or not able to breastfeed

You start by getting the things that are no brainers. Get advice on what NOT to buy and why.