Starting from scratch, List of things to get?

[satya]

Don't buy too much. Just go with the basics as you will be inundated with presents. If you get too organised and buy everything people will not know what to buy you and IMHO you end up getting given less.

Don't say no to second hand items from friends (except for a cot mattress, you don't want that secondhand).

Before bubs is born you will need a cradle or basinette or cot or both. We got given a cradle before our baby was born and only got our cot when we saw one for half price and this was after he was born.

I recommend a change table so that you don't need to sit on the floor but you can manage without one - ours has a bath included in it as well as drawers for clothes. We were also given this prior to his birth (second hand).

Rocker - absolute must have - we were given three - two new ones and one secondhand - all before bub was born. One went to one of the grandmas for when we visit the new ones we kept.

Nappy stacker. Again we were given two of these before bubs was born.

Nappies - if going disposable - just one big pack as people will give you these as well. I believe Aldi has the best and cheapest nappies.

Baby oil, lotions, etc - don't buy any as you will be given lots of them. If you don't get given them you wont need them for the first couple of weeks and then it will give you an excuse to go out shopping with bubs in the pram.

Wipes & nappy sacks - people don't tend to give you them so buy as many as you like.
For wipes I use the Pidgeon brand - far cheaper than all the other brands.

Sudocream or other nappy rash cream - in the first couple of weeks you are bound to need it.

Brauers anti colic relief. Better to have it in your house than have to go looking for it while bub is crying.

A couple of bottles (more if not breastfeeding) and some formula. Even if breastfeeding you may need to top baby up with formula. I didn't get bottles etc and wished I had as I felt rotten when I left hospital and had to go buy them as we were having issues. Safeway sterilizing solution to clean the bottles with.

A couple of dummies - even if not planning to use one - you just might need them.

Clothes - absolute basics as you will be given heaps of clothes. As long as you have enough clothes for the hospital visit that is all you will need to buy for 0000 stuff. I know it doesn't seem likely but trust me you get heaps of baby clothes. You don't need socks at first (and they wont stay on) and will get them as gifts anyway.
5 singlets
5 all in one suits - the type that have mittens on them
bibs (again I never bought any, we got given HEAPS)
1 hat
2 or 3 sleeping bags

A couple of sets of cot sheets and ones for the basinette if you have one.

1 x hooded towel (you'll get given more)

Lots of bunny rugs - we didn't get given any - they are very handy.

A few blankets - people tend to give you them so don't go overboard.

A nasal aspirator.

I already had a rocking chair but have never used it since bub was born. I tend to either feed him in bed or in front of the TV in the lounge.

Once bub has arrived you can reassess the situation and then buy whatever else you actually need.

[Daffodil Mumma]

Wow awesome topic
Thanks so much everyone for sharing your thoughts.....just what i needed

[Aimz]

Mel and Kerry I have emailed you the list this morning. Leeanne (blueiris) you did PM me but you forgot to include your email!! If you PM your address I will be happy to send it.

This is such a fantastic thread!

[Phteven]

Car seat, nappies, clothes, boobs and arms :P

[sushee]

Car seat, nappies, clothes, boobs and arms :P

Lol! Chloe, so right there. I didn't need, nor did I expect to need, bottles or formula at all for any of my four kids as they were BFed, so why would I waste money on them?

Most things I found invaluable with one baby, I didn't even use with another. I think the most useful things are things I bought after baby was born when I could tell what I needed (eg a sling instead of a humungous pram!)

[luey]

Some of these aren't strictly nursery but are handy all the same

A chair for the nursery, doesn't have to be fancy. When we were (still) having sleep issues with my DS if I needed to cuddle him to sleep it provided somewhere for me to have a rest if I was allowed to sit. I need to get a new one as my current chair is a round cane one wihich can be hard to feed in. A friend bought a cheap lounge from Ikea, she said in the early days when her DD wouldn't sleep she curled up on it too.

If you are planning on feeding on the lounge, I do, havea big sheet, blanket or something to put over your lounge where you sit. I wasn't real good at putting the nappies on in hte early days or DS was a big weer/pooer and we had a few explosions. Not to mention the spills. So much easier to wash the blanket than sponging the lounge. Not to mention more hygienic.

I love my rocker - $39 from Babyco plus blends in with our lounge - shame about hte rest of the stuff . It doesn't have a bar over the top but I didn't like the toys on them anyway, plus it can go almost flat to sitting up quite high. My DS has slept in it lots especially when he was colicy. I was given a frame type thing which can go over it/him on floor or folds flat for him on his tummy. I wouldn't spend a lot as one friend found she has hardly used hers. Another friend has the Baby Bjorn one and finds she needs to rock it for her DD.

A play mat is great, is often given as a gift though but you can get away with a blanket and a few toys.

I love my brest friend feeding pillow, even though it's ugly, I still use it though dS is getting a bit big. I am able to feed in public without it, you need to make sure you can do that but I found it helped my confidence and got the attachment right.

Tommee Tippee Closer to nature bottles, just buy two (big ones to grow into if needed). I found these were the best for giving EBM. I live out in the country when we are on journeys I would give a bottle while he was in his seat and top him up with the boob and change his nappy at our rest stop. It saved a lot of time in the early days when a feed would take an hour.

Cloth nappies - towelling, at least a dozen, I have one over my change table cover, again easy to wash and catches some spills. Flanelette cloth nappies are good for puttin in his cot over the sheet to catch spills. Much smoother too than towelling and saves so much work than constantly changing sheets.

High chair from about 3months, DS always tends to be awake at meal times and I was using the rocker but he really enjoys seeing us and I think it is good to involve him in 'family meal time'.

Muslin wraps, get the big ones - Target have 100x100cm. I wasn't given as many as I thought I would, 3 thin hand me down ones. Even with 7 I would find I had to keep track of how many I had clean and when I needed to wash. They have so many uses that I doubt you will regret having too many - wrapping bubs, drying bubs, sunshade for pram/car, light cover, spew cloth if necessary etc.

Mesh washing bags, at least 3. BAby socks and baby clothes can get all tangled up and lost. So handy to put the socks in together and not lose any. I put them straight into one of these so they don't get lost in the basket.

Washing basket trolley - saves bending over and enables you to maneuver it even if you have had a CS. I ended up with an emerg CS but I imagine that a lot of bending over/stretching may be uncomfortable with a VB.

We have a baby bath with the moulding in the bottom so when he can sit I will still be able to use it. I think it was about $25, infa brand. I have just put an infaltable bath pillow on the flat end to stop my DS from gettin a concussion when he pushes off from the other end. WE are not able to use the normal bath as it is too deep for me to comfortably and safely bathe him. Plus we are on rain water so I liek to save as much water as possible

Lots of baby clothes hangers. You can get them quite cheap. In the early days I had a colour for each size and it made it a bit easier until I learnt what clothes were what size.

I found the bonds 00 singlets were the same size as kmart brand 000. I was given some hand me down 0000 but have mainly used the 000/00 from birth. It comes down over their butt and prevents ride up. My bub was 3.6kg though (7lb15) so not really tiny. I would have one or two 0000 and 6 or so 000. It all deprends how spewy your bub is and how often you want to wash

I bought 2 really nice neutral cotton suits, they were ribbed, from best and less. They were on special for $5. They are definately worth a look for bubs clothes and singlets/bodysuits. Plus they havecheap cotton knickers if you need some for after the birth - I got 10 for $10 - and Ib hardly needed them but better to be prepared.

Good luck

[blueiris]

amysarah,i've PM'd you.

The 2 things i want to get new is the pram & the cot,my friends are giving us a lot of stuff,she even got me some washable nursing pads from her work too. I also want t get a change table that converts into drawers or a bookcase,i've seen these at IKEA. To me i'd at least get my money's worth doing it this way as we'd have a piece of furniture once baby has outgrown the change table part of it.

With the bottles i not sure which brand to go for,i like the Tommy Tippee close to nature(silver packaging) & the Avent brands. A friend used the Avent & swears by them.

I think i will also buy a vaporiser just in case,i work in a pharmacy & we've been selling a lot of these lately for young kiddies. Might be something worth putting on a babyshower wish list if people are having a wish list.

[spooky]

We tried to buy things that we will use after the babies no longer need them. For example instead of a nappy bag we bought a crumpler. These bags are extremely well made, look fantastic and will be used long after we have finished with a pram.

We also borrowed a lot of stuff, and currently have quite a bit out on loan to friends. We have never bought a baby bath etc. all on loan.

If someone offers to buy you a gift, vouchers are great. We got a coles one that we split between Coles and Baby Target (and Myer when they were still in on the deal). This way we used it for equipment and nappies etc as we needed them.

[Jas]

Hey just thought I would go through and see if I can remember what we had given to us and what we bought etc.

1.Cot and change table
2.Cot Mattress
3. Cot Sheets
4. Blankets and Wraps
5. Quilt set
6.Toy box?
7. Feeding chair?
8. small table for lamp etc and to put things on if feeding in room i.e spew rag, glass of water for you etc
9. Lamp
10. Decorative things
11.Basinette if you plan on using one
12. Pack of cloth disposable nappies - for every spew etc HIGHLY RECOMMEND THESE!!
13.Pram
14.Car seat (consider buying 2 my mum asked if we were getting 2 and at the time I said no what a waste of money we can just swap between the cars but then one weekend we forgot to get the seat out of Phil's car and I was meant to be going to the airport to drop pil off to go home to nz and I had no seat..mum when to the shops and got us another one the same as what we already had. I realised then that we definitely needed 2!
15. Thermometer
16. Nail Clippers (sounds like you won't forget these!)
17. Baby panadol or nurofen (I think you can't use these before 1month and you're not likely to need but good to have there instead of making a mad dash to the chemist)
18. Bonjela (as above)
19. Nappy rash cream
20. Wipes (look in big w, toys r us etc for the boxes that have 6packs of 80 or 480wipes that's what I always buy and will last you a while)
21. Little muslin squares (size of a facecloth they are fantastic to use in the bath when babies are so young that even a face cloth seems to rough)
22. Facecloths (fantastic to put over your bubs tummy in the baby bath to keep them feel secure, happy and warm)
23. Baby bath
24. Baby towels (good to have 2 for each bath. when Noah was little and we used the dining table or kitchen bench I would lay the 2 towels on top of each other use the top one to dry Noah with and then would get rid of that one and lay him on the underneath one that's still dry to dress him - easier than running to his room especially when it was winter)
25. Baby cotton tips to clean ears
26. Lotions (most likely will get heaps as baby shower gifts so wait until after that)
27.Breast pump (I thought this could wait but we had an early case of breast refusal that lasted a little while and so one afternoon we had a mad dash to the shops to get a breast pump and only big w was still open so had to buy the tommee tipee which I like but was playing on buying a different one)
28.bottles if you plan on bottle feeding
29. Nappies, if disposable I think buy 2 boxes (Noah was born 9pound 4.5 and he was still in newborn nappies for quite a few boxes, you don't want to have to run out for nappies with a newborn and if you don't get 2 the 2nd box before you need a new size you could take the box back and swap it for the bigger size)
30. Baby carrier if you want one
31. Lamb's wool pram insert if you want one
32. CD player for bubs room if you plan on using some soothing music in there
33.Baby monitor
34.Singlets..We probably had about 10-15newborn ones
35. Jumpsuits (I think he only had 3, was always dresses in cute outfits lol)
36. Cute outfits!! (very fun to buy)
37. Socks (Bonds Stay put I think they're called are by far the best and the only ones I found that actually stay on!)
38. Nappy Disposal if you want
39. Nappy sacks (little bags to put dirty nappies in)
40. Nappy Bag
41. buckets for soaking
42. Napisan
43. Amolin or another washing liquid suitable for bubs clothes and things
44. Foods for the freezer and cupboards that are quick easy and hopefully healthy
45.toys!
46. A highchair (don't need until 6+ months)
47. A swing or rocker
48. Breast Pads
49. Maternity Pads
50. Dummies (If you're not sure I recommend having at least one jic...this comes from the memory of calling my mum at 10.30 and begging her to try somewhere thats opened that sells dummies lol)

My goodness just realised how long my list is!!! OMG well I hope it helps and I hope not to overwhelming a lot of the things are cheap items and you can layby and get when on sale and slowly build up your supplies!

[Maisarah]

Hi amysarah85,

Could you please send me a copy of that powerpoint as well?

Thanks!

[Aimz]

Hi Maisarah,

I've emailed it to you. You can now edit your post and remove your email address.

[lismith25]

Ok hope this helps - these are the items that we could not live without

Cot - Emma went into her cot straight away but I used until about a month ago the head huggers (big w) to keep her in place

Change table - definitely a good thing if you have back issues.

Bouncer- she slept in it during the day at first, then we added the toy attachments later and she still plays in it now.

Baby Bjorn - this is a personal choice she loves to be carried and I need free hands most of the time so this really has worked for us. I didnt buy a big pram so this suited me and is really good for quick shopping.

Best wraps I found are the dymples muslin squares, cool for summer and they are pretty big so that even at 5 months they can be wrapped up easily if you need too. Plus they cover the front of prams easily to block out the sun

And something for later baby gyms are awesome keeps them entertained for ages until they can roll then they cant wait to get off the mat

Your baby is going to be born in the middle of summer, so i pretty much guarantee you wont be dressing it in much to begin with. Even now Emma sleeps during the day in just a nappy and singlet and its not even summer.

But the only advice I will give you is dont buy too many clothes, you will be given soooo many and they grow so fast its not worth it.

Hope this helps and good luck with everything