Is there a list of Must-Haves for newbies?

I can't seem to find a list of essential items for a nursery. Does one exist on BellyBelly?

I know everyone would have different ideas but I would find it really helpful if I could look at a list and start planning when to get bits and pieces.

How many singlets in which sizes do I need? If I'm going to go down the cloth nappies path, how many in which sizes do I need? If I'm breastfeeding, do I still need bottles & steriliser? Lots of questions! Too early to start buying anything, but it would be nice to keep an eye out for specials etc.

Hi Chalalan! Congrats on your Pregnancy.
I'm not much help to you sorry, but thanks for starting this thread. I have been looking for a similar list myself, with no luck.
I hope someone can help direct us. Anyone?

There was a thread started a while back on everyone's opinions on what they thought was a good buy & what they feel they wasted money on....it was very good. Hopefully someone can post the link for you as I'm not that clever LOL.

Target have an online list you can print off, but a lot of it is not neccesary. To answer specifics:
singlets - get a few in 0000 and 000. Don't buy too many to start with and not too many clothes as you don't really know what size you'll need. My ds was in 0000 for about 6 weeks, but some are in for months and some are big enough to go straight into 000.
nappies- can't help, we used disposables (had 3 bulk boxes at birth which lasted about 3-4 weeks.)
bottles and steriliser - won't need if exclusively bf unless you was to be able to express. Depends on your situation. I got one before and used it as my milk didn't come in, but if it had I probably wouldn't have used it IYKWIM.

Hope this is some help...

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

My DS was in 0000 for nearly 3mths in some clothes and he was 7lb13oz born. I found bodysuits came in handy for night time especially. Quantity of clothes depend on the baby I think, Jayden was a spewy baby so I was constantly changing him. I also went a bit too nuts on all the clothes I bought him before he was born (I have 6 or 7 nappy boxes full of 0000 & 000).

I had bought dummies, formula & bottles before he was born in case I couldn't breastfeed and lucky I did as when he was 4 days old it was 3am (no shops open) & I couldn't feed him so he got his first bottle then but we did go on to BF for nearly 6mths. You can hire a breast pump if needed from the chemist.

I have a list somewhere of essentials, I will try and find it this afternoon and post it.

I don't have a formal list but here are my ideas!!!

CLOTHING - a small range of 0000 and 000 of singlets, jumpsuits because you will get HEAPS of gifts!

Cot/Cradle - I would go cot personally cause even though cradle was cute - didn't really need it

Pram - must have!!

Changetable - I LOVE ours cause it's one where you put it on top of chest of drawers so when baby is older you just lift it off!

baby bath - our bath is deep so hard to reach in to

Wipes, nappies, etc.: I got soooo much of this at baby shower but honestly you use heaps - well I do!!

Nappy bag - I got a proper one but any bag will do

Have fun buying stuff! You can always get things in the first week ro get someone to get things for you once you realise what you want. Maybe check out friend's nursery's to get ideas. Most people seem to have similar things with a few different ideas - very much personal choice!

Try this article:

https://www.bellybelly.com.au/baby/b...s-what-to-wear

Congratulations on your BFP Chalalan formerly known as BL101!

I agree on the clothes - you'll get LOTS of gifts. I had a heap of 0000 clothes and my bub was 4.2kg - and didn't fit into most of his 0000 clothes from birth, and even some of the 000 is too small for him now (at 6 wks!!). I've found that different brands will be different in size even though they are supposed to be standard! Bodysuits are awesome, depending on your climate we have a whole heap of the singlet/shorty ones but you might want one or two longies for hospital, even if you wrap your bub, it gets cold!

Wraps - muslin and / or flannelette. (The flannie ones are good for hospital and for air-conditioned places, muslin great for summer). Get the bigger ones (1.2mtrs usually), they grow out of the newborn ones so quickly. Lots of babies won't sleep without wrapping, but then others hate being wrapped so you never know.

We bought one bottle just in case. Likewise with dummies. They're there for emergencies - we don't have all-night chemists where we live. Fortunately he prefers his hand to the dummy, and my boobs haven't fallen off yet, so we're OK so far! I wouldn't (personally) bother with steriliser until/unless you need it - it's not difficult to sterilise with boiling water in a saucepan.

Cloth nappies - if you are interested come and join the cloth nappy general discussion thread - they'll sort you out! Lots of people use pre-folds with covers for newborns, as most fitteds, sized AIOs or pockets, or one-size-fits-all (OSFA) nappies swim on the littlies, even at the smallest size adjustment. I started using OSFA from a couple of days after birth, but I had a big baby. Didn't have any leaks though. A lot of people start using OSFA nappies from about 6 weeks I think. Usually you need about 10-12 nappies per day for newborns. Depending on how often you want to wash, you can work out how many you'll need for your stash. It's also common to buy several different kinds, see how you like them and how well they work on your bub before getting more. I am still a newbie to cloth so come and join the thread - there's people with much more expertise on it than I!

Enjoy getting all of your baby gear - it's lots of fun!

Thanks for all the advice! I'm going to keep coming back to this thread before I start buying anything!

Suse, that was great advice, very informative! Thanks for that. How are you going with Euan? They say the first 6 weeks are the hardest...yay, you've survived!

I found my list but its not really essentials, I did find the list given to me by the hospital of things needed when you have the baby:
Mother: Pj's, Dressing gown, slippers, tracksuit/tshirts & shorts, maternity bras, nursing pads, 4 pkts of maternity pads, magazines.
Baby: 2 nappies & clothes for going home in (most hospitals provide clothing & nappies whilst you are there), 1 packet of wipes, bottles/teats/formula if you intend to formula feed.

If you are using cloth nappies don't forget nappy san (or similar), nappy pins or snappi, maybe 12 cloth nappies to start with and you can always get more later and maybe have a small pk of disposables for convenience. I mainly used disposables and used 3 boxes of NB.

Nail clippers, thermometer, towels x 2, washers x 4, bath thermometer, nappy cream, nappy bucket x 2, blankets (I had just polar fleece) x 5, lambskin rug, muslin wraps x 5, mittens (incase baby is a scratcher), baby monitor, car seat (of course).

Thats all i can think of right now...HTH

Thanks! Euan is doing really good (he's asleep at the moment, so it's easy to say that!). He has his moments of being complete demon baby, and they do not lie when they say that the first six weeks are really hard - but he's now getting really interactive and smiley and fun.

Just a note on what Tannis has said - if you decide to use terry or flannelette flats then you can soak in napisan, but if using MCN (modern cloth nappies) it is not recommended to use products like napisan on most kinds of MCN because it can damage the materials and the elastic. I have a little squirt which I use to hose off the poo (a lot of people don't use them), then they just go into the nappy bucket (dry-pail), then straight into the washing machine when I'm ready to wash. Easy! If there are any slight residual stains (rarely), then a couple of hours in the sun sanitises them nicely and gets rid of any stains!

Instead of using commercial bum wipes I just buy the homebrand cotton make up remover pads and soak them in water - they are much gentler on soft bums and are 100% cotton. And they are heaps cheaper! I found that if I use wipes they irritate his bum in about two seconds flat. You can also use cloths and just chuck them in to wash with the nappies.

I was wondering about the bum wipes, I have had a look at them in Woolies and you can get scented and unscented etc and I just thought...yuck, I wouldn't want to be using any of that on my bum let alone a new born's. I really like the idea of the cotton squares and water. Will remember that one!

I used one of the wipes on my skin and it irritated the hell out of it! The good thing about the cotton pads is that the don't fall apart like cotton balls do.

It will be so exciting to hear about your preggie journey along the way!!