Stocking up on baby items?

Hi,

Not sure if this has been discussed before, but I have looked and cant find anything but I am sure that is has been discussed before. And sorry if this is in the wrong section too!

Anyways, just wondering what sort of stuff I should be stocking up on??!! I briefly asked my mum the other day and I dont think she gave me much of an answer. And as its my first baby, I dont know what is needed!!

Obviously nappies are going to be needed. I am going to be trying cloth but will have some disposables on hand if it all gets too much.

So what else should a first time mum stock up with?! Or is it not vital to stock up on stuff?? If you do stock up, how do you buy things - when they are on special???

And TBH, I havent bought anything yet!! I think this is mainly because I dont know what is going to be needed..

Thanks!! :)

I just bought something little every week when I did the grocery shopping. So maybe a pack of wipes, bath stuff, shampoo, singlet, socks etc from the supermarket. When I had a little spare cash, so maybe once a fortnight I'd get a grow suit, an outfit, box of nappies that sort of thing.

I bought stuff when it was on special. I think i started buying things when I was about 30 weeks pregnant. I bought nappies (3 boxes of newborn size), lots of wipes, a few baby wash and baby lotion things, a couple of little singlets and jumpsuits..I did the same as Sarah - i'd one or two things when I went grocery shopping.. I didnt really go crazy, i just bought enough stuff to last the first couple of weeks because i didnt think I would want to leave the house during that time!
It might be good to buy some newborn disposable nappies to use while in hospital if your hospital doesnt provide them for you. At my hospital, if you put something in the linen service, you dont ever see it again.

Thanks Guys, I was thinking along those lines of buying wipes, baby wash, baby lotions when they were on special.

I should have bought some wipes last week cause they were on special!

I think because I get paid monthly I am not really buying anything, I have 3/4 more pays until I finish work. OMG.... only 3/4 pays left...

Oh just something to take note of is to be careful not to buy too many lotions & potions. Lots of bubs have reactions to Johnsons because of the perfumes in it, so you don't want to have a stack of things you don't need - we had to get rid of 10 bottles of Johnsons things that I had bought & gotten at my baby shower.

I just had a thought of things we often don't think of that you realise you need & go "oh crap" after bubby is born.
* dummy chain
* LOTS of wraps
* bibs in case bub has reflux
* cotton buds to clean their eyes
* nappy liners for cloth nappies

I'll keep thinking.....


ETA: Avoid baby oil, it's actually quite dangerous to bubs. If you want to do massages try an aromababy oil (or some other baby massage oil) instead ;)

Thanks Sarah for the tip on the lotions and potions. I might only buy a few diff brands to see what works best and they will last for a lil while so I can go out and buy more when bubs is here, or DP can go out!

My sis gave me heaps of bottles of baby powder! She must have got them all at her baby shower. LOL

How many singlets would you get?
What sort of wrap would you recommend? Just a normal square one or you can get the special looking ones... cant remember the name!

I only ever used the square ones, but I'd definitely recommend finding big ones, can't think what size right now, but big ones are easier to wrap with. With a winter bubba I'd suggest flanellette ones, if you're a sewer (or even if you just have a machine) you can get flanellette cheap & just hem the edges up but make sure there are no lose threads.

For singlets, I'd suggest around 9 or more (??). That way you have enough for three per day in case they get spewed, weed or pooed on & you don't *have* to be washing every single day. Others might think differently though.

It's funny, Zander is 2 and we aren't even 1/4 of the way through his second bottle of shampoo hehe! And remember they don't have to be bathed every single day and not really with soaps until they are crawling round getting dirty, so they aren't essential to start with.

Hi, I have had 3 little ones, now 7, 3 11/12ths and 16mo. I can tell you the main things you need are nappies in a bigger size, johnsons wet wipes are excellent and get all sorts of stains out, including off of sandshoes and chocolate paddle pops.., cloth nappies for all sorts of spills and a baby carrier like a baby bjorn, these are priceless. A good quality pram that you can maneuvre around the supermarket with a decent underneath, and a big pram for walking outside, you'll need fresh air at some point!
Singlets with press studs are also great for winter and you can never have too many of them, although buy white because you never want to put blue on a girl an vice versa...
Hope this helps and good luck, you'll enjoy your new life!!!

also wraps from lilly and lolly (on web) are expensive but gorgeous and are fantastic for covering up while feeding out and about and wrapping babe, can also hang from inside of car window when babe is bigger and they look really cool!

How do you know what size nappies to get though? You don't really know how big bubs will be when born do you?? Or clothes? Or just get bigger ones coz they will eventually grow into it? lol

I stocked up on clothes from 000 upwards, if they are too big they'll be ok, but you can't squeeze a baby into too small clothes IYKWIM. My mum went out shopping the day after Zander was born to get some 0000 clothes cos he was a little shortie LOL.

As for nappies, I'd stock up on newborns. KMart, Target, Coles, Woolies etc will allow you to change to a siz up if you need it later on. If you know the sex of bub you can try to stock up on bigger sizes though.

I agree with the others on the lotions and potions thing, and with the wipes, try them on your hands for a few days before you buy too many of any one brand. Even though huggies wipes are nice and thick and come in a great pack I ended up with dermatitis from using them in the early days. So you might be allergic to the lotions/potions yourself.

I suggest you STOCK UP ON FOOD! From about 30 weeks I made a huge amount of casseroles/soups and froze them - great for a winter bub/mum combo.

Again... Wipes!!
We buy the box of 6 Johnsons wipes... its around $21 from memory from Big W... we buy a box a week, that way, we always have wipes... there is nothing worse than running out IMO. We use them for everything. We also use Aquim handwash stuff... it sits on the changetable and I use it so I don't have to rush off to wash my hands after changing Harry... when he wants a feed, he wants it asap... no time to wash hands etc, so this has been the best thing, it is also used in the hospitals etc.

ok my suggestion is washing liquid for bubs, if your like me you will want to wash bubs clothes seperatly and in sensaitive liquid buy up big we must have had dozen of liquid and a dozen of the softener we use purity anyway people give plenty of essentials as gifts but noone thinks of washing stuff :lol:

Bottles(if you plan to bottle feed), wipes, nappies, well everything everyone else has said:Plol. I used to buy something every week aswell a bottle or a dummy, you could even start getting things for when bubs is a bit older like spoons and bowls.

Ellie

Thanks everyone, this is great! I am going to start buying something each week just so I get a bit of a collection.

Sarah - I am going to do the same as you with clothes. I will buy 000's and if my baby is small then I will send my mum and sis out to get some smaller clothes.

Stocking up on food would be a great idea, the only thing is that I have such a fussy partner!! He used to cook, but now jsut doesnt feel like it and it is all up to me. I might need to look into freezing some foods cause I know I am not going to want to cook anything in the early weeks.

Don't forget breast pads cause if b/f you'll go through heaps and they can get expensive. Each time i do a shop now i throw in a box of pigeon breast pads (i found them the best whilst b/f Ella - flexible, absorbant and slimline) :)

ahh yes.. and maternity pads would probably be good too?? I saw the price of a 10 pack yesterday and thought wow, thats expensive for 10! I think it was $5 or $6.. I saw some other cheaper packs but they looked too surfboardish.

The only things I have stocked up on have been laundry detergent (Amolin sensitive), and maternity pads lol. I had only bought 2 baby outfits, no lotions/potions, and no rungs/wraps, and now after baby shower/leaving work/pressies from friends and family I have more than enough. I'm so glad that I didn't buy any clothes especially. I still haven't bought any toys, but we've been given some, and I don't think they'll need very many as a newborn.

ahh thats what I was meant to ask! What sort of laundry detergent would be needed?? I use OMO for front loaders, so I guess bubs would need something different?

We've got a front loader too! The Amolin sensitive has worked fine for when I've prewashed all of bubs stuff. I think you can also get Omo Sensitive - but I'm not sure if it's suitable for a front loader.

You could also stock up on other household items that you use, such as cleaning products, dishwashing gloves (if you use them), laundry powder, soap, bathwash & shampoo for you & DH, just anything you generally use around the house, I am about to start doing this, just getting an extra pack of sponges, scourers, rubbbish bags etc. Hopefully it will all add up and make being on one income a lot easier.

Good idea for a thread, there are a few things I will add to my list as well.

That's true Moglie - we've been doing that as well. It leaves a bit more in the grocery budget for baby things when you'll need to buy them, and it also means you never run out of toilet paper ;)

I usually bought 1 thing every shop extra when I was pregnant and there were a few things I ran out of in the second week that I wish I had gotten more of.... nursing pads, breast pads. I had 10 cloth ones and thought it would be all good, but I leaked heaps this time & needed more so I used washers at home, but needed something for when we left the house that wouldn't leak through. I went through 2 boxes in a week!!! Things settled down but definately a few boxes of them if you are breastfeeding.

Things I bought were:

*maternity pads (4 packs)
*ultra thin pads (2 packs)
*nappies (newborn 1 box, next stage up 5-11kg 3 boxes)
*wipes (4-5 bulk packs)
*nappy liners (if we don't use them as liners here we also use them as wipes)
*bath soap for newborns (I use the gaia organics bath range or the mama baba lavender)
*soap for adults
*bibs
*singlets (I have around 10 each from 000 up to 1)
*we went to Big W and got a 5kg box of washing powder

True, use those cotton balls for the eyes, but grab a little box of the cotton tips (on a stick) anyway for cleaning their belly button - take them to the hospital too! We didn't bring any of our own and the nurses got a bit cranky when we asked if they had any we could use...
I'm really glad I bought a couple of smaller sized soft baby towels and facewashers - they have been really useful.
Wraps are great in a bigger size - at least 1.5metres by 1metre.
Also, if you're having a baby shower or you have lots of family, don't forget you'll get HEAPS of gifts/hand-me-downs - its great ;)

Sorry I meant cotton balls, not cotton buds :doh:

Most dummy chains these days are very short to prevent that happening.

Apologies of I am repaeting other posters:

With my first I found it very useful to stock up on:

Hand soap - you wash your hands a thousand times a day
Aqium (hand sanitiser as used in hospy) - used this at the change table
Laundry detergent/powder
Breast pads - or you can get lovely hemp washable ones that don't itch!
Maternity Pads
A good hand cream for yourself - your hands crack and hurt alot due to washing
Lansinoh - for cracked nipples
Nappies - I do not use disposables so for us it was Modern Cloth here
Wipes - I do not use the disposable/chemically ones so for us this was soft cloth wipes
Natural Instincts Skin Lotion (100% organic)
Natural Instincts Baby bath (100% organic)
Cornflour baby powder
Paw Paw cream - the non -petroleum based one
Zinc and castor oil cream
Bonds Suits
Singlets
Some bigger than average muslin wraps
Terry flat nappies for spew catchers
A couple of yummy soft baby hooded towels
Some washers/flannels for bathtime

That is all the ones I could think of. As others have said about the most commonly commercially available washes, creams and oils etc I would not use them. I did try them and the washes dried my daughters skin out so much it was terrible. Also most of the creams have harsh chemicals in them and baby oil is mineral based and bad for any skin.

I have bottles and bottles of all of them here given to us as gifts and I have no idea what to do with it all......

Lizzy - thanks for that!! I will look for those skin lotion and baby bath you have mentioned. I have pretty sensitive skin myself and the last thing I want is my daughter's skin to dry out as well as my own!

Well I got lots of add to my upcoming shopping lists. Thanks for all your help! It makes things soo much easier.

No worries, I get them at my local chemist. They are white bottles with navy blue writing.
:D

hi Everyone,
I have just been looking over my list of things to start buying and thought if I should start buying now or wait? The reason I am thinking of waiting is because I will be having a baby shower, but I dont think that will be until June and I really would like to start getting organised but am worried about getting too much stuff!!

What you think, shall I wait or just buy it now and see what I get at my baby shower? I guess I shouldnt get too much stuff at my baby shower because I dont really have a huge group of friends, so will only be a small gathering...

One thing I will suggest is a few different styles of dummies, because some babies dont like the cherry teat and some do. I think all up I went through about 5 different brands before we found one Tori would take.

What a great thread!!

Great suggestion about stocking up on normal household items.. toilet paper, tissues ( i cried alot after having my DD) hand soap etc

Muslin wraps, cotton throws, batteries for your camera, film, maybe buy some nice thank you cards if you see them on special.

Cot sheets etc, i had a reflux babe, and some nights i would change her cot 4 or 5 times!

Even maybe finding some clothes for yourself for when you are almost back to your pre-pregnancy size but not quiet!

I didnt actually buy anything for my DS until he was born..besides 3 outfits which i couldnt resist, but only 1 fit cause they were too big. I would reccomend buying 0000 because DS was 9ld 4oz and they still swam on him, 000 were enormous.
I recieved everything else at my baby shower and when he was born..nappies, wipes, baby bath, shampoo, cotton tips, singlets, clothes, powder, nappy sacks...you name i got it.
I got that much i have just given the last few bottles of lotions and stuff to my girlfriend for her baby shower..and DS is almost 3!!!

The most valuable item i recieved was a little 'Safety First" brand kit that included nail clippers, medicine measure thing (was long and skinny and they drank out the top), a nasal passage clearer (basically a little bulb that sucks the snot out lol) and a thermometer, i didnt use the medicine thing but the nail clippers and the snot sucker were awesome i stil use the clippers now...thank goodness DS will blow his nose now:cryinglaugh:

Ohh and while i remember Muslin wraps were invaluable i wrapped DS from birth and they were a life saver i bought them in a 3 pack from Target for approx $11 and they are extra large approx 1mx1m...they did him during winter and then extra blankets ontop and then during summer when he didnt like being wrapped anymore i used them as a blanket....he still sleeps with his blankies to this very day so i have had to buy some more for my next baby.

What i can tell you is that you will lose count how many people ask 'what do you want' or 'what do you need' just tell them to get you wipes and stuff because those items are cheaper than some baby outfits people will buy you more of them and they will add up before you know it.

good luck

PS You can never have too much stuff!! lol

I dont suggest any baby soaps, just Bi carb soda as it's gentle & softens babies skin, rather than any nice smelling stuff which can cause a rash!

I throw in maternity pads & breast pads, I have about 10 size 000 singlets about 5 growsuits in 000, other than that I check the list from the hospital of what to bring & although I have outfits for Zyon most are in 00 to grow into, you will get so many gifts! Maybe wait til after your baby shower for stuff for Avaleigh, but start now with maternity pads & breastpads for you coz it wont matter you'll need them anyways & wont get them for baby shower!!???