First of all do not panic!!! It is not as daunting as it all seems… enjoy this time shopping and
preparing for your pending arrival. First of all let us look at the ‘necessities’ before your start on
‘avoidable purchases’ – we all have them!
– A baby crib – from birth
– A cot – for the future (about 4-6 months of age)
– Baby car seat
– Baby pram
– Baby vests
– Baby grows
– Crib sheets
– 2 crib cellular blankets as these are breathable
– Bra – take yourself off to get fitted for a good supporting bra to ensure you are comfortable. Do not forget about YOU on this journey
– Breast pads
– A top and tail bowl (to use the times you are doing a face wash and a bottom wash
rather than a bath). I will talk about baths in another blog
– A soft sponge ( my personal preference are the lovely natural sponges)
– A baby bath
– 2 baby baths towels
– A changing mat
– A bath thermometer
– Baby bottles
– Steriliser – Microwave or plug in
– A breast pump if breastfeeding
– Formula storage containers – if formula feeding – the key is organisation
– Nappies
– Cotton wool
– Baby wipes – for after the first month – I prefer the water wipes
– Nappy changing bag
– Room thermometer
– 2 Cot sheets – as a minimum so you have spares
– Muslin clothes – lots – I cannot recommend these enough for when feeding and so many more uses….did I say these are a must in my opinion.
– A swaddle wrap – swaddling is safe if swaddled correctly. I do not suggest using a blanket as perhaps your parents or the older generations swaddled. Swaddling using blankets can raise above a child’s chin level and then onto the face. We do not want this. A great brand that is a wonderful swaddle wrap is SWADDLEME. It is the perfect thickness. Once again, thinking about the baby not becoming too hot, it has darts at the shoulders creating a good shape so it sits perfectly on the shoulder. Perfect shape to create a secure swaddle for baby but enough room to enable baby’s legs to flop open naturally in a frog position. This is very important as we never want to bind a baby’s legs and very important for hip and limb development.
– Dummies – just in case you need. Never rule out using a dummy, you never know when you may need to calm your newborn. I am not anti-dummy at all, much to many a client’s surprise. If only parents post-birth were shown how to use dummies correctly so they did not get in the habit of replacing the dummy back too frequently. Replacing the dummy could create an awake association, being attended to if they cry and expecting the magic dummy hand to pop the dummy back in their mouth every wake up. When a baby sucks a dummy it can be comforting and it has also has been scientifically proven that sucking a dummy at bedtime and naptime can lower your baby’s risks of SIDS.
– A room thermometer – very important to monitor the baby’s environment temperature. Now I am not saying get obsessed by this but you certainly need to be aware that the
baby’s sleeping environment is not too hot and not too cold. A good thermometer will put your mind at ease. The temperature on the baby monitors, in my opinion, are not always
that reliable for accuracy. Gro egg does a fabulous egg shape thermometer but there will be other great brands out there.
– Lullaby Trust suggest room temperature between 16 and 20 degrees
– Lullaby trust have great safe sleep guidance https://www.lullabytrust.org.uk/
– A travel cot – will not be needed immediately. You may want one at a later date if by choice for traveling or staying overnight away from home. (Many baby shops have this on their baby list but it is not a priority post-birth.)
Follow our Agency by Katie-Jane account where Katie-Jane will be uploading videos and doing lives over the months ahead to bring helpful topics that will help in your preparation pre and
post-birth. Just a few of our topics covered will be preparation and invaluable tips for bath time and bathing a baby, top and tailing a baby, preparation for bottle feeds, cleaning baby’s bottles,
swaddling safely and so much more.
I hope you found this useful!
Katie Jane
