Home > Advice > Baby > Birth > Pregnancy > Everything You’ll Need For Your First Baby Post author By The Mum Club Post date 12 September 2021 Everything You’ll Need For Your First Baby The Mum Club12 September 2021 And tips we’ve picked up along the way. So you’re about to have a baby and haven’t got a clue what to buy? As with pretty much everything to do with becoming a mum there’s a lot of conflicting advice out there, so we’ve put together a comprehensive list of everything we genuinely used and loved at TMC – and with five babies between us, that’s a lot of trial, error and real life advice. We’ve also included a downloadable PDF list which you can print and tick off as you shop. Travel Car seat & ISOfix You can’t leave hospital without it so this is a big one. Our greatest cash saving advice is to scour the baby shows for pram/car seat bundles and do your ‘ISOFIX’ research, so the system you buy now (the second image) will also work with the next car seat up (yes, you’ll go through a few in the coming years). Good stores will fit the car seat for you and show you how to do it properly. Pushchair As you’ve probably seen by now we’re big fans of the BabyZen Yoyo at TMC, and wish we hadn’t spent a grand on a heavy duty first pram only to change it for this lightweight stroller six months; it has a newborn attachment we could have used from the get-go. If and when a second one comes along you can attach a toddler-friendly buggy board at the back for your toddlers, and add an extra-large bag for your shopping. Our vote for city living and any kind of travel. Baby Sling It’s worth pointing out that you don’t need to spend £350 on a baby sling, but they are so pretty! The resale value holds its own on these beauties, and we’d recommend a sling over a carrier to start with, so you can keep that baby close. Travel Cot Not everyone needs one of these but as we both love to travel, and regularly take the kids to our parents’ we used ours a lot – it really did help us get more sleep whenever we were away. If you do get one, consider an extra-long one, which don’t get outgrown quite as quickly. Also, invest in a mattress topper, Travel cots just aren’t comfortable without one. Backpack-style Changing Bag If we had our time again neither of us would buy a holdall – it’s just something else to…well, hold! Seriously, go straight for a backpack and choose one that looks good, as you’ll be carrying it for the next three to five years. Fortunately, the world has caught up with that fact and there are plenty of bags worth investing a little bit more in. Sleeping Crib We found that the Chico Next2Me is by far the easiest crib to use. It attaches to the side of your bed, so you don’t have to go far when it’s time for a night feed. When you do want to move them a little further away, just unattached it and zip up the fourth side. Genius. It comes in a few colours too, so don’t panic Mrs Hinch – it will totally go with your decor. Comforters & Dummies You’ll receive so many of these at the beginning: use them all and rotate them regularly, so your baby doesn’t get attached to one single toy that you have to boil wash every time they drop it down the nearest drain. Hard when this Jellycat elephant is the softest thing ever (yes, you’ll get attached to them to) but we promise it’s worth it. As for dummies, we both used them up to the two-year mark or thereabouts. They helped our babies settle, and stopped them from using their bottles (or us!) as makeshift pacifiers. The glow in the dark kind come highly recommended by both of us – no more scrabbling around in the middle of the night! Swaddle Bag/Grow Bag Our tip here is to not to even try swaddling with muslins; we found it so hard to wrap our babies into tight (but not too tight) burritos especially after a midnight feed, and they always broke free in the end. So get a swaddle bag, and when they grow out of that get a grow bag with sleeves, as babies get cold at night and like to be snuggled up as much as we do. Camera Monitor & Room temperature On that note, a thermometer will help you wrap them up for the right conditions. A good baby monitor should have a thermometer on it but if it doesn’t this Gro egg is very handy. Bathing Baby Bath or Seat We used both. The tub is much easier when they’re very little and you don’t want to do gymnastics round the bath to keep them in one place. But they both work just as well. Towel/Oilatum/Baby Grooming Kit/Thermometer Changing Nappies & Wipes Hear us out: reusable nappies have come a long way. We both used them and found they saved us money in the long run and made us feel better about the impact our families were having on the environment. If disposables are more your bag, hit up Aldi right from the start; their nappies are a third of the price of most other brands and they sell in bulk. Both of these are God’s gift to nappy rash.. and if your kids are anything like ours it turns into a warzone down there the minute they start teething. Metanium is wonderstuff and Sudocrem doubles up as a great blemish-busting face mask for grown-ups! Nappy Bin Not essential, but when your newborn leaks liquid poo for the billionth time that day you’ll be glad you can stash those nappies (or disposable liners, if you’re on the natural nappy train) away quickly. We bought two each – one for upstairs, one for downstairs – and never regretted it. Steriliser & Bottle Kit / Perfect Prep Machine So easy Clothes Short Sleeved Vests Next do the best ones! Long sleeved baby grows Again Next are great quality but if you want to spend a little extra there is nothing softer than Mori! Scratch Mits Especially when they are tiny All in one pram suit This really depends on the time of year your baby is due, but however old they are when their first winter comes around, one if these is worth a purchase. Don’t spend too much money though, they don’t wear them for very long. Muslins You’ll need a lot of these. A lot. And big ones too. They’re great for breast feeding (covering up and mopping up) and as blankets or sunshades. Get a few lovely ones and lots of cheap white ones which can all go in the wash at the same time. Cellular Blankets Breastfeeding Nipple Cream Doubles up as lip balm. Woohoo! Nursing Pads Breast Pump Did you know you can rent breast pumps! Rather than shelling out the cost. Nursing pillow We got the BBHUGME to help us sleep during pregnancy and continued to use them as supportive feeding pillows. Nursing / Comfortable bras H&M do the best maternity bras. And who wants to paying a lot of money on something you’ll never want to see again after a year of wearing them! After Birth Maternity Pants Tena is your best friend. Large Cotton Kickers M&S high waisted Painkillers Lots of comfortable PJS The night sweats are real. Netflix Subscription The Mum Club Membership For those 3am reads. Tags 10minuteread, Bedtimebrowse, newDesign The Mum Club12 September 2021 ← 10 Questions You Might Ask About Your newborn Baby → TMC Family Recipe Of The Week: Easy Sausage Casserole
