What you need to buy when awaiting the arrival of your little one can be a minefield. I wrote the below list when I was only a few weeks into motherhood to share it with a few friends who I thought it may help at the time and now I’m sharing it here in case you find it helpful too.
This is by no means an extensive list and it doesn’t include furniture or larger items such as car seats/prams etc (I will do a separate post on those types of things). This is just some essentials I used daily to get by that I would have struggled without.
Before birth I put together a little basket of items that I’d need close to hand once I got home, it contained a lot of the things listed below and meant I didn’t need to remember where they were around the house or try and explain to my husband what I needed and where to find it. I would re-stock this regularly and keep it close by for the initial couple of weeks. You might find it useful to have them in a couple of locations around your home.
You - Paracetamol - Ibuprofen - Breast pads - Maternity pads - Huge comfy knickers – that come up high to avoid a cut in case of C-Section. - Big shirts or tops that open down the front (BF) - Maternity bras (BF) - Milk collecting pots/bags (BF) - Hakka pump – (BF) - Lansinol nipple cream (BF) - Maternity Pants / Loose Waist Band Trousers - Hand gel for you and visitors
Baby - Well-fitting mittens. - Muslin cloths – I wondered why I needed these at first but then quickly realised how useful they are (sick, milk spills, thin blanket, etc) - Lots size 1 Nappies
- Wipes
- Nappy Bags
- Cotton Wool
- Sudacrem or Bepanthen - Newborn / up to one-month onesies (colours that can be washed together). - Onesies that have built in fold over mittens on - god send!!! - Couple of small bottles (Even if you plan to BF) - Steriliser (Even if you plan to BF)
- Baby Thermometer
- Baby Nail Scissors
- A few hats - Dummies – These are great when prepping a bottle or getting ready to feed, for nappy changes or to help with sleep.
- Bibs - Little cardigans. - Tommy slept in them over his baby grow to keep his top half warm (it was Feb. Sleeping bags are great but only safe when babies are over a certain weight). - Breastfeeding cushion, I didn’t have one initially and just used a bed pillow but did purchase one eventually and found it beneficial. I also continued using it even when bottle feeding.
-Moses basket / Next to me / Bedside cot with the appropriate well-fitting mattress and sheet.
There are many more things I could add to this which were great, and I’d recommend but I know how daunting an extensive list can be when you already have a lot of other things going through your head so this what I’d class as the must haves as apposed to nice to haves.
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