First baby shoping - clueless mom

I bought the POANG chair from IKEA and it has been invaluable for nursing. I wish that I had bought this with my first child. There is a footrest to match and we can use it for around the home when no longer needed in the nursery. DVD box set - I watched the entire S & C series when nursing my first baby! Some prams have a great resale value, such as P&T (in Australia), which you might like to consider. Think lightweight though... I wasn't as organised as you are, but it gave me an excuse to pop DD in the pram and go shopping, with a well deserved coffee break! Best wishes and enjoy this exciting time:)

I am a Mom of three, ranging in ages now from 5... to 2.5. I saw this post and read it for fun. Wow, the memories here are so much fun. I can remember back to this very same anxiety, 5+ years ago. My advice is simple: Go with your feelings. Take the advice you can use and dont worry about the rest. Noone will know your baby like you. And about all the "stuff", sometimes it just gets in the way.

This is such useful post. I am first time mom-to-be too, and this seems to cover everything I might need for my LO. Thanks to everyone for the helpful tips!

So, I am trying to figure out what I need to buy for my first baby boy. could you please help me???. Thank you. [color=#000000'>Hopefully this quote thing will work and you'll see my answers! I fell out with my mum because she said I'd bought far too much, so I thought I'd respond to each item in turn and tell you what we found. -Bodysuits? (how many??). Do I also need pants, shirts???. Pants and shirts - only if you want baby too look nice when you go out! Bodysuits yes, if you mean the all-in-one sleepsuits. DS lived in them for the first few weeks. It's really handy if you can find the ones that have integral mitts. Mothercare do them. -Do you need mittens, hats, socks, booties? (how many??) Don't bother if you can get the sleepsuits/bodysuits with mitts built in. Get a couple of hats in case you think it's cold with the a/c on. -Sleeping clothes??, same as day clothes but baby sleeping in a sleeping bag? Sleeping bags can be used from about 8lb onwards, I think, and according to the NHS at home baby should be in a vest, sleepsuit/bodysuit and one layer (e.g. a blanket) in a room between 16 and 20 degrees. -How many receiving blankets, bibs??? I had four blankets which did us fine, and no bibs. -Any other clothes? As you choose! You can go mad here because they're all so cute :D. -Towels?, how many? We had a fair few towels - about 10 - because they dry so quick here and it meant I could be lazy with washing! -If I decide on cloth diapers, how many? No clue here, went the disposable route. -Diaper bag - I got one from Mothercare then changed to one that was more like a regular handbag as I hated carrying around something that looked like a laundry bag. I found one with lots of pockets and space and it's really useful. -Crib - If you mean cot, yep! Although for baby # 2 I plan to get a small Moses basket or bassinet to go next to the bed, then move baby to a cot at around 6 months, same as we did with DS1 (although he had a hammock to start with). -Bedding, what is enough?, bumper and bed sheets is enough??. Or do I need comforter, pillow,etc?? Just sheets. I'd say four, as I have three and it's not quite enough. No bumper unless you get the Airwrap. No pillows or comforter until they're much bigger. -Crib mattress protector - Godsend. Get two in case one gets sicked on! -How many bottles? - I have six and that works fine, but I switched to formula at eight months so you might need more than this in the early days if you FF from the start. -Bottle sterilizer? - We have an electric one as our microwave is only small. You'll need to get the one that matches your bottles unless you can find a universal one. - Mobile for crib - Didn't bother - crib is for sleeping in this house! -Stroller - Prepare for stroller envy! See if you can have a try of friends' strollers to see how they actually work with a baby in, bag hanging off the back and crowds shoving you around. Oh, and how they work over pavements and sand. -Car seat - One with a base is invaluable so you don't have to faff around strapping seatbelts around it every time. If you can get Isofix it's even easier. We had the Maxi Cosi Cabriofix (new model is the Pebble) with the FamilyFix base. -Basket for baby to sleep around the house or out. I did plan to get one of these for this one but now I think baby is going to have every nap in the cot if we're home. Let's see if this is more successful than napping anywhere and everywhere, which we did with DS1! -Electric pump double (since I am going back to work), plus storage bags/bottles? I had the Tommee Tippee one and it was adequate, although I didn't pump much. -Nipple cream, breast pads - Definitely. -Maternity pads - You can get jumbo packs from Mothercare for about 40dhs but I found the smaller, more expensive packs were better quality and more comfortable. Get a few packs in and then you can switch to super-size sanitary towels after a while. -Bath tub - We had one and were able to fit it on the sink in the bathroom, so there was no bending down which helped our backs. -What toiletries? (shampoo, soap, powder, baby wipes, ???) We used nothing for the first while then Seba Med cleanser/bath stuff. Boots often do offers on their wipes, buy one get one free, so you can get two packs for 12dhs. -Changing mat - Lots of baby bags/diaper bags have them included but it's handy to have one for changing downstairs if your changing table is upstairs. -Baby support pillow so he wont flip - I don't think you'll need one when baby is so small and if you do buy one, check there's no recall anywhere for it as some have been recalled due to safety concerns. -Nursery pillow - If you mean nursing pillow, definitely. I found it such a help when DS was tiny. -Swing? - I never had one but friends swear by them and if this baby doesn't sleep, I'm getting one! -Baby monitor? - Handy to have, especially one where you can operate the baby unit remotely and put the lullably back on from downstairs! -Baby toys? - You'll get stacks of them as presents, so save your cash. -Baby gym? - We had a playmat and used it from about 8 weeks. I'm not sure he was ever that interested, though. -Pacifier? - Get a couple of different styles to try and see if baby likes them. DS only ever had one when my niece held it in his mouth in the back of the car! -Anything else? - A baby carrier, such as the Baby Bjorn or Ergo. Very handy if you need to get something done and baby won't settle. And muslin squares - you can get packs from Ikea dirt cheap. Super-handy for catching sick, mopping up dribble, and a million other things. Hope that helps! [/color'>

Nothing much to add here only don't buy too many "newborn" outfits. An average sized little one will get maybe 2 weeks out of them? And shortsleeved newborn outfits are a waste of time since babies sleep better when they are snug. Invest in a good few nice looking blankets because that's all most ppl will see of them for the first 2 months anyway. Tiny shoes? Waste of time. Tiny socks are good and those little "sock holder thingies" from MCare that keep the socks from coming off. What I have found really useful this time around is a swaddling blanket - just the right shape, and a purse that folds out into a changing mat complete with wetwipes; so handy to grab and take instead of a whole baby bag. Did someone mention a breastfeeding blanket/curtain thing? Lovely and mine seconds as a pram screen because it's cool and lightweight. Don't know if you have breast pump on your list. A MUST for day 4-6 when you are engorged and uncomfortable. Good luck, and don't stress - I know you are "nesting" by getting all this stuff now, but basically all you need is a few nappies, a blanket, one or two outfits and vests and a car seat. The rest you can buy as you go.

Congratulations Imolinar, Very exciting :) DD had way too many clothes after she was born. People are very generous. We had probably about 50 (!!!) body suits and used maybe 5 of them (whatever was on top in the drawer ;) and we used vests for nights - vest+nappy :) Did not use hats, socks, booties until much later, but mittens came handy. I think we bought about 5-7 pairs. Muslin clothes - loads! 2 cellular blankets, few bibs. DD was exclusively breast fed until I came back to work when he was almost 3 months. I had two bottles and two teats (S and M) and a bottle brush. I did not buy steriliser - was boiling bottles and pump every evening. I have Medela double pump and swear by it. Breastfeeding pillow is very handy. We did not buy any pillow for DD. She even did not have a bumper until much later, when we get hands on the mesh one. so only mattress protector and sheets. Moses basket was great for I think 1st couple of months. We used only water for bathing DD until she started to crawl. Now I use Mustela and love it. Wet wipes come handy when out and about, but at home we use only cotton and water when changing nappies. Nappies of course - initially we bought small packet of huggies and pampers - after testing, DD bum reacted better to huggies ;) I tried number of breast pads. I found re-usable ones useless and the gentlest disposable brand for me is Pigeon (they often have offer buy two get one free - man at the chemist knew DH and alway informed him if the promo was on ;)) Oh, someone gave me a mellobaby (google it :)) as a present and it is great. I always have it in my handbag :) X ETA cream for nappy rash - we use sudocream and it works well. Talking cream - I used purelan for my ni*ples. If you plan to breastfeed make sure you have lots of pillows so you can sit up in comfortable postion with your back rested. Mother Care or Baby shop have chairs and they are reasonably priced (AED500,-) compare to other chairs. <em>edited by JoannaS on 11/05/2011</em>

I'm in the same boat imolinar. First baby due in a couple of months and had/still have no clue how much of everything we'll need and use. I've ended up buying a lot just in case! We've bought newborn clothes, even though I could have a big baby that doesnt even fit in them. We've gone with legless short sleeve body suits and romper suits for in the day and long leg, sleeved sleep suits for night. we've bought socks, mittens, booties and hats just in case as for the price of them it didn't really matter to us if we didn;t use them, lesson learnt. We've just bought a moses basket and we were given a stand so thats what our baby will sleep in initially in our bedroom. not bought a cot yet, but will be buying the mesh type bumper that are not so attractive but a lot safer apparently. We've just finished ante natal classes and as part of that we've been advised to have baby in sleep suit, swaddled and then another blanket on top. We were told if baby is too hot, they will sweat and you;ll know and if they're too cold they won't settle so have layers. Even thought we're having a summer baby, it will still be inside a lot with the A/C which can get very nippy. Been told shouldn't use a pillow for babies either. baby bath is up to you, we've been given one, but you can also get wire framed stands of foam mats which would mean you could bath baby in a normal bath, so your preference again. Mobiles etc for crib, again at the classes they said you shouldnt use one until 6 weeks as its over stimulating for baby. Personal preference obviously but as a result, as we don;t know the *** of the baby, I'm going to wait and get one after the birth, before 6 weeks thats colour appropriate maybe, same with an activity mat. We've decided to go for a rocker rather than a swing, gaain, just what we've been used too, and personal preference. We've also been told to buy nipple shields as well, (avant ones were recommended) as a just in case, as if you do need them straight away, sending hubby out to try and get the right ones could end in disaster, would in our house anyway!!! We got a baby monitor from the UK, but i'd say its a definite must have. Will give peace of mind when you;re away from the babies room.We've bought Dummies/pacifiers, just one pack of 2 as again we don't know if baby will use them or not, if it does, we'll buy more! Stroller is a big decision and there are many types out there, same with car seat. We've also bought a base for our car seat to leave in the car as its part of a travel system so the car seat can sit ontop of the buggy. We've also got flannels, sponges and cotton balls, cotton buds etc for cleaning baby in the early days (top and tailing), and we've been told by the midwife only need water early on to clean, maybe in the event of lots of 'mess' a very mild soap. We've also got a top and tail bowl that came with the bath. I've also found a lot of good advise has come from friends who've had babies. They've helped a lot, but mostly it comes down to every individual. What works for one person doesn't necessarily work for the next, I suppose thats why its such a big industry. But if you're anything like me, it has been very confusing figuring it all out. By the time we bought our stroller, I had a list as long as my arm of what various people recommended you 'NEED' to have on it, and that perfect stroller didn't exist!! Good luck with it all...

Don't forget - you can always go shopping after bub arrives if you find yourself short of something! ;) I use the Mustella brand of soaps (I adore the smell!). Bottles and teats - do some research and chose which teat you like - it'll be bub's choice tho! Medella have the bags and bottles for storage of milk that attach to their pumps. I love the double electric but a lot of people also love the swing by Medella. You won't need much in the way of blankets etc (too hot now). No support pillow needed for a while (won't flip for a few months). Sheets - I'd get around 3-4 for when they get soiled, in the wash etc. Maybe get some gro bags/ sleeping bags (1.1 tog for summer). I never bothered with a crib - straight into the cot. Don't get bumpers, pillows etc (dangerous for babies) unless you get the mesh netting bumper. Stock up on size 1 nappies. I use pampers premium, and wipes - huggies. Baby toys and gyms - don't use them for the first couple of months. You won't need a basket and a crib - if you want something I'd recommend perhaps a port-a-cot with a basinette. You'll need one in the future and it's saves wasting money on something you will only use for a few weeks. Don't forget - you will be inundated with lovely gifts from friends and family :) Don't waste money on double-ups etc!

You sound very organised, or your list does!! Ill tell you what i didnt use on your list and i hope that helps. -mittens and hats (dd didnt scratch herself and we were advised not to put hats on her) -because its so hot out here she just had a thin blanket over her at night and maybe 1 for the pram when at the malls -crib, we bought a crib and a cot. dd grew out of the crib within weeks. she was in her cot at 6 weeks -i bought a comforter for her cot and like i said before it was too warm for her so its never been used!! -mattress protector- the nappy keeps everything in unless they are sick i suppose -i recommend a microwave steriliser, so easy to use and done within 5 mins! -mobile for crib-again we bought one and its never been used! -baby toys my dd didnt show any interst in these at the start, same with the play gym! but camein very handy when she got older. We used everything else on your list. Towels, maybe get 3 so you have spares when the others go in the wash (dont forget flannels). Toilettries wise we got johnsons baby bath, shampoo and lotion and not had any problems. Hope this helps :-)