First month with a baby: what you need
Deliberately short. Almost everything sold for newborns is bought twice, once before the birth and once in the right size — this is the part you will actually use.
42 items
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The items
- Sleeping
- Moses basket, crib or cot for the parents' room
- Fitted sheets×4
- Sleeping bags or blankets, season-appropriate×3
- Mattress protector×2
- Room thermometer
- Feeding
- Muslins — more than you think×12
- Bibs×6
- Bottles and a steriliser, if bottle feeding
- Formula, if using it
- Breast pads and nipple cream, if feeding
- A big water bottle for whoever is feedingFeeding makes you astonishingly thirsty. Nobody mentions it.
- Changing
- Newborn nappies×2
- Cotton wool or water wipes
- Changing mat, plus a second one downstairs
- Nappy cream
- Nappy bin or bags
- Clothes
- Babygrows, newborn×7
- Babygrows, 0–3 months×7
- Vests×7
- Hat and scratch mitts
- Cardigan×2
- Pramsuit or snowsuit in winter
- Bathing
- Baby bath or a bath support
- Hooded towels×2
- Plain baby wash
- Soft brush
- Nail scissors or a file
- Out of the house
- Car seat, fitted and checked before the birth
- Pram or sling
- Changing bag, packed and left packed
- For the parents
- Paracetamol and pads for the birthing parent
- Food in the freezerThe single most useful gift. Cook it in the last month of pregnancy.
- A list of who is bringing what, and when
- Health visitor and midwife numbers on the fridge
- Birth registered before the deadline
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Questions people ask
- What can wait?
- The cot for a big room, the high chair, shoes, most toys, and the second pram. None are needed in the first month and most are cheaper second-hand later.
- How many babygrows do you need?
- Six or seven in newborn size and the same in 0–3 months. Fewer than the lists say, more than you think at three in the morning.