Diapers
Wipes
Car Seat (if you plan to take the baby on the car)

His/Her own bed
Baby cloths
Baby bath tub
We used towels as swaddling blankets

Pacifiers
Bottles
Thermometer
Dimmers in the room baby sleeps
Stroller

1. music CD for sleep training
- we played and still play the same CD every time the baby goes to sleep. by now it’s a hypnotizing tool. Great for traveling.

2. swing or bouncer
- we held out for so long and wish we didn’t. It really was a life-saver. Buy it used, as it only is good for 4 months.

3. exersaucer or jumperoo (4 months +)
- similar to swing or bouncer. This one buys you extra hour of sleep every morning and tons of happiness.

4. His/her own room. I know people who sleep with their children until 3, and I know it’s not absolutely necessary. However, I must say that if you give them a space of their room (even a walk-in closet, or empty bathroom), it minimizes distraction to them or yourself. The day we moved out of her room at 8 weeks was arguably one of the best in my life; and the added benefits are (1) helps your relationship with your hubby (2) makes transition later much easier (3) you have a place to store all his/her stuff.

Hope this helps!

Thank you,

Dennis

When you are planning your babies sleeping arrangements please take the guidelines to minimise the risk of cot death into account.

Not an easy book but is worth to read it in a books lounge.

Thank you for the advice. I am concerned about the sleeping aspect because it takes me a long time to fall asleep, but maybe I’ll be so exhausted it will all change!

The only thing I’ve been told we do need is the car seat because otherwise we aren’t allowed to leave the hospital. However I don’t know if this is true or an urban myth. I guess our solution to that could be to have a home birth, but as you point out things don’t always go according to plan.

I am planning on doing lots of cooking before my due date, as I finish work 2 weeks before hand. Of course if it arrives early I may get less done, but my husband gets 2 weeks paternity leave after the baby is born so can help out.

Thanks for your comment, yes I have been reading your posts with interest (I did intend to do a pregnancy journal like your but without the artwork, but didn’t find the time).

I have two weeks off before my due date so as long as I’m not early, and we have kitchen facilities, I am planning on cooking lots of meals to freeze. Fortunately my husband gets two weeks paternity leave after the birth so he will be around at the beginning as well.

Many of my friends have told me the first few months are hell, but haven’t given me advice on how to get through it so thank you for those. My doctors surgery is very keen on breastfeeding and has a lunch time clinic for mums to be in about 2 months, and its all free because it is provided by the National Health Service. My step sisters have also offered support in that area if I have problems, and as they have 10 children between them they are fairly experienced!

Thank you for the tips. Someone at work also recommended not picking up the baby, in fact they said they didn’t even turn on the light when they checked on their baby at night.

Putting the baby in their own room is an interesting point because their room is currently my ‘play room’. Our priority over the next month and a half is to do up our kitchen, including knocking down two walls. We didn’t think they would need their own room for a several months. However, as I’m not going to be in a position to do much work on the kitchen perhaps I can work on moving out of my room.

I had a stressful and long delivery on the first one. I ended up having a c-section so make sure to be flexible and don’t think that if you plan out how it’s going to work that will be how it ends up. This is one event you can not plan.

What I would tell you is to stick with your instinct. You will always know best for you and the baby! You will know when things feel right.

Secondly, sleep at every opportunity. Although it might seem hard, sleep when you can… that will keep you going. Hopefully you will have some help with hubby and family. Try and get people to cook for you (meal rotations) or maybe pre-cook some meals for the freezer. You will need to eat and the last thing you want to do is cook!

There are lots of websites but honestly, it’s just one of those experiences they don’t give you a manual for, you just have to take one day at a time.

Most importantly… enjoy EVERY MINUTE OF IT! Each cry, whimper, new event. It’s an amazing experience and I am sure you will do great.

- Disposable diapers: Even though we switched to cloth diapering, disposables were nice in those first few weeks when we were low on sleep!
- Feminine hygiene pads: For residual bleeding after the vaginal birth.
- Swaddling blanket: Our baby slept best when swaddled. Not every baby does, though. Larger sized flannel or lightweight blankets were best.
- Bouncy chair: Nice to put him there and have him with me when I was in the kitchen. Ours had a “vibrate” setting which he enjoyed.
- Burp cloths: Our baby spit up A LOT. Not every baby does, though. We used cloth diapers because they’re cheap and absorbent.
- Freezer meals/meals from friends and family: Wonderful to not have to cook, when you’re waking up every few hours!
- Pen and paper: I tracked the baby’s sleep, eating, and diapers for the first few weeks. It was also handy to write down things that I’d think of while I was feeding him.
- Baby carrier: We used a Baby Bjorn when we did go out, which was an easy way to carry the baby. He fell asleep in it most of the time.
- Supportive family and friends: A must! Friends who are okay with you having a messy house, who can listen without giving too much advice, who can encourage you and let you know that you’re doing great.

Not as important:

- Lots of “newborn” clothes: Our baby was mostly in a diaper for the first few weeks, only wearing clothes when we went out (which wasn’t often). He outgrew them within weeks, too (but he was a big baby, too!).
- Bassinet: This was nice initially to have the baby in the room with us (easier to feed him) but we transitioned to the crib after just a few weeks. I wouldn’t have bought one, but we had one that we borrowed from a friend.

My tips for the first few weeks:
- Expect to get nothing done!
- Don’t commit to visitors. You need all the rest you can get, and scheduling in lots of visits may make you feel stressed when the time comes and all you want to do is take a nap!
- Skin-to-skin contact (I was topless, baby in diaper) helped me a lot to get breastfeeding started well. I did that for the first week or two.
- Budget $ for extra eating-out/take-out and for paying for the services of a lactation consultant (if breastfeeding is very important to you). We ended up not needing to see one, but I’ve had many friends who had a hard time getting going w/ breastfeeding. Best to ask for help sooner than later - again, if that’s a priority for you.

You’ve probably already seen many of my posts about baby books, although I am planning a “summary” one soon.

You’ll do great!

I have a two year old daughter and here’s my advice. There were a couple of things we didn’t buy before the arrival which we needed shortly afterwards: formula (baby didn’t take to the breast) and a bouncy chair. We used everything we bought and I would highly recommend washable nappies for the first 6-12 months.

To survive the first few weeks, don’t get into the habit of picking up baby whenever there is a whimper; babies learn that this will get them attention and so will do it all the time. If the basics are covered and everything appears ok (temp, fed, winded, changed) then it probably is…

The best thing to do for your sanity is to move the baby into their own room as soon as possible. We did this after six weeks and soon after our daughter was sleeping right through the night. It’s something she’s managed to do now for over two years with maybe 5 nights where she hasn’t slept through.

Don’t read any books or visit any websites. It’s hard to believe, but it does all come naturally. Also, the best source of advice are your parents; the two above were from my Mum.

Cheers,

Austin.