Pregnancy // Our Newborn Shopping List So Far...

April 12, 2019


I was going to put together this post in a couple of months but then had a couple of messages from different followers who are also pregnant, like us trying to navigate this new world of baby shopping and working out what exactly you do need from what the marketers are telling us that we need, who said 'Help! I've bought nothing yet, what have you bought so far?'. So I've put it together a little earlier, sharing our list of everything so far that we’ve bought for the new baby’s arrival and what we still plan to buy. Most of these recommendations coming from friends who had babies last summer who have given us so much invaluable advice from their experiences. {this post contains some items which have been gifted which I've marked against each item, but I’ve done lots of research on everything myself. This is not a sponsored post but I hope might be helpful if you’re looking, also contains affiliate links}.

I should note too, that we've been keen to avoid getting wrapped up with too much stuff and a million gadgets. These are the items we feel are really necessary/will be useful but as ever, it's all such a personal choice isn't it and a steep learning curve as every baby is so different!

  • The Snuzpod 3. {gift}. This was something top of our list to use for the first 6 months where it’s recommended that your baby is in the same room as you at night. It’s a cot that attaches to the side of your bed, with a lift up side for ease of feeding during the night and so that your baby is close but you don’t have the fear of any danger from co-sleeping. It’s fully breathable and also has a reflux tilt if your baby is suffering/doesn’t like to be flat. We’ve chosen white for it to go with anything but in hindsight the grey looked really lovely after we saw it in a store recently! This has been highly recommended to us by friends and those I follow on Instagram and friends have said that the health visitors approve of them. 
  • It includes a mattress, but I've then bought this organic, waterproof mattress protector to go with it.
SnuzPod<sup>3</sup> Bedside Crib White

  • Sleepyhead of Sweden. So many of our friends swear by the sleepyhead and it’s all I’ve seemed to see on Instagram as a parent’s must buy. We bought ours second hand from a friend. The idea of it is a breathable type nest for your baby to sleep in to keep them feeling secure and snug. A cot is often too big and vast for them so having this makes them feel tucked up, whilst still being breathable. We’re planning on using this during the daytime for supervised naps, and it can also be used as a co-sleeping aid in the middle of your bed to keep your baby contained but I’m not sure how I feel about this yet. I don’t think we’ll sleep with it but have heard it’s useful when travelling or taking to your parents/friends etc as they get used to it for sleeping in and it makes transitions to other cots/travel cots seamless. We have a trip booked to an airbnb with a travel cot, so plan to take the sleepyhead with us for the baby to sleep in whilst we're away. We bought the toy arch from our friends too for when they can see in black & white/start to explore toys. I might buy an extra cover for it {there are some beautiful designs out!} but plan to also use muslins as a cover if needed. {there has been some controversy over the safety of these 'nests' so do make sure you do your own research, we've gathered that they're safest when used with enough ventilation/space around them and always check your baby won't overheat}
Buy Sleepyhead Deluxe+ Pristine White Baby Pod, 0-8 months Online at johnlewis.com
  • Medela Swing double breast pump. {gift}. Medela are known for being the best breast pumps on the market and make the hospital grade ones that you can hire. I decided from quite early on that breastfeeding, if all works out, is really important to me so started looking into pumps to express when needed/to boost supply/to give some freedom for others to feed the baby eventually. After talking to friends and reading up, I decided on the double electric pump for maximum efficiency and speed. Of course, we don’t know how feeding will work out yet but are super grateful to have this pump to try and help with it all - especially if the baby can't latch for whatever reason then I can express. I’ve prepared myself to feel like a cow at the milking parlour! Along with this, Medela make bags for sterilising and storing milk which we'll stock up on too. 
  • I've also bought this silicone pump from amazon for £13 - not as a substitute to the Medela double pump but as a 'bonus' that you can put on your other breast when feeding to catch any let down. This was a brilliant tip for from a lovely follower on Instagram, that I've since heard lots about, and can be used for top up feeds/freezing rather than any spare milk just soaking into a breast pad. 
  • Nipple cream. Lansinoh Lanolin {from all good chemists/even John Lewis stock it} and Honest after a friend’s recommendation {I bought from CVS in America}. Safe for baby to feed through and try to protect your nipples. Apparently you should slather this on in between feeds.
  • Baby Angel Care Bath. Bought second hand from our friend. Makes it easier to support a slippery newborn in the bath. {although we’re not planning to bath her much to start with to protect her skin, will just top and tail her with cotton wool for the first few weeks}. I like how you can hang it to store when not in use too.
  • Car seat, the Nuna Pipa Lite Lx. {gift}. Car seat shopping was probably the hardest part of all with so many regulations to think about and making sure it would be really safe and compatible for our buggy. It’s worth looking at these at the same time as you look at your travel system to make sure they'll all work together. Some car seats are ridiculously heavy even without a baby in them and it's mainly for this reason we've chosen the Nuna Pipa Lite LX car seat which weighs just 2.3kg yet has a tough shock absorbing shell and side-impact protection. It can only be used with the isofix base, which you need to buy separately but this is much safer than strapping it in and the new regulations advise only using an isofix base for carseats these days. It also seems super comfy for a baby and has removable headrest and body inserts to grow with the baby along with a really good UPF 50+ canopy cover with a dream drape {it's also the only carseat in the UK not to have extra flame retardant chemicals added as it's made from special fire resistant materials}. 
  • Nuna was a brand recommended to us by a friend who has a Nuna buggy, travelcot and carseat. They're a relatively new brand but seem really great {and rate really highly} and again, were one of the ones recommended us to in John Lewis and then again by staff in Mothercare when we popped in to look at carseats. With an important purchase like this, I'd always recommend you do your own research but the Nuna Pipa Lite is what we've chosen, in the new Oxford colours {love the grey and tan}. 



  • Nuna leaf, in this Oxford grey - {gift}. We're planning to use in the day when the baby is awake/or will hopefully fall asleep in this rocker which gently swings from side to side. It's a gorgeous leaf shape. I first saw this on a lovely lady I follow - Lucy’s Instagram earlier this year and thought how great it looked, and then the lady in our John Lewis appointment couldn’t speak highly enough about it. The thing we loved most about this was the fact it lasts through childhood as a reading/homework chair taking up to 60kg, rather than just being limited to the baby days like most rockers are {my husband liked this longevity feature in particular}. You can get a motor for some of the nuna leafs, I don't think this version is compatible, but the baby’s weight will gradually rock it or you can move it with your foot. The side to side movement aids digestion rather than crazy bouncing up and down. We’ve gone for the new Oxford colour release in this and I think it will look lovely in our lounge/kitchen which is a bonus too.  
Buy Nuna Leaf Grow Oxford, Grey Online at johnlewis.com
  • MAM bottles. I bought a set of these at the Babyshow with their show promotion price after we first saw them in John Lewis. We love the fact that you can sterilise them in the microwave in just 3 minutes, limiting the need for a bulky steamer. They’re the only bottles on the market that do this and they’re anti colic and BPA free. I plan to breastfeed exclusively/express but I know that this doesn’t always work out so we’ll see how it goes {these would work for both formula or breast milk}. We plan to introduce one bottle a day from a couple of weeks in, if feeding has established well, to get her used to a bottle and for Ben to enjoy giving them a feed. I also bought the MAM soft bottle brush and a range of teets. {talking about feeding will ALWAYS be controversial so we’re following advice from a local breastfeeding consultant, our NCT class and some books. Some people say that introducing a bottle can cause nipple/flow confusion but everything we’ve heard says that one bottle a day once established won’t disrupt things and it’s better to introduce one a couple of weeks in than leave it too late}. I've only heard great things about MAM bottles. 

  • Ergobaby Omni 360. My Mum bought this for us at the baby show with the show discount after hearing that it’s the best baby carrier. It’s suitable from newborn {7lb} up to 4 years {!}. Our friends have this and love walking like we do, it’s so ergonomic for both you & the baby wrapping around your back to give support. The baby can face inwards, as they will do to start off with, then can be forward facing when old enough before going on your back when they get really big. We chose the 100% cotton black in the end after having a real deliberation on colours and which would go with the most/wouldn’t show the dirt up as much {we plan to use this a lot for walking as it’s hands free and also great for travelling easily with it in cities/airports etc}. There are also so many benefits to baby wearing and having them close to you. I love it when Dad’s wear their babies too! 




  • Ewan the dream sheep. A famous sheep in the baby world that plays white noise including womb noise and emits a soft red glow that mimics the setting of the womb to the baby. The idea is to put this near their cot, or on the side of their Moses basket to help settle them. We bought this newer, deluxe version which has a cry sensor that is more easily washable and will turn on when the baby cries. Think we'll also get a white noise app on our phones/ipads too if we need one.
  • Stokke Tripp Trapp {gift}. I adore the idea of this high chair as it grows with your family from newborn right up to an adult seat, and have heard nothing but great reviews about it from our neighbours with older children to friends with newborns. It's a classic Scandinavian design to add to your dining table and I think I very first spotted it on Courtney Adamo's instagram a few years back. We'll use this with the newborn attachment for the first 6 months, the idea being that you have your baby at the table with you for family meals/to watch whilst you're cooking etc to keep them nearby and then we'll buy the high chair inserts from 6 months when we start weaning, then over time it can become a toddler seat to child's to adult chair. We've chosen white to match our dining chairs and for classic longevity but they have SO many gorgeous colours I was tempted with.
Tripp Trapp® White.
  • Safe swaddling. We plan to swaddle the baby in the early days to make them feel snug & secure and reduce the risk of their startle reflex waking them up unnecessarily. There seems to be conflicting advice on swaddling, with a lot of midwifes showing people how to do it in hospital but then community midwifes/health visitors warming your against it. From the reading I’ve done, and I find the Lullaby trust a good source for safe sleep guidelines and swaddling seems ok as long as they don’t overheat {so use a thin breathable fabric} and you make sure their hips are in a safe, frogs position. For this the best swaddlers we’ve found and bought have been the love to dream swaddles - we bought these at the BabyShow, where their arms can be up by their heads which apparently lots of baby’s like and the Ergo swaddlers. You can also use muslin swaddle blankets.
  • Overnight, we’ll use baby safe sleeping bags as they’re recommended instead of blankets/duvets for the first year at least. We’ve bought a couple of these Snuzpouch cloud sleeping bags which are 100% cotton and have a handy opening if you need to change a nappy without removing the whole thing.
  • I think it's recommended that you have a couple of baby blankets, for the carseat/as an extra layer in the house. Cellular blankets allow them to breathe and regulate their temperature {keeping them cool in the summer and warm in the winter} so I need to buy a couple of these. I've bought one regular 100% cotton blanket from Ikea, it had scalloped edges and was a good price and this gorgeous soft one from Boden {I waited for a 25% off code}. 
  • Gro Egg for keeping track of the nursery {or your bedroom's} temperature, a night light that will glow a different colour alerting you to the temperature of the baby’s room and from this you can look at the handy Gro chart as to how many layers they should be wearing. I ordered this from Amazon but they’re stocked in places like John Lewis too. 

  • Cot for the nursery. Bought online here. It might not be to everyone’s taste but we really loved the look of a metal cot and found this to be really good value compared to a lot we saw. It doesn’t convert to a cot bed but we’ll then get a toddler bed/child's bed when they reach that age and we might then have another baby to use the cot with. It has three adjustments to move down as they get bigger/before they can climb out!  
  • Cot Mattress, {gift} from Little Green Sheep. The UK's best selling natural mattress, that a friend had recommended and then a lovely PR had got in touch about the company. We went for the natural twist mattress as it's suitable for both babies and toddlers with two different sides. A natural, chemical free cot mattress was something that was really important to us and little green sheep are THE company for this. They also make gorgeous organic cellular blankets and baby towels too. 
  • Muslins. Everyone told us to stock up on muslins as you’ll use them for everything. We’ve bought a mix of standard white ones in different sizes from M&S {these}, and Sainsbury's,  along with a couple of fancier patterned ones like these swaddles from Scandiborn, and these BabyMori ones {I had a couple sent to me in a newborn pack} are seriously seriously soft, and big for covering up! My friend bought me these for my Birthday, adore the leopard print! And for a really gorgeous, small brand I discovered Musthud through instagram who makes these with pom-pom edges {and kindly sent me some, gift}. 
  • I’ve talked about shunning new nursery furniture in favour of repurposing our vintage finds in this post on the nursery here. So our changing table is a vintage chest of drawers with an Olli Ella basket on top and the wardrobe is an old French one that we've repainted.
  • A Wrap for the early days of baby wearing. As well as the Ergo Carrier, for having the baby closer to us when around the house/not walking long distances, we’ve bought this wrap which is a good price and has really good reviews. I love the colour, just need to practice putting it on before the baby is here. {again recommended by our friends - thanks Faye, Mark and Stanley you've been the ultimate guinea pigs for us!}. Lots of people say that baby wearing is really beneficial and means you can be hands free whilst they're happy being close to you/hearing your heartbeat. There are some great videos online about how to wear these safely to keep your baby secure whilst allowing their hips to be in the safe position and I want to try and practice tying this in advance before the baby is here.
  • I don't think toys are a newborn essential so haven't included any on here, and have read up lots about the fourth trimester which is basically the theory that for the first 3 months, the baby should 'technically' be in the womb, so you really don't need to stimulate them instead just keeping them fed and happy and hopefully letting them sleep a lot! But I think reading is really important to newborns in the early days for them to hear your voice and a few of my friend's babies have liked these black & white faces books {they can only see in black and white for the first few weeks}. With the leaf chair, and toy arch on the sleepyhead, I hope that will be ok then we can buy toys/rattles/teethers as and when. LOVE all of the scandi brands like Konges and Liewood for cute toys, basically anything from Scandiborn.
  • Wonder Weeks App and Book. I've been wanting to read up about newborns and what to expect as much as I can, but in reality I think that we'll just take it step by step. I've heard that the Wonder Weeks App is a real saviour for parents though as it's so scientifically accurate for babies as they go through development leaps called 'stormy periods' which can explain a lot if your baby is unsettled. With the App you put in your baby's gestational due date and it's meant to be incredibly accurate. The Wonder Weeks authors sent me their book as a gift so I've been reading up a little in advance, it has a lot more info in than the app. Both have their place I guess, the App would be good for a quick 'that's why she/he's crying' and then the book can explain a bit more. It's a worldwide phenomenon. 
  • Clothes. I've actually found buying clothes to be the biggest minefield so far, well maybe that and the carseat choosing. Partly because it's so hard to predict what size the baby will be when she's born, we know we'll need some newborn small stuff of course but don't want to go mad on this as I'm sure she'll grow out of it pretty fast/we've already been told that we have a long baby and both Ben and I are quite tall! Also, will we have a summer like last year's again with that crazy heatwave?! Should we buy more long sleeve or short sleeve vests/babygrows? I love a new baby wearing white, and everyone says that these are the best in terms of being able to bleach them well/wash at high temperatures from any inevitable explosions! So we've bought a mix of babygrows, sleepsuits and vests with some newborn and some 0-1 and 0-3. I need to go through and sort them properly in the drawer to check it's looking like we have enough. But equally, I guess we can do a last minute shop if we suddenly run out once she's here and we know what size is best, or friends/family can pick some up for us if we're struggling. These wrapover vests have been recommended the most so far for easy dressing/undressing. 
  • I really love baby H&M and Zara for cute outfits along with some gorgeous small brands like Organic Zoo, Bob & Blossom, Freya & Lily, Little Cotton Clothes that I’ve discovered through Instagram. Do you want a separate blog post with baby clothes?
  • Ben and I have battled each other with changing bags. He doesn't think it's worth spending a lot of money on the one that I really love {this from Jem & Bea, when I posted a story asking for changing bag suggestions the brands that kept getting recommended were Jem & Bea, Tiba & Marl and Pacapod.} We definitely want a rucksack so it spreads the weight evenly and means you're hands free, but he thinks the leather one I like will be too sweaty on your back in the summer. He's found this one on Amazon, so we're going to order that and see what we think then if I realllly want the Jem & Bea bag for when I go out on my own, I can get it at a later date. 
  • Nappies {!}. We haven't actually bought any yet, still weighing up what's best between reusable nappies {which save landfill yet use energy to wash and dry them or disposables which don't feel great to contribute to landfill but equally when you're exhausted and sleep deprived, I'm sure feel a lot easier}. Gah, it's so hard to decide, maybe we'll try both and see how we get on. If we do buy disposables then I've heard really great reviews for the Aldi nappies by lots of mum's. As for wipes, I think we'll use water wipes and stock up at Costco where you can buy in bulk to save compared to the price on individual packs you'd find in the supermarkets.
  • We still need to pick a few things up like a baby thermometer, choose a baby monitor system and I’m sure there will be other things we think of. From my Instagram post the other day a few people recommended a touch, LED night light for waking up in the night to feed which is a great idea and something I'll order from amazon. But for now I feel happy that we’ve ticked all the big things off and have started stockpiling everything! Now I need to start on my hospital bag... 
What am I missing?! This Instagram post was super helpful from other parent's sharing their must haves the other day.

R <3 xx 

You Might Also Like

2 comments

  1. So hopeful to one day have a baby myself. I just wanted to say that I think the energy usage of washing/drying reusable nappies is still negligible compared to constant use of disposables, I know that gets brought up a lot. I think you're right though and a mixture is probably a great way to go! x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi again! Catching up on your posts... We had a real panic about the baby monitor as the reviews seemed to be terrible and very mixed. We settled on an Angelcare (just a video one, not the movement sensor) but wish we hadn't worried so much about buying before Hunter arrived as I don't think we use the monitor for a few months - I just couldn't bear to leave Hunter on his own for showers etc and would take him in the bathroom with me in his bouncy chair! Or wear him in the Caboo! xx

    ReplyDelete

@rvk_loves on Instagram