There’s a huge amount of ‘stuff’ marketed at expectant and new parents, and indeed it is known to be one of the most expensive times in anyone’s life.
The truth is, babies need very little, and can get by with the absolute basics. Buying more things doesn’t mean that you love them more – and having only the basics does not mean you will be any less of a parent!
The basics that newborn babies need are:
- Somewhere to sleep
- Clothes, plus outdoor clothes if they are winter babies
- Nappies
- Blankets – and that’s about it!
You might want to consider buying cloth nappies rather than disposable, you might want to consider a sling, a pram, some type of car seat, and so on.
Some of the less necessary items would include special bouncy chairs, nursing chairs for Mum, nursing pillows, dummies, bottles if you aren’t planning on bottlefeeding, fancy clothes, special changing stations or wardrobes or other nursery items.
Whilst your time, effort and energy are not free, when it comes to balancing your bank account, breastfeeding really is an option that should be cost effective – and babies needn’t put you in the red! It’s easy to get swept up in thinking you need something simply because it’s available and marketed at you, but the chances are you may not need it at all – so it can be helpful to wait things out in the early days and really think about what’s going to be a sensible, useful purchase for you and your circumstances.
- You shouldn’t need to buy pumps, bottles, nipple, shields, creams, balms, or special foods to start breastfeeding.
…the list goes on – but the actual truth is, you’re probably not going to need any of it at all.
Of course, it is worth noting that at some point some of it may become useful to you, but it might be an idea to focus on arming yourself with knowledge and information rather than spending lots of money on things you may end up not needing at all.
- The best thing to soothe tender nipples when you are getting breastfeeding established is actually breast milk.
With its healing properties (Including growth compounds, and natural antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal elements, plus a built-in moisturiser), breastmilk is the very best thing to use to help heal any damage or soothe pain, and best of all it isn’t going to make a dent in your debit card.
- The only supplement you need to consider taking is Vitamin D for both you and your baby – and this is true of all UK residents regardless of their age, sex or breastfeeding status.
In the UK you may be entitled to free Vitamin D depending on your financial situation, so do ask your midwife about this! See the article ‘Financial Matters: what support can we expect?’ in the Anya app for more tips like this if you are on a low income.
There are lots more tips about breastfeeding and other equipment that might be helpful, in the articles, webinars and AI content in the Anya app.
