I am first time mom-to-be here in UK. Keeping in mind the weather, I know I will have to be really precautious while buying any stuff for my baby. I asked for the list of things required for a new born baby and most of you helped me out. Now, I would really appreciate if you can help me with the best brands and texture of clothes/ blankets etc for my baby.
My baby would be a winter born. I guess snow would be there at least for few weeks as I am due in last of Feb or maybe first week of March. I remember the last winter, snow remained until March. I would want to buy anything or everything to make sure my baby is warm in winter. But I really don’t know, how much a warmth a baby requires as its going to be my first baby. To make sure it stays warm, I wouldn’t want to over-wrap my baby with really warm blankets, swaddles or anything!!
Can any of you guide me with what to buy, or at least share your experiences where you felt you bought the best thing for your baby according to you and later on when you used it, you came to know that it was a wrong choice? I don’t want to make a mistake.
You can share anything and any item.
The first thing that came into my mind is Swaddles for my baby. Besides a warm blanket, do I need to choose a warm swaddle too?? Is blanket enough or I would require to buy a swaddle for my baby and will I have to wrap my baby in both at the same time?? (Like first swaddle him and then keep him in the blanket?) How warm should the swaddle be?? I don’t want to buy something that can bring my child into discomfort. Sometimes, over warmth and over wrapping irritates a child and even results in Garmi Daanay?? What points should I keep in my mind while choosing a swaddle??
Re: UK ladies, help in shopping!!
Hey, My baby was born this summer and he didnt like to be swaddled so never swaddled him but have been told its good for the babies, so I would suggest get a light blanket and swaddle baby in that and then put a light blanket over him, In debenhams they sell some nice light blankets by Jasper Conran have a look at them or you can get a sleeping bag from mother care or mamas and papas. But I would suggest best thing is layering put a vest on baby and baby grow make sure you get front buttoned ones, they are easy to open especially when changing baby as you dont have to ubdress them all get a light cardigan if you are staying indoors, I dont think you will need anything heavy with all the heating keep baby's room temp warm but not too hot and if you are going out get snow suit. But for first few weeks/months all you need is vests, baby grows a hat,snow suit and lots and lots of nappies and cotton wool :).
Re: UK ladies, help in shopping!!
Oh thanks dear. Your reply is really helpful to me to decide what to buy for my baby. Yes I totally forgot that once the baby is in the house, its all like a room temperature due to centralized heating. See, these are the silliest mistakes we do sometimes when we see any required items standing in a Mall, we like it & for a moment we forget how to choose the best item for the little angel 
all we want is just to grab it…Thanks again.
More suggestions about any items will be highly appreciated. Well I am just so…erm… excited
Re: UK ladies, help in shopping!!
Don't worry too much about buying lots of blankets for the cold. You have central heating indoors and when you go out they can wear a snowsuit. At night they can wear a gro-bag once they're the right weight, and until then a couple of blankets is fine, you can add and remove layers as necessary.
Re: UK ladies, help in shopping!!
Thanks dear. What else do I need to remember to buy for my winter bean??
Re: UK ladies, help in shopping!!
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Re: UK ladies, help in shopping!!
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Re: UK ladies, help in shopping!!
Rompers, mittens, caps, booties. Check out mothercare, next, debenhams, marks. If you plan on supplementing with formula then a bottle warmer.
Re: UK ladies, help in shopping!!
In all honesty, knowing what I do now (my boy is a year old now) I would only buy the bare essentials if I had to do it all over again. Apart from the fact that you don’t know exactly what size to get - some babies don’t wear newborn size and go straight into 0-3 month clothing for example, you’ll get so much stuff given to you once baby arrives as gifts or baby showers.
I would get some nice aden and anais swaddling muslins though, I’ve used these since kiddo was born and they still look as good as new. You might have difficulties in finding them right now as they seem to be sold out everywhere but I’m sure that will be resolved soon.
These are good too: Morrck All Season Baby Hoodie Baby Blanket - Carseat & Buggy Accessories for Babies & Children, a contemporary version of Footmuffs and Cosytoes and beat trying to wrestle a tiny baby in and out of coats and snowsuits.
Get an isofix base car seat if possible, they are a great time saver and if you have a compatible stroller frame then even better.
Have you signed up to the Boots and Mothercare parenting clubs? If you can put up with the junk mail they send you, you do also get some good freebies, samples and vouchers from time to time.
Re: UK ladies, help in shopping!!
From what I have been told new borns usually stay in those onesie rompers so don't buy too many other clothes. Swaddle blanket won't hurt, lots of burp cloths and bibs, baby towel, hats, mitts, socks, baby nail clipper and baby thermometer. Are you planning to take the baby out in the beginning? If not then I have been told the snowsuit for such tiny babies is useless.
I am just going by what other mothers experienced with a winter baby around here. I'm in the northeast of the US so it gets pretty cold here.
Have you bought the entire crib bedding set? I am contemplating on that since baby won't use the quilt and bumpers are a suffocation hazard. Are you planning on having the baby sleep in the crib or something like a Moses basket in the beginning?
Re: UK ladies, help in shopping!!
Yes, I am signed up to these parenting clubs. They are also helping me out to find some stuff for my baby as well as I am receiving some coupons and vouchers by time to time 
Aw… that’s a cute list. Reading it is making me excited lol I will buy a cot bed for my baby for sure. Me baby ko Pichkana nahin chahti 
and that’s one of the fears I have that if I let my baby sleep between two of us… wo kahin pichak na jaaye nanna munna hoga na… I will be restless throughout the night while making sure that the baby is safe so I surely intend to buy the cot bed for my baby
Re: UK ladies, help in shopping!!
Yeah co sleeping can be scary. Are you thinking of getting a bassinet or Moses basket to put right next to your bed in the beginning? This way you won't have to keep getting up and walking to the crib all night for the baby. I'm contemplating on it.
Re: UK ladies, help in shopping!!
Well the decoration of my furniture allows me to put the crib next to my bed…in that case I won’t have to wake up in the middle of the night to get my baby when he needs me. Also I will make sure to buy the crib which has sliding side so that at night, I can take it off and the crib can become a part of my bed
Re: UK ladies, help in shopping!!
Hi Queenie, I am so happy to read about your pregnancy news MA Shaa Allah :))) you can tell I am here after ages !
My son was born at the peak of winter time .. and all i needed was the following:
A good fleece blanket. Get the soft one , I got two , one was from mothercare and the other was from pound stretcher and the pound stretcher one I am still using the most , it turned out so freaking good ..
Buy a hooded fleece snow suit for the baby believe me it will save you so much hassle .. I got one from TJ Hughes and that was pure awesomeness .. fleece is really good coz its warm and the baby doesnt feel heavily tied up in clothes ..
get a few thick cloth baby rompers to wear through the day on top of their sleep suits .. I got four , two from mothercare , one from matalan and one from Primark .. they were really good use as well
Rest you need a 2.5 tog sleeping bag for the baby. I got one from toys R us and it worked well for us.
Lastly you need a baby hat. I got the white and blue set of two from George, ASDA ..
thats all that was needed. March last year was cold, but doesnt look like its gonna be that cold this time round .. plus if you have medium heating at home then dont forget that you will most probably be healed fully and taking your baby out by april ... which is not a very cold month. so in essence , you just need to buy stuff in the quantities I wrote above.
Re: UK ladies, help in shopping!!
Queen, regards swaddling , dont buy special blankets if you are on a budget. I was told I will need one , but honestly i didnt need it .. the fleece blankie was perfect for swaddling when needed .. I used to put him in his sleeping bag and then swaddle him lightly in the fleece blanket on extremely cold days ..
also one other thing, Material wise, I found Mothercare the most awesome cloth thickness and warmness wise. But they are pricey.
George , ASDA are the next best thing. They are budget friendly as well. Primark was the most pathetic quality , do stay away from them at least for winter clothes.
Keep a lookout on Matalan and Mothercare .. in December sales , you will manage to get some really good stuff .
Also , keep an eye out on Babies R us . they occasionally get a sale and a 20% off. that can be a dream package because you buy something on sale and then you get an additional 20% off . when you go to the store next time, tell them you want to be added to their mailing list , they usually inform you just a day or two before and 20% lasts only two days
Re: UK ladies, help in shopping!!
Thanks CB. 
it was such a detailed reply and most importantly, right the way I needed I have always found you very helpful. I was literally worried about the tog, which weigh to choose and you made it easy. Now that’s something I wanted to know I have book marked this page and will make sure to print it out when going for shopping. Personally, I thought it was a good idea to have shopping on Boxing day but most of my friends here are telling me how stupid my idea is according to them, in my last trimester I wouldn’t want to be in hassle and that the second trimester is best to travel in and have some shopping. They said, you’d simply hate to have a lot of travelling due to the inconvenience of your grown up bump 
I guess they are right too!!
Re: UK ladies, help in shopping!!
Queen, my son was born on 13th Jan .. and I shopped for him in the last week of December :)))) Christmas sales yaar , they are awesome ..
Dont listen to people .. wait for the right time .. and you will get excellent quality stuff from these big branded retailers .
Though what you can do is , keep taking rounds to your nearest mothercare store and matalan and babies R us .. dont buy anything unless its on a really good value .. but sometimes they want to clear stock and they do put up some awesome stuff on good rates ..
For example, in the new year sale , last year, we got a set of 6 bodysuits from Mothercare .. really cheap .. they are usually priced at £12 .. we got it for £5 , we bought three sets , and believe me that was the best shopping we did !
We picked up stuff for various ages , not only for 0-3 months .. also dont go mad shopping .. coz the first month the size will change quickly. What we did was bought , a set of bodysuit and a set of sleep suits in First size from George . Then waited for baby to come along. When he did , we checked the size was correct on him and husband got a few other body suits from asda as well !
and from them on, we keep an eye and keep buying stuff ( i already have two awesome fleece for him , for when he turns two in Shaa Allah ) .. from next ! and we get all this stuff on bargain ..
My friend had a baby girls reccently she bought all her stuff in the second trimester and you know what , none of the clothes fit the baby , she is so tiny and she has had to go do her shopping again ! so you can wait until deccember sales for sure !
Re: UK ladies, help in shopping!!
Queen, my son was born on 13th Jan .. and I shopped for him in the last week of December :)))) Christmas sales yaar , they are awesome ..
Dont listen to people .. wait for the right time .. and you will get excellent quality stuff from these big branded retailers .
Though what you can do is , keep taking rounds to your nearest mothercare store and matalan and babies R us .. dont buy anything unless its on a really good value .. but sometimes they want to clear stock and they do put up some awesome stuff on good rates ..
For example, in the new year sale , last year, we got a set of 6 bodysuits from Mothercare .. really cheap .. they are usually priced at £12 .. we got it for £5 , we bought three sets , and believe me that was the best shopping we did !
We picked up stuff for various ages , not only for 0-3 months .. also dont go mad shopping .. coz the first month the size will change quickly. What we did was bought , a set of bodysuit and a set of sleep suits in First size from George . Then waited for baby to come along. When he did , we checked the size was correct on him and husband got a few other body suits from asda as well !
and from them on, we keep an eye and keep buying stuff ( i already have two awesome fleece for him , for when he turns two in Shaa Allah ) .. from next ! and we get all this stuff on bargain ..
My friend had a baby girls reccently she bought all her stuff in the second trimester and you know what , none of the clothes fit the baby , she is so tiny and she has had to go do her shopping again ! so you can wait until deccember sales for sure !
Thanks for being so helpful.
Re: UK ladies, help in shopping!!
Uff CB…mere hath pair phool rahay hain are you in UK ?? Me akele kese shopping karungiiiii??? 
Re: UK ladies, help in shopping!!
I am due in nov with my first baby in US here is what I got
a crib and essential for crib mattress and bedding
Baby bouncer
3 different new born outfit
blankets to swaddle the baby
socks
hats
baby bottles ( avent new style just like breastfeeding and anti colic)
bath tub for baby (cuz I find it really hard to hold little baby and give them a bath in the sink)
baby essential includes body wash, shampoo, wipes, pack of diaper
I am all ready for the baby can't wait