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Guides for expecting parents

Baby is coming. What do you
actually need?

Fewer things than you think. Independent baby gear guides, the complete newborn checklist and clear answers for the choices that matter: safe car seats (i-Size UN R129), pushchairs (EN 1888), safe sleep cots, weaning and newborn care.

Start with the checklist See the guides

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A site to read, not a shop shelf.

First how to choose, then what to choose

Every guide starts with the questions that narrow the choice: where you live, what car you have, how much space you have. Only at the end do a few models appear, as examples for different situations.

Standards, not impressions

For car seats and sleep we say which regulation or recommendation we rely on. We have not tested the products and do not claim to: we work from the manufacturers' specifications and say openly what we do not know.

We also say what not to buy

Half of what is sold for babies can wait or can be left out. You will not find prices or discounts here, but budget categories in words and downsides stated plainly.

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For mums, dads, grandparents and everyone who cares about baby

You do not have to know everything.

Waiting comes with feelings, long lists and advice from everywhere. It is normal to feel overwhelmed sometimes. There are no perfect parents, only parents who try – and if you are here, you are already trying.

Newborn checklist

57 items, split into seven categories, with what is essential and what is optional. Tick it off on your phone and your progress stays saved in your browser – no account, no email.

Open the checklist

The four big choices

These are the purchases worth reading up on first: they cost a lot, you use them for years and two of them are about your child's safety.

The smaller choices

Small, but every single day

Carrying, sleep, bathing, feeding, nappies, clothes, toys, outings and the home where baby grows up: what types there are, what to check and what can wait until after the birth.

  • How to choose a baby carrier

    Wrap, ring sling or ergonomic carrier? What the “M” position means, the five rules of safe carrying and why it’s worth trying one after the birth.

  • How to choose a high chair

    You don’t need one before 6 months. The types of chair, why the footrest and harness matter, and how to tell if it’s easy to clean.

  • How to choose a sleeping bag for your baby

    What TOG means, what thickness to choose by room temperature, how to check the size at the neck and what to dress your baby in underneath, so they don’t overheat.

  • How to choose a baby bath

    Classic, folding or with a support? Choose by your bathroom and where you store it, not by the accessories. Plus the safety rules that matter more than the model.

  • How to choose bottles, a breast pump and a sterilizer

    What you need depends on how you feed your baby, and you find that out after the birth. How many bottles to get, what pump to choose and whether a sterilizer is worth it.

  • How to choose nappies – disposable or cloth

    Choose the size by weight and by how the nappy fits, not by age. How many you need at first, why you shouldn’t stockpile and what cloth nappies involve.

  • Newborn clothes – sizes and quantities

    Size 56 or 62? How many bodysuits you need, which fabrics to choose, how to dress your baby indoors and outdoors, and why not to buy everything for the first month.

  • The baby care kit

    Thermometer, saline, nasal aspirator, small scissors, gauze. What goes in the kit at home, how to choose a thermometer and what not to give your child without a doctor.

  • Home safety when your baby starts to move

    What to secure before they roll, crawl and pull themselves up. Furniture fixed to the wall, stair gates and what to take out of their reach.

  • How to prepare your baby’s room

    In the first months your baby sleeps in your room. What you actually need – somewhere to sleep, to change, storage, light and temperature – and what can wait.

  • What you need for weaning

    A soft spoon, a suction bowl, an open cup and a pocket bib. What to buy for the first meals, what you do not need, and what to check for safety.

  • Toys for the first year

    A baby needs few toys and a lot of you. What to choose by age, how to check safety and what to leave aside, from rattles to blocks.

  • Choosing a dummy – and whether you need one

    A dummy isn't compulsory. If you use one – when to introduce it if you breastfeed, how to choose size and shape, how often to replace it and what never to do.

  • Travelling with a baby – car, plane, train

    Breaks every two hours in the car, the car seat on a plane, documents for going abroad and what goes in your hand luggage. Plus where your baby sleeps when you arrive.

  • What you need for breastfeeding

    Nursing bras, breast pads, a cream and a comfortable spot. What to buy beforehand, what to wait on, and how to pick a bra when you do not yet know your size.

  • Your baby’s first shoes

    A child who is not walking does not need shoes. When to buy them, how to measure the foot, what a flexible sole means and why barefoot is best indoors.

  • Baby outdoors, summer and winter

    How to dress your baby for a walk at −5 °C and at 30 °C, why not to cover the pushchair with a blanket in summer, and what to do about the sun in the first six months.

  • The playpen and the play space

    A blanket on the floor is enough at first. When a playpen or a fenced-off play space makes sense, what to check for safety and why it is not somewhere to sit for hours.

  • First teeth – the brush, the toothpaste and teething

    When the first tooth appears, which brush and how much toothpaste to use, what helps with teething and what to avoid – from amber necklaces to numbing gels.

Before you shop

What, when and whether

Guides with no products in them: when each thing is worth buying, what it costs, what you can get second-hand, what you can skip altogether, what goes in your hospital bag and how to prepare for the first weeks at home.

  • The hospital bag

    Three bags instead of one suitcase, your maternity hospital's list as a starting point, and the things almost everyone carries for nothing.

  • What not to buy for your baby

    Three categories – what is not advised, what nobody uses and what only makes sense for some. Plus a simple rule for everything that is not on the list.

  • What to buy when, in pregnancy

    What to choose in the second trimester, what has to be set up by week 36 and what can safely wait until after the birth.

  • What to buy second-hand for your baby

    Pushchair and clothes, yes. Car seat and mattress, no. What to check on everything you are given or buy used, before it goes anywhere near your child.

  • Breathing sensor monitors – are they worth it?

    What under-mattress pads, smart socks and cameras that “see” breathing measure, what paediatricians say about them, and who they might still make sense for.

  • What the first year with a baby costs

    Where the money goes in the first year, which costs are one-off and which repeat monthly, plus five ways to spend less without giving up on safety.

  • The first weeks at home – what to prepare beforehand

    Not just stuff – food in the freezer, who helps with what, where you change at night and which numbers to keep handy. A plan for the first weeks after maternity.

  • The baby gift list

    How to make a gift list that actually helps. What to ask for, what you buy yourself, how to share it with relatives and how to say “no” gently to what you don’t need.

  • How to choose a maternity hospital

    State or private, level of care, neonatal intensive care, birth partner, rooming-in. What to ask on the visit and what really matters.

  • How to choose a family doctor or paediatrician for your baby

    The family doctor does the routine checks and national-programme vaccines; a paediatrician is optional. What to ask, when to choose and how to reach them at night.

  • What to buy in the first year, stage by stage

    The newborn checklist covers the first weeks. What comes next at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months – from the bigger sleeping bag to the high chair and stair gates.

  • What to reuse for a second child

    Most of what you had for the first child works again. What to check first – the car seat, the mattress –, what to buy new and what you need extra for two children.

  • What to buy for twins

    Not everything is bought twice. What you double – car seats, sleeping spaces –, what you share, how quantities change and why you prepare earlier.

  • Maternity clothes – what you need

    A few good pieces that also work after the birth are worth more than a wardrobe of maternity clothes. What to buy, when, and what to borrow or adapt from what you own.

Recommendations by situation

Because we do not all live the same way

General advice stops at the door of the block of flats. Here we start from a concrete situation and look for what suits it.

  • Pushchair for a walk-up flat

    When you climb three flights every day with your baby in your arms, weight and fold beat every other quality. Four compact pushchairs and how to handle the first months.

  • Pushchair for rough roads

    For broken paving, gravel paths and dirt tracks, not all wheels are the same. What makes a pushchair good on rough ground, and four suitable models.

  • Cot for a small room

    In a studio flat or a bedroom where the bed barely fits, every centimetre counts. How to measure, which type of cot to choose, and four options.

  • Car seat for a small car

    In a city car, a rear-facing seat can leave the front passenger with no legroom. How to measure, what to check and four compact seats.

  • Baby monitor without Wi-Fi

    For parents who don't want an internet-connected camera in the child's room. How direct-link monitors work and four options.

  • Rotating car seat

    Turning towards the door saves your back and helps you keep your child rear-facing for longer. What to check beforehand and four seats at different budgets.

  • Pushchair for twins or siblings close in age

    A double pushchair is chosen with a tape measure first, against the lift door and the building door. How to decide between side-by-side and tandem, and four options.

  • Travel cot for grandparents and holidays

    A folding cot is safe if it's set up correctly and used only with its own mattress. What to check, what you never add, and four options.

Books

To read beforehand and to read together

A few books for pregnancy and the first months, a few about the kind of parent you want to be, and the first board books for baby – who each one suits and what to know before you buy.

See the books

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