The Ultimate Baby Checklist: We've Got The List That Could Save You Thousands

£3,000 to £6,000. That's what the average parent spends before their baby even arrives, according to our survey of 500 parents last year. Mental....

But, whatever your budget, the timing and strategy of your approach to baby buying can genuinely save you serious money. That doesn't mean scrimping on absolutely everything, we're always here for splashing out on the odd item that makes a real difference or just feels extra special. But with the right approach, you can make your budget go a lot further while still having the nice bits.

We've got the ultimate tips and tricks for preparing for baby below. And for a full breakdown of our baby checklist and specific costed product recommendations, check out our ultimate buying guide here.

Strategy is Everything

Having a clear budget, researched product recommendations and orders that are times to prefection makes the single biggest difference. Here's three tips to help you nail the whole approach:

• Shop Black Friday: prams, car seats, cots and other big ticket items often see their steepest discounts of the year. If your due date allows it, it's worth holding out for.

• Get a Wishlist: don't be shy about sharing your checklist with grandparents, aunts and friends who ask "what can I get you?" Vests, sleepsuits and nappies as gifts genuinely add up to real savings.

• Explore Second Hand: prams, cots, moses baskets, clothing, monitors and toys are all fair game second hand and can save you hundreds. The one thing to always buy new is your car seat, safety standards and crash history matter here, so this isn't the place to cut corners.

  
  

Buy the safety critical items new, time your bigger purchases around Black Friday and sales, put the small stuff on gift lists, and go second hand wherever safety allows. Do all three and you can realistically prepare for baby on a budget well under half of what most parents spend, without missing a single essential.

The Essentials

Start with the big buys that are essential, though you may not need all of these (the car seat in particular is very much down to your travel situation). Before buying, tt's worth thinking about your lifestyle and how you'll actually use each item to decide where's best to splurge and where you can save.

• Pram: one of your biggest spends. Think about your lifestyle first, are you mostly on foot in the city, driving everywhere, or after something that folds one handed with a toddler on your hip.

• Car seat: buy new, always. Budget around £200 to £300 for a good one.

• Cot or Next2Me, mattress and bedding with a mattress protector: cots are very second hand friendly, mattresses are not, always buy a new mattress regardless of where the cot comes from.

• Vests, sleepsuits, cardigans: aim for 5-10 of each. Newborns go through more outfit changes than you'd think, courtesy of nappy blowouts and milk.

• Socks, scratch mitts, hats: 5 to 7 of each is plenty, these are cheap and also a lovely, easy gift to suggest to family.

• Blankets and muslins: 2 to 3 blankets, 8 to 10 muslins. You will use muslins for absolutely everything, they're worth buying more of rather than less.

• Changing bag and changing mats: A budget option works just as well as a designer one here, as long as it does the job!

• Nappies, wipes, nappy sacks: don't bulk buy newborn size before birth, babies grow out of them fast and you don't yet know their size.

• Bathtub, first aid kit with thermometer, nail scissors, barrier cream, non-bio detergent and bath wash: all low cost basics, good to have ready from day one.

💡 Cubbi Tip: Kitting out the basics doesn't need to cost a fortune, grab 5% off Mamas & Papas on Cubbi and cover off your clothing, bedding and changing essentials in one go.

Feeding

What you need here depends entirely on how you plan to feed. Only invest in the basics for now, and see how you get on with your chosen approach before spending any more.

• Breastfeeding: steriliser, breast pads, nipple balm, nursing bras and a pump, plus a few bottles for when someone else is on duty. Budget for the pump as your biggest cost here.

• Bottle feeding: bottles, formula, a steriliser, and a rapid cooler or prep machine will save a lot of 2am pacing while milk cools down.

  
  

💡 Cubbi Tip: the Tommee Tippee Newborn Starter Set covers almost everything you need to get going with bottle feeding in one go. Shop 20% off Tommee Tippee on Cubbi. Plus, 15% off Momcozy on Cubbi covers their full range of breast pumps for every budget.

Nice to Haves

Items that depend entirely on your baby's preferences and your own routine, worth waiting to see if you need them at all before spending.

• Baby monitor, high chair, weaning gear: your newborn won't need any of these for a while yet, wait until you know your baby's routine before choosing.

• Baby carrier, moses basket, baby bouncer, changing table: all excellent second hand buys, condition matters more than age here.

• White noise machine, room thermometer, dummies, pram rain cover: nice to haves that depend entirely on your baby's preferences, worth waiting to see if you need them at all.

💡 Cubbi Tip: 10% off Stokke on Cubbi is a splurge, but their viral high chair and bouncer have had all the mums and dads raving, worth it if this is where you fancy spending a bit extra.

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For the hospital bag checklist, travel essentials and the products we genuinely loved, head over to our checklists and guides page for the whole library, plus the discounts to go with it.