Baby essentials list: what you actually need
The real day-one list is twelve things. Most lists run to eighty, because a longer list sells more.
Last updated August 2026Prices compared across UK retailers
The day-one list
0 of 12 ready
Legally required to bring a baby home by car
Crib, Moses basket or cot with a firm, flat, new mattress
Two or three, sized to that specific mattress
Six to eight in newborn or tiny baby
Six to eight, short sleeved, worn underneath
One or two of each
One newborn pack. Do not stockpile
For the first weeks
Wipeable, on any surface at a comfortable height
Six or more. You will want more than you think
Bottles and steriliser, or nursing bras and pads
Suitable from birth
This list splits into three groups: what you need before you leave hospital, what you need in the first month, and what can wait until your baby tells you whether you need it at all. Prices are "from" prices across our retailers and move often — check the live figure on any product page before you buy.
Car seat
The one item you cannot leave hospital without, and the only one with a legal standard attached.
UK seats are approved to R129, known as i-Size and based on your child's height, or the older R44 standard based on weight. i-Size seats fit with ISOFIX and match to height, which makes picking the right stage simpler.
Never buy a used car seat. You cannot see the damage from a previous collision, and you rarely know the full history.
Products to consider
Bases are sold separately more often than people expect, and budgeting for the seat alone is the most common costing mistake in this category.
Compare all car seatsSleep
Safer sleep guidance in the UK is straightforward. Your baby sleeps on their back, in their own clear sleep space, in your room for the first six months. No pillows, duvets, bumpers or cot toys under 12 months.
That guidance also saves you money, because most of what gets sold for cots is not supposed to be in one.
You do not need a cot on day one. Many families start with a bedside crib or Moses basket and move to a cot or cot bed at around six months.
Products to consider
Little Green Sheep
Little Green Sheep Knitted Moses Basket - Linen
Mamas & Papas
Mamas & Papas Wedmore Cotbed - White/Oak
Momcozy
Momcozy Baby Sleep Sack 1.5 TOG
Love to Dream
Love to Dream™ Swaddle Up (1.0 Tog) - Oatmeal
Mattresses are sold separately far more often than expected and sizes vary between brands, so always match the mattress to the exact cot.
Compare nursery and sleepClothing
The single most over-bought category. Newborn size fits for roughly six weeks, and a lot of babies skip it entirely.
Buy in multipacks, buy sparingly, and buy the next size up later once you know how your baby is growing. Sleepsuits and bodysuits do almost all the work in the early weeks.
Anything with buttons at the back, stiff denim or a complicated neckline will be worn once.
Products to consider
That is roughly £40 for the clothing on the day-one list.
Compare baby clothingFeeding
What you need depends entirely on how feeding goes, which nobody can predict before the baby arrives.
If you plan to breastfeed, a feeding pillow and nursing bras are the useful day-one items. A pump is not, unless you already know you will need one. Most people buy a pump in week two or three, once there is a reason to.
If you plan to bottle feed, you need bottles, teats and a steriliser from the start. Buying a full setup for both is the most expensive way to hedge, and one of the two will go unused.
Products to consider
Bath and changing
Practicality beats specification here, because these are the items you use every single day.
For bathing, your bathroom decides. Supports and buckets suit small spaces, full baths with stands save your back. You do not need a bath at all in the first week or two, when a topped and tailed wash with cotton wool is enough.
For changing, a dedicated unit at hip height is kinder on your back than a floor mat, though a simple wipeable mat works perfectly well and costs a fraction as much.
Products to consider
Pushchair
The biggest single spend, and the one worth taking longest over.
Check the folded size against your actual boot, not the specification sheet. Check whether it lies flat for a newborn. Check the weight, because you will be lifting it in and out every day.
A travel system bundles a pushchair, carrycot and car seat from one brand. It saves money when you would have bought all three anyway, and locks you into one ecosystem when you would not.
Products to consider
What can wait
None of these are needed before your baby arrives, and several may never be needed at all.
Baby monitor
Your baby is in your room for the first six months, so a monitor becomes useful when they move out. Buy it then, when you know your layout and whether you want audio, video or wearable. Sleep Bundle: Portable Sound Machine and Dual-mode Baby Monitor BM04
Breast pump
Week two or three, if there is a reason.
Nappy bin
A regular bin and a bag works fine, and plenty of families never switch.
Highchair
Around six months, at weaning.
Toys
Newborns cannot see far enough to care. A few weeks in, a single high-contrast item is plenty.
Baby carrier
Genuinely useful, but easier to choose once you can try it with the actual baby.
Nasal aspirator
Buy it when the first cold arrives, not before. There are far cheaper manual versions. Momcozy Hospital Grade Nasal Aspirator
Changing bag
Any bag works for months.
Our baby monitor guide covers the differences between audio, video and wearable.
What it costs
- Day-one list, new
- Roughly £600 to £900, with the car seat and pushchair accounting for most of it.
- Where to save
- Clothing, Moses baskets, changing mats and baths are all fine secondhand. Second children need almost none of this list again.
- Always buy new
- Car seats and mattresses, for safety reasons rather than snobbery.
Baby essentials FAQs
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