Short answer: A newborn needs surprisingly little: a safe place to sleep with a firm, flat mattress, a few sleepsuits and vests, nappies, a way to feed, a correctly fitted car seat if you'll travel by car, and something to carry them in. Most other things can wait until you know your baby. Buy a car seat and, ideally, a cot mattress new; many other items are fine second-hand.
You're standing in a baby shop surrounded by machines that warm wipes, prepare bottles and analyse crying. Somewhere among the boxes, it's easy to lose the plot.
What you need from day one
- A safe sleep space: a cot, crib or Moses basket with a firm, flat, waterproof-covered mattress that fits without gaps. No pillows, duvets, bumpers or soft toys.
- Bedding: two or three fitted sheets, and either well-fitting baby sleeping bags (the right size, no hood) or a few thin cellular blankets.
- Clothes: about six vests and six sleepsuits in newborn and 0–3 month sizes, a hat and warm layers for going out.
- Nappies (disposable or reusable), wipes or cotton wool and water, and a changing mat — which can live on the floor.
- Feeding: if breastfeeding, a few breast pads and muslin cloths; if formula feeding, bottles, teats, sterilising equipment and first infant formula.
- A car seat suitable from birth and correctly fitted for your car, if you'll travel by car — including home from hospital.
- A way to get around: a pram or pushchair that lies flat for a newborn, or a sling or carrier. You don't need both straight away.
- A room thermometer. The Lullaby Trust recommends a room temperature of 16–20 °C for sleep.
What can wait
A high chair (not needed until around six months), a playpen, toys, a video monitor, a bouncer or swing. Buy these when you notice you need them. In the first month, most families find out what their baby likes — and it varies hugely.
Buy the second half of your list after your baby arrives. Only then do you know what kind of sleeper, feeder and crier you have.
What you'll probably never use
- A bottle warmer — a jug of warm water does the same job.
- A special nappy bin — a lidded bin works fine.
- Shoes for a baby who can't walk.
- A fully decorated nursery straight away: the safest place for your baby to sleep for the first six months is in your room.
- Lots of new clothes in tiny sizes — babies outgrow them in weeks.
- Sleep positioners, wedges or nests — these aren't recommended for safe sleep.
Second-hand: yes or no?
- Fine second-hand: clothes, cots in good condition (check they meet current safety standards and have no missing parts), prams, baby baths, toys.
- Buy new: car seats. A seat that's been in a crash may be damaged even if you can't see it, and you can't know a used seat's history unless it comes from someone you trust completely.
- Ideally new: mattresses. The Lullaby Trust recommends a new mattress for each baby where possible; if you use a second-hand one, it should be firm, flat, clean, undamaged, with a waterproof cover, and fit the cot without gaps.
Where your money does the most good
Often not in things, but in help: meals in the freezer, a cleaner for a few weeks, or a session with a breastfeeding specialist can make a bigger difference to the first weeks than any gadget.
Your baby doesn't need a beautiful room. They need food, warmth, a safe bed and a parent who gets some sleep.
Related reading
Month by month: The First Year (PDF, English) guides you through your baby's first twelve months.
Sources
- The Lullaby Trust — Mattresses and bedding and Room temperature.
- GOV.UK — Child car seats: the rules.
- NHS — Baby and toddler safety.
Written by the Bloom Guides editorial team. Last updated: 20 October 2026. General information only.