Shoppers Guide

Whether you are shopping for your baby that is due in a few months or you have already amassed a collection of products, shopping for a baby at any age can be a confusing and frustrating experience.

The choice of products and the varying advice you are given can be overwhelming. This is especially true if you are shopping for your first baby. Many retailers will try to sell you more products than you really need. For example, you do not really need to buy every bottle and teat Avent sell, together with their matching sterilizer and bottle warmer! As most mothers are planning on breastfeeding, I find it amusing that shops will try to sell the complete collection of bottle feeding supplies! Of course, many retailer will be more than happy to sell you these items, and you will soon have a houseful of unused products (remember that some retailers allow you to return unopened boxes - so its best to check before purchasing).

The following lists have been compiled following feedback and discussions with a wide cross section of parents. We have tried to concentrate on the must-haves and the nice-to-haves. Must haves can be assumed to be products that most parents believe are necessary to buy in that period, where nice to haves are products that, whilst can be important to some parents, not everybody would need to purchase them and may not be required. For these products we typically recommend that they are purchased upon demand.

Many shopping guides or checklists provide a simple checklist of products. However, as not all products are needed the day your baby is born, it can seem confusing and is often misleading. We have tried to separate the products by the age of the baby, helping you to develop a purchasing plan that can be spread out over time.

We have included some advice and guidelines on the various types of retailers that you can use to buy your baby products. We have also hand-picked retailers that we have personally purchased products from and where we believe you can get the widest product selection. We also believe in good customer service and hope that the retailers we list provide you with the continued high level of customer service that we have become accustomed to. If you know of a retailer that you would happily recommend to others, please let us know.