When to buy everything for a baby

By Shezy, who built My Nurevia·Updated 9 September 2026·6 min read

Most of what you buy for a baby is wanted before it arrives — roughly £1,200 of a mid-range list lands before the birth, against about £116 a month afterwards. That front-loading is why the first year feels expensive in a way the annual total does not explain.

Spreading it deliberately is the difference between one alarming month and four manageable ones. Here is when each thing is actually wanted.

The short version

When	What to sort
12–20 weeks	Nothing. Tell people what you need instead.
20–30 weeks	The big three: car seat, sleep, pram
30–36 weeks	Nappies, clothes, changing, first aid, hospital bag
36 weeks+	Restock only — everything essential is already in
Weeks 1–4	Bath things, more sleepsuits, register the birth
Months 1–3	Next clothing size, play mat
Months 4–6	Weaning kit, stair gates, funded-hours application
Months 6–12	Cupboard locks, first shoes, next-stage car seat

Before the birth

Weeks 12–20: buy nothing

There is genuinely nothing you need this early, and buying now costs you the one advantage you have — knowing what you are being given. Families are typically handed around £450 of clothes and equipment, and it lands on exactly the items you would otherwise rush out and buy.

The useful work in this window is a list, not a purchase. Work out what you need, tell people what would help, and find out what is coming from family before you spend anything.

Weeks 20–30: the big three

This is where most of the money goes, and where you have the most time to shop properly. The car seat, somewhere to sleep, and the pram come to about £850 of a mid-range list between them.

Car seat — most UK hospitals will not discharge you to a car without one. Buy i-Size (ECE R129), and get it fitted and practise with it well before you need it in a hurry.
Somewhere to sleep, plus a new mattress — a Moses basket for the early months or a cot from the start. The mattress must be new and must fit the frame.
Pushchair or pram — the widest price range of anything you will buy, from about £120 to well over £1,000. Push one round a shop before committing; the difference between a good and bad fold is something you will meet daily for three years.

Buying earlier in this window rather than later is worth real money. It gives you time for a sale, time to find a good secondhand pram, and time to change your mind — all of which disappear at 38 weeks.

Weeks 30–36: everything else

The smaller essentials, and the point at which the house needs to be genuinely ready in case the baby is early.

A starter stock of nappies and wipes — one pack, not a bulk order
Six to eight sleepsuits and a going-home outfit
Swaddles or sleeping bags
Changing mat and somewhere for the nappies to go
Thermometer, nail scissors and first-aid basics
Feeding equipment, if you are formula or combination feeding
Hospital bag, packed by about 36 weeks

36 weeks onwards: stop

If it is not in the house by now, it can be ordered after the birth. Nothing on the remaining list is worth doing at 39 weeks that could not be done in week three with a phone.

After the birth

Weeks 1–4

A baby bath or bath support, muslins — more than you think — extra sleepsuits once you have seen how many get changed in a day, and your first proper nappy restock.

One thing that is free and has a deadline: register the birth within 42 days.

Months 1–3

The next clothing size up, which arrives faster than anyone expects, and more bottles if you are formula feeding. A play mat or tummy-time gym is the first thing that is genuinely optional but genuinely useful.

Months 4–6: weaning, and one form

Weaning brings a highchair, bibs, spoons and first bowls — a small burst of spending after a quiet stretch.

This is also when the house needs to stop being a hazard: stair gates and socket covers before they are mobile, not after.

Apply for funded childcare hours now if you are going back to work. In England, applications open from 23 weeks of pregnancy and the entitlement starts at nine months old. Leaving it until you need the place is how families end up paying full price for a term.

Months 6–12

Cupboard locks once they are crawling, first shoes once they are actually walking — not before — and the next-stage car seat, which goes by height rather than birthday. A cot bed conversion if that is the route you took.

Three rules that save the most

Ask before you buy. The £450 of gifts is real and it clusters on the obvious items. A conversation in month four is worth more than any discount code.
Buy the big things early, the small things late. Time is what gets you a good price on a pram. Nothing gets you a good price on nappies except buying own-brand.
Move a purchase rather than skip it. If a month looks heavy, the answer is usually to shift something to the month either side. Choosing when to buy is a real lever; Buy Now Pay Later is consumer credit, and worth reading properly before treating it as one.

The planner builds this timeline around your own due date, so “before the birth” becomes actual months with actual totals, and tells you what to put aside each month to cover them.

Want your own number rather than the average?

Put in your due date and how you plan to shop, and the whole year is priced for you — free, no account needed.

Work out my costs