Baby kit buying timeline UK
By BabyNido editorial team · Published · Last updated
Use these shopping checkpoints alongside NHS Start for Life and your maternity team’s advice. See the when to buy guide.
How should I use the buying timeline?
Tick a step when you have completed or reviewed it. Adapt the timing to your own circumstances and your maternity team’s advice. Research essential equipment first, check what you already have, and revisit later purchases as your baby grows. Print your plan or save a copy before changing devices.
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Guides that use this tool
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When to start buying baby things in the UK: a trimester timeline with sleep and the car seat first, what can wait until after the birth and what to skip.
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The UK new-baby admin checklist: Child Benefit, Sure Start Maternity Grant, Healthy Start and maternity pay explained, with links to the GOV.UK pages.
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Newborn essentials checklist UK: what to buy
What a newborn really needs in the UK: a room-by-room checklist of essentials, what can wait, what to skip and the safety checks to make before you buy.
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Hospital bag checklist UK: what to pack
What to pack in your hospital bag for labour, baby and the trip home, based on NHS advice. Includes when to pack, what to skip and a free printable checklist.
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Nursery checklist UK: what you need (and can skip)
A practical UK nursery checklist built around safer sleep: cot, firm mattress and blackout blind first, then what can wait and what to skip (bumpers, nests).
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Second baby kit UK: what to reuse and replace
Having a second baby in the UK? What you can safely reuse, what to replace (car seat, mattress) and what to buy new, including double pushchair decisions.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a week-by-week pregnancy tracker?
No. It is a shopping tick-list. NHS Start for Life publishes pregnancy week by week for free. We will not add fruit sizes.
When should I buy the car seat?
In time to fit it before labour if you leave hospital by car. Research earlier. Midnight in a car park is the failure mode.