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.

Baby kit buying timeline UK

By Hannah Cole · Published 13 August 2026 · Last updated 13 August 2026

Shopping checkpoints, not a pregnancy tracker. NHS Start for Life wins on symptoms and scans. See the when to buy guide.

What is this tick-list, and what is it not?

Tick what you have actually done. It will not tell you a fruit size or a due date. Print it. Cross off anything your midwife brought forward. Furniture and walkers stay in the wait column. Official sleep and car-seat pages stay free.

Mid-pregnancy — research

Read Lullaby Trust safer-sleep (clear cot, room-share)
If you drive, read GOV.UK child car-seat rules
Claim Child Benefit when GOV.UK says you can (even if you opt out of payments)
Measure the room the baby will sleep in for the first months
Sit on a shop floor only if you enjoy it — do not panic-buy a travel system

About 32–36 weeks — buy and pack

Firm flat mattress that fits, waterproof cover
One clear sleep space in your room
Infant car seat fitted in the car if you drive
Hospital bag packed for two nights (notes, three sleepsuits, nappies, charger)
A week of 0–3 month cotton sleepsuits and nappies

Wait — first weeks

Later checkpoints

High chair once they sit with little help
Stair gate when they crawl
Weaning plate and spoon when your health visitor’s solids advice says so
Compact buggy if you now know you walk
Next clothes band when poppers strain — not on the hang-tag month

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Baby kit buying timeline UK

What is this tick-list, and what is it not?

Guides that use this tool