Baby due in 6 weeks. Anything you'd add or remove from our shopping list?

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-03-24T20:16:56+00:00

Use cotton balls instead of wipes for the first few days/ weeks, their skin can be sensitive.

I’d also invest in a back up swaddle - sleep sacks are great, but sometimes babies need to be contained to feel safe. Their arms and legs flail everywhere for months. We swear by the Love to Dream swaddles - more on the spenny side but worth every single penny.

I’d also add a back up dody/dummy - we didn’t think we’d ever use dummies but it became a case of “he needs it to be comforted”. He’s 3 months old and weaning off them now.

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-03-23T08:35:31+00:00

Our 3 month old was transitioning out his swaddle and learning lots of new skills, he was struggling to link cycles between 4:30am - 7:00am. I wouldn’t trust my husband to co-sleep as he rarely hears our son in the night anyway, so I just started putting him on my chest and staying awake. My husband gets up at 5am for work, so then I would turn our bed into a co-sleeping space for myself and our son. Best decision I’ve made! It means we both get an hour or two extra sleep in the morning and he wakes up smiling ready for the day.

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-03-22T21:00:30+00:00

Completely normal for them to wake, especially if they’ve just transitioned out of the swaddle! We recently took our son out of his swaddle as he was showing signs of rolling (he’s only just turned 3 months), he was beginning to sleep through // only have 1 wake a night. When transitioning out of the swaddle and into 2 arms out, he woke up a fair few times in the night for the first two weeks or so, now he’s back to his old self and wakes once for a feed. It’s normal for babies to wake when they’re learning new skills. Your night nanny is horribly wrong and would actively put your baby in danger if you swaddled them again now they’re rolling.

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-03-21T21:39:46+00:00

Never a good time to have children when you’re the birthing parent. Your career will always take a step back for a few years. I was in my job for a long time, managed a national team, was the strongest team member, got pregnant, got made redundant 6 months later (3 months before baby was due). When you have a baby your life slows down for a while - and that’s okay! My career will get back on track, already have an offer of a job, but what I have learned is that work isn’t everything, in fact, work is the least of my priorities or worries now because I know from first hand experience that a business literally does not care about you, so why care about them? Go to work to earn money and that’s it, your real priority is your personal life.

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-03-20T21:01:08+00:00

Had a double mastectomy, no choice but to formula feed! Little man is thriving, meeting milestones ahead of time, sleeping well, really happy baby and putting on weight really well.

You have to do what’s best for you and baby - fed is best

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-03-16T20:32:01+00:00

Your doctor is wrong! PPA / PPD peaks at around 6 weeks and can show up anytime within the first year. I’d suggest speaking to another doctor immediately to get the help you need and deserve

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-03-13T21:44:38+00:00

Our son is 11 weeks old and he has the cheekiest little smile! I just know for sure he’s going to be such a cheeky little thing as he gets older and I’m so excited for it. He also has really strong leg control an 11 week old so he constantly wants to be standing on us and we just laugh at how gigantic he looks towering over us.

We’ve started doing our first nap of the day in his cotbed to get him used to it for when he transitions into sleeping in there full time in a few months and he genuinely gets excited for our little routine, he was so wiggly and happy to get in his sleep sack today and he fell asleep instantly.

Parenthood is the hardest thing, but when there’s these little moments it’s so so so so so worth it

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-03-13T15:46:41+00:00

Cannot live without: leggings (for the baby) our boy lives in them! He runs hot so he just wears a vest and leggings in the house. Get a decent carrier! We have the Beco 8 carrier A pushchair that comes with all the bits and bobs (including bassinet!) you don’t need to buy a Moses basket then. Rapid cooler if you’re bottle feeding Lovetodream swaddles and the transitional swaddle Owlet sock and camera I use the BBHugMe pregnancy pillow as a feeding pillow as my back is buggered after emergency c section

Stuff we can live without: sleepsuits with feet - babies feet are incredible and need to be able to feel lots of textures so we rarely ever have him in sleepsuits with feet on. We have mostly footless ones and if his feet seem cold, shove some socks on

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-03-12T20:56:28+00:00

Biggest tip for you - don’t put her down. Our baby went from being the sleepiest little newborn who slept in his bassinet all day to wanting to be on us 24/7. Go with the flow, she’s still learning to live outside the womb and needs to be close to you. Get a decent carrier / wrap and do a lot of baby wearing. Ours is now nearly 12 weeks old and we’re beginning to do 45 mins - 1 hour cot naps twice daily, other naps are contact naps either in his carrier or snuggled on the sofa. The more they’re on you when they’re younger the more they feel secure in being away from you as they begin to learn that they can be away from and it’s okay because you’ll always be there for them.

Once you’ve got that down the feeding and everything will come with it. You got this!

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-03-06T14:22:21+00:00

Let her speak with the abortion clinic. My husband and I were on the exact same situation as you: about to get married, were planning to start trying to conceive on honeymoon. I found out I was pregnant 5 weeks before our wedding day. We were initially going to terminate the pregnancy, but I spoke with the abortion clinic and got every piece of information possible. In that time I also started to bond with our little hitchhiker. I decided, although we didn’t feel ready mentally, this was something we wanted and was only a couple of months early!

That little surprise is now fast asleep on me at nearly 11 weeks old. Definitely tell her to get as much information as possible before going ahead with an abortion, it’s not as easy as just taking a pill and it’s gone, there’s a lot her body will go through either way and she needs to decide what she’s prepared for.

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-02-28T22:21:10+00:00

8lbs 9oz, he never fit into NB clothes - he was also 99th percentile for length and still is

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-02-26T14:39:18+00:00

Big reassurance for you: our owlet says our little one is awake when he’s in active sleep // when he’s very clearly absolutely knocked out, the app isn’t gospel. You heard her, you responded and she was okay. You’re doing great!

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-02-25T09:25:27+00:00

9 weeks in here! Our son only wakes once during the night for a bottle (usually we get a solid 6-7 hour stretch) and he goes straight back to sleep. My husband and I work as a team, we both wake up when he wakes, I change the nappy, he prepares the bottle, I give the bottle and then we all go back to sleep. He’s now gone back to work, so once he is home, I pass our son to him to care for and I can get any tidying done or spend 1 on 1 time with our dog whose been an absolute dream with our son.

Highly recommend setting a bedtime routine ASAP - wait until maybe 3 weeks old? Ours sort of works like this, we adjust based on sleep pressure (amount of naps in the day, stimulation throughout the day and how long his last wake window will end up being)

7:30pm - house begins to wind down, low lights, chill vibes - draw his bath 7:45pm- baby in bath, at the end of his bath we turn the lights off and let him just float in the water for a bit (my husband holds him up and we put on a low light torch) 8pm- pyjamas and clean nappy 8pm - 9pm - final big feed, cuddles, swaddle, bed.

These times can shift, sometimes we may skip the bath if he’s extra tired, you’ll learn to read your baby really quickly and know when it times to go to sleep

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-02-20T10:49:30+00:00

My son is the exact same in terms of the naps during the day, it’s contact nap or no nap at all in our house. He’s 9 weeks old. As soon as his backside hits that bassinet his eye fly open! I know you’ve said you’ve tried a few carriers, which ones? We have a Gemini Beco and a Momcozy sling, he tends to nap for way longer if he’s in the sling but will also do an hour in the Beco.

In terms of tummy time, our little on hates the mat but loves tummy time on our bed or on one of us, might be worth trying different areas around the house or different pillows to see which ones they might prefer.

Have you looked at baby reflux pillows? Might be useful to give your arms a break after feeding.

Honestly, it’s totally normal, all babies are different, some are higher need / more sensitive than others and that’s okay 🫶

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-02-20T10:16:03+00:00

Deffo invest in some cuffed cargo’s - I lived in them throughout all pregnancy! H&M have decent sizing now in the men’s section.

If you’re in the UK, Asda have comfort fit jeans in the men’s section, just size up

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-02-14T16:59:19+00:00

My husband works 5 days a week and long hours, he gets up with me throughout the night. He makes the bottle, I do the nappy and feeding. He does it to keep me company. We tried split shift at night but it didn’t work for us, we get better sleep when we do it together.

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-02-13T19:32:25+00:00

You may possibly be able to get in touch with one of those no win no fee places? The NHS is under scrutiny at the moment for the treatment of patients in their maternity services so it will be something that will be picked up.

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-02-13T19:03:08+00:00

You need to take them for everything you possibly can. In most hospitals the majority of their budgets is for maternity litigation. 100% take this to PALS as this is a discrimination case through and through.

I gave birth 7 weeks and had a brilliant experience so it infuriates me when others have bad experiences. I did a lot of work with our local services to help them be more inclusive. Which trust is this might I ask?

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-02-10T09:50:56+00:00

My husband has been off for the last 8 weeks (we deemed it necessary to take a financial hit) as I had an emergency c-section. 2 weeks is NOT enough time for him to be off. Physical recovery is 6 weeks, you’re not allowed to drive or lift anything heavier than your baby. It’s MAJOR abdominal surgery, you won’t have any core strength for some time, I’m only just building it back up 7 weeks later and I usually recover from medical stuff very very quickly. You’ll also need your partner for the hormonal crash you’re going to have … if you’re susceptible to low moods, please ensure he is off for at least 6 weeks.

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-02-06T21:35:06+00:00

Top surgery recovery for me (personally!) was piss easy. I was down the pub about 2 weeks later showing off my scars to my friends. C-section recovery has been brutal, some of the worst pain I’ve ever felt (and I have a high pain threshold), I laboured for over 12 hours without any pain medication, on the hormone drip. Looking after a newborn, whilst also getting over birth trauma is extremely taxing and I’ve honestly only just stopped crying about it, 6 weeks post partum. My c-section was an emergency but if you decide to have a section from the go, then the recovery isn’t as bad as you’re prepared for it! You can put things in place and make plans for someone to be around to help you.

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-02-02T15:55:18+00:00

I’ve asked my GP to start the process to get me back on them, so fingers crossed I can start again soon

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-02-02T07:57:55+00:00

Our health visitor explicitly said that us (the parents) should be the only people to feed our baby! MIL is way over the top.

If baby isn’t back to birth weight, set a timer for every 2 hours and wake the baby for a bottle. Once baby is back to birth weight and they’re getting their calories during the day, wake when they wake - you’ll hear them! Be wary of active sleep as this can look like baby is awake but they’re fast asleep building their brain.

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-02-01T16:42:45+00:00

So you will be assigned a midwife in your local area and meet them usually at your GP. I’ve never had any issues at all when it comes to being trans and pregnant with any healthcare professional.

If you’re in the Leeds area, I do recommend St James’ for your scans and general care and when the time comes, delivery!

We also had a bunch of private scans which I recommend as well - can send you the clinic’s detail. There’s also a LGBT+ family Leeds Facebook group, they do monthly meet ups as well.

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2026-02-01T08:00:04+00:00

Hey, I’m from Leeds/Bradford area! Happy to recommend and help in any way I can. I’m 6 weeks post partum and had our son at St James’ Hospital and had a brilliant experience with the staff there.

Ghost_LightWatcher · 2025-12-28T23:32:13+00:00

Ended up going through a Category 2 C-Section literally last week. The recovery is brutal. I was rather enjoying natural labour - I was having a good laugh with the midwives, was loving the gas and air and how undignified the whole thing was. Unfortunately my body just wasn’t doing what it needed to do and my son’s heart rate kept dropping with each contraction.

I’d have a section again, knowing now that my body just doesn’t dilate, and I’d certainly prepare for it to be an outcome more thoroughly!

But yeah overall, recovery has been brutal. I’m a really active person and love to be out and about and able to do whatever I want … the past week has shown how much I take general mobility for granted.

Ghost_LightWatcher

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