Baby items checklist in Nigeria
Not sure what you need?
Stop guessing what to buy. Tick off what you have and see what is left.
The hospital bag
0 of 5Pack it by week 35 and leave it by the door. Two small bags are easier to carry than one big one: yours and the baby's. You will use less than you packed, and that is normal.
Bodysuits, a hat and socks. Pack newborn and 0 to 3 months, since you will not know which one fits until you meet them.
Newborn Starter Set6 options, from ₦20,000Two or three. The ward is usually colder than the day outside.
Card, scan results and your ID, in one envelope, inside the bag rather than in a drawer at home.
Both charged before you pack them. They earn the space they take.
Maternity pads, a towel, a wrapper, and slippers you can walk a corridor in.
Sleep
0 of 5One firm flat surface of the baby's own, in your room for the first few months. That is the whole safety rule. Everything after it is comfort.
A bassinet is enough for the first few months; a cot lasts for years. Buy for the room you actually have.
Baby Cots and Bassinets2 options, from ₦20,000Firm and flat, with no gap at the edges of the cot. Two sheets, so one is always clean.
Somewhere safe to put the baby down during the day, and a bed when you are staying somewhere else.
Over the cot, every night.
Light ones. Keep pillows and loose bedding out of the cot.
Changing and washing
0 of 6The half of the list you get through fastest. Buy small at first, then buy in bulk once you know the size that fits.
One pack of newborn size to start. Babies grow out of it quickly, and an unopened carton is money standing still.
A wipe-clean mat that works on a bed, a table or the floor.
A bath with a support, two hooded towels and a mild wash.
Add methylated spirit for the cord stump until it drops off, usually in the first two weeks.
A digital thermometer you trust, and baby scissors rather than your own.
One bag that stays packed with diapers, wipes and a spare outfit, so leaving the house is one decision instead of six.
Bed and Bag₦20,000
Feeding
0 of 6However you end up feeding, the kit is small. One of each is enough to begin with, and you can add more once you know what the baby takes.
Two to start with, even if you are planning to breastfeed only. Babies have strong opinions about teats.
A pot of boiling water kept for bottles alone does the same job.
Worth it if you are going back to work, or if you want someone else to take a night feed.
More than you think. Six muslins is a sensible start.
Hot water at 2am without walking to the kitchen.
Not needed until around six months, so you can leave it off the first shop.
Out and about
0 of 4Two ways of carrying a baby cover nearly every trip: a stroller for pavements and shops, a carrier for everywhere a stroller cannot follow.
Check the fold against your boot before you buy. A seat that lies flat matters for the first months.
Baby Strollers5 options, from ₦63,000Hands free, and easier than a stroller in a crowd. A wrapper does the same job if you already tie one.
Baby Carriers3 options, from ₦20,000Sun shade, rain cover, a light blanket, and somewhere to put your own things.
Out and About9 options, from ₦20,000For the months when you want to move a sleeping baby without waking them.
Baby Cots and Bassinets2 options, from ₦20,000
Travel
0 of 3The car seat is the one thing on this list with a deadline attached. It has to be in the car before the drive home.
Buy it by week 36 and fit it while you can still read the manual calmly. Practise the straps a few times.
Car Seats and Carry Cots2 options, from ₦80,000If the baby will travel in two cars, decide early whether you buy twice or move one seat across each time.
Car Seats and Carry Cots2 options, from ₦80,000A playpen folds down and travels, which saves borrowing a bed every time you stay over.
Play
0 of 4None of this is urgent in the first month. From around three months a baby wants somewhere to lie, kick and look at things.
Floor time from the first weeks. One of the cheapest things here and the one that gets used most.
Somewhere safe to put the baby down while you eat. On the floor, never on a table.
It buys you ten minutes, and that is the honest reason to own one. It does not teach a baby to walk, so keep it well away from stairs.
Baby Walkers1 option, from ₦40,000A handful is plenty. Your face is still the most interesting thing in the room.
Questions about the checklist
- Do I need everything on this list?
- No. The list covers the whole first year, and a new baby uses very little of it. Start with a safe place to sleep, a car seat, and enough clothes and diapers for a week.
- When should I buy each thing?
- The hospital bag and the car seat come first, because you cannot leave the hospital without a car seat. Buy the cot by about week 24. The due date calculator turns these weeks into your own dates.
- How do the tick boxes work?
- Tick something and it stays ticked on this device, so you can come back later and see what is left. Nothing you tick leaves your browser.
- I am buying for someone else. What should I get?
- Ask which of these they already have, then pick one they do not. The big things are the ones nobody wants to buy twice.