The father's guide
The newborn budget: what the baby actually needs
This page carries no prices, because nobody here can verify what things cost in your city. It carries the list instead — and most of what gets spent in this category is on things that appear on no list at all.
Clothes for the first weeks
The published starting list is short enough to be surprising.
- 6 stretch suits and 6 vests.
- 2 lightweight cardigans, wool or cotton.
- A shawl or a blanket.
- For going out in cold weather: a wool or cotton hat, mittens, and socks or bootees.
- A sun hat for warm weather.
Newborns also outgrow this size quickly, which is the argument against buying a wardrobe in advance rather than an argument about taste.
Source: NHS
Where the baby sleeps
For the first months: a crib, a carrycot or a Moses basket. This is the part of the list where the cheap decision and the safe decision are usually the same decision.
- The mattress must be firm, not soft, flat, fit the cot with no gaps, and be clean, dry, waterproof and not ripped or torn.
- No pillows and no duvets for a baby under one year — the risk named is suffocation.
- Use sheets and layers of blankets tucked in firmly below shoulder level, or a baby sleeping bag.
- Baby nests are not suitable to sleep in, because of the danger of suffocation.
- A new cot should meet British safety standard BS EN 716, and the bars should be no more than 6.5cm apart.
- If you are borrowing or reusing, ideally buy a new mattress even so.
Source: NHS
The car seat
This is the one item on the list where buying the cheapest available option is a genuinely bad idea, and where second-hand carries a specific trap.
It must be suitable for the baby's weight and fitted correctly according to the manufacturer's instructions, and it must conform to United Nations ECE Regulation R44.03 or R44.04, or to the newer i-Size regulation R129.
On second-hand seats the rule is narrow: only accept one from someone you know, never from a shop, because you cannot verify whether it has been in a crash. A seat that has been in a collision can look untouched and no longer work.
Source: NHS
Carrying the baby
If you use a sling or carrier, the published check is the T.I.C.K.S. rule: tight; in view at all times; close enough to kiss; keep the chin off the chest; and supported back.
The chin item is the one that gets missed, and it is the one that matters most: a newborn whose chin is folded onto the chest can have its airway closed without making any noise about it.
Source: NHS
Put the list somewhere you both edit it
Nawah has a baby budget the father can open and edit, not only view. Agreeing what is on the list before the shopping starts is most of the argument avoided.
Get Nawah freeCommon questions
Why does this page not give any prices?
Because we have not verified what any of this costs in Cairo, Riyadh, Dubai or anywhere else, and a made-up number on a page someone is using to plan their spending is worse than an honest gap. The list is the part that transfers between markets.
What about second-hand in general?
Two items carry named cautions: buy a new mattress even when reusing a cot, and take a car seat only from someone you know. Beyond those two, the guidance does not warn people off used baby equipment.
Everyone says we need far more than this.
They may be right about comfort. They are describing preferences, though, not a published requirement — and it is worth being able to tell which of the two you are buying, particularly for the items that arrive before the baby does.
Sources
- What you'll need for your babyNHS · retrieved 2026-08-22
This guide is general information, not medical advice. It does not replace a doctor, and it knows nothing about your particular pregnancy. If something feels wrong, contact your doctor instead of waiting for the next scheduled visit.
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