A few weeks ago I held a friends newborn baby and my ovaries ached (shhh don't tell my husband) and whether is your first, second, third or twentieth thanks to Britain's largest family The Radford's, I don’t think the feeling of excitement, joy and sheer emotion of having a new baby ever changes. However, just as you can feel excited about the prospect you can also feel overwhelmed and worried about it. It’s a rollercoaster ride of emotions that is for sure. Once you are over the initial excitement, you can start to think about the future and preparing yourself for the arrival of your new baby. But what do you really need?

If this is your second child or beyond, you may be blessed with things you have kept from your first born. The most popular things to keep tend to be push chairs and car seats, even nursery furniture and clothing. So if you do have their benefit now would be the ideal time to sort through the loft or storage areas and see exactly what you have. It can also help determine how much you need to invest in for the new baby. But for some, you are starting from scratch and so you may feel like you have a big endless list of things to buy or consider for your new baby, but actually there are not as many essentials as you possibly once thought.

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Somewhere to sleep

Baby’s need a place to sleep, after all, they tend to spend those first few weeks sleeping a lot. So you may want to consider what sort of arrangements you are going to have in place for this. Of course, there are moses baskets that offer great flexibility for sleeping. But you could also consider the more permanent arrangements such as a cot that will potentially live in the baby’s nursery. There are all sorts of accessories to consider when it comes to sleeping arrangements, particular mattresses and sleeping aids, so it’s always advisable to do your research to ensure that the products you think you might not will actually be beneficial.

The feeding arrangements

Some people choose to breastfeed, others choose to bottle feed. Whichever route you decide to embark on is a decision only you can make and it is personal to you and how you feel. Sometimes you may have plans to feed in a certain way and things just don't go to plan. There are, however, essentials that could work with each type of feeding possibility such as breast pumps for breastfed baby’s or bottles and sterilisers for the bottle fed ones. Make the choice and then ensure you have what you need to embark on the feeding journey you choose.

Clothing for those first few weeks and months

We can often get a little carried away when it comes to buying clothes for a new baby. It’s all those cute little outfits you see in shop windows or websites like Next or Zara. The truth is, in those first weeks and months the chances are your new baby will live in rompers and sleepsuits. Cute outfits are great, but don’t have too many where you run the risk of your baby outgrowing them before they even have a chance to wear them. Be careful with your purchases, and instead, by a few months ahead to ensure you have a steady stream of clothing from newborn size onwards.

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Dealing with siblings

It can be hard to handle siblings when you are expecting a new child. You run the risk of feelings of jealousy creeping or feeling left out. It can be hard to remember at times there are other feelings to consider, especially when you are exciting and concentrating on taking care of yourself through pregnancy. The essential factor here is to ensure that you involve your child in the process of welcoming another baby. That might be a surprise gender reveal or making it a big event to announce the new sibling. It might just be arranging a private scan so that they get to meet their new sibling, a 4D scan could be a great bonding experience.

Getting out and about

You might need to consider the getting out and about arrangements for you new baby. Which could mean doing research on travel systems, push chairs and car seats. The car seat essentially is something you need for the hospital to get you home safely, so that may become your priority if you are planning on spreading the bigger purchases. There are options to suit all budgets in this field, and the best advice would be to go out and visit them and try them out and see how they feel. People have opinions from the top end of the budgets right through to some of the cheaper options available on the market.

Finally, make sure you take care of your own well being. Taking time out for yourself, enjoying a nice book and a relaxing bath. They may not be essentials that cost much, but they can make all the difference to how you feel.