Ember for expecting parents
What to get ready for your first baby (UK)
Most first-time parents get a wall of shopping lists. Start with the early-days jobs, then what’s fine to wait on, borrow, or skip for now.
Free to look around. No card. The Ember Plus waitlist is there if you want it later.
Buy now, wait, or borrow first?
A table you can screenshot for Notes. Open the free prep ideas when you want the full walk-through.
| Item | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Firm new mattress and a clear sleep space | Now | Safer sleep is the bit to get right. NHS and Lullaby Trust are your anchors here. Moses basket or cot? |
| Rear-facing infant car seat | Now | Buy new, and check it fits your car before the hospital bag goes in. When can baby face forward? |
| Lie-flat pushchair or a carrier | Now | One solid way out of the house is enough. You can refine later. Pram or pushchair? |
| Vests, sleepsuits, nappies, muslins | Now | Start small. They grow out of the tiny stuff faster than the WhatsApp group admits. Hospital bag checklist |
| Baby monitor | Later | Lots of families wait until baby sleeps further away. Day one in your room often doesn’t need one. Do you need a baby monitor before birth? |
| High chair | Later | Ember brings this back when solids start. No need to store it for months first. When is my baby ready for a high chair? |
| Play gym and full nursery furniture | Later | Lovely later. Not the first job on the list for most homes. |
| Bottle warmer, mittens stacks, gadget bundles | Borrow first | Ask around before you buy another box that sits in the cupboard. |
The eight jobs of the early days
Think in jobs, not an endless aisle. Sleep, getting home, feeds, changes. Ember walks you through each one in the free catalogue.
Somewhere safe to sleep
A bedside crib or Moses basket, a firm new mattress, and a clear space. Same room as you for the early months, if you can.
Getting home
A rear-facing car seat bought new, and a lie-flat pushchair or a carrier that actually works for your walks.
Feeds ready
If you’re breastfeeding: bras, pads, and a few muslins. If you’re bottle-feeding: bottles, sterilising, and formula that suits you.
Changes
A mat, newborn nappies, barrier cream, and a caddy you can carry upstairs without a mission.
Clothes for the first weeks
A small pile of vests and sleepsuits. Mix newborn with 0–3 months so you’re not caught out.
Wash and skin
A bowl or baby bath, soft towels, and plain water for top and tail. Keep it simple at the start.
A crying plan
Who you can text at 2am, and two or three things you’ll try first. White noise can wait.
First play
Your face and voice do most of the work. A simple mat is plenty before a huge play gym.
Then Ember holds your hand through the early years
Getting ready for baby is the start. Ember is built to stay with you from bump to toddler: the one partner that already knows where your child is, what helps next, and what you can leave on the shelf, so you feel one step ahead and can sit back.
- Ideas that grow with them. Free age-fit ideas from the early weeks onward, so you always know what matters now and what to get next.
- Shortlists when you’re ready to buy. A few options we’ve already weighed up for this age, and why they fit, instead of a wall of shops.
- A gift list relatives can use. Share what you actually need, so family stop guessing and you stop unwrapping a third night light.
- Local finds and a clean pass-on. Match nearby families when new isn’t needed, then free up cupboard space when something has done its job.
- Big dates, flagged early. Christmas, birthdays, nursery, and travel, timed so you can act while you still have time.
Sleep and car seats follow UK guidance such as NHS and Lullaby Trust. Ember helps you organise prep. For medical questions, talk to your midwife or health visitor. Page checked August 2026.