Baby Kit and Nursery Checklist

Who this is for

A tick list for getting a room and a bag ready, sorted by where things are used rather than by what anyone says you must own. No brands, no prices and nothing marked as essential — the blank lines at the end of each list are there because your list is not ours.

Parents getting ready for a first baby, anyone setting a room up again for a second, grandparents and friends kitting out a spare room, and people buying second-hand who want one list to shop and check against.

What this helps you track

• What is already in the nursery, ticked off room by room
• Changing, feeding and bathing kit kept in separate lists
• The bag that goes out of the house, so it is packed once rather than daily
• Any first aid supplies you have chosen to keep, written in by you
• The gaps — the unticked lines are the shopping list

How to use it

1. Write who the list is for and the date you are working to at the top.
2. Go round the room with the nursery list first and tick what is already there, rather than what you intend to buy.
3. Work through the changing, feeding and out and about lists in the places those things live, not at a desk.
4. Use the blank lines at the foot of each list for anything you use that we have not named — that is most of what makes a list yours.
5. Leave the first aid list to fill in yourself with whatever your own midwife, health visitor or pharmacist has suggested keeping in.
6. Print it and tick in pen, or fill it in on screen where you can add your own items and keep it saved in your own browser.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Is this everything a baby needs?

No, and nothing here is marked as essential. It is a set of ordinary categories to work through so nothing is forgotten, and half of what any household ends up using will be written on the blank lines by whoever is holding the pen.

Why are there no brands or product recommendations?

Because we sell nothing and know nothing about your budget, your room or your baby. The list names kinds of things, and what you buy, borrow or are given is yours to decide.

Why is the first aid list empty?

Deliberately. What to keep in is a question for your midwife, health visitor, pharmacist or doctor, and the answer differs by household and by country. The lines are there for you to write down what they told you.

Can I use it to check a second-hand haul?

Yes. Tick what you already have, take the sheet with you, and the unticked lines are what you are still looking for. The notes box is a reasonable place to record what came from where.

Does it cover the hospital bag?

No — that is a separate sheet, because it gets packed once for a particular day and is split between the birthing parent, the baby and whoever is going along.