Baby Checklist

By Simona Graszl, photographer

This month Simona from https://www.yearinalife.nl and I are sharing a blog. She shares her feelings about receiving the kraamzorg list for the first time and not knowing exactly what to do with it. Simona is originally from Hungary and is a passionate photographer with a fine-art background. She does maternity, newborn, baby and family shoots. She works in the Haarlem, Leiden, Noordwijk and Den Haag area. Thank you Simona for taking the time to put togehter this blog. Here is her blog:

It’s been a while since my pregnancy, but I still remember the overwhelm and shock I felt when I received ‘The List’. If you don’t know what I mean by ‘The List’ I mean the one you get, or will get from the Kraamzorg when you have your introduction appointment with them. Of course this list might differ a bit per Kraamzorg, as they mostly come up with their own lists. If you want to know more about the Kraamzorg, you can watch this video, my friend Jovie made (coming soon).

Big part of the overwhelm came from not knowing what most of those words meant, as they were in Dutch (Google and my Dutch partner also wasn’t super useful), but also because they seemed really specific and I had never used them prior of having a baby.

I wish, I would’ve found a blogpost like this back then, helping me understand what these things are for and where you can buy them. Also giving them some meaning so you’re not just running through Hema like a headless chicken, but you actually know what you’re buying.

To be honest for me personally the list was so overwhelming, that I ended up not buying the things I didn’t understand the need for. On the morning my daughter came, my partner ended up going out and buying the things we were missing with the help of our Kraamzorg. It was fine, but I wish I would’ve been a little more prepared.

Through this post I am sharing my personal experience with these products, but I also asked Meida to give her professional opinion.

Meida van Baal is is a certified doula, childbirth educator and registered kraamverzorgende (maternity nurse) in The Hague. She is the owner of Mitera & Co., doula services, and is a member of the NBvD (Dutch Organization for Doulas).

Meida is also a native english speaker, so she was so kind to send me over the list she gives her clients in English. (I will still keep the Dutch translation next to it, so you can match it to your list.)

Some things are very self explanatory, like a crib, or baby clothing, so we will mostly make comments under items that aren’t unusual, and Meida will comment under things she thinks her clients mostly ask her about.

There will be a part of your list that includes things, that you will find in your Kraampakket. You can order one from your health insurance, depending on the type of insurance you have, they might also cover it. You’re supposed to have one handy, even if you are planning to give birth in the hospital, because some of the items in there are used after birth.

Those are the things you find here, and I am not going to explain what you do with them, as your kraamverzorgende will deal with it when time comes.

The items below are very important to have and people tend to not buy them.

This is what you'll find in the Kraampakket:

• 2 packages of sanitary napkins/pads, no plastic liner- 2 pakken maandverband
• 3 packages of maternity napkins/pads - 3 pakken kraamverband
• 10 absorbant pads - 10 celstofmatjes/onderleggers
• 1 package of cotton wool - 1 pak zigzagwatten
• 1 package of sterile gauzes 16/16 - 1 pak steriele gaasjes 16/16
• 10 bigger sterile gauzes 10/10 - 10 grote steriele gazen 10/10
• 50cc alcohol - 50 cc alcohol 70%
• Cord clamp - Navelklem
• Plastic mattress protector - Plastic matrasbeschermer
• Handgel - Pompje met handdesinfectiegel
• Disposable gloves - Wegwerphandschoenen

If you never end up using this box, you can drop it off at your midwife and they will give it to mothers who can’t afford it, or use it as extra at other births.

So here comes Meida’s list:

Baby Clothes:

• 6 bodysuits (2 sizes, it is most commonly 50 and 56) - 6 rompertjes (2 maten, meest gangbaar is 50 en 56)
• 6 sets of baby clothes/ onesies or tops and pants - 6 setjes babykleding
• Sweaters - truien
• 1 jacket - 1 jasje (this depends when your baby is born, we had a summer baby, so we never got her a baby jacket)
• 2 caps/hats - 2 mutsjes
• Receiving blanket - omslagdoek. Explained by Meida: This a wrap/cloth that you wrap your baby in when you pass your baby to your visitors. Their perfume/smell does not get on your baby’s clothes and it keeps your baby warm in those first 5 days.

Going out with your baby:

• Pram- Kinderwagen
• Carseat - Autostoeltje
• Changing bag with mat - Luiertas met verschoonmatje
• Possibly a baby sling or carrier - Eventueel draagdoek/ draagzak
• Camping bed - Campingbedje (we ended up using this as our ‘box’. It was a safe place to put down my daughter when I needed both hands, but it could be easily put away when we didn’t use it.)

Caring for your baby:

• Changing mat - Aankleedkussen
• 2 changing mat covers - 2 aankleedkussen hoezen
• Nappy bucket/ pail and liners - Luieremmer en zakjes
• Cardboard nail filer or emery board - Kartonnen nagelvijltjes
• Mild baby bath cleanser (scentless) - Zeepvrije wasgel
• Baby lotion (scentless) - Lotion
• Baby wipes - billendoekjes
• Nappy cream - Babyzalf
• 6 muslin washcloth - 6 hydrofiele washandjes (for baths, or just cleaning up the baby)
• Soft hair brush and comb - Zacht haarborsteltje en kammetje (we never actually got one of these)
• 12 muslin cloths - 12 hydrofiele luiers
• (Some woman say they never used these, we used them for everything, wiping, wrapping, burping. I found the big ones very useful, we used them for swaddling and baths)
• 3 flannel cloths - 3 flanellen luiers. Explained by Meida: It’s thicker like a molton to wrap the baby or use in the pram. I sometimes use it on the changing table mat for extra protection. It absorbs better any accidents that wind up on the mat. I would change the amount needed to 3, because it’s not used a lot.
• 1-2 packages of nappies 2 - 5 kilos 1 a 2 pakken wegwerpluiers
• 2 bath capes/ towels - 2 badcapes
• 2 digital thermometers (1 for mother, 1 for baby). 2 digitale thermometers (1 voor mama)

In the first few days of your baby’s life you’ll need to keep track of their and your own temperature. Ear thermometers are only suitable for mom.

Baby sleep:

• Bassinet, cot/ crib with a firm mattress (8-10 cm thick) Ledikantje/ wiegje met stevig matras (8-10 cm dik)
• 2-3 flannel/ cotton sheets - 2. The items below are important to have since -3 moltons of katoenen lakens different from hoeslaken(van katoen)
• 1 flannel (molton) mattress cover protector - 1 moltonbeschermer (for potential leakage)
• 3 fitted sheets - 3 hoeslakens
• 2 blankets (cotton or wool) - 2 dekentjes (van katoen of wol)
• 2 aluminum water bottles - 2 kruiken (babies have a hard time regulating their own temperature, so in the first few days, you’ll need to keep these in her crib to keep them warm)
• 2 covers for the water bottle - 2 kruikzakken (To cover the aluminium bottle because they’re scorching hot. :)
• sleeping bags (cotton, terry or flannel, not padded)

Breastfeeding:

• 2 nursing bras. No wires. - 2 voedingsbeha's
• Nipple cream (if needed) - (this can be very handy when breastfeeding, as your nipples will most likely be dry and cracked.)
• A box of nursing/ breast pads - Zoog- of borstkompressen (for avoiding leakage, especially handy when going out in public)
• Nursing pillow and covers - Voedingskussen (save your back with these things)
• Breast pump and bottles (rent or buy if needed after birth) - Borstkolf + flesjes (pas na geboorte aanschaffen)
• 6 burp cloths - 6 spuugdoekjes

Bottle feeding:

• 2 bottles 0-6 months - 2 flessen
• 2 nipples for newborn (size 0) - 2 spenen
• Bottle brush - 1 flessenborstel
• 6 burp cloths - 6 spuugdoekjes
• Formula milk 0-6 months - Flesvoeding 0-6 maanden (bij flesvoeding)

In the bath:

• Baby bath with feet or Tummy Tub - Babybadje met standaard of een tummy tub
• Bath Thermometer (we got one that was already built into the bath.)

Most of these items can be bought at Hema and drugstores like (Etos and Kruidvat), but if you want to order everything at the same time bol.com or wehkamp also sells a lot of these.

Clients registered for Meida's kraamzorg will get a pdf form of this list.

By the advice of Meida, also, please have a look at the website “https://www.veiligheid.nl/kinderveiligheid” for more information about safety and buying baby products. The site is in Dutch though.

I really hope this blog helped you understand a bit the things you’ll need and why.