Actual baby needs?

Parentberries
1

Okay, I will start off by saying that I couldn’t remember if there had been a thread posted about this topic, so I went back and skipped around every couple of pages until page 130, to see if there was anything similar…and I couldn’t find anything. If this has been brought up already, please forgive my tired, little, sleepless brain.

Anyhow, we are TTC still, but I like to try to think a bit ahead, so I was wondering what are some main items you need for baby? I don’t mean diapers, wipes, or car seats. I’ve just been browsing around on some sites and found that there is a lot of stuff that just seems useless or frivolous. We aren’t wanting a baby shower, so we’d have to do this on our own, which is why I’m asking.

So, what are must-haves and what should we pass on? Thanks, guys!

2

We have an 11 month old.

Get some large muslin swaddles and pacifier clips to use for securing the swaddles. This will probably buy you sleep, which will buy you sanity.
I still find my munchkin bottle warmer to be very useful (about $20)
Many people will say a bottle sterilizer is a waste of money…maybe if you nearly exclusively breastfeed. Otherwise, I think it is useful because milk/formula makes bottles and all their little parts dirty fast and I do believe the sterilizer is useful for cleaning all the little parts well so you don’t end up tossing them out because they’ve gotten nasty.
You need a pack n play! In fact, you can just use that for a crib for at least the first 4 months.
Our biggest splurge was our stroller travel system. Actually, it wasn’t really a splurge because we use. It. So. Much. It has held up and lasts as baby grows so we don’t need to buy an additional toddler stroller (travel system= carseat + base + foldable stroller) we got the Chicco [name_m]Bravo[/name_m] Trio but my point is to spend some time looking at your options.
You will probably want some sort of baby carrier
As for clothes, you’ll probably get a bunch gifted or handed down to you even if you don’t ask. It’s probably easiest to just buy as you go. Start with one or 2 packs of onesies and you should be ok…however I did love the long sleeved onesies with fold over sleeves to prevent baby scratching themself…some people also just use tiny socks for this.
If you need a breastpump, I recommend the Spectra S2. I’ve done a crapton of pumping and have tried like 4 electric pumps. Also it is nice to have a hand pump for emergencies and traveling.
If you breastfeed, [name_f]Earth[/name_f] Mama [name_u]Angel[/name_u] [name_u]Baby[/name_u] nipple balm is great.
A musical mobile was also very good for soothing baby to sleep starting at about 3 weeks of age

3

First six weeks or so, [name_f]Rosie[/name_f] was in a nappy, no clothes (it was hot!), slept on me, had breastmilk straight from the boob. So I would argue the only thing she really “needed” other than me was a nappy and wipes! I know that’s not how it is for everyone, but I’d still say you could mostly pass on clothes and blankets; these were our #1 gifts (we didn’t have a big baby shower either, friends/relatives visiting baby were just very generous). We had so many blankets gifted that I actually just kept some in their packaging to pass on to other people.

I agree with @orchid_lover that it’s best to buy clothes as you go if you do buy them. Thank goodness I didn’t buy too many before she was born – she never fit into newborn clothes (her torso was too long!) so those were useless. Then it’s a guessing game about what size they’ll be during what season. We’re heading into spring/summer here now and she’s going to need a whole new wardrobe, and I’m still like… do I buy a size up? Two sizes up? Who knows.

Things that helped me / would be useful in the first few months:

*A good carrier. Try them on now while you don’t have a big belly in the way! Places that sell them often have weights you can put in to see how it would feel with a baby. After you know how they fit, have a look to see if you can get one second hand for half the price. We have an Ergo Performance and it is absolutely priceless. Only just got it when [name_f]Rosie[/name_f] was about 5 months – I wish I had it earlier! She’s now 25 pounds and I barely feel her in it. We had an original [name_u]Baby[/name_u] [name_m]Bjorn[/name_m] at first which I hated as it was so uncomfortable and so didn’t use much. She only wanted to be on me for the first few months; this would have made it much easier to get things done around the house.

*Somewhere to put the baby down. For us, this ended up being a bouncer used from around five weeks. [name_f]Ro[/name_f] hated being put down, and particularly hated being somewhere flat. We tried a swing but she would start to fuss within minutes. Bouncer was it for us, and it was useful until she started rolling (after that, we used a Bumbo). Unfortunately it seems like you have to try things out here as different babies like different things.

*Stroller/pram. Make a list of what you think you want in a pram before you go looking. There are so many different types!! This was a huge decision for us and we didn’t end up getting anything until she was about two months old because we couldn’t make up our minds. We have the [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Jogger City [name_f]Mini[/name_f] which I highly recommend, but it might not necessarily suit your needs, so definitely make a list of what you want/ don’t want in a pram.

*A doorframe jumper. We have the Jolly Jumper, which can be used from 3 months or whenever they’re holding their heads up. Best. Invention. [name_u]EVER[/name_u]. I was really struggling around 3 months because [name_f]Rosie[/name_f] wanted more stimulation but still wasn’t really playing with toys. She would have spent hours in this jumper if I let her. I put her in multiple times a day. It was our #1 favorite thing for at least a few months. She still uses it a few times a week (it can be used until she starts walking) and it is just amazing.

*A hand pump if you’re breastfeeding. I now kind of wish I’d splurged on an electric one, but they seemed so expensive. I haven’t used one or I’d say electric. But at least a hand pump to relieve engorgement those first few months.

*AND these aren’t necessarily for baby or even things you have to go get, but old towels were a lifesaver. I lived on the couch for weeks. We just covered the whole area in towels. Saved the couch from postpartum leaking, boob leakage, spit-up, vomiting, poosplosions, you name it.

*Also: a water bottle you can operate one-handed. I have one now where I just have to flip up the straw, but the one I had then was a twist-top and that is the stupidest thing to have whith a newborn. [name_m]How[/name_m] I expected to operate that thing when my mouth went dry every time she latched on while breastfeeding I have no idea. Get an easy-to-use, one-handed water bottle.

4

Babies need very little. You need to keep them clean, fed, warm, well-rested and loved.

Clean
You already basically covered it with nappies and wipes. You can bath them in the sink or in the normal bath with you, so you don’t need a baby tub. Think about where you will change them. You don’t need a changing mat but it is probably a good buy. You definitely don’t need a special changing table - changing mats can be placed anywhere that’s a convenient height. Muslin squares are very useful for mopping milk vomit or dribbled milk off the baby’s face (and a thousand other uses).

Fed
If you’re breastfeeding, you don’t need anything but your boobs. You don’t need a pump but it can be a good idea if you want to leave your baby with someone else for a while - in which case you also need at least one bottle or a cup they can drink out of (depends how old the baby is when you start leaving them). My baby is breastfed and never deigned to take a bottle at all (went straight to cup at around 6 months) so I don’t know a lot about bottle feeding, but I imagine if you plan or are compelled to formula feed, you will need more bottles and would probably like a quick and easy way to clean them (i.e. bottle steriliser).

Warm
Unless it is very hot, you need clothes for your baby, suitable for the season they will be born in. You don’t need many, but the more you have the less often you need to do laundry and vice versa, so something to consider. You will be given a lot because baby clothes are cute and people love to buy them, plus people whose babies have grown out of their little clothes and don’t plan to have any more are champing at the bit to give them away. You will probably also need a few blankets for in the car, sleeping, etc.

Rested
You need somewhere safe for your baby to sleep when you cannot / do not want to be awake and holding them yourself. Whether that’s a cot, a [name_m]Moses[/name_m] basket or your own bed is up to you (and may depend to some extent on your baby’s temperament). Since co-sleeping is an option, you don’t need anything here either, but you may well want a cot and the mattress and sheets that go with it. If there is not enough room in your bedroom for a full-size cot, you may want a [name_m]Moses[/name_m] basket or something else smaller for them to sleep in at first. But this is a very individual issue.

Loved
You don’t need to buy anything. You only need yourself and time.

Then there’s transport, because you will of course need to leave the house with your baby - if you drive you need a car seat, which you mentioned. You will also need a pram or a baby carrier / sling (you can have both if you want to have options).

All other products are very much optional. It is not particularly useful I would say to listen to what other parents needed/loved for their baby because you will be different parents and you will have a different baby. Parent A will say, “Oh you have to get a bouncy seat. [name_m]Little[/name_m] [name_m]Johnny[/name_m] loved his bouncy seat, I couldn’t have lived without it”. So you get a bouncy seat, but oh no, your baby just wails when you put them in it. People often like to have somewhere they can ‘put’ their baby for a short time while they get something else done, and for [name_m]Johnny[/name_m] that was his bouncy seat. But for you it might be a baby carrier, a swing, an activity mat or simply a blanket on the floor. What I’m saying is: don’t go crazy. Save as many purchases as you can for after the birth when you know more about how you like to parent and how your baby likes to be parented.

5

We just put a changing pad on top of her dresser, and that’s worked great as a changing table. Bonus: her clothes are right there.

If you don’t know if you want to buy a breastpump, you can rent one and see. At first I thought that sounded gross, but all the parts that touch you are brand new. Only the actual pump is rented.

My daughter hated her carrier when she was really little, but we use it now to go hiking. I’m so glad we got one that can switch around to the back as well.

6

Thank you for the replies, everyone! Your input has helped a lot. @jackal, I loved your breakdown of everything :slight_smile:

I think we are on a good start thus far. We looked at cribs and stroller/carrier combos the other day, and will be doing research on that sort of thing. We work at the same place, who offers us a pretty decent discount on one purchase each for [name_m]Black[/name_m] Friday, so we’d like to use that for those two “big” items. Other than that, we’ve gotten some onesies of various sizes. I was surprised to find that there isn’t much out there in the realm of gender neutral clothing, which is the route we’d like to go until we get pregnant and find out the gender of the baby. Anyhow, we’ve gotten some socks, those hand mitts, and some receiving blankets. I also did a bit of research to find a type of bottle that works best for babies who will be breastfed (I will attempt to) and who will be bottle-fed, since I will eventually have to go back to work/school. I’d like to look into a baby carrier (the ones you wear, not the carseat ones), but I’ve heard so many conflicting things about them and then you hear about how some have an increased risk of causing hip problems…but I’m sure we’ll find something :slight_smile:

7

One thing I’ll say is onesies with zips not buttons or studs! [name_m]Even[/name_m] better (especially for long sleeved/long legged onesies) are the double zippers, so you can unzip from either end. Is fantastic in [name_u]Winter[/name_u] as you don’t have to completely undress bubs to change nappies, but overall just so much easier!! Especially for hubbies who can’t seem to deal with buttons :slight_smile:

In Australia we have the Zippy Wondersuit by Bonds. They come in lots of different patterns and have a little foldover on the sleeves and legs so you can choose to have hands/feet covered or uncovered. They are a godsend. Not sure if you can get them in other countries, or what the equivalent would be, but worth finding. You need onesies anyway so might as well get the ones that are easiest to use.