As requested by my best good and pregnant friend, Adrienne, this is my recommended list of baby supplies. I'm sure I've forgotten something, but here we go:
Clothing:
-Socks, 8 pairs or so should do. Get cute ones if you like (if you can afford, jeez), but get most pairs in the same style and color to limit lost-sockism.
Wal-Mart has big packs of affordable baby socks, I think 10 pair for about $6.
-2 or 3 pairs of mittens, the ones to keep them from scratching themselves when you can't manage to get their nails filed or clipped. We didn't use these much, but some babies really do a number on their faces.
-a few newborn size onesies. They grow quickly and you can always use the 0-3 month size in a pinch.
-10 to 12 outfits that fit at any given time, whether you like onesies or t-shirts and pants. I really like things that button all the way down the front. Kind of a hassle to get on when you are bleary-eyed and sleep-deprived, but easier to remove when covered in spit-up or pee.
-2 or 3 pairs of pajamas. Or just only get pajamas, there are few things better than a clean baby in feetie pajamas!
-2 hats for warm weather and 2 for cold.
-2 light jackets
-1 heavier jacket
-1 puffy suit for that one week of actual winter we get here in NC.
-3 or 4 30 inch square receiving blankets, square for swaddling! I've heard of using muslin for warm weather wrapping.
-3 or 4 42 inch square swaddling blankets for when baby gets a little bigger. Some prefer stretchy material to get a good, tight wrap.
-A sleep sack or wearable blanket for cool weather. Basically a bag with arm holes and a zipper up the front. I swaddle Penny and then zip her up in the bag so she can't get loose.
-2 Pack and Play sheets
-2 or 3 crib sheets
-2 large waterproof mattress protectors. I saw a tip to put protector, sheet, protector, sheet on the mattress so you have another layer if there is an oops in the night (or more for during potty training time!)
-1 waterproof mattress pad
-1 or 2 sheet savers - goes under baby's head to keep any little dribbles from getting on the sheet. Or you can just get some cloth diapers.
-At least one Boppy. Some moms swear by having two, but I have managed with one.
If you need to wash the pillow, put a few towels or something in the bootom of the washer under it. I put mine in by itself and now it has a weird dent in it from the agitator.
-At least one spare Boppy cover. If it is a particularly barfy day, I recommend just putting a towel between baby and Boppy.
-Waterproof Boppy covers are now available. Too bad they weren't around a year and a half ago!
Bathing and health
-2 or 3 hooded towels.
-6 to 12 washcloths. Try to find cotton, I got some because they were cute only to discover that they are acrylic and absorb
nothing.
The acrylic ones are now used for face washing after eating.
-Baby bathtub. I don't think there's any need to get the ones with sprayers or temperature sensors or fax machines, the $15 tub works just fine. Penny's came with a newborn "hammock" thing. I think we used the hammock twice until her umbilical cord fell off, then I just put her in the tub.
-Moisturizing baby wash, to help with dry skin.
-Baby lotion. Johnson's or whatever you like for everyday use and Aquaphor for serious dryness. It's greasy and gross, but it works (for faces, too). The baby oil gel is nice, too.
-Baby grooming kit: brush, comb, nail files, nail clippers, nail scissors.
(Still haven't ever used the nail scissors, I guess they work better for other people).
-Baby medicine kit: Tylenol, Motrin, Mylicon, etc. The plastic case is handy, too, I use it when we travel to put her soap, nail clippers and etc. in.
-Thermometer - we have one that reads in the ear, but it's really too big for a newborn. I dont' know about the accuracy of the temporal scanner thermometers, but they are probably way easier than trying to stick something in a sick, angry baby's ear.
-cool mist humidifier - Target has cute ones shaped like animals by Crane.
Feeding
-Breast shells - to keep
anything from touching your nipples when you first start breastfeeding. I could only find these at Babies 'R Us.
-Lanolin
-Bra pads - the ones with sticky on the back to hold them in place are nice. You'll want a few of these whether you breastfeed or not and possibly before you give birth.
-Nursing wrap - if you want to feed in public and don't want to have your boob(s) out for all to see.
-Bras - I wouldn't drop the $$$ on nursing bras until you're sure it's going to work out. I just wore sports bras.
-Breast pump - if you want a hospital grade one, rent from the hospital for the first month to see how it goes. I know some who pumped everyday for months using a single-barreled manual pump.
-Breast milk storage bags
-
Lots of bibs.
-Bottles. If you wash every day, you can get by with 10 or so. You can get a few of the 4 or 5 ounce size if you like, but you'll probably only use them for a few months. I just felt silly using the bigger ones for such a tiny baby. As for brand, that depends on the baby. It seems like the fancier the bottle, the less likely the baby is to like it i.e. Penny couldn't even get anything out of the Gerber Nuk bottles and the friends whose baby hated the Dr. Brown's bottles. Regular old, $1 each Gerber or Evenflo are good or Penny's favorite Soothie bottles which we can only find at Wal-Mart are about $3 each. Many still swear by the Playtex Nursers with the drop-in liners. I really do like the one Avent bottle I got for free for registering at Babies 'R Us. I think they run about $8 each.
-2 or 3 extra nipples for whatever bottles you choose.
-Bottle drying rack.
We found a nice Michael Graves one at Target that works well and looks OK in the kitchen.
-Bottle brush. Try a few, some are crap. The ones with non-removable nipple brushes just tend to annoy me.
I eventually sprung for an Avent bottle brush and it has been my favorite so far.
-1 or 2 containers to hold pre-measured formula powder. You can get ones that hold three...aliquots (I couldn't think of the non-science word).
-Small bowls for when you first start solids. Target usually has some cute ones in the $1 section.
-A bowl and a divided plate with suction cups on the bottom. Again, only found at BRU.
-The classic Gerber soft-tipped spoons.
-The soft-tipped Munchkin spoons are good to occupy little hands while attempting to get food inside of the mouth.
-A comfortable rocking chair, a footrest is nice.
-food processor and ice cube trays if you feel like making your own baby food. It really is very easy. I still buy some things because I really don't see myself pureeing and straining beef. Yuck!
Diapering
-Diaper bag - I recommend having both a large one and a small one for quick trips
-A good, dog-proof diaper pail. I really like my Diaper Champ, and it uses regular cheapo 8 gallon trash bags from Wal-Mart. Some smell does creep out, but I would be surprised if any pail contained all smell.
-Something to organize your changing table, baskets and such.
-Try several brands of diaper cream to find the one you like. The "creamy" Desitin is kind of fluffy and easy to apply. Balmex is thicker and might be a little better for serious diaper rash. I haven't used the Boudreaux's Butt Paste much. It has sort of a vanilla scent and is very thick, almost difficult to apply and seems to form little boogers when it dries out on the butt.
-Also try several brands of diapers. For instance, I can't stand Huggies, but that is just because they don't fit Penny, so they leak. The Pampers Swaddlers are nice in the beginning because they have a little stripe that turns green when peed upon. Eventually you will learn that baby is pretty much
always wet, but it is reassuring early on. We use Luvs now. They are very similar to Pampers, but a good bit cheaper. The Target ones are very cheap and don't leak, but they don't seem to have the best fit, on Penny anyway.
-Try all of the wipes, too. I would be using Target brand at this point, but I got hooked on the the Huggies scented wipes. I like that the Huggies wipes are thick, and it's nice to have something around that smells good when changing a poopy diaper.
Gear
-swing - we borrowed a standard front-to-back swing which she liked sometimes, until they had a side-to-side one at daycare, then she preferred that. If you can afford it or borrow one, I recommend getting one that can do both.
-bouncy seat - nothing fancy. Penny loved the one from Wal-Mart for $22.50 with dangly toys and vibration action.
-Pack and Play - we got a Graco with bassinet, changing table and mobile. The bassinet was nice so we didn't have to bend all the way down. The changing table was nice, too, but it's really not that bad now going upstairs to change her. The mobile played creepy, tinny music and was way out of her sight range. We ended up just sticking it in the closet. I would recommend just getting one with the bassinet and scrap the other stuff.
-Jumper -borrow one or find a used one if you can
Etc.
-baby book
-a camera that takes good pictures
-baby monitor so you can close the door and watch TV without straining to hear the baby. We have the Graco iMonitor so it doesn't interfere with our home network. It is rechargeable so you don't run through batteries. I can't think of why you would need two receivers.
-books:
- The Happiest Baby on the Block - I didn't use all of it, but it gave me a lot of insight to a baby's world
- The Must Have Mom's Manual
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