1st pregnancy - What to buy?

Pregnant with my first child and a little overwhelmed by the volume of stuff available! Do I really need it all? Can anyone give me some pointers as to essentials vs. don't-waste-your-money? Thx

Stick with the basics until you actually KNOW your child. A crib or bassinette, change table if you don't have somewhere that would easily double as a nice changing space. I never bothered with most of the "gadgets", like wipes warmers, etc and I managed just fine.

If you plan on breastfeeding, a really good nursing pillow is invaluable. Even if you don't play on nursing, the pillows are great when your baby is older, to help teach them to sit. Lanolin cream is great, a good nursing bra .... I personally didn't go a single day without my nursing tank. I literally washed it every day and wore it under everything. It was so comfy and made nursing in public more comfortable and discreet.

I'm sure I've forgotten quite a bit, but those are my basics :)

Buy nothing.....have a baby shower and let everyone else spend their money! LOL!!!!

I agree with Amandasfcc just the basic stuff because they grow so fast and before you know they are not using it anymore. Start with the things you will need when you bring baby home....diapers, wipes,powder, vaseline, receiving blankets, warmer baby blankets,a crib, change pad or table, baby bathtub, all the bath stuff shampoo, lotion, cloth, hooded towels, baby hair brush, I LOVE babies after their bath, clothes, sleepers, car seat, if you are can't or choose not to breastfeed then you will need bottles, nipples, some sort of way to sanitize them (not qutie sure here because I did breastfeed sorry not much help there for you). Then once you are home and as your baby grows you will see what you need like a stroller, toys, teething rings and gels, baby spoons, bibs, more diapers, and more diapers, oh and more diapers. LOL!!! You will be just fine we all survive the first baby and it can't be too bad or we would all have only one child. Remember that when you are trying to function on little to no sleep! LOL!! Good luck fellow Mommy!

My first thing and the one that you want to spend the most research on is the car seat. Make sure that the one you buy fits your car! That tends to be the biggest mistake, most parents buy a car seat then realise during instillation that it will not fit.

Then I'd look into strollers etc oh and dont waist your money on fancy bedding for the crib because most of it isnt practical. Buy some fitted sheets and I am sure that you will get blankets as gifts for the baby.

I agree with giraffe and personally although the stroller car seat combo is nice they are not in the car seat part for long i would rather personally spend that money on a good quality stroller you can use from infant right through.A good example is a peg perego they have the large air filled tires ,come with a bassinet attachment for the stroller and a regular stroller seat for when they are older.The stroller bassinet can also double as a bassinet great for visiting.These are not cheap but they are a work horse and stand a lot of punishment and if your lucky and don't mind second hand you should be able to get one under $200 .I double lucked out and got 1 for $25 although i may need to replace 1 wheel but its sure a lot better then the $700 + they cost new lol.Also do your research find out what company stands behind their products better to spend the little extra on name brands for equipment that go cheap and it falls apart before your done with it . Also if you do not care about taking your infant out of the car seat every time you leave the car as opposed to the infant seat you carry get a seat that transitions from infant through to booster.

Ooooh, great advice! Especially the advice to register at a certain department store that you love and spread the word about that so that people can buy the things you need without duplicating. I really think that's an awesome service.

In a year when you need to find a home daycare, well then we will be an invaluable service, but for now let us now when your baby is born and congrats!!!!!!!

The cool stuff they have now makes me almost wish I was just having my first.
I saw the most beautiful purple carseat, stroller combo at Toys r Us last week. When I was looking 8 years ago the colours were drab and boring and infant carriers seemed to weigh 35 pounds empty.

For starting out I would suggest

An infant car carrier/car seat - you will need that to leave the hospital so don't go straight to a 5-80 lb car seat.

Some hats to keep the baby's head warm

Some towels that have the little hood for babies head since they get cold pretty fast while you are putting on a diaper

Lots of soft little wash clothes

Receiving blankets - about 5 to start at least. They are also good for swaddling the baby

A crib

Crib sheet - remember no bumper pads or blankets in the crib due to SID risks

A diaper change area ideally with a change pad that you can get at sears or Toyrs r us for about $17. Skip the change table which they will outgrow. What I did was buy a nice sturdy dresser for the baby and then put the change pad on top and used that as my chnage table. Now my son is 8 and has the dresser in his room and stores his clothes in the 8 drawers and it will likely last him until he moves out.

Of course you will need lots of sleepers. Personally I liked the ones that zipped up from the feet to the neck rather than doing snaps but everyone has a preference.
Babies will go through anywhere between 2-7 sleepers a day depending on whether their diaper leaks, they burp up milk onto it etc

If you are breastfeeding then get yourself Lansinoh cream - your nipples will thank you. The first two weeks of feeding are a little painful/.tough but it is so easy and convenient thereafter that you can feed the baby when it is hungry no matter where you are

Good bras - bigger than now. Nursing bras rock

a swing that goes from side to side rather than back and forth. Ocean Wonder is really good. I would have died without a swing to put my kids in. It was sometimes the only time they would sleep or give me 10 minutes to shower without them crying.

An exersaucer in a few months.

Doing a baby registry at SEARS or Toys r us should be fun and then you tell people you are on the registry. Be sure to pick out items of different values depending on what people want to spend.

also...you will need a good diaper bag, sensitive baby wipes for the little one, Penaten or zinc oxide cream for diaper rash and be sure to take diapers and wipes with you to the hospital because they will usually only supply you with the first one or two diapers and after that you are on your own.

You might also want an electric breast pump. Don't do manual. The electric ones are so much more efficient and less painful to you

And last but not least....get some gripe water in case the baby has upset stomach. Sometimes babies cry and cry and gripe water often calms them down. It is in the baby section.

don;'t worry too much about toys at first. Children won't be able to see colour yet or grasp stuff for long

thanks for sharing your information! i am interested in this question as well

Disposable breast pads.....really..... .don't forget those! Also, I found terry cloth drool bibs invaluable. I had a stack of 20 of them for my drooly boys for frequent changing so I didn't have to change their outfits quite so many times.

A little tip I caught on to with my third....eat cold meals. Babies always (ALWAYS) want to be fed once dinner's on the table. I thought it might have been the smell of the food getting their olfactory gland going. Makes sense, because food smells good, even if you don't know what it is. I was always breastfeeding during meals with my first 2. With my last, I ate more salads, sandwiches, ploughman's lunches, etc and got to actually sit down and enjoy more of those.

And....not to put any ideas in your head, but if breastfeeding, for whatever reason, doesn't go well or isn't for you, don't worry about it. Don't let everyone guilt you into torturing yourself for months trying to make it work. Hopefully it goes super well for you, as it did for me. But if it doesn't, it's really not the end of the world. I wouldn't go out and buy a breast pump right away either. Personally, I hated them. Didn't work for me at all. I found it much better to express by hand. It took forever to get even a couple ounces with a pump, but by hand, I'd have 8 ounces in 20 mins. Before investing the money in an expensive pump, you might want to see if hand expression works for you. Pumps are easy to find, so there's no real rush.

Congrats on your upcoming bundle! I remember those days....though long past :)

This thread is almost three years old !

Bahahaha!!!!! Seriously??? I really must pay attention to the dates on these posts!

LOL good advice anyway cfred!!

Big L on my forehead :)

the date of the original post of this one is 2011

I am fully agreed with Amandasfcc - get to know your child and you`ll know what you need

You need to buy a special underwear to support the abdomen and a notebook in which you will record the sensations and days when the baby kicks. :)

I also agree with Amandasfcc and Mrs. laurie. Buy the basic staff since they will grow faster and you will notice that you will not be needing most of the stuff sold in dept. store.

As for me, I would advise buying a lot of diapers!