І. Things you need to buy before the baby is born:
1. Baby bed. Most future parents start by buying a crib. I would say that in this case brand does not matter. Your baby cannot read yet so he/she won’t know that you bought a locally manufactured bed instead of a fancy Italian one. Moreover, let me assure you that in the beginning your baby will probably sleep everywhere else but in his own bed – i.e. in your bed, in a pram or in your arms. Our son boycotted his bed and screamed every time when we tried to put him in there (apparently he did guess that it was not Italian design!)
Nevertheless, even if you are a fan of natural parenting and co-sleeping, you still need a baby bed, simply to put a child in it when you are going to take a shower. This way you will be sure that your little one does not roll anywhere or fall.
There are many bed choices available: on wheels, stable ones, rocking ones… We took the one on wheels. Many times we just moved the bed around, following feng shui or just at random. So the wheels turned out to be very useful. It is very convenient to move such a bed around, rocking the baby to sleep. I guess those rocking beds would also work for that purpose, especially during the first months as they would help to calm down a newborn child.
Make sure to buy soft bumpers for the bed so that the baby will not bang and hurt him/herself or stick his leg between the rods.
There are baby beds that could be put right next to the parents’ bed, which is very convenient. In that case the gap between the beds can be filled with rolled towels. It is a great compromise for those moms and dads who want the baby to sleep next to them but are not fond of the idea of sleeping in the same bed with the child. We are those type of parents, so it would have worked perfectly for us, but we made a big mistake of not paying attention that both mattresses must match in height. So it turned out that even if we lowered the bottom of the crib, it still would not have worked.
This is why we decided to buy a baby bassinet that attaches to the parents’ bed. It worked perfectly for the first months. I loved that thing, but by the time my son turned five months old, it was already too small for him.
2. Mattress for the baby bed should be hard enough and does not sag easily.
3. Waterproof cloth under the sheet. It is better to use the one with soft surface that absorbs moisture.
4. Fitted sheets the right size for your mattress (2—3 pcs.).
5. Instead of a blanket, which is easily pushed away by restless little legs, use a baby sleeping bag with a zip. It is important that the size of a neck-hole is smaller than the size of a baby’s head.
6. A cotton blanket is a very useful thing. For example, you can use it on a walk when a sunny day suddenly gets a little cooler.
7. Fleece throw blanket for winter walks and traveling in the car.
8. Baby changing table with a chest of drawers (two in one). You need it to change a baby, store diapers and take care of your back. Do not forget to buy a soft mattress with bumpers. It is better to use a washable mattress (we had an inflatable one).
9. Trash can with a lid (for used diapers) and a basket for dirty clothes and baby linen. All these things should be put next to your changing table.
10. Towel. Any soft type is good, but it is convenient to use the one with the hood. There are many cute funny towels with bear ears or other little details that will lift up your mood.
11. Air humidifier. This device is often absent from baby shopping lists for no good reason. Good humidity level is important for child health.
12. Video baby monitor. It is an essential device for home, as well as for traveling. Even when a baby is asleep in his/her bed, any normal mother would come check on him/her every once in a while. Put the monitor next to you, watch your cute sleeping baby and enjoy your cup of tea! I was even taking the monitor with me to the shower, because through the sound of the running water it always seems like the baby is crying. I suppose the brand does not really matter. It is important that the device works properly. Our baby monitor also has a feedback button (such a useless function), Chinese soothing music (even more useless) and a thermometer (which shows an outright lie). But overall it is a great device!
13. Baby pram/stroller. This topic is definitely a success with marketing specialists. Any pregnant woman will be exhausted from choosing and comparing all the different models available on the market. Transformers, baby carriages 3 in 1, with four wheels or three, with hand brakes and a special step for the older child, and even with an indicator whether the baby is in the pram or not… I am not joking, there is really such a thing! I am convinced that the most important thing in a pram is its reasonable weight, especially if the architect who designed your house did not have children and thus did not make any ramps (such is the case with our apartment block).
14. Baby carriage needs a rain cover (often comes together with the carriage) and a mosquito net for the summer.
15. Child safety seat. Technology is ever improving so you can read about the currently safest seats yourself. The most important thing is that for the first months it must be a seat from 0 or 0+ category, where a child does not sit upright. It is more reasonable to buy a safety seat with a wider age range in order not to buy a new one after some months. Such seats have a special infant insert that is used for newborns, and when a baby grows and can sit, the insert is easily removed.
16. Diapers. The size is easily determined by your baby’s weight. Each pack has a weight range (0—5 kg, 4—8 kg and so on). During the first year we tried all famous diaper brands. Not because we (or Matvey’s bottom, for that matter) were not happy with a particular brand. Only his bottom was naturally getting bigger, so at some point diapers would start to leak, and we had to switch to other brands.
17. Baby wipes for hygiene care (when for some reason running water is not available). It is a very useful thing when you are on the road, at somebody’s house or elsewhere.
18. Disposable baby care underpads. In terms of brand, it could be anything. The purpose and function of these things are all the same anyway. Underpads are used on a baby changing table, when the baby is left laying naked for some time, or when you are not at home, visiting your friends or at the doctor’s.
19. Swaddles. I would suggest buying several pieces (for example, muslin or flannel ones, 3—5 pieces of each). Later you will decide for yourself if you need some more. These things are not expensive and will not affect your budget, even if you end up not using them. There are swaddle blankets with velcro fasteners, but I learned about them late and we did not have a chance to use them. However, I am sure that it is a genius invention because our Matvey could easily unswathe himself just like Houdini, no matter how tight we swaddled him.
20. Baby tissue paper or simply soft napkins. Number of pieces – limitless. We cut a couple of flannel cloths to smaller pieces in order to clean the baby’s face when he was posseting, as well as wipe everywhere else that would get in his way. We kept a couple of such napkins in every room not to run around searching for them every time we needed them. It is washed with the rest of baby clothes. As an alternative, you can use disposable tissue paper (extra soft one, made especially for babies).
21. Clothes. I do not recommend buying a lot of clothes of the smallest size for a newborn. When during your pregnancy you get a shopping rush and want to buy all those cute little shirts and pants (and I understand you!), it is better to take only a couple of things for 0—3 months, and the rest (especially warm clothes) already for 3—6 months. There are some things which I bought that my son Matvey did not even wear because they were too tiny for him from birth. And I took time choosing them carefully! Also, for the first months the process of dressing a baby (in comparison