What you really need, offered by a mother of four.

There are the obvious necessities: diapers, formula, crib, etc. And then there are all the froufrou items found in the infants department. What newborn really needs a portable diaper-changing table? Won’t there always be a place to change the baby? Do I really have to have a diaper stacker?

These are the types of questions you’ll want to ask yourself while shopping around. New moms quickly learn that some of their first-trimester purchases, like wiper-warming machines and cereal caddies, will only be used once or twice, if ever. That’s why it’s important to try to limit your purchases to the basics.
Clutter is one thing every new mother can live
without!

The following is a list of essentials:

• Bottles, nipples, and a bottle brush (if not breast-feeding)

• Diapers (newborn size, but don’t buy too many
packs—babies grow fast!)

• Diaper bag

• Wipes (you can never buy too many of these)

• A good supply of at least eight light blankets and a
couple of baby quilts

• Pacifiers and more pacifiers

• Baby lotion and baby soap

• Hooded towels

• Tiny nail clippers

• Cornstarch-based baby powder

• Baby bathtub (though the kitchen sink works just fine)

• Spare crib sheets

• Seasonally appropriate clothing (buy larger sizes than the tags say—a three-month-old baby will probably not wear size 0-3 months)

• Infant carrier/car seat

• Baby swing (this is a lifesaver and the best invention of man ... or, probably, woman!)

• And finally, expensive bubble bath (for you! You will deserve it.)

—JOANNA YOUNG
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA