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 with buying clothes for him) is far from being a pleasant activity. I would say, too far from it. Sometimes during this process your baby will scream so much that you could lose your hearing for a while. This is why it is better to make do with the good old swaddling than have a nervous breakdown trying to fit a tiny baby hand in a sleeve of that cutest polka-dotted shirt which you so lovingly chose to buy.

A list of first clothes for a baby who cannot crawl yet

Summer:

– cotton bodysuits with short sleeves – 3—4 pcs.;

– cotton footed pants – 3—4 pcs. (but you could go directly to sleepsuits if you want);

– cotton sleepsuits (same as bodysuits but with long sleeves and closed feet) – 3—4 pcs.;

– cotton caps – 2 pcs.;

– cotton blanket (throw) for walks;

– newborn mittens

There is no need to buy any warm sweaters or other types of warm clothes for walks in the summer. If necessary, it is easier to cover a baby with a cotton blanket or a swaddling blanket.

Summer lasts three months (sometimes one and a half in Siberia), and by autumn you would already need to buy clothes of a bigger size. Well, if you really want to buy that cute little sweater… Who would stop you? But I suggest buying it in a bigger size (3—6 months).

Autumn/spring:

All the same things as for the summer, plus:

– knitted cap;

– warm hat;

– warm knit sleepsuit or a light fleece one without lining;

– fleece sleepsuit with a lining;

– light bunting suit (60—80 gram fill insulation);

– warm fleece throw blanket.

You can buy all winter clothes in autumn as well. However, if your baby is born at the end of April, for example, there is no need to spend money for a winter bunting suit which will already become small for him/her in the upcoming autumn. It is better to take a non-expensive warm envelope blanket and a fleece throw.

Winter:

All the same things as for the autumn/spring, plus:

– warm woolen socks;

– winter bunting suit (250—300 gram fill insulation) instead of a light version mentioned in the previous list (you can buy that closer to spring)

I would recommend buying a bunting suit made in your home country or the one with similar climate. For example, our Siberian son Matvey felt very warm in his Finnish bunting suit by Kerry (Finnish brand). It easily resists cold up to —25 °С, and is very convenient to put on and zip up.

It is better to buy a bunting suit a little bit bigger than your baby’s size so that you will not end up buying a second one in the same season (because children grow fast, and in the first few months – very fast).

This is just a suggested list of clothes. Quite possibly, moms with experience will point out some important things, in their opinion, that are absent from this list. Let’s put it this way, I wrote about the basic sets which you will definitely need, and the rest you can decide for yourself and buy what you consider to be important.

Let’s continue.

22. Sterilizer: for bottles, pacifiers, baby rattles and breast pump. It is not an essential thing but quite a useful device to have in your household. Just pour some water, push the button – and all your things are clean in 6 minutes.

23. Breast pump. Manual one is the most popular. Even if you manage to avoid breast engorgement, it is a useful device, in case you need to express some milk to feed the baby when you are away.

24. Bottles (for water, expressed breast milk or an infant formula) must fit to your chosen breast pump. It is better to choose bottle teats with the smallest flow.

25. PacifierPacifier. Every mother decides for herself whether she gets her baby used to pacifiers or not. In the beginning, having my head full of “natural parenting” during the pregnancy, I decided that I will never give Matvey any pacifiers. Then I realized that, as in the case with any extreme theories, it is better not to be so opinionated. Most importantly is that the baby, as well as his parents, feel comfortable about it. Matvey did not suck on his pacifier 24/7, but sometimes I would give it to help him go to sleep. If I needed to calm my baby down, I would always hold him or give the breast. The pacifier was not a replacement for his mother, and he did not develop any addiction to it. People who think that pacifiers are universally evil tend to dramatize too much. In any case, it is up to you