Before baby arrives, you might need:
For the baby
1) Baby infant car seat, unless you do not have a car, otherwise, the nurses will not allow you to leave the hospital.
For infant car seat reviews, please check Infant Car Seat reviews
2) Baby cloth:
- Bodysuits, long sleeves or the short sleeves depends on where you live I guess, I think you need at least 6 pair to begin with, because you will change at least 1-2 times a day, it is really easy to get wet or dirty, especially in the beginning, you do not have so much experiences, it leaks when you change diaper, the milk everywhere, but you want to keep the baby dry and comfortable. I do not care brand, but 100% cotton is most important, Cart's is on the lower end, but it is 100% cotton and they are good, from Costco, you could find them $7-$8 for 6 pairs, quite good deal!
- Sleepers, you need only 2-3 pair in the beginning, your baby might not like them, especially in the summer.
- Hat, at least 3-4, we have 6, because you have to keep baby's head warm all the time in the first couple of month.
- Botties and Mittens, I really do not think you need them at all, unless it is really cold, because even it is could, the sleepers cover the feet, and our PD told us that the babies like to touch their face, mittens is not good for them, if you are aware about the scratches, clip the nail often.
3) Blankets, a lot, you will need them everywhere, buy some thick one(maybe 2-3), and some thin ones(maybe 2-3 in the beginning), you will need more later, you could find them everywhere, we got some nice ones from the baby shower as well, so put them on the register list
4) Outfits, at least one for the home coming, otherwise you really do not need a lot in the beginning, because in the first 3-4 weeks, your baby really do not go out that much. Also you will get a lot from friends, make sure to ask for at least 3-6 mouth cloth.
5) Washcloths, once again, a lot, we have at least 20 of them (you might need at least a dozen), really cheap and useful, you will use them everywhere, bath, feeding, cleaning....
6) Diapers:
- Brands, there are really a lot of brands out there, of course the top 2 are Huggies and the Pampers, which one is better, all up to your baby.
- The diapers for newborn, it is really up to your baby's size, some moms said, the baby could use no. 1 directly, I am not sure, if you decide to buy this kind of diaper, buy max 80 for the first week (around 10 per day), then you will find out if you need more or not.
8) Bottles: Even you decide to do the breast feeding, you still need them, because you might not have any milk in the first couple of days, my wife waited 3 days to get the first milk came out, during that time, you need bottle feeding.
For BPA-free bottles, please check 被推荐的BPA free奶瓶 (商标,照片及链接)
For the mom :
1) Breast pump, if you are going to do the breast feeding. The electrical Madela is the best, but it is kind of pricey, I suggest that you rent from the hospital first, check if you really need a pump, it is about $20/week, and then you can decide if you want to buy one.
2) Nursing bra
My wife love the nursing bra from Motherhood. I bought some other brands for her, she does not like them, even they all 100% cotton, I guess that you have to try out first,
3) Nursing pad
Nursing pad, you might want to buy some the cotton ones, because they are cheaper, but they leaks, so my wife only wear them at home, the disposal ones are a little bit expensive.
My wife use Lansinoh Disposable Nursing Pad
4) Max Pad, after delivery, you are going to lose blood, Max pad is for protect, we bought from Target, you should buy the thick one in the first 2 weeks, then thinner ones.
5) Nursing pillow, well, it does help a lot for my wife, but it is not really must to have. Because she feeds the baby mostly use the lying on the bed position, comfortable for both of them
Body care:
1) Baby Care Kids, like Digital Thermometer, Nasal Aspirator, Nail Clipper, Baby Scissors so on, you might buy them in a package or separately
Note: for Thermometer, you will get couple from the hospital, and you could buy it anywhere, but avoid those cheap ones, they are sloooow, pay some extra to get a fast one, it will worth it.
2) Baby Body Wash, any brand without perfume should be fine.
3) Body Oil, you might need that for the bay after the bath, we use that because our baby's skin kind of dry.
4) Diaper rash cream
There are 2 major brands in USA, A+D and Destin,
For the different, check Desitin Vs. A+D
4) Bath tub, well, the simple the better, we bought one 4-in-1 tub, it really sucks, I went back to buy one simple one about $16, otherwise, in the beginning, the sink is enough
5) Waterproof Crib Sheet, even you do not need to buy the crib in the beginning, you might want to get this first, my wife use it on our bed under her to protect mess our bed because you still lose blood in the first couple of weeks
6) Changing table, a lot of mom said it is not necessary, so it up to you, we think it is more convenience, of course the new ones could cost up to $300, but you could buy a used one for less, so look around, check craigslist.org, ask friends...
7) If you buy the changing table, then you need the change table pad, make sure buy at least 2 covers, it is easy to get dirty, trust me..
8) Monitors, again, not really, it all up to you, depends on your house size or financial situation, somehow, we have 3(all from the shower, there is even one with the night vision), well it is very useful for us, so we could put into different rooms, but once again, not a must have
9) Snuggle Nest, not necessary, but if you do want to co-sleep with the baby, you might consider it, for protect your baby, they are from Baby Delight Inc. about $50.
Let's talk about the things you do not need right away, but you might need later:
1) Crib: You do not need it right away, but you might need to order them way before the baby arrive, because if they are not in stock, it will take 6-8 weeks to order it, some high end brands even longer.
We did not buy the high end brands, we bought one from Delta for about $200 from Babydepot(Burlington),as long as they are new, they all should meet the safety requirement, of course there are always fancy and more expensive ones out there, some nicer brands: BASSETT, Bali(high end), BRATT DECOR(high end)
2) Stroller, well, you do not need the stroller in the first 3 - 4 weeks, because the bay hardly going out.
Again, so many to choose from, well, you want to match the infant car seat, you want it comfortable, after all, you are to use it a lot, you might need more than one, for different occasions
3) Diaper pail, It is not a must, just nice to have, the Diaper Champ($29) is the best seller.
4) Wipe warmer, again, it is not a must, we bought that, and feel it is useful, especially during the night, Ultimate Wipes Warmer from Prince Lionheart Inc is one of the best.
5) Glider Rocker:
It is really great for nursering the baby, If you do not have it, it will OK, but if you have it, it would be much better...But do not buy those cheap gliders (you could find one like $99, in some store, the parts will fall off soon), Dutailier is the best brand in the market, but they are kind of expensive, we got ours from our neighbor, a Dutailier, it is great!
6) Breast milk Bags:
It could store, and freeze expressed milk for future use for one year!
7) Diaper Bags:
It could be really expensive if you buy the brand ones, buy you could it in Old Navy, they have really stylish and cheap diaper bag, my wife asked her cousin bought one from China, well, it is not really the diaper bag, but it is really great, and the hospital always give you one, it is not that stylish, but useable.