First thing is first. I’m not saying 100% that what I’m about to say is correct for everybody, but these are observations so far that I have had with our child as far as what I feel we absolutely need and what we don’t need.

The Needs

The list of items that either we use all the time or are awesome to have when you really need them. Also included, are some cost saver things

• Baby Scale and Tape Measure
  • Our baby became underweight and it was a concern for our doctor. She started off fine while we were seeing the doctor every week. Then we didn’t see him for 3 weeks and she was very underweight. The only way we could know was to have a scale.
  • For $45 we got this scale from Amazon.com. It works great and is very accurate. I put a 100ml bottle filled with water on the scale and it read 0.1kg
  • I also love measuring her height and head circumference. I’m weird
• Heating Pad
  • For $14 you can get her bed pre-warm so she has an easier transition from you to her bed
  • Sunbeam 756-500. Reviews are riddled with, OMG FIRE. The truth is, these types of heating pads have been used for a long time and they do get hot, but that is what you want them to do. We put it on the lowest setting and it is in her bassinet for only about 5-10 minutes and then we take it out and put her in. Never have it in there with her or unattended!
• Diaper Geni
  • Cost Saver, use these refills. They work just as good as the name brand ones and are cheaper.
• Bottle Sanitizer
  • Sure you can boil the bottles, but this thing is so easy a caveman could do it.
• Cost Saver Pre-Natal Vitamins
  • Pre-natals are super expensive. These are not, and seem to have everything you need. I’m not a doctor, so compare the ingredients yourself!
• Baby Swing
  • At first, we were unsure if it was worth it as our baby did not sleep in it. Now she does and even when she is not sleeping, she will just chill out and swing and look around.
• Long sleeve mitten cuffs
  • These seem great for bedtime. You can fold over the ends so they are like mittens so baby doesn’t scratch their face
• Burp Diapers
  • I’m not sure you can get enough of these. We go through 10-30 of them a day depending on how burpy the baby is that day. This will also depend on how tolerable you and your baby are of wet/damp cloths
• Baby monitor
  • I wouldn’t recommend getting the super expensive ones with video, but that is up to you. The one linked is highly rated on Amazon.com and has worked great for us
• Cost Saver Generic Formula
  • Our doctor recommended Similac Advance to supplement when our baby was underweight. Where we live, it goes for about $25 per 23 oz tub. That comes out to be about $1.13 or something per oz. You can get the generic stuff which is usually labled Advantage for much cheaper. We have found it at Target, Walmart, Safeway and at CVS. All for about $13-$15 per 23oz tub. That comes out to be about $0.75 per oz. So much cheaper. Over a year you will save quite a bit. I estimate we will save about $1500. The ingredients are so close(not the same) and so far our baby has not complained.

The Wants

These are items that you don’t need probably. Maybe they are something that makes some task easier, but really you are just spending money

• Baby Bottle Grass Drying Rack
  • Maybe we are using ours wrong, but you clean the bottles and put them here to dry. Then sanitize them via boiling or whatever. Then they have to dry again. Why not just sanitize them right away and skip the first drying step.
• Baby Carrier
  • Baby Bjorn or others. I’m not convinced these are required. Maybe I’ll change my mind later
• Tons of Baby clothes
  • Cost Saver Babies grow so fast they can only wear most things a few times before they outgrow them. Go to a baby bazaar where people are selling their old baby clothes. You will find brand new or one time used items for dollars. The same item in the store will be $15-$20. We spend $100 and got tons of clothes. We will go to another one to pick up clothes for her later life years!