Onesy undershirts, sleepers and bibs that say I like Mom. Don’t buy too many maternity clothes because they can be very expensive. If you have close friends or family members who have recently had babies you may get alot of hand me downs.

In my opinion, these are the essentials, having had two babies in the last 4 years.

-Obviously diapers and wipes. Register for size 1 and size 2, skip the newborns, they grow right out of them.
-Onesies, about 6 each of size 0-3 and 3-6
-SleepNPlay outfits. My girls spent their first 3 months in these. They’re fantastic because they double as PJs. get about 6 each in 0-3 and 3-6. Skip the fancy outfits for size 0-3 months, baby seldom wears them, and when he does, he’ll poop, pee, or spit up on them immediately, and you’ll change him into a onesie or sleeper.
-A grooming set (comb and brush, thermometer, bulb syringe, nail clippers, etc.)
-Infant bath tub. You can place it right in the kitchen sink. You don’t want to be trying to hold a slippery newborn with one hand and wash him with the other, it’s just not safe.
-Aveeno baby wash and lotion. Don’t buy the Johnsons or Gerber washes and lotions, your pediatrician will tell you to stay away from them, they irritate baby’s skin.
-3 hooded towels. You don’t bathe baby until his cord falls off (and circumcision heals) and then he only really needs a bath every other day at most.
-Lots of washcloths and burp cloths.
-About 6 receiving blankets. these are useless as blankets (way too small) but they make fantastic car seat shade, burp cloths, and nursing cover ups.
-2 or 3 excellent size, soft baby blankets (make sure they’re huge)
-A diaper bag. Get a huge one, it’s incredible how much stuff you need to tote around. I’d say you need 6 diapers, wipes, a clean outfit (at all times!!), a recieving blanket and/or burp cloth, a changing pad of some sort, plastic bags for poopy diaper and soiled clothes, bottles and formula or a nursing coverup and breast pads, a camera, hand sanitizer, and I’m sure you’ll want to add to this list as well.
-A motorized swing. You’ll use it everyday for the first 3 months. There’s just no substitute when you need a shower or just a half hour to yourself. Skip the bouncy seat, they’re pretty useless and not particularly safe, in my opinion.
-A stroller/infant carrier combo. You use the infant carrier as the car seat for the first couple months. Get a stroller with a huge basket underneath, and a huge OPENING to the basket. A huge basket is useless if the opening to the basket is only 3 inches wide, you can’t get anything in it.
-A regular car seat. I got the Alpha Omega for my first daughter, and we liked it so much, we got another one when daughter #2 came along. It’s just really simple to adjust.
-Someplace for baby to sleep. Obviously, a crib is nice, but I had C-sections and couldn’t climb the stairs, so me and baby slept in the living room for the first month, me on the sofa and Miss Madeline in the Pack N Play bassinet. It was fantastic for diaper changes too. And we took it everywhere with us, Grama’s house, hotel rooms when travelling, it was fantastic.
-Some sort of diaper pail. We used the diaper genie, and they’re excellent at sealing in the smell, but you have to empty them like every 2 or 3 days, and they are a pain to change the refill in. Frankly, you could get by with a trash can with a lid, and excellent ancient fashioned trash bags, just empty the trash can everyday, and beware, if you have a dog, they like to eat diapers, in which case the diaper genie is a excellent option to keep them out of the diapers.
-A changing pad for baby’s changing table, and 3 terry cloth covers for it, and then the small washable changing pads (they’re called “lap pads”) to go on top of the terry cloth cover. Baby will pee and poop *all the time* on the changing table, and you’ll have to wash that stuff, so if you only have 2 covers, and one is already soiled, you’ll be doing laundry everyday. The lap pads reduce the number of times you have to wash the cover too. Get about 6 of those.
-I *loved* my Boppy Pillow. If you want to nurse, it’s a must have, but it’s nice to have one to support baby even if you’re bottle feeding, and if you have a C-section, it’s a must to keep baby off your incision while you’re feeding him.
-A high chair. Get one that reclines. Baby will delight in sitting in it while you’re cooking even before he’s really eating solids.

In my opinion, these are the things you really, really need. you will get a landslide of toys and cute small outfits at your baby shower, so don’t worry about buying that stuff. (By the way people, there is nothing more useless for a new baby than a teddy bear!! Spend your money on something else!!)

One more thing. Places like Target and Babies R Us have these long lists you can look at when registering. That’s a gimmick to get you to register for more stuff, so your friends and family will spend more $$ in their store when they get you shower gifts. Ignore those lists, you really don’t need half that stuff. It doesn’t hurt to look at the list to see if you’ve forgotten anything vital, just don’t reckon you really need to register for all 250 items on the list.

Congratulations on the baby!! And delight in registering, it’s lots of fun.