I'm feeling a little overwhelmed....

I know I'm a ways out until baby pops it's way out into our lives, but I want to be prepared.

I have thought about the kind of car seat I want to get, the cloth diapers, the nursery furniture.... but I feel like there are so many little things I am probably missing!

Does anyone know of any good resources that list newborn needs? Like How many bottles will I probably need? What kind of towels are best? Creams, Wipes? Stuff for the car, stuff for travel....

My head is spinning!

get "baby bargains". it rocks. it's like consumer reports for baby stuff.

Where can I get that? Is it a magazine, a webzine?

it's a book, and well worth the $12 purchase price:
www.amazon.com/Baby-Bargains-Furniture-E...cm_cr_pr_product_top

while every parent i've discussed this book with has agreed with my positive assessment, i was surprised to see that 49 of the 874 reviews for this book were 1 star (the overall rating is 4.5 stars). i don't agree with all of those negative reviews, but i think some have valid points:
1) you can get a lot of the information in the book on their website (though that information is not going to be nearly as well organized).
2) some of the information becomes dated very quickly
3) at least one reviewer maintained that book discourages you from accepting hand-me-downs. i agree that that is totally wrongheaded. so much of stuff that you buy is useful for only 2-3 months, it's smart to recycle those items amongst friends.

You'd be amazed how little gear a newborn requires, if you are going to breast feed especially. There are a few minimal things you have to have to bring the baby home, the rest you can add as time allows. Most couples find the need to nest overwhelming, and end up buying a lot of gear that they will need later on. That's understandable, and time can get tight with a newborn, but there is really very little that you need right away.

Diapers. Start with disposables with a newborn, after a couple of months, test out several kinds of cloth before investing in a whole system. You don't need to be set up with cloth on day one.

Wipes.

Diaper cream. I have no strong feelings about brand.

Onesies. Newborns don't need many clothes because they like to be swaddled. That's why you need tons and tons of...

Receiving blankets. Really load up here. Comfy, smaller size receiving blankets in bulk are a good idea. You'll go through more of these in a day than you think -- so many uses: to swaddle, as a ground cloth, as a drape or cover, to mop up messes.

A rear-facing infant carseat. Can't leave the hospital without this.

A bassinet. For the first few days and weeks, it's nice to keep the baby in the same room with you. People worry about getting the crib set up, but the baby may not sleep in the crib for a month. A bassinet can be a very simple thing -- nothing fancy required.

A digital thermometer.

BabyBjorn.

That's about it. No diaper pail? Until they start on cereal , the stink isn't that bad. No stroller? Not for a month or two.

I agree about Baby Bargains. I know Alan Fields. He's awesome and they are constantly working to update their reviews and listings.

You might also want to get a copy of our book.

AWESOME! Thanks for the info.

There is so much info out there on what you "need". I am all for having some luxuries, but I want to make sure I have the basic needs covered before I go looking for things to make my life easier.

i agree with clay, but unlike him i have strong opinions on diaper creams and wipes.

my favorite diaper cream is method squeaky green diaper cream (www.methodhome.com/product/squeaky-green...m/?rice-milk__mallow). it's not too smelly, it's not greasy, it has right viscosity to easily spread it around, and best of all the container makes it very easy to apply the cream directly to the butt with one hand.

all the wipes we tried dried out and irritated our son's apparently very delicate bottom. so now we just use facial tissue and a squirt bottle. in particular, we like the puffs brand. they're durable enough and not linty, but the main reason is that the packaging has a large opening that allows easy access to the next tissue. this is nice for two reasons:
1) you don't loose time trying to fiddle with dispenser to get that next tissue that didn't properly popup (obviously ease operation is recurring theme for me), and
2) it's easy to retrieve the next tissue without actually touching any of the packaging, so you are less likely to contaminate the box if you have a little "stuff" on your hands.

WHOA, HAHA. You went the extra mile on that one...

Sounds awesome. All great suggestions which I will probably use. I know what you are talking about with baby wipes packaging. When the next one doesn't pop out you just feel like giving up on life!

Now with a the Baby Bjork...

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I mean Baby Bjorn... :silly: I definitely want to get one of these, but what would the advantages be over one of those fabric slings that hold the baby against you?

My wife and I were talking about this. To me the Baby Bjorn looks safer, but she likes how the baby is more cuddled against you in the sling... thoughts?