In your opinion, what are the most important bare essentials for a baby's nursery?

1. Baby.

A source of heat and something safe for the baby to sleep in.

You are going to need enough clothes to change the child several times a day if needed, and enough to last between washings. This type is the most economical because it takes so long for them to grow out of it. http://www.buybuybaby.com/1/1/11972-layette-magnificent-baby-green-stars-gown.html

New babies love to be swaddled. Plan to get a half dozen flannel receiving blankets. They also double for burp rags.

Also diapers, either cloth, pins and diaper covers, or paper diapers.

You’ll also need a soft light in the nursery, a few bright toys for the baby, as well as a warm and soft blanket, and a soft surface for the baby to lie on. You can use a dresser drawer if necessary for the first few months.

If you don’t have a rocking chair, plan to rock that baby sitting on a bed or a straight chair, and you’ll need it in the nursery. Rocking a baby without a rocking chair can make your back ache, and they DO need to be rocked.

This is not really a nursery essential, but knowing how to do this is essential if you don’t have a baby bathtub. You can lay the baby in a bathtub on a folded towel, and wash them with a soapy rag, then rinse by pouring water over arms, legs, etc.

Anaesthetising gas dispenser.

Since I nursed I was always the type of mom that just grabbed a diaper and went. There are a lot of things my daughters thought were essential when they had kids that made me scratch my head.

@ragingloli plus Herod doll attachment!?

Sorry to spoil your lovely question with scathing humor.

@Judi yours is exactly the sort of parenting brain that I’d like to pick with this question. It’s really difficult to wade through what is essential and what is “essential” because it has been marketed really well.
Someone close to me is having a baby (it’s not me, I got a message after I posted this, sorry if anyone was confused), and I am really trying to narrow down to the most practical gifts while also just… curious. It seems that everyone that I know who has an infant or young child has their home taken over by contraptions that I don’t even know the name for. It’s hard to discern which are conveniences and which are necessity.

Love.

Diaper pail and CLOTH diapers.

Level 1:
Somewhere to sleep safely (please do your research here).
Swaddle blankets.
Diapers and wipes (wipes can be squares of flannel/cotton)
Personally, I think nightgowns are essential for newborns. My husband agreed by the time our little one outgrew them.
Heavier blanket for floor/tummy time
Bottles, if applicable

Level 2:
Rocking chair
Baby carrier
Changing table/pad
Anything to support breastfeeding (pads, nipple cream, nursing bra, pump, bottles, snacks, etc).
Laundry basket/hamper
Curtains (especially black-out curtains)
Baby laundry detergent

Level 3:
Dresser
Bookcase
Diaper bag
Rug
Cute matching outfits
Hangers
Toys
Baby bathtub

The only things I think are essential are diapers or diaper service, a crib, bassinet or co sleeper (my oldest slept with me for the first year but unless you have a co sleeper that’s frowned upon these days) and a car seat. A few clothes and blankets a roof over his head and the child will have everything it needs.
Other things are nice to have. I don’t know what I would have done without a swing when the baby was cranky. Toys are nice. In this fear based age a baby monitor was essential for my daughters. Pacifiers can be really helpful.

A good friend of mine who is a mother of 3 told me that a changing table is not necessary. I had one and it was convenient but it was not really necessary. Half the time you change the baby on your bed. When my daughter was bigger, and standing, I would change her standing up when we were out. Standing up was way easier than laying her down in the car and leaning in the car over her.

I didn’t have a rocking chair as her room was not large enough for one. I have one in the living room, but I did just fine without rocking her.

Wipes warmers and stuff like that, I didn’t use. People give you a lot of crap that is trendy and seems helpful, but you could live without it.

You basically need wipes, diapers, clothes, blankets and bottles if you bottle feed. You also need a bag (not necessarily a diaper bag) to carry the stuff in. You will need a car seat and carrier and stroller. I had a “3 in 1” which was a car seat that converted to a carrier, that snapped into a stroller. You need a tub. You could probably wash the baby in the sink if you had to. My pediatrician said that he thinks babies are washed too frequently – as long as the baby’s butt, face, hands are clean, which you can do with washcloths, they don’t necessarily need daily bathing until they get to where they’re toddlers playing in the mud.

@jca is pretty much right, but you do need bottles even if you breast feed—unless you never plan on leaving the child with a babysitter—EVER—even for an hour. Also a breast pump is important. You can have a cheapo hand pump, but the electric ones are a life saver and you can get the “motor” part on ebay or craig’s list cheap and just buy new hoses and stuff for sanitation purposes.

Love.

Most of the posters above have covered the basics. In terms of gizmos and contraptions, a lot depends on the parents’ lifestyle and the type of baby they have. For a fussy baby who is soothed by motion, a rocking cradle or infant seat may be a godsend. For someone in the city a great stroller is almost a necessity. People who drive need a really good car seat. There is no one size fits all.

crib
clothes
blankets
diapers
diaper pail or trashcan
changing table
dresser

Assuming a child born in summer in a subtropical climate -

A dozen onesies
Two pajama suits in your preferred style
Two dozen 100% cotton 4–8-4 cloth prefold diapers
Diaper pins – three pair.
Six waterproof diaper covers, preferably a convertible size style.

A ring sling, or wrap carrier. I had and loved both. Wear that baby!

A Boppy pillow. This is non-negotiable.

A supply of 100% lanolin.

And… that’s about it. Breastfeed, co-sleep, and you’re golden.

I don’t think my son left my side for his first six months, so that’s really all we needed and used until winter hit.

DO NOT co-sleep. I don’t care what others will tell you, or what excuses they throw at you. It raises the risk of SIDS by 5 times, not to mention you could smother them.

I had my daughter in my bed after around the 2nd night. I made sure to keep a space between my body and hers. The downside is she still sleeps in my bed six years later!

@flip86 – citation needed.

@flip86 Not if you:
– breastfeed
– allow only biological parents in the bed
– sleep on a firm surface
– never drink alcohol or smoke
– never do drugs or take medications
– are arousable when you sleep
– are not obese or otherwise have difficulty determining where your body ends
– do not have sleep apnea
– keep all sheets/blankets/pillows away from baby’s face
– do not allow your room to overheat
– lay baby to sleep on their back.

Show me one case of SIDS where all of these criteria are met.

Citation

@cupcake you are wrong on all fronts. Excuses, excuses. Just because your child was lucky enough to survive co-sleeping doesn’t mean you should start telling everyone to do it. It is a major safety risk, no matter what.

I’m going to side-step the whole co-sleeping vs. crib debate – we had an inexpensive Moses Basket that looked like this ..and for a newborn (but not once they can roll over) this works.

I’d say the bare minimum is an infant car seat, because they won’t let you out of the hospital without your infant securely nestled into one of those..

After that, depending on your climate, you need some infant clothes. I recommend NOT buying newborn size, but rather 0–3 mo. and 3 to 6 mo. sizes—because some babies are born too large to ever fit into newborn. (Like my first born – who came out wearing size 6 mo. because she was 24.5 inches long and over 10lbs.)

If you are fortunate enough to deliver in Finland you’re covered for the essentials—but if you’re not in Finland you can use their list of included items as a good starting point…

“There is already a general consensus that sleeping with a baby increases the risk of cot death if the parents smoke or if the mother has been drinking alcohol or taking drugs. However, there are conflicting opinions as to whether bed sharing in general represents a risk when these factors are not present.”

-Cut from article…...

@jca That excerpt is from the lead in to the article. It is there to establish the premise.

Further into the article it says, “The data used in our study states that 22% of cot deaths were associated with bed sharing but this figure has risen in the UK in recent years. Currently in the UK more than half of cot deaths occur while a baby is sleeping in the same bed as its parents. Although it is clear that smoking and drinking greatly increase the risk of cot death while bed sharing, our study shows that there is in fact an increased risk for all babies under 3 months who bed share, even if their parents do not smoke or drink”

I thought that bedsharing and cosleeping indicated two different things. I was under the impression that cosleeping meant sharing a sleeping space, bedroom, using a sleeper that attaches to the parents’ bed and that bedsharing meant sharing a bed.

A bassinet/cradle/crib, a trashcan, and a little laundry basket. Someplace to sit…a glider or rocker is nice, but not strictly necessary. I never had a changing table…you’re hardly ever in the baby’s room when it’s time for a diaper change. Instead, I kept baskets stocked with diapers, wipes, diaper rash ointment, a changing pad and burp cloths – one for upstairs and one for downstairs. A lightweight basket with a single handle made it easy to carry anywhere in the house.

A carseat and a stroller. A baby monitor. Some onesies, sleepers and maybe some socks. Several crib sheets, and waterproof pads for under them. [Pro tip: ‘double make’ the crib. One waterproof pad followed by one sheet, followed by another waterproof pad and another sheet. Middle-of-the-night crib changing is no fun!] Diapers, wipes, diaper rash ointment, baby nail clippers, bottles and nipples (a few or many, depending on whether you’re breastfeeding), several baby blankets & baby shampoo. Playpens and baby swings are great, but not strictly necessary.

My ‘go-to gift’ for baby showers is a little round laundry basket filled with useful stuff. Diapers and onesies that are a size or two up from newborn, wipes, baby shampoo, cloth diapers (they make excellent burp cloths and changing pad ‘covers’ even if disposable diapers are used). And something cute, like a baby-safe stuffed animal, cute outfit or a cuddly blankie.

@augustlan that sounds exactly like my “go to” shower gift. Including the stuffed animal. I know two kids who still carry those animals around daily 6–7 years later. I was just reading that some parents are overwhelmed by practical shower gifts and find that they have too many onesies and pacifiers and that prompted me to ask here.

So would they rather be overwhelmed by impractical gifts? Ha!

@augustlan right? I feel like few people would admit that, but then I really do know a lot of parents who seem to feel like more is never enough. So, maybe it is a personality thing. I dislike having a lot of things in my home, clutter stresses me out, I hate wasting money and I like for things to be useful. But I know for a fact that some people enjoy having new things, they like buying stuff just for fun and sometimes splurging on things because they are cool or fancy is almost a hobby. I can see how those things could collide in a parenting style.
I just know that my friend is also hoping to not have an excess of unnecessary items, she and I are similar in our personalities that way, so I still want something practical, but I have never had a baby so I thought perhaps there were things that are still pretty vital, but not necessarily obvious.

Is anyone throwing you a baby shower, diapers are a must, wipes can be made with paper towels but a box of 800 huggies wipes at BJ’s is only 17.99 and with the coupon this month of $3.00 makes it cost effective and water, the hospital will usually give you a pacifier (ask if you can have a few the nurses at the hospital want to see you go home with the things you need), clothes for the baby (onesee’s, a few outfits in the different sizes) They grow really quickly so don’t get too many of one size. A baby shower should get you most of the necessary things you will need especially if older women attend because they know what was important. Bottles if your not breast feeding and even if you are you will probably want a couple in case you need to leave the baby with anyone. A crib or bassinet ( I suggest forgoing the bassinet and going with the crib because they will be out of the little bassinet in no time.) A swing I found was essential if you have a baby who likes movement both of mine loved to be moving.

It depends on the parent and their ideas of where a baby should sleep. I am pretty sure if I had a newborn I would keep it in my room, if not I would be sleeping in a different room with the baby. The crib wouldn’t matter for a few months at least, I would probably just kee a bassinet, or maybe put the crib in my room. A small chest of drawers to keep the onesies and blankets and even a drawer full of diapers if you don’t have another place to stash them. Maybe a plastic matt to change the baby on, or some disposable ones that can be carried in a purse. A car seat. A stroller. Besides furniture, and places for the baby to rest, diapers of course. Something for the baby to be bathed in. Baby soaps, A&d or Desitin. A least a couple bottles in case the mom has trouble breast feeding.

Isn’t she registered? Buy off the registry. If it is a shower I do that. If I am just oresenting a gift friend to friend no big to do, I go to the supermarket get a pretty gift bag and fill it with diapers, baby soap, parenting magazines, gel mask for mommy’s eyes, just a big bag full of stuff.

For baby showers, I give a Boppy pillow and an extra cover, or I’ll make them a ring sling. Two things new parents rarely think of, but seriously made life much easier.

For baby showers, I usually give some outfits. I get great stuff off the clearance rack, or even at full price, a great baby outfit is less than $10, so I will get two or three.

@JLeslie yes, she is registered, but this was half out of deciding what to buy for her and also half out of curiosity. As many of you know, I’m also hoping to get pregnant, and all of this would be useful information to me as well as shopping for my friend. Especially because we would not have a “nursery” in our home, the baby would be in our bedroom, so space saving is a big deal. I’m not really problem solving with this question, just sorta collecting information. She is having a shower, but she is also my best friend and she had confided in me that she hated even having to do a registry, that she doesn’t want people to buy her a bunch of stuff, and that she felt silly even putting things on there, but that she felt like she had to since two family members insisted on throwing her a shower. I think all of the attention and pressure to have things is upsetting to her, so keeping things practical and coming up with a “special” gift is kind of important to me, too, since we are really close.
@Seek_Kolinahr I actually really like the Boppy idea, I bought her a bed rest pillow
and she said she felt like it would come in handy for breastfeeding. A boppy pillow seems like it would be a nice complementary gift to go with that (I already gave it to her, but even still, they sort of go together and remain practical.)

@DigitalBlue Got it. I hate baby showers because they open the gifts at the party. I hate that whole show. However, I think giving gifts for the arrival of a new baby is really nice in a historical sense when the family or community would come together to help the new mother with the needs of a new baby. But, I also have a little bit of jink worry in the back of my head, even though I am not really superstitious.

I prefer practical myself.

I don’t think I would set up a baby room before the birth. But, maybe it is my bad history with lost pregnancies. When I was younger I think I would have maybe.

@JLeslie I feel the same way about showers, and I tend to feel that way about all “shower” parties. I could go on about that for a long time, so I won’t get myself started on it, but as an attendee and sometimes the person in the hot seat, I hate the showy aspect the most.

My friend actually has had a lot of complications with this pregnancy, and although it is her first pregnancy, she still put off starting the baby’s room until she was in the 3rd trimester because she was already that traumatized from the earlier months. I definitely don’t think it is unusual to want to be really sure, because that’s a pretty serious loss for most women.

It’s a Jewish superstition, maybe other religions and cultures have it to, that you aren’t supposed to keep any of the baby things in the house before the birth. The idea is it can invite the evil eye. I think probably it came about to protect expecting parents from staring at an empty baby room full of baby things when infant mortality was so high. Some Jewish people still let a relative keep any baby things bought before the birth, or have a store hold the delivery of goods until after the baby is born. Most Jews in America don’t think twice about it, I don’t know about Israel.

Didn’t know that, but interesting.