Babylicious Tales: Prior to Arrival

Okay---they may not all be essentials but they are the things that we had on hand when LM was born. One day, I'll add the things we bought in the first month or so!

What we had...
Bedding

4 crib sheets
10 receiving blankets (only needed about 5!)
3 fuzzy/soft snuggle blankets
5 afghans, random blankets people made us that aren't really practical because they're handwash only
1 breathable bumper (not yet on the crib)
2 waterproof mattress covers

Gear/Toys

City Mini stroller, carseat adapter
Graco 35 carseat with extra base
Playmat (TinyLove)
Bouncy chair (I adore it!)
Swing (cradle action and "normal" action with mirror and mobile)
Folding portable swing (we keep it in the tub in our bathroom so I can shower!)
Pack N Play--with changing table and newborn napper (thank god for this part!)
Bumbo (second hand)
BabyE Jumperoo (I liked how many toy attachment it had)
Crib mirror (velcros on)
Mobile (TinyLove)
A bunch of those hanging toys that rattle, chime etc and a bunch of links. We hang this from the playmat, stroller etc. It's nice to have a variety of these to switch out. Plus a lot of links lets us make them longer or shorter depending on if we want him to bat at them or be able to hold/manipulate them.
Diaper bag (messenger style so TH and I could share)
Carseat cover (the kind that only goes over the outside with elastic---not the kin that the straps feed through...voids warranties). This was really hard to tell from online pictures of products--read reviews carefully!
Baby monitor--FP Lights and Sounds

Furniture

Black convertible Crib (from JcPenney)
Black 3 drawer dresser for changing table (Tar.get)
Black 9 cube storage unit with collapsible totes for storage (holds books, stuffed animals etc with hats, bibs, etc in the totes.
Secondhand bookcase in closet for storage baskets
Glider with ottoman (Walmart.com)

Bath/Bath Supplies

Baby bathtub (FPrice)
Five baby hooded towels
1 bathrobe (fairly useless, but adorable nonetheless)
Dozen baby washclothes (we use half for baths, half in the changing table for spit up blockers while laying down)
JJ Head to Toe Wash
Turtle body cloth (basically a big terrycloth turtle shaped washcloth that is to lay over their body to keep them warm)
SkipHop Suction cups for hanging towels etc on
Across the tub organizer
Rubber duckies ;-)
Shampoo rinse cup with flexible side

Clothes

Dozen NB onesies (Even born at 8lbs, he wore NB until 1 mo old--I wish I had more actually because I got tired of seeing the same newborn onesies and sleepers)
5 newborn pants
2 Halo Sleepsacks (fleece, cotton)
Dozen NB sleepers
5 Sleeper sacks (in most layette sets)--we used them until he was out of 3mo
Dozen 3 month onesies
10 3 month pants
Dozen 3 month sleepers
3 3month hoodies
Various 0-3 month clothing
Various hats (came with clothing sets), socks and 1 pair of NB shoes.
For organization of little things (socks, shoes, sunglasses etc), we put a clear pocket over the door shoe organizer in his closet. It helps hold little things in a way that is easily viewed.

Please note that this is what we had "ready to go" for when he was born. At this point, we have a lot more in various sizes.

Carriers

We had an unnatural amount of carriers when he was born (and shortly thereafter)--see the post about it!
For NB, I'd recommend having a Baby K'tan or Moby if you'd prefer (I adore my K'tan). Other carriers will work better for older babies and you have plenty of time to figure that out.

Diapers/Diapering Supplies

Two boxes of NB diapers (unopened in case we needed to return them)
One box of Size 1 diapers in brand we wanted to use
Two boxes of Size 1 diapers in brands given to us
One box of wipes for changing table
One set of wipes refills (3 refills)
Two travel containers of wipes (one in diaper bag, one downstairs in diaper caddy)
Diaper caddy (kept downstairs until I was healed enough to be feel well enough to travel up and down the stairs)
Diaper Genie Elite II
Two refills of DGE II
Two tubes of diaper rash creme (two different brands)
A&H diaper disposal bags and dispenser (it was cute, what can I say!)
Disposable diaper change pads for diaper bag and emergency kit in cars.

Health

Thermometer (temporal scanner kind but rectal was our next choice)
Nose sucker (we ended up using the hospital ones though)
Baby lotion
Aquaphor
Gas drops (generic)

Breastfeeding/Feeding

Burp clothes (lots of big ones, some smaller cute ones)
Breast pump (single, electric)

To be honest, I was planning on waiting to see how I like breastfeeding until purchasing a pump. And, I had a fancy double one on my registry. But, after talking to the LC at the hospital about my initial plans (BF, with occasional pumping for outings and minimal freezer stash, until going to back to work at 5 months), she rec'd a single one. Plus, the hospital sold it and invoiced it as part of the hospital charges to the insurance so it ended up being free :-)

Breast pads (Medela)
Boppy
1 Boppy cover
Lansinoh breast milk storage bags
Two nursing bras (one lined with more structure--not underwire though and one sleep style)
Two nursing tanks (I sleep in them and it makes night feedings so much better---I got more!)
Pacifiers of various types (LM was finicky)
Pacifier clip
6 Bottles--3 5oz and 3 9oz (I had two brands--Avent and Tommee Tippee, along with the ones that came with my breast pump to try initially. We will increase the number once we start daycare)
Bottle brush
Nipple cleaning brush
Bottle drying rack
Bottle dishwasher basket (consider the size of your bottles when choosing this--we recieved two and one was too short for bottles and the nipple rack)
Bibs--two hard Baby B'Jorn
Spoons (3 packages of baby spoons--Munchkin, Gerber and Boon)
Snack catchers (2)--little snack cups with a silicone top to reach into without food spilling
Mesh snacker
Two sippy cups (Nuk)
Suction cup dining out mat (to cover his area of the table)
Munchkin toddler bowls (a set with lids and a set that suctions to the table)

A lot of the "older" feeding things were bought as gifts--obviously, they're not needed for a long time.

What's In My Diaper Bag

Five diapers
Travel wipe container (full!)
A&Hammer Diaper disposal bags/dispenser
Disposable changing pad
Extra outfit (with feet so I don't have to worry about socks)
Burp cloth
Extra cloth diaper for spills, burps etc
Receiving blanket
Band-aids
Extra shirt for me
Hand sanitizer/antibacterial wipes
Breastpads
Diaper rash creme travel packet (one of the tons of free samples I got when pregnant)
Hat
In the car---emergency diapers/wipes, a carrier.