Baby Essentials, Is it really essential?

One of the most exciting part in preparing for your child's birth is the shopping of baby essentials. Even if we hate to admit it, most parents went through this and went overboard a bit. Blowing the budget and adding some that weren't actually on the list. We're guilty with this and it's a lesson learned for us. 

There are usually a lot of baby things to buy before birth but do those really need to be included on the list? Especially if the baby hasn't come yet?  Most parents are excited by the notion of shopping for their future baby's needs. It gives a glimpse of what they thought it would be like when the baby comes. This normally is a good thing. Being prepared early on is better than getting stuck and blindsided on what your child needs when you come home from the hospital.

But by saying that, there are still things that you have to consider when making your newborn essentials shopping list. One good example is the crib or bassinet. There are a lot of parents out there who prefer co-sleeping with their newborns. Another is a baby basket carrier. Most mothers would actually carry their newborns during the drive home.

So, what are actual baby essentials? Well, the answer is, you really need to consider your current living situation first. You need to ask yourself some questions first which in turn will help you create a more practical and budget-friendly shopping list. 

Based from experience, here are 5 baby essentials that maybe included on your list that you have to consider before starting your shopping spree:


⦁ Crib
     We bought our crib early on because of 2 factors. One, it was on sale and the other was the cost was split with a relative. So win-win. We really wanted to have a crib for our daughter because we know that it will help her with being independent in the long run. But we did not consider co-sleeping that time. Our daughter is purely breastfed and that became quite a factor in our sleeping arrangements. We are both working so sleep is something that we cannot give up. We found that co-sleeping works for all of us, baby included. Feeding can be done lying down which is much more comfortable. 

  But this can come with some risks. There are instances when the baby gets squished or you accidentally move your arms and hit the baby. Luckily for us, we can sleep in one position and not needing to move around. So this is one thing that you have to consider before deciding on co-sleeping. 

  So for us, the crib will be in storage for the foreseeable future. But just in case you don't include this on your list, you can buy this anytime when you see the need for it. 


⦁ Electric Bottle Sterilizer
  Now for us, this is another case of buying it early on because of a sale. This equipment is a lifesaver when you are bottle feeding but not much use when you are breastfeeding which for us, it's the latter. We tried bottle feeding, with breast milk, but it really didn't work out. So this equipment is now stored alongside the crib. 

  You might ask, "How about the other things that needs to be sterilized like medicine droppers, and so on?" Well, boiling water will do the trick for those. You can also use a steamer if you have one on hand. That worked for us like a charm. 


⦁ Bulky and Heavy Stroller

     For this one, we initially thought that a big stroller with all the bells and whistles would be the more practical choice. It can last longer and can carry much more weight and baggage. But for us, boy were we wrong. It takes up a huge space when storing it. Heavy to carry around and most of those "features" will actually prove useless. 

  The very first stroller that we bought was a heavy duty one. And literally, it can actually carry the weight of an adult. Again, we thought practicality and long term use. But we've ended up using it a couple of times only. It won't even fit in the trunk of our car. So we got a new one. A smaller one which is more compact and lighter. But again, still heavy to lug around. When we bought the second one, we still had the idea that it should carry the weight of our child until she's a toddler. But again, ended up in storage. So now, we have decided on the lightweight umbrella type strollers. Now this one is much more easier to handle and you can literally carry it with one hand just like an umbrella.


⦁ Baby Basket Carrier
  Admittedly, this one was more of a "hype buy" for us. Seeing lots of this around and normally attached to a stroller, we thought that it was a necessity. But yet again, this ended up in storage and we finally decided to pass it on to our cousins. 

  Sure, this is a safety equipment especially if you have your own car, but more often, the mom will just carry the baby during car rides. Having to carry the basket carrier around is more of a hassle than just putting the baby on the stroller. So normally, these type of equipment is just unused. So you might want to reconsider this.


⦁ Tons and Tons of Clothes
  Now this one just eats up space. But luckily for us, we actually didn't buy that much clothes in the beginning. Most of the baby clothes were given as gifts or were passed on by relatives. But again, most of the clothes were actually unused. Our baby's cabinet are full of unused clothes. Doing the laundry often will be a normal routine once the baby comes. We can vouch for that! 

  And one more important point on this is the baby will grow up fast. The new-born baby clothes will be unusable after a few months. So quick suggestion on this, buy clothes for each day of the week and some extras and that's it.


Shopping for baby essentials is indeed a fun and exciting part of the preparation stage. You can go overboard a bit but always remember, being practical pays off in the end. So again, try to list down the actual baby essentials based on your living situations and don't overthink it. In the end, the money saved will be very helpful. And while shopping, enjoy and be excited!