So you’re expecting your first baby, congratulations, how flippin exciting! Once you’ve passed the 12week mark and you settle into pregnancy and start to finally enjoy yourself and your body changing and adapting to house your little miracle, you can start to think about getting your baby’s outside world ready for him!

This can be overwhelming, but you actually don’t need too much. I mean its just like everything in life, you can get by with not much but it’s ok to live luxuriously and splurge a little here and there too!

Baby needs somewhere to sleep- bassinets, these are optional. We had one given to us so that was easy for us, you only need it for 3~4months so it’s definitely not something to splurge on, unless it has another purpose after its use- like the stokke that turns into a desk! Some would rather cosleep first couple of months, for this I’d suggest the bed cosleeper which would keep things nice and safe. Some would just put bubs straight into the cot, this is fine too. I’d move the cot to the master bedroom so bubs is nice and close especially for those night feeds. We bought a high quality cot, one that transforms to a toddler bed then eventually a sofa. It’s a Boori and personally I think they’re the best in value for money, service and sturdiness. Because we could, we forked out for a dresser and bookshelf that matched our cot perfectly but these aren’t necessities. Could of easily have bought them from Kmart or ikea, but with the first child, we were thinking about longevity and quality for our next bubbas to enjoy too.

Sleeping swaddles and sleep bags.. Basically bubs didn't want to be swaddled for very long, but there are bubs that need to be swaddled til they learn to roll- unsafe for swaddling. So for this reason I don't think you need an actual swaddle system but if you find bubs is a seaddler then it'll be worth getting a proper good quality swaddle system after. Sleep bags are used all the time, we rotate through 3x 2.5tog ones and a handful of thicker ones for those extra chilly nights.

Somewhere to bathe him- I always suggest investing in a waist height bath. We used ours for about 7months and boy did it save our backs! Well worth the $$! You will most likely be bombarded with toiletries at your baby shower, I recommend anything that’s soap, alcohol and fragrance free, preferably organic and natural. Anything else is just too drying and harsh for bubs delicate skin. Hooded towels, we had about 10, was the perfect amount for us!

Something to push bubs around in- prams and strollers are insanely overwhelming. My advice here is take it seriously, choosing a pram that suits your family is like choosing a car! Gotta think about the features that are important to you- toddler seat, forward facing, 3 or 4 wheeler, wheel shock absorbency, 1 hand steering, storage space, baby position and comfort, colour, look, foldability, weight, does it fit in the car, can you see over the canopy, canopy coverage.. List goes on! We bought the baby jogger city elite and I love it for its maneuverability, it’s ease of folding and unfolding and it’s look. There’s going to be faults for every pram cause nothing’s ever perfect. But our faults are bubs is quite close to the ground, the stokke is high up and better for our backs. And theres no forward facing ability, which sux during the separation anxiety stage. We considered selling ours and buying the Stokke Xplory for these reasons but we do so much walking outside and the sportiness, sturdiness and shock absorbency of the baby jogger was so much better than the Stokke!

Feeding bubs- breast feeding saves so much $$ and time! No need to buy formula and fiddle around with sterilizing bottles. Some are not fortunate enough to be able to breast feed full time or need to return to work so need to invest in pumping equipment. I did a mixture of pumped express milk and breast feeding, mainly because I wanted flexibility and it made sure that bubs would take the bottle. An electronic breast pump of good quality is worth the investment. I bought an electronic sterilizer which did the job but wasn’t the easiest to clean. I also bought an electronic bottle warmer which I liked and thought was worth the money but its definitely not necessary.

So of course there’s also car seats and capsule/ travel systems which are easy- go for one that’s safe and looks good in your car!

Health essentials- often forgotten about! An ear thermometer is so handy, not a necessity however. Baby paracetamol, baby ibuprofen and syringes to administer are essentials for the medicine cabinet. A nasal aspirator is great to have but not when bubs is afraid of it and won't let it anywhere near him! Saline spray and a humidifier is a must to help clear the snots. Bonjela for teething, and great teething toys like sofie the giraffe. <\p>

Baby bouncers- so handy for those early months for somewhere to put bubs in! A baby carrier- I think it's only a choice from a bjorn or ergobaby. A baby jumper was great for us when I needed to put bubs down for a few minutes to relieve my arms, max 20mins a day to avoid over working calves. An organized, easy to carry, easy to look at nappy bag. A baby monitor, ours has a video with night light mode and apnea sensors which is really handy. A toy box with a variety of toys. Feeding equipment including sippy cups, baby spoons, bowls, traveling containers, plastic bibs and what I used almost everyday was a handheld stick blender to puree