The things I used the most and the things I never or almost never used for Carter in the first 5 months of his life.
Breast Pump If you are breastfeeding try to get the best possible pump you can. Even if you have to buy one used and purchase a kit for it from Wic or the hospital. I bought a small Mipump and loved it but it broke the first week home from the hospital. I had to get a borrowed one and that was only two weeks and then I had to try to find one fast and by the time I did, my milk supply dropped way to low to bring it back. I tried fenugreek and everything and it was too late. But my son was allergic to it anyway so I guess it didn't matter.
Some kind of baby bed, crib, craddle, co-sleeper. You can get any of these used and spend way less. I had an Eddie bauer travel bed that was $30 that I used in bed with me and toted it all over the house and to any bodies house we went to. It was awsome but he grew out of it at 4 weeks old. After that I went to a craddle that my friend let me use because she didn't have room for it after her daughter grew out of it. This was great but now that he was out of the co-sleeper we needed to get a pack and play for when we went to my parents. That was $60 on Amazon for a dream on me. I also bought a 3" matress to go in it for comfort as he got older (he still uses this every weekend at my parents) If you are pressed for money and need a bed that you can take and keep at home, I would go with the pack and play and buy the matress that you can put in it. It's comfy that way and obviously lasts a while and my son is in the 95% for height, so it really lasts.
Baby Bath, this can be as simple as just the cot they lay on in the big bath tub or as fancy as the one I had with the claw feet and sprayer, I personally never used the sprayer and I never really filled his bath with water, I would lay him on the cot in his tub on the sink and run the water in the sink next to me and use a cup and pour water on him. And leave the tub unplugged over the edge of the sink so it could drank as I poured in. I didn't like the idea of him sitting in the water and then having to drain it to rinse him or pull him just out of soapie water. So instead it was kind of like a bath shower and he always came out clean.
Bath wash. We had to use organic hypo-allergenicand I reccomend it because you know you wont need to go out and rebuy wash if you get it from the begining.
Body lotion. Once again if you buy organic hypo-allergenic from the start then you wont have to worry about allergies and having to spend more money. One bottle of each of these lasts a really long time.
Diaper rash cream. You probably wont need this until you start solid foods as that's usually when it comes on, but it's good to have incase you find out your baby is allergic to his diapers.
Gas drops. We used these ALL the time in the first few months.
Gripe water. The same. You can get either one, gripe water works a bit better but is more expensive.
Breast pads. I would suggest cloth ones that you can throw in your washer and reuse. It's more cost effective and choosing a good paper one is hard. I had the nuk ones to start and ended up having to wear like 3 at a time because I would soak right through them.
Good bottles. We used playtex drop ins. They were great but we got a nipple that was a factory malfunction one by accident and that ended up being the only nipple we could use for the first 5 months. I bought probably 20 nipples trying to find a replacement but not one had a hole as small as the one we used. Carter got used to not having it drip out and he had to suck it out and all other nipples would gag him because the milk came out to fast. I went round and round with the company before we figured out the problem. I also hated dealing with the liners. At three months we switched to Playtex Ventair advanced wide top because I could still use the same nipple but didn't have to deal with liners and you didn't have to lay him back to eat. He could sit in your lap which was nice because he had acid reflux as well. The learned how to hold that bottle up before he was four months old.
Onsies. I had millions of them it seemed. At first we got all the cute ones but quickly went to just buying packs of plain white onsies because I could bleach them and he was growing so fast that cute was too expensive for the length of time he was wearing them. He went from 0 to 24 months in less than 10 months. Thats alot of buying and a ton of clothes he never even got to wear.
Socks. In the winter mostly.
gloves. In the winter. He slept with gloves on every night. We bought actual mittens at walmart, 2 pack for a buck. They had the thumb part and then all the fingers were together. He would still suck his thumb that way, lol.
Beanies, once again we bought real beanies at walmart for a buck.
blankets. As many big and recieving blankets you can possibly get. you will use them all
Sleepers, we couldn't use anything polyester so my advice would be if you can find cotton ones, get those because you never know if your baby will be allergic and you dont want to have to spend the money all over again.
travel system. I used my stroller carseat combo every day in the first few months. He slept better in that then he did anything else and I would put him in it and roll him around the house or when I would go on walks with him and go places. Big needed item!! This thing saved me when he was crying.
Swing. The swing is best during the witching hour. About 6 pm babies get very upset in the first few months and they either need more or less stimulation. For a good 3 months Carter went to sleep in his every night at 6 in the livingroom with us and then we would transfer him to bed a little later. Also for a couple of those months he ended up back in it at about 3am because of acid reflux and it was the only way to get him back to sleep because of it.
Music player. mobile or bedtime singing bear or something. We didn't start bedtime music until we moved him to his crib at about 4 months old but we've used it every night since.
Monitor. this is a must if you want a baby that doesn't scream for everything. During naps was the only time we used it in the first 8 months because he was in my room. I always got to him before he cried, when I could hear him just moving around.
few toys. Stuffed animals maybe one or two that sing and a couple carseat toys. they really aren't interested in them in the begining. They mostly want you.
play mat. This is at the bottom of the list though. It's really not a ness. I used one but he really wasn't interested in it. He would rather I entertain him. and a blanket on the ground with a couple toys works just as good.
Changing pad!! You dont even need the table, you can port the pad around the house if need be. It makes a good co-sleeper matress too. Once baby starts moving around they really seem to stay put more on the mat vs. on the floor or completely flat surface. I used mine on my dining table for the longest time until I started using my son's room.
Breathable bumpers for the crib. feet and arms always get stuck between the slats and heads get bumped up there all the time. My son would smoosh his face into the bumper at night and I thanked the lord I had breathable ones.
Pacifires. If you plan to use them, they are wonderfull. They saved me. Carter started refusing his at about 9 months old and weened himself completely by 10m. I found nuk and tommy tippee to be the best for us.
bulb siringe. you will be sucking boogies forever!
I think that is about everything on the absolute must haves. Things I didn't use that I had.
bumbo
boppy... Made for women with short torsos who's boobs reach low. I may as well of laid him in just my lap. I had to use a pillow under the boppy so it was no point.
bouncer
baby shampoo
Carrier.. only used twice. He was way to big and didn't like it when we were out. He liked it one time when I danced with him in it but it lasted maybe 10 mins and he was over it.
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