When you have a babe on the way, literally every person on the planet (or so it feels) will regale you with item after item that you simply must purchase. All necessities, they’ll insist. Still others will tell you about all of the things you really don’t need. As it turns out, both are right. You will need some things and not others, and the thing-gathering process is actually quite personal to you, how your family likes to live, and your baby’s needs. The frustrating reality for even the most committed of minimalists is that you will definitely want a few new (to you) things.
The following is a list of what we feel are the core essentials for life a new baby. It’s a catch-22, you see, because if we neglect to bring up a possible essential then you will be totally unprepared but if we throw in way too much you’ll be overwhelmed with piles of stuff that end up gathering dust. The things on this list will probably not be all you’ll have on hand when the babe comes, but if you happen to have only these things you will totally survive. You’ll probably realize that most of the tools you need come from your own self and good old fashioned human intuition.