I propose to create a large section on needs of different members of the family in my website http://www.grihast.com or http://www.homemakersalmanac.com. Please do visit my site and share with me your views on the articles that I am putting in there.

These are the things that I like to use:

Carrier (I currently have an old over-the-shoulder baby holder sling, but a new Ergo is on its way!!)

Baby bathtub for the kitchen sink

Swing (used about 15 minutes per day)

Cloth-covered bouncy chair

Stroller

Car seat

Oversized receiving blankets for swaddling

Cloth diapers for burping baby

Boppy pillow for nursing comfortably while sitting up in bed (not a necessity, but I enjoy using it)

Nursing pads, to help with leakage; I just bought a bunch of washable ones on ebay.

Port-a-crib for naps (baby sleeps with me at night)

Later I’ll get some kind of high chair or a little chair that hooks to the table.

Soft, comfortable clothes … I don’t like baby clothes that have collars or buttons.

I don’t use baby food, baby bottles, walkers, or exersaucers.

Enjoy your babies, ladies! It is a precious time of life and goes by quickly!

I, too, feared all the stuff that our daughter would get for her first christmas and birthday (which are a month apart) so I sent our parents/siblings a long list full of stuff for early childhood…the next 6 years or so! I would rather her get something nice that she won’t even notice until she is 4 than toys to fill in the time until then – when she already has more than enough (and prefers dishes, cereal boxes that are headed to recycling and books)

At the top I put a little blurb about how everything we have received in her young life has been such a blessing…and we do not want to dictate future gift giving…but it is our desire that we focus on things she needs and quality toys that will last her childhood and childhoods of future siblings to come and not to have a house full of toys that rarely get played with – we do not have the room! I listed a ton of ideas with a big variety of price ranges…examples include wooden blocks, wooden doll house from plantoys and accessories, very simple wooden kitchen set, broom, specific books, church clothes (to complement our garage sale finds!) I think our parents appreciated the guidance and understood our desire to not have a house overflowing with toys. The list will work for years to come. I will just update and send out with any changes (age appropriate art projects etc). This year I plan on putting a little note about how we opened a savings account for her…and a friendly reminder of how much they have already blessed her with so many wonderful things that she doesn’t need much more!

I realize that this will not work in all families and some would consider it downright rude! But our families asked for ideas and I took the opportunity to tell them our desires!

Hope this gives you a few ideas!

This is the stroller we have -Zooper Waltz. We love it due to all the wonderful features, accessories, and that it works for a very young infant up to older toddlers. Very good brand as well. This stroller can be used as a travel system as well, if desired.

If you want to go the travel system route, this is the system I would recommend from my research, as it is small and very much like an umbrella stroller. The zooper is small but not as compact as an umbrella stroller – Combi

If you want to skip the infant car seat, I would check out this carseat – First Years True Fit, fits 5-65 lbs. I have a friend who really likes this car seat.

Infant car seats are very nice for infants as you mentioned, but not worth buying new if you can avoid it, due to the shortness of the time the infant actually uses it, unless you are planing on having several children and getting a lot of good use out of it.

We did have an infant car seat, but didn’t use it attached to any stroller (as in the travel systems), just mainly for in and out of church or someone’s house. If I was out and about (shopping, etc), I would put her in a carrier as it didn’t take much space. She was able to sit in our stroller directly at two months or probably even earlier (it lays down like a carriage and is very comfy), so I didn’t really need to use a travel system. But that is just my personal choice. Many find the travel systems very useful. If you want to avoid bulkiness, go with the combi system that I linked to above.

Another option is a car seat carrier and infant car seat and then just getting a simple umbrella stroller after they grow out of the infant carrier.

Just my thoughts and suggestions for you.

I agree with you Lindsay that simple is good and I live in a small apartment too! Having two makes things a little trickier. (And 3 will be interesting too I’m sure–we’re due any day with #3).

We found the portable little swing to be WONDERFUL for our first baby but it was too much of a temptation and a danger for our second as the toddler sibling tried to swing the baby wildly. So the swing got minimal use the second time around. Our kids didn’t enjoy slings or johnny jump-ups, but a double-stroller was an essential for getting out and about! I do have a nice sling for #3 and am sure it will be used much since I won’t have enough hands for all of my little ones! I found the bouncy chair to be wonderful for a second baby as I could put him up on a table in it or in a Pack n’ Play to protect him from his sister. He could sit near us and watch us eat supper too as a tiny infant. Play mats aren’t necessary but if I have gotten them for free or for mere cents I think they can be nice for those times when you want them to do a little bit of tummy time or playing quietly at church, etc.

Our kids really enjoyed the exersaucer. We had a simple one with minimal toys and no music and they are supposedly safer than walkers. The danger with walkers is that the older sibling may push the baby around faster than they should or shove them down stairs. An exersaucer, on the other hand, stays put and was nice for the two to play together as they looked at the toys. It was a great thing during the 6-12 month stage when I needed to keep baby entertained for a little bit while I made supper or something. The toddler couldn’t push it over as she could a swing or bouncy seat.

I agree that portable high chairs are best! Many transition into boosters and can be used for several years and will last through many children.

A crib is really wonderful to have, but we got by with our first child in just a Pack n’ Play the first couple of years. I’m glad we were given a nice crib for our second! Bassinets aren’t really necessary but can be nice for those first few months of late-night feedings since they make it easy to reach over and grab the baby next to the bed.

Some things I didn’t use:
Cloth bibs (our kids weren’t big spitter-uppers or droolers)
Musical, annoying toys or mobiles
Diaper genie or wipes warmer
Bottle-related things (though moms who do formula would need all the things)
Breast milk storage bags
Hand-breast pump (biggest waste of money ever unless you have a very nice supply that is overflowing!)
Baby powders/lotions/special soaps or creams
Baby shoes for the newborn stage (I do make the cute leather shoes for about 6 M on but most shoes you buy in stores don’t fit right and never get worn the first year!)

Things I did find to be awesome:
*Sippy cups that do not leak or break easily! We like Playtex.
*Soft, cuddly blankie that can be a security blankie for the first few years
*Simple, comfy baby clothing
*Sun hats with velcro straps to hold the hat on
*Car seat cover for winter babies to keep them snug and warm
*Rattles and simple toys
*Crackly cloth books to chew on and feel
*Sturdy double-stroller
*Lightweight umbrella stroller for those trips into stores or places where it’s hard to juggle two. I keep mine in the trunk of the car and it’s easy to whip it out and put the little one in and let the toddler help push.
*Washable bibs that can be quickly washed and dried so you only need one or two on hand
*While not a necessity, the cloth grocery cart cover I bought brand-new at a yard sale for $5 is amazing for quickly making a cart sanitary and fun for baby. As someone who does a lot of grocery shopping with kids and wants very much to avoid germs and colds in the winter, this has been so nice instead of having to wipe down every inch of the front of the cart only to watch them lick it afterward!
*Nursing cover or lightweight quilt

While I’m sure I’m forgetting a lot, this is a start when it comes to my baby preferences! Different families will have different likes and dislikes and stuff but I totally agree that most people nowadays overdo it. All you have to do is take one look at the parenting magazines to see the insane amount of money people waste on unnecessary baby things! Most of it is excessive and unnecessary!

My first baby was small otherwise I would try to live without an infant seat, because they just grow out of it so fast. We found our infant seat off craigslist for $25 so it wasn’t a great loss and we sold it when we were done for $35, so we actually made a profit. That is the benefit of finding good deals on used items.

We will not be getting a double stroller with our second for the same reason of bulkiness. We will just use our baby carrier for the second or vis versa.