Here are things you don't really need the second your new baby arrives, which I learned by having been down that road three times:

What? No crib? Yes, that was their reaction too, but take my word for it. I have yet to meet a parent who actually used that big, elaborately decorated crib in the beginning. What you need is a bassinet that can sit beside your bed and be rolled to different positions throughout the house. A newborn baby is small and wakes up every few hours to be fed. The closer the baby is, the happier you are.

Going hand in hand with not immediately needing a crib is not needing the Architectural Digest nursery. The baby will only care about where you are, not whether the handmade curtains match the designer crib bumpers. Save yourself some money and stress – a decorated nursery is not an immediate priority.

I remember being completely panicked when my first child arrived because I had not yet procured "THE CHANGING TABLE"! Read this line well: YOU DON'T NEED ONE. All that is required to change a baby is a safe, soft, flat surface. Floor ring a bell?

Sure, use it if you receive one at the shower, but a fancy diaper container is not a necessity. Plus, they are expensive little buggers, as you have to constantly refill them with their specially made bags.

Trust me, your hands will be full enough without carrying a bag worthy of an outward-bound adventure. The smaller, the better. After all, a trip to the grocery store doesn't require 10 diapers, 100 wipes, four bottles, a box of crackers, three pacifiers and a partridge in a pear tree.

I know all those teeny, tiny shoes in the stores are adorable, but a newborn baby does not need a closet that rivals Imelda Marcos'. Babies are notorious for kicking off anything you put on their feet, so save yourself the money and the time you will spend picking them up and putting them back on their feet.

The notion behind this one is that warmed up wipes won't "shock" your baby's bottom, but unless you live in an igloo or store your wipes in the fridge, no baby has ever been traumatized by room-temperature wiping.

Yes, a highchair or kitchen booster seat is necessary – five months after they are born and can sit up. Again, save yourself some cash up front and wait to buy this item later on.

Babies are far simpler creatures than the miniature Paris Hiltons the marketers make them out to be. Seek out secondhand items in consignment stores and gladly accept hand-me-down items from friends and relatives. Cribs, rocking chairs, changing tables and bedding get very little wear and tear before the child outgrows them and moves on to toilets and toddler beds. And one thing babies know how to do is grow right before your eyes. Many hand-me-down clothing items may have only been worn three times or less before they no longer fit. This is especially true of holiday dresses and miniature suits that are worn once, period. Babies need love, shelter and nourishment, not $100 dresses and $500 crib sheets.

 

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