Baby Checklists: How to Find Out What Mom and Baby Really Need

There are tons of Web sites, forums and baby books offering checklists for soon-to-be mothers detailing what every baby needs. These resources can be helpful for a first-time mom, but they can also be somewhat daunting. For example, the checklist given by Babies R Us is over 3 pages long! How do you know what is really necessary? Here are some tips for finding out what is needed, what would be nice and what you can all easily live without.

First, make use of the Web sites and books as a general starting point. Be sure to check out a variety of the resources though and compare them. Look to see which items show up on most or all of the lists. It's a safe bet that those are the items you should highlight to buy first. Once you have the checklist narrowed down a bit start doing some personalized research. Ask friends, family and coworkers what they used the most with their babies and what they used the least. Most mothers will happily share this information and will also give reasons why the items worked or didn't work for them personally. You can use their experiences to decide what might work best for you.

If you don't have many acquaintances who have young children try posting to online message boards and asking for advice. For the most accurate information do not use pregnancy boards to try to get this information. You are much more likely to end up with people telling you that the whole checklist is necessary if you talk to other pregnant women who are trying to wade through the same information you are. Instead, try posting the question on a parenting forum. Many times they will have separate forums for parenting 0-12 months and you can bet that these will be the people with the most current, real-life experience to share. Remember that what works great for one mother and baby might not work as well for another so try to get details on why they liked or disliked an item and see how it would fit with your situation.

Finally, keep receipts for every item that you buy for the baby. Many items, such as bouncy seats, playmats and nursery accessories can be easily put back into the packaging and returned even if you open the box. If nothing else you can get a store credit. This is important because each baby is different and will react well to different things. Some love a bouncy seat and will sleep in it happily for hours while others immediately fuss and will not sit in it at all. If your baby doesn't like it return it and spend your $30 on something that you will actually use. If you don't think you will really get any use out of it, take it back. Believe me you will think of plenty of other things that you can use during those first few months.

Babies really have very simple needs, but it is amazing how quickly moms-to-be can accumulate a houseful of items for such a tiny person. All parents want to give their kids the best of everything and why shouldn't it start from birth. Most parents realize pretty quickly once the baby is home that many things you think will be so important just wind up not being very practical and end up shoved in the back of a closet. Listen to the advice of other moms and remember that when your child grows up they probably won't remember if you had a diaper wipe warmer or not, but they will remember feeling loved. That is the real way to give your child the best of everything.