If you have a baby on the way, what are the things that you'll need to prepare for his/her arrival?

There are several lists available on the Internet, but most of them are written with a foreign audience in mind. I've prepared the list below taking into consideration our needs as Filipinos.


FOR SLEEPING.

1. A place for baby to sleep. Most people get a crib. If you get one, you'll need a mattress too (since cribs don't always come with mattresses.) If you plan to have baby sleep in your bed, you might want to consider getting a sleeper, which is a sleeping compartment with padded plastic walls that you place in your bed to prevent mommy and daddy from accidentally bumping into baby while asleep.
2. 2 fitted sheets for the crib. You don't need to get pillows and thick blankets for baby; in fact, experts advise against them for newborns since these might suffocate baby if he/she can't roll over yet.
3. 2 waterproof mattress pads.
4. Crib mobile (from 1 month onwards).

CLOTHES.

1. 8 - 10 side-tie shirts.
2. 4 onesies.
3. 5 - 6 receiving blankets. At least two of them should be big enough for swaddling.
4. 2 pairs booties/socks.
5. 3 pairs mittens, to prevent baby from scratching himself. We used these a lot in the hospital, but after we got home, we got rid of the mittens and just cut baby's nails every other day (they do grow incredibly fast!).
6. 1 hat, especially for baby's first week, when he still needs to be kept warm. We also use it when we bring baby to cold places, like the supermarket.
7. Gentle laundry soap, like Perla or Cycles.
8. Clothes for colder temperatures, depending on where you live, whether or not you use air-conditioning at home, and what time of the year your baby is born.
   Our baby was born in October so the long-sleeved sleepsuits were useful for when we went out in the evening. If your baby is born in the summer you probably won't need this.

In general, I suggest you wait until after your baby shower before you buy clothes, since most of your friends will probably give you baby clothes anyway.

FOR DIAPERING.

1. A place to change baby's diapers. You don't need a diaper changing table; your baby's crib or even your bed will do fine.
2. Cotton balls or alcohol-free disposable baby wipes. Cotton balls are obviously cheaper.; just wet them with plain water. We go through 1 bag of 300 cotton balls per week.
3. Water container. It's handy to have a little bottle of water where you change baby's nappy, to wipe him with. We use a small plastic ketchup bottle and fill it with water each morning.
4. A waterproof changing pad. A pad to put baby on while you're changing his diapers. It's a good idea to get two -- one for the house, another for your diaper bag.
5. 4 washcloths for diapering. It's helpful to have some washcloths nearby when you're diapering to wipe baby. If you have a baby boy, it's a good idea to cover his penis with a washcloth when you're changing him in case he decides to pee just when you take his diaper off (and this happens quite often!). We distinguished between our baby's diapering washcloths and his bathing washcloths by getting them in different colors: his diapering washcloths are white; his bathing washcloths are blue.
6. Petroleum jelly for circumcision area (if applicable).
7. Diaper pail.
8. Cloth diapers and cloth diaper accessories (if applicable). If you're using regular cloth diapers (lampin or pre-folds), you'll also need diaper pins/clips and diaper covers.
9. Disposable diapers (if applicable). You'll go through 8-12 diapers a day, so stock up on a lot of diapers. It's a good idea to try different brands at first to see which you and baby like the most. (Baby's might be sensitive to the material used in some diaper brands.) Diapers range from P6 to P10 per piece, and the more expensive ones aren't necessarily better.
10. A box of soft tissue (Kleenex). Very useful.
11. Diaper rash ointment. We use Desitin.

FOR FEEDING.

1. A comfortable chair for feeding. Feedings can take up to an hour, so make sure you have a comfortable place to sit while feeding baby. Some moms like to have a rocking chair; I just use a comfortable office chair with a footstool to raise my feet.
2. Pillows. A nursing pillow is nice to have, but you can also use whatever spare pillows you have.
3. Feeding cup, spoon, or dropper if you plan to exclusively breastfeed. It's a good idea to have one of these on hand for those emergency moments when someone else needs to feed baby. (See "bottles" below). For feeding cups, contact conpro_engineering[at]yahoo[dot]com.
4. Breast pump. A manual breast pump is sufficient if you only intend to use it occasionally. For everyday use (e.g., if you're going back to work and need to pump milk at home), you might want to spend on an electric breast pump.
5. Breastmilk storage bottles or storage bags, if you intend to breastfeed.
6. Bottles. Even if you're breastfeeding, it's a good idea to get 2 bottles in case you need someone else to feed him expressed breastmilk. In this case, teach your baby to drink from the bottle when he's between 3 weeks and 8 weeks old, and only after breastfeeding is well-established. If you're formula-feeding, you'll need more bottles: at least 4, but as many as 8, if you don't want to be washing bottles constantly throughout the day.
7. Formula, if applicable. For those emergency moments when no formula is available, mix 1 part evaporated milk with 2 parts water, and a teensy bit of corn syrup or sugar (not honey) to sweeten. Use this only in emergencies, however, because this doesn't contain enough nutrients to keep your baby in optimal health.
8. Sterilizer. There are three kinds: plastic racks that you can put into a pot of boiling water (the cheapest option), microwave sterilizers, and electric sterilizers.
9. Bottle brush.
10. Bibs - 2 if you're breastfeeding, 6 if you're bottle-feeding.
11. 12 burp cloths. Regular lampin's make great burp cloths.
12. Nursing cover, if you're breastfeeding, so you can nurse discreetly in public.
13. Nursing pads, if breastfeeding. Expect to go through at least 3 pairs a day, depending on how much leakage you have.

FOR BATHING.

1. Baby bathtub or basin. We use an Orocan basin and it works just fine, takes up less space, and will be useable even after baby has outgrown it.
2. 3 baby bath towels.
3. 4 washcloths for bathing.
4. Baby bath soap. Don't buy too much yet. You never know what your baby might be allergic too. Our pedia ended up telling us to use Cetaphil on our baby because he has sensitive skin.
5. Baby shampoo.

HEALTH AND HYGIENE.

1. Isopropyl alcohol for quickly cleaning your hands before you hold baby.
2. Ethyl alcohol and cotton balls for cleaning baby's umbilical cord stump before it falls off.
3. Baby hair brush.
4. Baby nail scissors or nail clipper. I personally prefer scissors because you can see the nail and finger better.
5. Bulb syringe nasal aspirator.
6. Nasal saline solution to hose baby's nostrils when he has a cold (to be used with the nasal aspirator). You can also make your own at home.
7. Thermometer.

OTHER ESSENTIALS.

1. Storage solutions for baby's things. Whether you're getting baby his own chest of drawers, or just clearing some space in your aparador for his things, make sure you have a place to store his things.
2. Diaper bag.
3. Infant car seat.
4. Baby memory book, for recording baby's milestones.
5. Baby carrier. There are many kinds: ring slings, pouches, and front packs.
6. Stroller.
7. Electric kettle. Unless your house has running hot water (which is unusual here in the Philippines, an electric kettle is extremely helpful for when you need hot water quickly. We use the hot water for mixing baby's bath water, for mixing warm water to wipe him with when we're changing his diaper, and for thawing frozen breastmilk.
8. Reference book on babies, for when you need to look up information on how to take care of baby. My favorite is Dr. Sears' The Baby Book; dad's favorite is The Baby Owner's Manual (written for guys).
9. A camera.
To record all those magical moments!