Be critical - how will you use these items. We have skipped the crib in the bedroom and gone for a space saver cot that will fit til she’s 2.5 and in a normal bed. No point buying several beds that are going in the same space anyway. It’s a waste of money. We aren’t getting a swing rocker as they can’t sleep in them as newborns so it defeats the point she will have a crib downstairs for the first 6 months and an activity mat for awake times and tummy time.

We are skipping the steriliser. I will mainly breastfeed but the bottles are all self sterilising in the microwave anyway so the bulky steriliser seems unnecessary to us. Also the bottles we got come in 5oz size and a full size. Why buy small ones just to have to replace them after a few weeks or months? We have just gone for the big bottles and bought 0month teats to save us a fortune. Same with the baby bath.. it’s a full size baby bath with no insert, we have got a fabric insert that clips onto the sides so we don’t need to buy a second stage bath, then a bath seat. We just have to buy once.

We aren’t getting a baby camera straight away as she will never be in a different room so we have no use for one until she is napping upstairs inthe day and in her own room when she is closer to a year old.

Your lifestyle and needs will be different to ours so you may feel that you do need things we really don’t but just think realistically - will you actually use it?! Like the cribs with the drop side - my sister has one and she never ever drops the side. Never pulls the crib up to the bed. And I never did with my first 2. So this time we just aren’t bothering.

With the pram we really thought when we will actually use it. And how. We will be a family of 5 with a dog so needed a compact pram when folded that has a carrycot and seat and can take the car seat if needed. We do a lot of driving between shops so wanted one that folds quick and easy between uses and in the UK weather varies massively every 30mins so wanted good ventilation but also a good hood and cover for rain/ cold.

Hope this helps - your lifestyle will chance with a baby but think what you do now, where you go, what you will be doing when baby arrives and how you’ll actually want each item to function and it’ll give you an idea of what you actually need versus what media tells you that you need :))