Congratulations! You've grown a little human over the past 9 months and it's almost time for him or her to join you in the real world. You might be panicking that you're not ready (I know I did with my first) but the list of things you need really isn't that long.
I know the advertising companies would lead you believe that you NEED to have a million items of furniture, changes of clothes...with accessories and a whole bunch of gadgets, the truth is your baby will grow perfectly well without them.
Here's a run down of a few items that will come in useful:
Cot
There is a wide variety of cots, cribs, cradles and bassinets available to choose from so finding one that suits your needs shouldn't be too difficult. If you want to save money, a pram will double-up nicely in place of a crib or bassinet until your baby is ready to go into a cot.
I got this simple cot from IKEA for both my boys (cost around €40). The base can be set at two different heights (in photo shown as higher level. Can also be lowered to the bottom of the bars for when baby is more mobile).
Bedding and sheets
Two sets of bedding is enough as you can use one whilst you wash the other. Mothercare has a nice choice of collections to choose from.
Changing mat
As you'll be sending a fair amount of time changing nappies you might want to set up an area for this purpose (although a towel on the bed will suffice if you want to save some pennies). You can find a large selection of padded changing mats and changing units. This one is by Fisher Price.
A night light
Having a light handy for night time feeds is a good idea. Turning on the main light will wake the baby more and trying to do everything in the dark is just not practical. I got one of these solar powered table lights (again from IKEA). The great things about this model is that; 1) It's solar powered. You just have to put it in the sun for a few hours and so save on your electric bill. It's also safer as doesn't have wires that baby might pull or bite. 2) It has a positionable head so you can direct the light where you need it.
Bath
It's a good idea to have a baby bath (although a large washing up bowl will do nicely). I choose IKEA yet again for this simple baby bath... what can I say I'm a big IKEA fan. They have the stuff I need at the prices I like ;)
Supplies
Nappies, wet-wipes and nappy cream for changing. Baby bath towel and baby shampoo for bath time.
What do you consider 'essential' items for your nursery?
