Image: Media from Wix
When I was expecting, I read many lists about which items are actually necessary for the baby. We bought quite a few things, and have bought more after she arrived. This is my list of what do we actually use a lot.
Stroller - we take walks every day and she falls asleep well in her stroller. Our Joolz Day 2 has a big carrycot, so she can still use it for a while, it is very easily manoeuvrable and has good suspension. It is a giant stroller, though, and putting it in the car requires quite a lot of space. As we don't go for drives often, it is fine.
Cosleeper - with breastfeeding and a baby who not always settles herself to sleep, a cosleeper next to our bed has been a wonder. Although it is sometimes hard to sleep through the noises she makes while sleeping, it is still worth it!
Baby monitor with a camera - as we place her in her bed for most of her naps and the night, it is very useful to keep an eye on her at all times. It comforts me that I know that she is well (and breathing, still something I check frequently...). I like that I can see what the cause of the noise is (a pacifier that fell out, or just a changing of sleep cycles) and I can then also see if she falls back to sleep on her own.
Baby carrier/sling - wearing the baby has been a great option for settling her down and taking walks. It also allows you to go to places where it is harder to go with a stroller (think of all these stairs of all the bakeries, stores etc).
White noise machine - just a few days ago we bought a Myhummy Mini little noise machine, as we were using our phones for the sound, but this meant that I would frequently miss calls and the battery of the phone was permanently drained. Although it wasn't a cheap purchase, I am glad we have it! We use one with a sleep sensor, which fades when there is no noise and starts back up when the baby stirs or makes noise.
Washable diapers - we use Little Lamb pocket diapers and they have been a great deal (bought second hand). They able us to do something good for the environment, prevent some of these diaper rashes she was getting when using disposable diapers and just look really cute. Washing them does take some planning and rompers and pants tend to look quite bizarre on her at first, but you get used to that.
Muslin cloths - we go through so many. It is definitely a good idea not to get only 12 as we did, but at least 24 :-) Normal-sized (60x60 cm) are useful for burps and catching the leaked milk in the stroller and bed, but we use XL-sized (120x120 cm) for breast-feeding cover, swaddling and as linen when it is very warm.