I never had a chance to nest, because I waited too long and our little bear ended up arriving 5 weeks early. But as far as newborns go, I don't think you need that much stuff. We actually bought our crib the night before I delivered, otherwise I ordered most stuff while I was in the hospital.
Here are things that are really essential to me:
Very important
BABY CAR SEAT - without this, you cannot leave the hospital. They do a stress test type of thing at UCSF (not sure if it is for all hospitals), and put your baby in there to see if he/she sleeps for 2-3 hours.
Nursery
Crib
Changing table - there are many types. They have like a whole furniture thing that you can buy, with shelves below, if you have plenty of space in the nursery. Otherwise there are those you can put on top of your crib. Or you can just do it on the bed or something, and put a disposable changing pad below like this, like those things you get on your hospital bed in case you pee. My friend had one that was made of some plasticky material, vs one where we needed actual linen, and I love it. Here is a picture. Don't mind the cute baby.
And then stuff like mattress, sheets, blankets.
Bathing and body care
Mild baby soap and shampoo - so far we only use soap and just rinse off his head, but the hospital gave us J&J stuff.
Aquaphor or some kind of baby lotion type thing - we put this on him after every bath to keep his skin moisturized.
Diaper rash cream - we use Desitin but I am sure there are plenty out there. Dry baby's butt before applying. Our baby got a bit of a diaper rash and it made me sad.
Bath tub - they have many kinds, ours is just a basic tub, but if you are not confident of bathing your baby they have all kinds of products like hammock looking things that can support your baby as you bathe him/her, or slanted thinggsy that can keep the baby reclined so he/she is partly in the water and partly not.
Clothes
I recommend getting old baby clothes if you have access. Babies pee and poo and dribble milk all over and we go through a ton of clothes. The most useful so far have been onesies and sleep sacks (where it's like skirts at the bottom, for PJs, so it's super easy at night to change the diaper). All baby clothes are cute anyway. If you are in a cold place, socks. Mits are great to prevent the baby from scratching his/her face.
Nursing
I must start this by saying I am a pump and feed mum and I stay home slash sort of work from home, so it's not like I have to go to work and have easy access clothes. I might try to breastfeed directly some time, but so far I have not, and obviously not while out of the house.
Nursing clothes - bras and tops, buy good fitting ones, very very important. I think I have some shit fitting ones and I'm stuck with those coz I'm not sure whether I'm going to breastfeed directly or not and it's not fun.
Breast pump - obviously to pump your breasts if you go that route. Some people nurse exclusively, some like me pump and feed exclusively, some do both. But if you pump obviously get a pump. Try to get extra pump parts so you don't have to wash all the time, and you can wash in one batch. Washing gets REALLY old after a while.
Nipple cream - my nipples are constantly sore. Lansinoh lanolin is super popular, but I think I'm going to use Motherlove nipple cream from now on. The lactation consultant recommended it because it was all natural organic blahblah, which I don't usually care for, but she gave me some samples and it feels OH SO GOOD.
Coconut oil (or olive, or something) - I use this on my nipples before I pump, it helps with the friction. My nipples are still sore, but I think they would be worse without.
Nursing bra pads - for sore and leaky boobs. I remember the first time I leaked. It's like peeing on yourself, but from your nipple. Very freaky.
Some like nursing pillows. I found them a little bit of a pain, but what I do find useful is something to prop your arm on especially as the baby gets fatter and heavier.
Other stuff
Diapers - note there are newborn diapers. I thought I was so smart and bought like a thousand size 1 diapers, and when I got back from the hospital they were too big.
Wipes - to wipe. Backside, explosive pee and poop all over the room, there are lots of things to wipe down. Hahaha!
Wipes warmer - our baby hates changing, and my friend told me maybe it's because the wipes are too cold. So I bought this wipes warmer thing and I'll let you know if changing is any better. Or likely I'll forget to let you know so just assume things are better.
Stroller - OMG again so many, but my friend gave me a Graco SnugRider® Elite Stroller for infant strollers which helped me with my decision to get a Graco infant car seat. Anyway the point is not to help you choose a stroller, but to tell you how nice it is to have a stroller to push the baby around, because one time I carried the car seat to the doctor's, even though I parked literally right in front, it was a pain. I will never do that again and will use the stroller always.
Carrier - some people, most people I dare say, like carriers. We got a Baby K'tan and the few times we used it it seems fine, maybe a bit iffy, not sure yet, but seems like a good thing to have.
Baby book - for all those precious moments. Believe me, I'm not
Here are things that are really essential to me:
Very important
BABY CAR SEAT - without this, you cannot leave the hospital. They do a stress test type of thing at UCSF (not sure if it is for all hospitals), and put your baby in there to see if he/she sleeps for 2-3 hours.
Nursery
Crib
Changing table - there are many types. They have like a whole furniture thing that you can buy, with shelves below, if you have plenty of space in the nursery. Otherwise there are those you can put on top of your crib. Or you can just do it on the bed or something, and put a disposable changing pad below like this, like those things you get on your hospital bed in case you pee. My friend had one that was made of some plasticky material, vs one where we needed actual linen, and I love it. Here is a picture. Don't mind the cute baby.
Bathing and body care
Mild baby soap and shampoo - so far we only use soap and just rinse off his head, but the hospital gave us J&J stuff.
Aquaphor or some kind of baby lotion type thing - we put this on him after every bath to keep his skin moisturized.
Diaper rash cream - we use Desitin but I am sure there are plenty out there. Dry baby's butt before applying. Our baby got a bit of a diaper rash and it made me sad.
Bath tub - they have many kinds, ours is just a basic tub, but if you are not confident of bathing your baby they have all kinds of products like hammock looking things that can support your baby as you bathe him/her, or slanted thinggsy that can keep the baby reclined so he/she is partly in the water and partly not.
Clothes
I recommend getting old baby clothes if you have access. Babies pee and poo and dribble milk all over and we go through a ton of clothes. The most useful so far have been onesies and sleep sacks (where it's like skirts at the bottom, for PJs, so it's super easy at night to change the diaper). All baby clothes are cute anyway. If you are in a cold place, socks. Mits are great to prevent the baby from scratching his/her face.
Nursing
I must start this by saying I am a pump and feed mum and I stay home slash sort of work from home, so it's not like I have to go to work and have easy access clothes. I might try to breastfeed directly some time, but so far I have not, and obviously not while out of the house.
Nursing clothes - bras and tops, buy good fitting ones, very very important. I think I have some shit fitting ones and I'm stuck with those coz I'm not sure whether I'm going to breastfeed directly or not and it's not fun.
Breast pump - obviously to pump your breasts if you go that route. Some people nurse exclusively, some like me pump and feed exclusively, some do both. But if you pump obviously get a pump. Try to get extra pump parts so you don't have to wash all the time, and you can wash in one batch. Washing gets REALLY old after a while.
Nipple cream - my nipples are constantly sore. Lansinoh lanolin is super popular, but I think I'm going to use Motherlove nipple cream from now on. The lactation consultant recommended it because it was all natural organic blahblah, which I don't usually care for, but she gave me some samples and it feels OH SO GOOD.
Coconut oil (or olive, or something) - I use this on my nipples before I pump, it helps with the friction. My nipples are still sore, but I think they would be worse without.
Nursing bra pads - for sore and leaky boobs. I remember the first time I leaked. It's like peeing on yourself, but from your nipple. Very freaky.
Some like nursing pillows. I found them a little bit of a pain, but what I do find useful is something to prop your arm on especially as the baby gets fatter and heavier.
Other stuff
Diapers - note there are newborn diapers. I thought I was so smart and bought like a thousand size 1 diapers, and when I got back from the hospital they were too big.
Wipes - to wipe. Backside, explosive pee and poop all over the room, there are lots of things to wipe down. Hahaha!
Wipes warmer - our baby hates changing, and my friend told me maybe it's because the wipes are too cold. So I bought this wipes warmer thing and I'll let you know if changing is any better. Or likely I'll forget to let you know so just assume things are better.
Stroller - OMG again so many, but my friend gave me a Graco SnugRider® Elite Stroller for infant strollers which helped me with my decision to get a Graco infant car seat. Anyway the point is not to help you choose a stroller, but to tell you how nice it is to have a stroller to push the baby around, because one time I carried the car seat to the doctor's, even though I parked literally right in front, it was a pain. I will never do that again and will use the stroller always.
Carrier - some people, most people I dare say, like carriers. We got a Baby K'tan and the few times we used it it seems fine, maybe a bit iffy, not sure yet, but seems like a good thing to have.
Baby book - for all those precious moments. Believe me, I'm not
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