When I attended the Baby Show in October this year, I was reminded:

There’s a money-making opportunity in everything, even the most natural thing in the world: having and raising babies - a practice successfully done in plenty of places with far less on offer.

From how to transport your baby from here to there, to, not just which bottle, but which specific choice of teat for that bottle, you might want to buy. From what colour, shape, size and position-type of cot, to the outfits for every possible outing your tiny new-born may supposedly be going on…Beautiful covers for the changing mat that will inevitably get covered in an explosive poo within the hour after it’s come out of its first wash cycle.

I walk into any baby section of a department store and feel overwhelmed (and I'm yet to go as a first-time expectant parent…only as someone who’s held, looked after and worked alongside many a baby and their families).

I've observed demonstrations of how to dispose of a baby’s dirty nappy into a highly sophisticated nappy bin (and yes, it probably did require the demonstration)...and watched a number of parents being shown how to collapse buggy’s in one swift motion and casually loop it over their shoulder to carry on with their day…(I’m speaking from experience when I say those people have most definitely practised that a hundred or more times because I have never successfully collapsed a buggy in one swift motion - but maybe that’s just not one of my skills).

My point of this ramble is: try not to overcomplicate and overthink what you and your baby need. Remember, for the first 6 months, at least, their room is your room so a picture perfect nursery is just not urgent.You've got time to get to know your baby, realise poppers were clearly invented by someone who's never tried to dress a wriggly baby and that they rarely want to sleep in the beautiful bassinet you spent a fortune on.

See my other posts on some ideas of things you may want to buy...and remember: you can never invest in too much support!