Ignore everyone else...Listen to me.

I couldn't decide to blog about shopping or breast feeding. Since shopping is about 100x more fun, let's go with that. I understand you have recently had a traumatic shopping experience. Breathe deeply. There is no such thing as a trauma when shopping is involved. You don't have to wrestle with your frugle side...the want vs need battle. YOU NEED IT ALL. That makes life easy. The question is which one of those needs is really a cleverly disguised WANT. I am here to set the record straight. If I am to disclose this information you must do as the title dictates...ignore everyone else and listen to me. Here is why. I know everything. The HONEST everything that some other people are too afraid to disclose. I harbor the "How to make my life cheap yet easy" information you are after. Got it? OK. Now...let's shop.

In the Room
* Crib (get a nice one that you will love for many years. Hopefully Branee will sleep in it until she is 12...when baby 2 moves in. It needs to be high quality with a GOOD -read expensive- mattress. Don't get sucked into the "converts to a toddle bed" trap. When the crib is OUT then just get a twin bed. Buy a crib that is safe and above all CUTE).
* Bedding (Sheets galore. Branee will barf on your last clean sheet at least ten times. So, have eleven. Mattress pad. WATERPROOF. She won't be wetting the bed...yet; however, Travis had an uncanny ability for peeing out if his armpit (or so it seemed). Babies also slobber, and you don't want Branee getting a chaffed cheek. Bumper. IMPORTANT! Buy a really good one. Mine was custom made and was really expensive. It was pretty firm and about 1" thick. Some of the cheap thin ones are floppy and could pose a hazard. The downside to the kind I had was that it served as a step stool when the boys got older. Eventually they have to go. Blankets. Babies are not supposed to have covers. They wear warm jammies. Having said that, make sure Nana makes Branee a light weight fleece blanket the size of the crib...Like Louis' moon cover. It is a good fit and works perfectly).
*Rocking chair (It makes no difference if it is soft nd upholstered or wood and hard. It must be two things...comfortable and QUIET).
*Changing table (you expressed some confusion over this. Get the kind that is really just a dresser that you can snap a changing pad to. They are usually pretty expensive. Louis will use it until he eats all the knobs off...only a couple more to go. Anyway...they sell pads that snap onto just about anything. The pads need covers. You can get by with about three).
*Garbage Can (not Genie-ish contraption. Lifetime supply of poop bags - discussed in an earlier blog).
*10 Watt light bulb
*diapers and wipes...I can't recall howmany times I had to shout to anyone who could hear, "I need a diaper!" Naturally, no one brough one. Do NOT get a wipe warmer. The produce a condensation nightmare. I guarantee that a cold wipe wont be the worst thing that happens in her life.

Overwhelmed? Let's talk clothes.

* "Onesies" This is a brand name. Any brand will do. Buy TONS. Really, like 20 per size. You can go through 5 in a day. They provided added warmth and serve as a diaper lock for nudist babies.
* Carters one piece terry cloth jammies. Even though they look like PJs, you can take her out to Target in one.
* Bags. You can buy "bags" for Branee to sleep in. They are like blanket sleepers with no legs, just bags. It makes for rapid fire late night changing.
*Clothes. Well, since you are having a girl anything cute will do. And to answer your question, no. You can't buy girl clothes with puppies on them. Girls get flowers and butterflies. Boys get trucks and dogs. It is just that way...gender specific from birth. Just so you know, I will only be sending things that are pink. Don't feel too sorry for yourself...baby girl clothes are damn cute.
*Socks. HA! They don't make a sock thay will stay on a babies foot. They a re for pictures only...otherwise stick to footy clothes if you want warm toes.

Feeding
For breastfeeding, well, you already own the equipment. If you go down that road for the laong haul, you will need a really good pump. This is a freakish thing. Get over it, though, because it is necessary at any level of nursing. Since I didn't do it for that long, I could get by with...let's talk about this later.

Bottles. Only Branee knows what she will like. Travis liked the cheap Evenflo (silicon) and Louis liked the expensive Avent. You can buy a couple of each to have one had for testing sessions.

Bottle Warmer. Do not waste you money. You will pull your hair out waiting while Branee is screaming. I used a microwave. They don't recommed it because you can get hotspots. They same reason as when you that butter in the microwave one spot menlt and the other is hard. Well, it does not take Einstine to figure out that if you shake the bottle, VOILA, hotspot is gone. You really doa have to be careful. After your first 50 bottles or so you will know exactly how many second to heat the bottle.

Stroller. Bad news here. You need three. Stroller 1 is a sturdy expensive jogger type. Stroller 2 is a cheapish ($35ish) folding stroller with storage and reclining feature. This is for shopping...you can haul goods and baby can recline and sleep. Joggers are too big to take into stores. Stroller 3 is the "umbrella" stroller. Very cheap (under $10). This is for permanent storage in your car. You'll need it in a pinch...trust me.

This only scratches the surface but I have to go be a mother now.

Did somebody say diaper bag? ARGH!