for us it was the changing table (still don't have one!) and the removable infant car seat (went straight to the regular fixed car seat).

Heh, there was a recent column and thread about this on the main page. Maybe the diaper genie or something, since we did cloth diapers? Anything Baby Einstein?

G'ah. Pretty much everything. I'm cheap and we made do with hand me downs and gifts for the most part.

Also, my first was born 10 years ago and there wasn't nearly as much crap for babies as there is now. I know that sounds really "back in my day" but there has been a giant jump in the "must have" crap that is marketed to new parents.

The monitor. Single story house and bedrooms all on one hall. 'Nuff said. And all Baby Einstien.

Kanachick - I enjoy hand me downs, too. I'm not picky. A lot of baby stuff is used for such a short period of time (like the bucket car seat) that it just seems such a waste to only have one baby in it, and I don't have the storage to keep it forever (I wouldn't now anyway, because that factory is CLOSED.)

My oldest is nine, and there's definitely more crap now that's "essential". I regretted my diaper genie (stinky diaper sausages...I'll pass, thanks.) I would have liked a changing table, mostly for the storage most of them have and because I wouldn't have had to change them on the floor or bed, but it wasn't a necessity. Changing the baby on the bed is just fine.

I never got a sterilizer and washed with hot soapy water.

Baby toys now in particular annoy me. Why does everything have to teach them colors/numbers/the alphabet in four languages? Why can't it just be fun? They learn from that, too. Grrr.

I'm glad you said that Ellie - I was pretty sure that there was an increase in crap since my first was born.

I hear you on the toys too - why does everything have to make sounds? Can't the kids "moo" anymore?

We didn't have a diaper genie until we bought one on Craig's List recently, and we love it. I wish I had the means to deal with cloth diapers. Maybe I do and just haven't researched it enough. I have three kids in diapers right now, and I think it might be more of a pain than it's worth. Although, with three kids in diapers, I do feel a bit guilty when I pull the "diaper sausage" out of the diaper genie and see what I'm throwing away. A ton of dirty diapers that won't biodegrade in a plastic bad that won't biodegrade....and that's just one family.

We've had people give us all the crap that you are "supposed" to have, and I can't stand it. All that stuff takes up room. We use our bed as a changing table more often than not, and a toy hammer has become my 16 month old's favorite toy.

There was a changing table attachment to our pack & play, and we used it all the time. I wouldn't have bought a stand-alone changing table, however.

We should have skipped the crib. She never slept in it. Not once. Someone gave us monitors, but we never used them.

I totally skipped the sling. I had zero interest in wearing my baby. That's a completely nonjudgmental statement, by the way. :) I like the slings in principle, but I wanted nothing to do with one. I also have shoulders that easily dislocate, so I probably shouldn't have used a sling.

I've heard the newer Diaper Genies aren't awful like previous incarnations.

mamawho - heck, I carried you around for 9 freaking months and I still have to carry you around? Ugh.

Kidding, I'm kidding...

See, I'm the opposite on the sling issue because I could never bother to take the time to lug a stroller around. Hell, the first time I tried to use the stroller it took three of us to figure out how to close it back up.

We're fond of the Diaper Champ. And we couldn't have skipped the changing table with the Dude of GI hypermotility and loose stools. On MY bed?!?! NIMBY!

His changing table was attached to the crib. The entire thing is the size of an aircraft carrier, but it worked for us.

We skipped the Exersaucer and walker thingies. I have issues with them. I have some misalignment in my thigh bones and had I been in one of them, I'd be even more messed up than I am now. I could see myself giving in if I had another baby, but in my Ivory Tower With the Only Child, we steered clear of them.

kanachick - I'm stealing that line. That's funny.

McGlory - my husband thought I was a freakin' genius when he saw me heft the stroller out of the back of the Matrix and open it, with one hand, all in one move. Of course, he didn't see me wrestling with it, cursing at it, and eventually kicking it until it closed in the weeks prior.

The swing, however is essential. All hail the inventor of the Swing, whoever you are.

I would love to have one of those really cool new exersaucers where the baby can walk around in circles. We have a bargain-basement exersaucer that we've linked nine billion toys to, because I have to be able to put Peanut Pants in something where she won't escape and chew on the electrical cords or dog food or get under my feet while I'm cooking dinner or whatever, because she's just into EVERYTHING. The exersaucer isn't really necessary if you have one, but I've got three, and I have to be able to keep her entertained for a bit and out of the way so that I'm not having to chase her around and fish things out of her mouth.

My cousin had her first kid about two weeks before Peanut Pants and had every single top of the line gadget and gizmo in the world for that kid. I just rolled my eyes and gave my kid a plastic tube to play with. She was just as happy. She'd much rather play with my curtains than a Baby Einstein Teaches Your Baby Mozart On The Viola.

I second skipping the crib...Buddy B apparently believes the crib is filled with flesh melting acid and won't go near it, so it is a nice place to house dirty laundry right now.

We bought (or had given to us) mostly essential things. We thought everything out before buying/asking for it. We bought the big (30 lbs) removable car seat so we could go directly to the booster when he turned 1 without needing to get the middle step 3 in 1. His current seat will last him up to 100 lbs which complies with our new 9 years, 4' 7", 100 lbs law.

I couldn't have lived without my change table/dresser, which my father in law built to my specifications. It holds all of himself's clothes and when he is out of diapers, the change table part comes off and it is just the dresser. It would have killed my husband if he had to bend over to change the baby on the bed, he is very tall. It's taller than the average table.

The other essential was the Bumbo. Himself wanted to sit up as soon as he could hold his head up but couldn't sit. I would put him in it so I could take a shower. He would sit there and play.

The only thing we didn't like was the Snugli. But that was the design rather than the purpose. It just wasn't big enough to fit my husband properly. We may try a sling next time.

The crib. The most use it ever got was being the passive recipient of my misty-eyed, longing gaze for over a year before we finally admitted to ourselves that he would never, ever sleep in it.

Diaper Genie because I use cloth. Changing table because I use a pad on the dresser. Sling/Moby Wrap because I can't be bothered to figure out how to wrap it around me a million times and my infant still does not feel secure (though I admit this laziness is mostly because of the twin factor - otherwise I'd probably be all over it). Monitor because my apartment is small enough for me to hear them from the other end of the hall.

I agree with Ellie wholeheartedly on the toy comment - like Baby Einstein spoons to teach them colours and animals? Um, no, they just eat off them, and the paint comes off too soon for them to learn anything. (They were a gift, people.) I also agree about the swing. I didn't get one until A&E were 6 weeks and I tell you I bowed down to it once it arrived. It's less indispensable now but is still a handy way to get E to nap.

We managed to not buy a lot of things because of hand-me-downs, and most of the big ticket items we got so far were covered by gift money.

In my case it was also the crib. No one slept in there. Soon I started hating even looking at it!

And the one thing I couldn't have lived without was the swing. Seriously, for at least 2 months my babies wouldn't sleep at ALL unless they were being held but at least in the swing they wouldn't cry. It was the only way I ever got to eat dinner.

We don't have a changing table. Instead, I bought an "antique" buffet for Girlie Grey, and now for Baby Grey, that we use as a dresser and changing table. We even refinished it and put a middle shelf in it. I admit, it's kind of funky, but it works and doesn't look too bizarre.

No diaper genie or sling for us, although I have an old Baby Bjorn that I bought second hand. I haven't used it in a few weeks, but I had Baby Grey in it a lot at first and Girlie Grey practically lived in it.

I want an exersaucer for Baby Grey. Since his reflux requires that he's upright more than normal, I think this will be a great item for him. I have a bebePod, which is just like the Bumbo and Baby Grey's neck muscles are almost strong enough for him to sit it it regularly.

His favorite is his bouncy chair. He LOVES it. He loves to bounce, in general.

I was going to splurge on a Britax convertible carseat, since Big O had outgrown her Evenflo infant seat by 4 months and Ebay was on her way to being a 9-pounder at birth, but then all hell broke loose. Then my friend gave us her Graco Safeseat (up to 30 pounds) infant seat once her own baby turned one (just in time for Ebay's hospital discharge) and the snap-in stroller frame that's just for carseats. She'll fit that one until she's about 2, though soon it may start living in the car full-time. Between her 15 pounds and its 12 pounds, it's getting hard to lug up the stairs from the garage.

Regarding toys, I have a strict no-battery policy. If it needs batteries to work, I don't buy it. If it's a gift, that's OK.

Almost everything
- no crib ( she sleeps in a pac'n'play
- no monitor (no need, we did get one as a gift though, still haven't used it)
- no diaper genie
- no changing table ( I did alot of babysitting as a tween I knew those things were useless after the kid learns to turn over).
- the baby entertainment thing (she doesn't like to sit still - she's an explorer and those things are gross space wasters)

We got a lot of the "must-haves" as gifts.
The changing table is great, because Little Guy likes to poop and pee all over--without a changing table our bed/floor would be a giant mess!!
We weren't going to get monitors but received them as a gift and they're very useful, even in our small house.

I have to say that the swing and bouncy seat have been useless so far, he just wants to be held by us most of the time. The swing or the floor are equally enjoyed.

the following could have been used to finance my trip to the Bahamas...and was on the must have lists give to me from other moms...

- boppy pillow and swanky covers
- diaper genie (can't even open the fucker)
- crib
- mobile
- diaper hut thingy - holds like 20 diapers. Helllo I buy bulk!
- fancy baby hangers. Cute but useless.
- Bad bad bad 'music for babies' CDs some of the worse shit I've ever heard

Baby bucket car seat, she is almost 3 and uses the same one she came home from the hospital in.

We have surprisingly managed to use most of the gear we bought or were given, with the exception of the baby wipe warmer. We loved our Diaper Genie II so much that we bought an extra one to keep on the main level of our house. We tried to shop smart though and only buy things we were sure we would use or that served dual purposes. The dresser we have doubles as a changing table, and the crib converts to a toddler bed and then a full sized bed, so we won't have to buy more furniture as she gets older. Our stroller has an optional toddler seat attachment for if/when we have number 2.