SHUTTERSTOCK

Relax...the list of must-haves for baby is a lot shorter than some would have you believe.

Newborn shopping list

Bringing home a newborn is one of the most chaotic times in a parent's life. Here are some must-haves to stock before the baby arrives, according to Heather Maclean, author of The Baby Gizmo Buying Guide.

• Car seat: it's illegal to bring the baby home in a car without one. Make sure it's properly installed before the baby is even born.
  
  
• Place for the baby to sleep: pick at least one spot in your home that is designated for the baby, and have what the baby is going to sleep in assembled. That may be a crib, a wide-based bassinet or Moses basket. Sock drawers just won't do.
  
  
• Diapers and diaper rash cream: especially during the first few weeks, as baby's digestive system develops and their skin is extra sensitive, diaper rash may play a painful part of both your lives. Have plenty of diaper cream on hand – and it might take a bunch of tries to find the one that best suits your baby.
  
  
• Five thin, baby-sized blankets: babies need small, relatively thin blankets for safety, but also for weather protection, a clean spot on the floor and for swaddling – one of the best sleep tricks in the book.
  
  
• Two baby sleepsacks: since babies are not supposed to sleep with loose blankets because of suffocation risks, they need a special sleeping blanket to keep warm at night. Sleepsacks are like little baby sleeping bags with armholes or sleeves that zip on so baby is warm, but safe.
  
  
• Three kimono-style wrap shirts: getting a newborn dressed and undressed is no easy task, so for quick changes – especially at 2 a.m. – that don't require pulling anything over the baby's head at first, this is the way to go.
  
  
• Swaddling blanket: there are plenty of swaddling blankets on the market now that make it safe and easy to wrap a child up.
  
  
• A couple of bottles: even those who plan to breastfeeding should stock some bottles just in case of emergency, or if mom is exhausted and needs someone else to take a nighttime feed.