All women know the handbag essentials needed for any trip outside the house:

Keys

Purse

Phone

Essential cosmetics (lip treatment of choice, mascara, possibly a hair product)

Maybe a handy pack of tissues (for emergencies including random sneezes and empty toilet paper dispensers)

Mints and/or perfume (especially if you had garlic the night before!)

But as any parent will tell you, once children enter your world, the neat little designer number that could house all of the above but very little else quickly becomes the stuff of fond but distant memories. Overnight, your handbag becomes more like hand luggage and the list of essentials looks more like this:

Keys (twice the size now due to the multitude of ‘Best Mum’ keyrings and plastic photo holders)

Purse (bulging with other people’s library cards, vouchers for trial packs of nappies, and piles of pound coins needed to pay your way into your weekly round of mother and baby groups)

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So you’re going to have a baby! Congratulations – what better excuse to go shopping?

Browsing for new baby essentials is one of the nicest things to do while you’re waiting for your new arrival, but don’t be sucked in by every ‘must-have’ item you see – there are some you really can live without.

Here are some of the key baby gadgets and gizmos you’ll find in the shops and my take on what you really need and what will end up gathering dust under the changing table.

To buy:

Travel system AND the autobase for the car seat: being able to lift a sleeping baby in and out of the car so you can dash into the supermarket without disturbing their nap is worth its weight in free nappies.

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For generations gone by, the details of childbirth were a well-kept secret, known only to those who had been there and done that: even fathers were kept at bay and not allowed to look until the baby was clean and dressed and the mother had her brow mopped, hair fixed and smile neatly back in place.

These days, you can’t flick through a magazine or brows the TV channels without bumping into a birth story.

Admittedly, some make it sound worse than others. When asked if she is ok after getting shot in the stomach, Meg Ryan’s character in the film Courage Under Fire replies, “I gave birth to a nine pound baby … I think I can handle it.”

But listening to horror stories of 48-hour labours and more stitches than a couture wedding dress does nothing for your confidence if you are facing childbirth for the first time, so it’s worth looking at things from a different angle to help you prepare yourself mentally as well as physically to make this – one of the most intense experiences of your life – a positive one.

The principles of hypnobirthing are based on a common-sense approach to childbirth as a natural process that your body was designed to be able to perform.

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It’s a given that Parents are naturally their children’s tutors and life coaches, but the flip side is you can learn so much from kids too. It brings to the fore the wonderful naivety and innocence that only children can possess.

To stop worrying about appearances. Small children are blissfully unaware of the state of their hair, their clothes, or the house! As a result, they rarely get bogged down by keeping up appearances, leaving them free to simply enjoy themselves.

To lose yourself in stories. Have you ever tried to get a response out of a child who is engrossed in their favourite story book or TV programme? The ability to focus solely on one thing at a time is something many of us lose as adults. But multi-tasking all day can be exhausting, and taking time to lose yourself in a good book or movie can be an effective stress reliever, giving you a break from everyday thoughts and worries.

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If, like me, your idea of variety in the kitchen means alternating your pasta between fusilli and penne, the thought of weaning your baby might fill you with dread.

But with the right tools and a few tried and tested recipes, cooking healthy, nutritious food for your baby is nothing you can’t handle.

Get a good weaning book. There are loads of good books on the market aimed at helping you to make home-cooked foods for your baby and toddler. Take a trip to your local bookshop, or have a look next time you’re in the supermarket – you’re sure to find one that appeals to you.

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