To think it's not really true when people say you don't need much for a baby?

I think it very much depends on your parenting style too.
When I was pregnant with my first baby, I bought aaaaalll the stuff that everyone told me I’d need. A lot of it sat unused and I ended up selling it on, still sealed in original boxes because I simply didn’t feel like I needed them.
With my second and third babies, I literally bought the bare minimum - nappies, wipes, car seat, clothes, breast pads, muslin cloths and a sling. That was pretty much all I needed until they were older. But I’ve also got plenty of friends who absolutely needed the things I never used because those things made life easier for them 🤷🏻‍♀️
I guess my point is you don’t really know what you’re going to find helpful until baby is here! So my advice would be to buy the essentials beforehand and then pick up the extras if and when you need them.

With my 4th I thought i knew exactly what id need but I ended up buying far too many 0-3 months clothes and he ended up just living in sleepsuits of which I circulated about 5
I never use the changing mat I lie him on a towel
The baby nail cutters are pointless as I used normal small ones

i guess you don’t really need it in one place, have you got it in a pile or out of its packaging and put it away? Eg the bottles and steriliser in the kitchen cupboards, the changing mat in the bathroom with the nappies and wipes in the bathroom cabinet, vests/sleepsuits/mussies in a drawer in the bedroom, cot set up in the bedroom etc. if it’s all in one place, still in packaging, it can look like a lot of stuff.

Get as much stuff as you like. Nobody else really cares how much or little you have. But if you keep complaining about it, people will keep offering advice. Perhaps change the way you speak of it? Instead of saying there's lot of clutter say "it's lovely seeing the flat filling up with baby things". Change your attitude and people will respond differently.

I didn't get much at all. A sling, a set of cloth nappies and some vests and babygros. Didn't need a cot, pram, car seat, all the other paraphernalia.

It is expensive to have babies! Anyone saying it is not, just a white lie to themselves.

You do need quite a lot indeed. And then you have to carry quite a bit of it with the baby.
Just do not get too many clothes now, because they grow superquick. And you never know which size baby you get to start with. It is better to keep the money and buy as you need. Trust me, newborns grow massively from week to another.
You will be gifted quite a few things too.

Ynbu op. You won't know what you will or won't use until you have YOUR baby, each baby, and each mum, is different. It's best to be prepared and you'll work it out as you go along. But don't bother asking other people, as their personal experiences will not necessarily be relevant to yours.

You can take something as simple as a baby thermometer or a wet wipe, and you will get wildly different, impassioned opinions on which type is best, or why you shouldn't be using one at all.

I really don't think anyone is thinking about prams and cribs if you talk about clutter. They're thinking little bits and bobs, most of which is optional. If you consider a pram and a crib to be clutter, you probably need to work on that - you'll need to adjust your expectations!
I suppose they could say just wait until they need a bed and a bike and a shelf full of shit David Walliams books and a mountain of lego. But that isn't very helpful either is it? It's an extra person, of course they come with more stuff than before.

I think it seems like a lot because they grow so quickly and because you don’t know what will be useful for that particular baby before s/he arrives.

We bought nearly everything second hand, or repurposed what we had (our changing table was an old kitchen table in a niche in DS‘ room, it later became DH‘s Covid WFH desk). We also got given a lot, either as presents or as huge boxes from neighbours clearing out their kids‘ stuff. Where possible we got stuff that would last - our highchair was a Tripp Trapp which grows with the child, and our car seats after the infant carrier were stage 2/3/4 combined.

Now he’s older, we‘ll sometimes buy new as he has it for longer.

They could just say 'ah yes, babies do come with a lot of stuff don't they?' rather than judging my decision to get things like (shock horror) a pram and a crib and telling me I shouldn't have bothered

And you could say 'Ah thanks for asking Jean, yes we're getting on well thanks, I think we're all set now' - rather than going into detail about how crammed and cluttered your flat is now!

You can't control exactly how conversations go 🤷‍♀️ If you keep mentioning how cluttered your flat is though, people will keep suggesting things to help.

If this really really bothers you then I'd buckle up for a rough ride once you actually have a baby. The advice will never, ever stop whether you ask for it or not 😂

People are only saying that because you're moaning about all the clutter in your flat. I'm not sure what you expect people to say. If you think your flat is cluttered, they're right, you could manage with less stuff. If you want the stuff, stop moaning about all the stuff.

@WonderingWanda we get baby boxes in Scotland as well. Some people say they’re shit but I got it anyway because free stuff and I actually rate it. It also has a thing on the outside to colour in so I gave my DD the “very important job” of doing that. Never seen her so focused. It can also be used as a bed.

Is it Sweden where they get the baby box? To be honest both of mine were very averse to being put down and never really slept in their moses basket. They also were both too big for it by 3 months so I could've got away with a cot. Things I didn't need were a fancy nappy bin and changing table.

Honestly, people give you opinions and shit advice over everything baby related. This is just the start of it.

I got to a point where I stopped telling people stuff. I stopped complaining or saying I found XYZ hard because all I got was unhelpful advice with some judgment sprinkled on top.

When people ask me how my baby is doing or what motherhood is like, I reply:amazing, I love every minute, it's hard at times, but it's just the best thing ever. It's bullshit but the only reply that doesn't invite comments or opinions.

Well you asked for opnions
Anyway you will know in a few months when the baby is here if everything you have bought is necessary

I got a lot of stuff for my PFB, I’m currently pregnant with number 3 and honestly might just have her sleep in a shoe box and dress her in a burlap sack 😂.

Different people find different things useful.
People always say baby baths are pointless - I used mine loads. My bath has high sides so I used it on the bathroom floor and it was great. I didn’t want to use the sink - I’m short and being close to the ground was just easier.
I also used my travel system loads - for years. I loved the big pram and it was great for the amount of walking we did. I know someone whose wife got rid of the same one after a week (she drove everywhere).

I wish I had bought more vests/sleepsuits/bedding as i had underestimated the amount of times they got covered in Poo/wee/sick - and had to dash out and buy more.

I did that!! Actually not something I'd normally admit to had you not mentioned it. I also just used a folded up blanket on the floor and put swaddled baby straight on it too (before they were able to roll.) ..and this was in the early 00s, and not in a deprived area 😅

With my first I had way too much stuff

second time I cut back - literally had the pram, sling, went straight to a big cot my older one used - didn’t bother with a basket or next to me as wasn’t necessary!

car seat and bouncer chair was the only other things (I never used the car seat actually as we walked home from the hospital and don’t have a car 🤣)

with clothes I have very few because I do a wash pretty much every day and it dries quick - we have a small flat so not a lot of space to store loads so I prefer less and too wash more often

toys get smaller as they get older

BUT are replaced by sport and music kits. The amount of STUFF you need for one sport and one person, so multiplied by the amount of people in the house, it's painful!