empress you can use it with the seatbelt, but it is much easier to have a base to click into. You can pick these up on eBay quite easily. With the seat belt, the lap section run over the top of the seat, through those hooky bits, it means that you have to thread it through every time, where as if you have the base, you strap that in with the belt and the seat clicks in and out for easy removal with a sleepy baby.
ratbag we never found the nets that helpful tbh, though we don't have resident cats, mine is still at my parents and she won't go near noisy smelly things.
I went into Bath with DD this afternoon and had a really good run of the sales and it was really quiet. Lovely stuff in M&S had some lovely bright stripey vests [sleepsuits too but we have lots of them] and a few things for DD. I did best in Boots and the prices were quite good, again I spent money on DD.
And to add to toobreathless's list...
Nappies & Wipes: really agree about not stockpiling until you've tried a few, DD did not get on with quite a few of the leading brands, but Aldi seem to be brilliant and now I stock up. Also the same for wipes, she was better with the aldi wipes too, though the herbal ones were lovely but very pricey
Cotton wool: is really handy for giving a wipe down in those first few weeks, rather than a full bath.
Baby wash: agree we never bothered for a while, I bought an all in one from boots, was cheap and still does DD well now.
Calpol: The boots own brand has a handy syringe that makes delivery less messy than trying to spoon a baby.
Baby suncream (factor 50+): DD also came up in a rash with some brands, so it's worth trying a few... I bought the sample sizes to try first.
Sudocrem or metanium. I have never bought one, I had sample pots from the bounty pack of each, tbh DD never really had much nappy rash.
Changing mat: we had an ikea spoling table for downstairs, day to day we used a muslin to line the table and the inner panel can be chucked in the wash for poonami's. 99p local collection on eBay. It folds up, so takes up a tiny bit of space. Bought a changing mat, but mostly changed DD on my lap with a muslin.
Lansinoh cream - a saviour even if you don't breastfeed, sore chapped nipples or even lips
Nipple shields - didn't need these, but knew our local Lloyds have them 2 mins up the road.
Breast pads - lansinoh ones were good and had a granule lining, also used the reuseable boots ones, you just stick them in the wash [in a handy bag]
Maternity pads - don't go with heavy duty period liners, the maternity pads are really gentle on sore bits and soak up much more, they are hugely bulky, I kept mine in the fridge, oh the cooling bliss on my stitches.
Big knickers - I had more issues with big knickers, but did buy my normal pants in the next size up for comfort. In fact today in the M&S sales bought me a new stash.
Nighties for labour/hospital - also take your maternity leggings for a little bit of leg coverage for visitors. Also they are comfy over your sore tummy.
Muslins x 10: I had 20, but I used them for all sorts, tucking under my ginormous norks to catch leaking BM that would get all over my tops.
Baby blanket x 2 - I slept on one the last few weeks of my pregnancy so it would smell of me, it was comforting for DD to smell me when in the box on ward for a few days.
Baby bedding: sheets & sleeping bags. I love gro-bags [and other brands] great for fidgety baby's that kick off blankets. They say their heads should be bigger than the opening, so there is no risk of baby overheating if they slip inside.
Warm cardigan or pram suit: Pram suit was good for wrapping up in, but I used a wallaboo car seat muff which kept DD snug in winter and the liner can stay in the summer and is nice and cool for them to sit on.
Thinner cardigan x 2
Sleepsuits X 5
Vests x 5
Cotton hats to wear after birth/home from hospital, at least 2.
Sun hat x 1
Outfits (if desired, we didn't bother)
Baby towels (could just use normal towels) we had baby ones as they are very soft on little skin, our towels are a bit crunchy.
Car seat Plus adapters if desired for buggy/pram
Some sort of buggy/pram
Sling (if desired)
Moses Basket/cot/crib: DD hated the moses basket but was fine in crib/cot.
Changing bag with lots and lots of pockets
If planning to mix or FF (steriliser/bottles/teats/formula) again don't go overboard, DD had to find the perfect teat and we went through a few options before we found one that worked.
Dummies (if desired) whoever invented ones that glow in the dark deserve a medal, easy to find in the dark and replace.
Baby monitor (if desired)
we do have a tumble drier, but it's not used if there is sun about to dry the washing, but winters are much easier with the tumble drier around and I don't think it's pricey to run, we spent £45 running it over the last year.