Our List of Newborn Baby Essentials
By Brooke Tseng
For many mommies-to-be, one of the most enjoyable aspects of pregnancy is shopping for baby gear. Today's new parents have the fun, yet sometimes daunting task of sifting through an overwhelming array of choices in baby essentials. Just when you think your little one is set, you spy another new and alluring product that promises to make you and your baby very happy. Ideally, your newborn shouldn't need much more than milk, warmth, and love- but there are many wonderful items today that do make life with a new baby much easier for both of you. Moms- here is your chance to share your list of must-have products for newborn babies. What items made life with a newborn easier? Add your comments at the end of the article!
Brooke's list of must-haves for those first few months:
- Swaddle Wrap- Unless you really know how to swaddle tightly using a normal blanket (which neither I nor my husband could master), I highly recommend one of these. It kept him snug and cozy at night and was easy to use during those groggy 2 a.m. diaper changes. There are a handful of different brands, offering various styles and ways to secure the wrap. We used Kiddopotamus' version, which secured with Velcro. We had a fleece one for the winter and a cotton one for the spring.
Find it at Amazon - Swaddleme® Adjustable Infant Wrap Microfleece Small, Ivory
- Front pack baby carrier or sling- Sure, go ahead and buy the swing, bouncy seat, and fancy stroller, but don’t be surprised if your newborn is only content in your arms. Baby carriers are great for holding your baby at home, or when you are out of the house and she isn’t content in the stroller. We used a Snugli and loved it.
Find it at Amazon - Snugli Comfort Vent Carrier
- Lanolin cream for breastfeeding mommies. Trust me on this one—you’ll know it if/when you need it! It made the first month of breastfeeding much more bearable.
Find it at Amazon - Lansinoh Breast Creme
- Portable Playpen with a bassinet feature- You may plan on your newborn sleeping in his/her own room from the get-go, but babies often have their own agenda. Our guy slept in his car seat beside our bed for 2 weeks until we finally wised-up and bought a Graco Pack and Play, using the bassinet feature. When we finally transitioned him to the crib around 3 months, we used the playpen for a play area and also as his bed when we took trips.
Find it at Amazon - Graco Pack n Play Playard - Mystic
- Exercise/yoga ball- Sit on ball, hold baby, bounce… baby falls asleep… repeat 2-3 hours later when he is tired again. Seriously, this was the only way my husband could get our guy to sleep. It can also be used for strengthening baby’s upper body muscles by lying baby belly down on it (holding her of course!) and for fun play when she is older. It could also be used as actual exercise equipment for mommy, but what fun is that?
Find it at Amazon - Baby Bouncy
- Infant carrier/car seat- Sure you have to buy another car seat when they outgrow it (we used ours until our guy was around 7 months), but the infant car seat/carrier was worth every penny. Young babies are famous for falling asleep the second a car leaves the driveway. The new car seat/carriers are designed so that they simply click into a base unit that stays belted in the car. This allows you to transport your baby in and out of the car without waking or otherwise disturbing them. She can continue sleeping at the restaurant, mall, grocery store, etc. and everyone is happy! Bonus if you have a stroller that the carrier can click into as well. We had the Graco Snugride car seat and stroller combo and loved it.
Find it at Amazon - Graco Snugride 2 Infant Car Seat - Super Safari
Macrina Boyd says
I think that this is a great list. I however would add that moms and dads need cloth diapers. Not just used for their intended purpose, but for the spit ups, as a susitute for a burp rag. Cloth diapers can cover shoulders of the burping parent, and they cover a large area. They dont take up a lot of room in a diaper bag, and they come many to a pack!
Keisha Bouquet says
The only thing that I could think of adding is a boppy pillow. It was very useful for more than one thing. I used it for feeding as well as sitting on to relieve some pain from giving birth. It was also useful to help some of the back pain that I had.
Sarah Mullin says
I would add a small plastic container(like a little bin) to carry around extra things you may need on hand. You can carry it around the house where you go with the baby. I would hold bottles with water in it(filled just a few hours before), extra burp rags, pacifier, travel holder with pre measured formula in it, a book to keep track of feedings(for newborns), and whatever else. This helped alot during the night for night feedings, and only cost me $4 to buy a plastic bin.
Share your own newborn baby essentials.