Things You Need for Your New Baby

You’re pregnant!!!!! Congratulations!!! Let’s talk about things you need for your new baby!

As a stay at home mother of four, I want to reflect on the newborn time, what I did to prepare for a new baby, things that I used and loved, and what I recommend to you as you prepare for your newborn baby.

So much excitement!

When you’re expecting a new baby, there is so much excitement!!! Will it be a boy or a girl? Will you find out before baby is born, or have the surprise at birth? What do you need? Which items are best with so many things to choose from?

We all do things differently… but let me tell you what worked well for me

Everyone does things a little differently. You don’t have to do things just like someone else does them. As a mom of four now, with my youngest being four years old, I’m a few years ahead of this exact time, but I want to reflect back on the newborn phases of my children and think of the essentials: the things that helped me through that time with my children and that you actually need.

Think before you buy

There is definitely a tendency to overspend and over purchase and it feels exciting to you and loved ones. However, you can quickly be drowning in stuff and later realize that you had way more than you need. Even though it seems fun at first, all of the extra stuff can actually be a burden to a pregnant mama who has to then organize and take tags off of all these things. This can also lead to you feeling some guilt when things don’t get used and are basically wasted.

I’d like to propose the idea that less is more. If you have extra money to spend, maybe just opt for higher quality items rather than more of them. Think quality over quantity.

My Recommendations

Here are my recommendations of items that I think you need for your new baby and why. Things are different for each mom, so use what works for you and ignore the rest. 🙂

1. Swaddles

Swaddles are an absolutely essential baby item for me. I learned to swaddle when I had my very first baby and I saw the nurse swaddling him in the hospital. I asked her to teach me how to do it, which she did. I recommend asking your nurse or midwife to show you how as well.

So of course the first blanket I swaddled my baby with was the one they had in the hospital for him. After that, I bought some swaddle blankets. Over the years I’ve tried a few different ones. I liked the muslin ones because they were 100% cotton and I found the Little Unicorn brand, which came in beautiful prints.

Then, a friend recommended the Copper Pearl swaddle blankets which were a super soft and stretchy bamboo material and I absolutely loved them. They also come in a variety of great prints and solids. They work so well because they’re so stretchy that they stay in place and help you make a cozy little burrito blanket situation for baby. In my experience, swaddling well helped my babies sleep so well. We all know how important it is that baby sleeps well.

2. Bottles

My favorite bottles are the Dr. Brown’s with the vents for the newborn stage and then after about the 4th month, you can get these Evenflo ones. The particular Dr. Brown’s ones that I’m recommending here are the “options” ones. The reason you want to pick these is because once your baby no longer needs the vent part, which for me is about age 4 months, you can stop using that part and still use the same bottles. If you don’t get the options ones and go for the regular Dr. Browns bottles with vents? then you have to continue using the vents or buy new bottles. You’ll want to stop using the vents because it’s just a ton of extra parts to wash and not necessary as baby gets bigger.

You can just go the Evenflo from the beginning and it’s almost just like Dr. Brown’s except for the special gas vent thing- but that’s only necessary in the very beginning. If you try the Evenflo and have no issues, you can skip the vent thing. This part depends on the baby.

3. Crib

I’ve had four children, and three cribs. My oldest was the youngest to escape his crib at only 11 months old. He climbed out! So the first crib was able to be reused for my second, who was also a boy. It was a white crib from IKEA.

The second crib I got was a beautiful Babyletto crib for my only daughter. It was a light wood color with white feet. I loved it for her minimalist/boho style nursery.

The third crib that I bought and used for my youngest child, a boy, is a black Jenny Lind style crib by Little Seeds.

All three of my the cribs I had were nice and worked well. I do recommend getting a new crib or recently used crib, not a super old one, for safety reasons. Safety laws with cribs have changed over the years and you also want to make sure nothing is worn out, damaged, or missing on baby’s crib.

4. Mini Crib

I personally also recommend a mini crib for your baby’s first crib. You can get a mini crib, which is the same size as a pack n play, and it is so convenient to have baby in when they are a newborn. The mini crib allows you to have your baby right by your bedside and they can be on wheels and up off of the floor.

You can use a pack n play for this, but then you’re having to bend all the way down to the floor and it’s harder to see baby when they’re way down there too, when you’re in bed. It’s good to have your newborn in the same room with you at first, so that is why I think the mini crib is perfect for that. The one I had was by Delta and also folded up and could be taken with you for a vacation too. Also, the mattress that fits the mini crib can also be used to make the pack n play more comfortable for travel.

5. Bouncer Seat

I liked having a simple little bouncer seat for a safe place to be able to sit the baby down while I did something I needed to do. Maybe while you take a shower and you can have the baby in it nearby so you can keep an eye on the baby as you quickly shower or use the bathroom. This can be very inexpensive. I had basic ones. The one I linked above is a very affordable option and I believe I used one of that brand, Bright Starts, and the other ones I had were Fisher Price. But really, just a simple little chair type seat for baby will do as a place to sit the baby for a few minutes when you need your hands.

6. Play mat

Having a soft play mat for your baby to lie down on for awake time and look around and reach for toys is nice. You can do something as simple as a blanket on the floor. It is also nice to have a play mat with some things for baby to look at and reach for. Once your baby rolls over, he or she can spend some time in their tummy on the mat too, when they’re comfortable doing so. The Love Every Play Gym was my favorite for that. I love how it’s simple and also has so many interactive things for the baby to use as he or she grows.

7. Changing Pad

With my first child, I had a changing table from IKEA. It didn’t take long before I realized that the easiest way for me was to just use the changing pad wherever I was. I had a little basket/bin with wipes, diaper cream, and diapers. I could grab what I needed quickly and grab a diaper pad and change my baby and then slide the diaper pad to the side and keep going. Walking to a certain room every time was only what I did in the very beginning. This is personal for each mom, but I recommend just a diaper changing pad and a few covers that you can remove and wash if you want, or you can simply wipe down the changing pad. I actually recommend that your cover be wipe able as well so that you don’t have to wash it in the machine constantly.

8. Crib Bedding- no bumpers please

I recommend choosing an adorable crib sheet and choosing a nice swaddle. If you want to buy a cute baby blanket, use it as a prop for pictures and allow baby to use it once they’re old enough to move around really well and it’s safe, over one year old.

Crib bedding is so fun to pick out. With my first I thought of fancy stores with tons of matching items, only to realize when I read over safety rules that baby should really just be in a crib with a tight fitting crib sheet. No bumpers, no pillows, no loose blankets, and no stuffed animals. These extras, although cute, are dangerous for your baby. They can lead to suffocation. Bumpers can also be something babies use to step up on for climb out and can then fall or get hurt on nearby furniture. Safety first!

My favorite crib sheets came from Target and Little Unicorn. I prefer sheets that are 100 percent cotton so that they are breathable and gentle in baby’s skin.

9. Clothes- cotton please

I recommend going for quality over quantity. This is one of the easiest places of the baby budget to do too much. They won’t wear much before they outgrow things so don’t overdo it. Choose your very favorite things and buy a few of them and rewear them often. Baby will always look great and you’ll love them.

The caution I have is buying too much. You don’t want to be inundated with so many items to sort and wash and take the tags off of. This can be very overwhelming for a busy new mom.

You’ll want what you have to be sorted by size. You may need to be able to move on to the next sizing group of clothes quicker than you’d think. The amount of time your child stays in one size of clothes varies by child. For me, my kids grew fast, and were much larger than the ages on the clothes said. So just keep that in mind.

You’ll also want to consider the time of year that your baby will be born when buying clothes. For a December newborn, don’t buy newborn sized summer clothes for example.

My favorite baby clothing tips:

• Choose cotton whenever possible– preferably 100% cotton because it’s breathable and comfortable for baby
• Choose a lot of footed sleepers with zippers– stay away from snaps. (If you love a piece with snaps, you can make it happen- but make it the exception not the rule to allow snaps) Footed sleepers keep baby warm and you don’t have to worry about socks falling off.
• Have some outfits for the clothes other than sleepers, just get a few different things that you love, but keep in mind practicality and comfort too. I got a few onesies and stretchy pants and socks for my daytime outfit or for when leaving the home. Have fun with it!
• Splurge on a few high quality pieces for each new size your baby grows into and don’t buy more than one size ahead of current sizes unless you see something absolutely that you can’t live without.
• Don’t buy too much. When you buy too much ahead of time, the inventory management becomes overwhelming and you can end up with things that don’t fit right or ate the wrong season and wish you didn’t have the added chore of sorting it all. Less is more and allows you the fun and flexibility of getting new things each season/size.

10. Pacifiers

If you are breastfeeding, make sure you learn about nipple confusion. Only offer pacis when you know it won’t interfere with your breastfeeding.

Offer a variety of options

My children all used different types of pacifiers. I just bought a few that I thought would be good. Then I offered the different ones until I figured out which one my baby preferred. My caution would be to only choose one and buy a ton before letting baby try it. I would advise that you have a few choices and see which one baby likes before you get too many.

Pacifiers my kids liked…

My oldest liked the Wubba Nubs. My second-born liked a glow in the dark one by MAM. My third and fourth children both used the Bibs ones, which I love the look of. They are all great until your kid spits them out and keeps demanding them! Ha ha.

Don’t use them for too long

For me they were great in the baby phase, but all of my kids outgrew them in that phase. When I realized my child didn’t need them anymore, we phased them out. I would definitely try to do this earlier than later. Keeping it for too long can cause dental issues. I would recommend that between 6-12 months it needs to be gone. Waiting longer makes it a lot harder to take it away.

11. Pack-N-Play

The Pack-N-Play is an essential for a travel crib. It’s also nice to have in another part of the house.
You can use it for a safe place to set baby down when you have to do something. I recommend using it with a mattress you purchase separately. The mattress can be the same one that fits in the mini crib. You’ll want to add the mattress any time you’re having baby sleep in it. You can buy sheets for it too in the mini crib size.

You can use the pack-n-play instead of the mini crib if you’re comfortable bending over to the floor. Just keep in that right after giving birth, you may not want to be bending like that. We loved our pack n play and it was absolutely essential for spending the night away from home.

12. Car Seat & Stroller

For my first child, I got the Chicco KeyFit 30 with the stroller. I ended up getting the same one for all four of my kids. I absolutely love it. I also highly recommend going to your local fire station and having a trained car seat safety expert help you to install your seat or use a YouTube tutorial to make sure you install it correctly. Most parents install car seats incorrectly. Correct car seat installation is essential for your child’s safety.

I love the Chicco Key Fit 30 for the newborn car seat because it has levels on the side to help insure that you have the angles right for correct installation. I also like the latch installation option and how easy it is to transfer the seat to the stroller. The stroller that you can click into it works well from the newborn stage all the way to an older toddler. I can’t recommend it enough, mine was very well loved.

13. High Chair

With my firstborn, I had a high chair with a padded seat. Cleaning it was not fun at all. With all three kids that came after him, I used the IKEA white high chair. I absolutely loved it and it was super easy to clean.

14. Bath Time Essentials

You’ll need a few basics to keep your baby clean and comfy during bath time. Start with a gentle, tear-free baby soap and shampoo that’s fragrance-free for sensitive skin. I really love the Burts Bees baby wash.

Also, have 4-5 soft cotton washcloths and a couple of hooded towels for drying—cotton is best for keeping baby cozy. For the first couple of weeks, you can sponge-bathe your newborn on a changing pad or towel, which is perfect while the umbilical stump heals. After that, I recommend a baby bathtub for easier, safer baths.

I loved using a simple plastic infant tub that fit could be used by the sink or in the big tub—it’s easy to store and makes bath time a breeze. You can find affordable ones at Target or Amazon. Just make sure it’s sturdy and has a non-slip bottom for safety.

15. Grooming/Health

You’ll want to make sure you have a baby grooming kit. You can get one with a little baby comb and brush and baby nail clippers. You’ll have the nasal thing from the hospital in case you need to help clear the nose out at all. You’ll also want a forehead thermometer like this one. I got mine as a gift at my oldest child’s baby shower and it was such a great gift!

16. Diapers & Wipes

Diapers are a big deal with a newborn—you’ll go through a ton! I recommend stocking 2-3 packs of newborn-size diapers (Huggies Little Snugglers and then Little Movers were my go-to) to start, about 70-100 diapers, since babies use 8-12 a day. Grab a big pack of fragrance-free wipes—Pampers Sensitive worked well for my kids’ sensitive skin.

Aquaphor is a must for treating rashes; keep it in your changing pad basket. Desitin is great for treating them and so is Boudreaux’s Butt Paste. I stuck with disposable diapers for convenience with my four kids, but if you’re into cloth diapering, look into all-in-one systems like BumGenius for easier washing. You’ll figure out what works best, but having a stash ready saves late-night Target runs!

Less is More

Overall, just keep in mind that less really is more. Get the things you truly love and think you’ll use. Enjoy this wonderful time with your new baby!! You’ve got this! Now go get the things you need for your new baby!