Our Must Have List for Parents with Newborns

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After having two babies in less than two years, we’ve gone through more than an average amount of newborn supplies. Since we are so recent to the baby stage, we are often asked “What did you need for a newborn?!” and “What was useful for the kids?” I’ll be the first to say, all babies are different! What worked for our oldest wasn’t always useful for the youngest. Every new parent needs baby items, but you don’t necessarily need it ALL. (This post contains affiliate links. If you shop from my blog, I may be compensated for clicks or purchases that you make. Read my disclaimer page for more information.)

Since a list for “must-haves” for babies & toddlerhood is so exhausting, I want to only include what we used for our first 9 months at home. This was our stage where we were transitioning from newborn to infant- to an almost mobile toddler. Please know that I am saying there’s  nothing in this list that is better or nicer. Lord knows there is! I am looking at you strollers & car seats! 🙂

Must Haves for Our Newborn List

 I hope that you find our take on what worked for us helpful!

Crib

A crib is a major expense when for babies. Since we like multifunctional items, we opted for a convertible crib. If you haven’t seen one before, it begins as a beautiful crib, turns into a toddler bed, day bed, and then a full size bed! We used this Delta Children Canton 4-in-1 Convertible Crib. For us, it was an excellent value for all of its uses. Choose the one that fits your space and future needs best!

Boppy Pillow

I used the Boppy pillow to feed my newborns. It was helpful to avoid strain post surgery. We used the Boppy for several stages from feeding to support to tummy time. I kept two covers on hand. One usually came with Boppy Nursing Pillow and I purchased another for laundry days. The pillow covers were great for swapping out when we found out we were having a boy (after our girl)!

Activity Mat

Our oldest loved the activity mats. She had this one (Baby Einstein Play Gym ) and cooed and ahhhed over the mirror and the things she could bat with her little arms. It was adorable. Our second baby thought that it was just “OK.” He wasn’t as much of a fan as she was. I was a little sad because I liked it!

Swaddle Sacks

Both of our kids loved the SwaddleMe Original Swaddle Sacks . We had a few in the SM/Med size and then 2 in the large sizes. Our kids are great sleepers and they never went to bed during infant-hood without one of these on at bedtime! You can swaddle the baby’s arms in inside the sack or leave them out. Once our babies started moving and popping their arms out, we would leave their arms out and swaddle their chest. This allows them to still feel secure, like they are receiving a little physical touch. If you don’t like these sacks, the aden + anais Classic Muslin Swaddle Blanket are super popular with some of my best friends. I can’t personally speak for them, but my friends are pretty awesome, so I trust them. 🙂

Swings & Bouncer

I like baby gear. I do not like that baby gear quickly consumes an entire house! I love things that multi-task (see crib above and stroller below)! We used this Graco Glider LX Gliding Swing . It has a bouncer/vibrating seat that sits in the frame of the glider. It was wonderful. We chose a design that was gender neutral because we knew we wouldn’t buy another swing for another gender! The neutral design also looked nice in our living room. Small bonus. There are lots of great swings on the market, this was the best one for us.

Baby Bottles

We used the Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Bottles for our babies. We chose them since they were marketed as best for supplemental feeding. We had a few smaller bottles in addition to the larger 9 oz bottles. The 5 ounce bottles were usable for the first two months.  Most of the bottles first round were pink. The second time around I skipped the smaller 5 ounce bottles and the gender specific colors. Clear is the best neutral. But I am also loving the Fiesta print, too. Great for boys or girls! 🙂 In case you didn’t realize it, you’ll need to buy nipples as the baby gets older. We went from the slow drip to the Tommee Tippee Variable Flow Nipples .

Rock & Play

How did I not know about these things when our oldest was born?! This thing was a total life saver. Our little guy slept in this Fisher-Price Newborn Auto Rock ‘n Play Sleeper for the first few weeks of his life. I think he didn’t take to his swing as much because he was always hanging out in this thing upstairs! I felt like he enjoyed the coziness as well as being swaddled. I could take a shower and he was safe and content nearby. Just so you know, Pediatricians DO NOT recommend babies sleep in these. Thankfully, sleeping on the back was successful for us.

Infant Car Seat & Stroller

We chose the Graco Modes Travel System for its versatility (check out all the stroller configurations), price point, and safety features. We chose a gender neutral pattern so that it could be used for more than one baby. Luckily, it has worked for both! Strollers & car seats are a hot topic for brand recognition and how you will use them. Every family has a strong preference. For us, the Graco fit us well. Since we were first time parents and didn’t really know what we were doing, we liked the 35 pound weight capacity paid more for it. For reference, our toddler who wears a size 4T doesn’t even weigh 35 pounds. Do not let this be a deciding factor in a car seat carrier!

Car Seat for beyond

According to our pediatrician, babies should be rear facing for the first two years of their lives. This was really hard for us to accomplish. Our little girl was ready to transition our of the carrier at 8-9 months. Then we needed to buy two rear facing seats that also worked as front facing car seats. We did that. And now, we need to buy two front facing car seats that transition to booster seats since our son is almost ready for our current rear facing ones. Confused yet? In short, I really wish the Graco 4ever All-in-One Car Seat was around two years ago! It would’ve solved our problems. Sure it’s pricey but it beats buying an extra 2-3 car seats or boosters.

Crib Sheets

I know that I may receive some negative feedback on this one but, I’ll say it anyways: you don’t need a bedding set. Quite frankly, the baby bumpers are adorable, but not safe for babies. I placed one in our little girls room and them promptly removed it once she moved into her crib. The other piece of the bedding set was the pretty blanket. We never used it! The blanket seemed a bit much and was more decorative than functional. My thoughts? Just get yourself 2 or 3 adorable  Cotton Fitted Crib Sheet and 2 waterproof mattress covers. Every baby or home store has some cute designs. Check out Pottery Barn Kids, Land of Nod, or Target. You’ll have soooo many options! The baby will be safe and the crib will have coordinating sheets!

Burp Cloths & Baby Blankets

Why I cannot think of better items to have than handmade burp cloths and blankets! And I know where you can learn how to make them yourself! The tutorials are here and here. Handmade items are great because you choose the fabric and you can change them out for the seasons (football & holidays) and to coordinate with your nursery.

Video Monitor

For both kids we used this Motorola Video Baby Monitor . When our son arrived, we purchased a second video camera. I like having the video part for babies so that I could check on them, look for their breathing, and not disturb them. In toddler hood, I like the ability to see check on her during nap time.

Pacifiers

Our little girl loved the MAM Silicone Pacifier. It was favorite through infancy and toddlerhood. We took a few types of pacifiers to the hospital because we didn’t know what she would prefer. We did the same thing with our son. Thankfully, he never took to a pacifier. Both of our hospitals offered the Philips Avent Soothie Pacifier . As an infant, I wish our oldest would’ve liked these so I would’ve used the WubbaNub to help keep it secure. But that’s okay. You may have a personal preference on whether to even offer a pacifier. The hospital should ask you what you prefer.

Baby Grooming Kit

We used this Newborn Grooming Kit for trimming those razor-sharp newborn nails! Ouch! Quite frankly, I did not trim the nails, my husband did. I couldn’t handle it! And he still does it. 🙂 We also used the kit for travelling. It was nice to have all the babies toiletries contained in one bag.

Gentle Detergent

This is definitely an option for you to choose on your own preference. There are so many brands and ingredients featured. Both of our babies had eczema and required us to use special baby detergent. Buy 2 small bottles and see what works best for you.

Gas Drops

Our oldest needed this for the entirety of her first 4-5 months! It was so odd, but yet helpful. We loved the Tummys Gas Relief Drops . Our second baby used these for the first couple of months of his life. Now, when I attend baby showers, I always toss in a box. It seems silly, but those first few nights with a newborn are hard. A new parent will do anything to understand their new baby and if this helps them find relief, why not give them this option?

Engaging Toys

Neither of our kids played with a lot of toys before they were six months old. We had a few Hape toys, teethers, and lots of plastic stacking blocks. Our second was way more into toys than our oldest. It may have been because his sister never let him be without one. 🙂

Quick Clean Micro-Steam Sterilizing Bags

When our oldest was 5 weeks old we traveled to Ohio. I needed to find an easy way to clean pump parts & bottles while living in a hotel for one and a half weeks. I discovered these Sterilizer Bags, they were a total lifesaver. I used them for quick cleans at work and during our overnight stays at Grandma & Grandpa’s house. You can use each bag like 20 times before you toss it. Score! When our little guy arrived, I made sure to buy a new box!

Waterproof Changing Pad Liners

As a new mama-to-be who didn’t have many friends around with new babies, I didn’t know what I was supposed to do with these things. Under the pretty minky cover, or above? HAAAA! New mom problems. Don’t worry, I wised up before baby arrived. These things saved our cute changing pad covers many times. Trust me, you’ll need two packs. The backs start to peel off after 6 months of heavy washing. 🙂 We used these Munchkin ones, Waterproof Changing Pad Liners.

LOVE

I know this is sappy. But really, all a newborn needs is lots of cuddles from her parents.  And if you would like, I would love to stop by and  cuddle your little one while you take a nap or shower. Oh, and I’ll bring dinner for you too.

 

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