When I first found out I was pregnant with Noah, I was so excited to start buying baby stuff. But, when I shopped around online and went to the stores, I became overwhelmed with the amount of stuff they all had. I didn’t know what was most important for a newborn, and I am not one to over buy. I wanted to know what I needed most, and what I didn’t need. (A wipe warmer…ummm, they can handle getting wiped without the wipes being warmed?!) I asked friends and family what they thought was most important and compiled a list. Then I went and looked at each item, and decided what I thought I would actually use. And now that we have made it home with Noah, I’ve compiled a list of what I think is most important.
- Crib and/or bassinet: We did not buy a bassinet, however, if the crib will not fit into your bedroom, I suggest you get a bassinet. Luckily, the crib we bought fit into our bedroom. I feel so much safer having Noah sleep in our room. Those first few nights were essential to have him there with us. It was so much easier to nurse him in our room, especially when you are sleep deprived!
- Dresser: You will need somewhere to put all those clothes!
- Diapers/wipes: We received a lot of diapers from our baby shower and let me tell you… you go through a ton of diapers in those first few weeks! Noah ended up being very sensitive towards a few brands of diapers and we were not able to use them. Also, don’t stock up on one particular brand of diaper because they might not fit your baby properly, or they may have a reaction to them. Buy a few different brands just in case. We went through four different brands before finding one that fit Noah and didn’t cause a reaction. I love diapers and wipes!
- Car seat: This should be obvious, however, do your research on car seats. We looked to Consumer Reports and bought Chicco Keyfit 30 for Noah’s car seat. The car seat itself is very nice and very sturdy. I feel very safe putting out baby in it and ensure it is comfortable enough so that when we are driving he will be safe!
- Swaddles: Noah loves, loves, loves, his swaddle! He would be agitated close to his bedtime and once he is in his swaddle he becomes sleepy and comfortable. We use Swaddleme swaddles. Also, at first, we swaddled his arms but now he does not need them swaddled anymore; he prefers it that way!
- Blankets: You can’t have enough blankets. We use them for everything! Spit up, swaddling, to lay him on, to cover him up; the list could go on and on. I would suggest having at least 5 or 6.
- Onesies: Onesies seem to be the most comfortable for newborns. I don’t know about you, but I do not like scrunchy pants and I don’t think newborns do either. Remember, they will have the stub from their umbilical cord still attached and I would be scared the waste line might tear the stub. It seems like that is all they offer for infants pant selection. I think infants are more comfortable just wearing a onesie and not having anything around their waste. This is just my preference, but I prefer onesies for Noah!
- Boppy: This is my ALL time favorite item for newborns! I use this all day everyday. It is so useful; it keeps your arms from getting tired, and it helps when guests come over to hold the baby. It is also a lifesaver when breast feeding, you can look at your phone or drink water without disturbing baby! Seriously…buy this!
- Socks: Noah’s feet always seemed too cold. The rest of his body is usually warm, but his feet and toes were cold, so we use a lot of socks. Also, buy small socks. We got many socks that were too big for him at first, and would just fall off when he wore them.
- Hand pump: I exclusively breast feed Noah, but when your milk first comes in you make wayyyyy too much for him to eat. You will want to express just a little bit of milk so it doesn’t hurt so much. I liked the hand pump because it was smaller and portable rather then using the breast pump that had to be plugged in.
There it is. The top ten items I think are necessary to have when you bring your baby home! I hope that this helps you when your looking to buy baby items before baby comes home. There are many, many other things product you could buy but you can also save a lot of money by not buying those products. Baby towels were one item I thought we really needed to buy, but we have tons of towels that already own! By not buying un-necessary products we were able to buy more organic items that I felt were important. The cribs mattress (linked above) was one item I made sure was made of organic materials. Babies spend so much time in their cribs and they breath in all those chemicals they put in typical mattresses. I feel better putting Noah in a crib that has a mattress with as little chemicals as possible!
Discovering Natural Motherhood 