Newborn must haves

My good friend Amy is about halfway through her pregnancy and keeps a great blog HERE – bookmark it if you want a funny new mommy-to-be blog to read. In a recent post, she challenged herself to only acquire what is absolutely necessary for the baby (read: maintain adult apartment and not plastic jungle) and not spend a fortune which is so easy to do if you're not careful. Amy has asked for feedback on what is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY and it got me thinking... There are so many things we have that aren’t imperative, but we basically use everything we have. If I had to cut down to only the literal MUST HAVES, what would they be? It’s different for all moms and babies I think, but here’s what I have learned with Lucy.


The CAN’T LIVE WITHOUTS:
  • Crib and bassinet. If you have room to keep the crib next to your bed, then you can probably go straight to the crib on day 1. The first few weeks though, Lucy wanted a cozier place to sleep than the flat bassinet mattress, so she slept mostly in her Pack N Play bassinet which sinks like a hammock.
  • Long-sleeved onesies with mitts. Newborn fingernails are so hard to clip or file and without the mitts your baby will look like Scarface in no time.
  • Towels, wash cloths, baby soap. No two ways about it, you need all these things to clean your baby, and she should have her own so they don’t get mixed up with any harsher uses.
  • Burp cloths. The cute ones are cute, but cloth-diaper ones are the best and most absorbent by far. Feeding is messy any way you do it, and there’s spit and spit up too.
  • Swaddler. Oh how lovely it is when they sleep through the night. I owe it to Lucy’s Kiddopotamus.
  • Carrier. You need your hands at some point, right?  We use the Bjorn, but I'm kind of super jealous of the Ergo.
  • Car seat. Must have in order to bring the baby home. This should be new, and I think the Graco SnugRide has the highest safety ratings. It’s the one everyone recommended to us.
  • Stroller. So many choices! We have the bugaboo frog and love it. But you can also get a Snap N Go for the car seat which is also great.
  • Feeding stuff. Not sure what route you’re going, but pump, bottles, and/or nursing cover and nursing pads…
  • Boppy pillow.  If you're nursing, you'll use this every time. Lucy also loved to sit in hers and uses it for the all important tummy time as well.
  • 2 blankets. You can steal receiving blankets from the hospital which you definitely should do, however I would suggest adding one waffle blanket and one warmer blanket to the mix.
  • Diapers, wipes, and Vasoline. The Vasoline especially for the first few days, because those meconium poops are like TAR. You’ll be scraping it off her bum if you don’t grease her up first.
  • Dreft or other baby laundry detergent. Soft and the best part – it has new baby smell. SWOON.
  • First aid kit. The one I have includes the aspirator, thermometer, hair brush, nail file – all that good stuff.
  • Diaper Champ. This one is great because you don’t need the special liners, you can just use regular trash bags and I’ve never smelled it.
  • Sleep positioner. So your baby doesn’t roll into the wrong position (although they can’t really roll)… Ours is on an incline which helps her digestion and I feel like it helps her not spit up. We use it in her stroller as well.

Of course you need clothes and little hats, etc. but Amy is HAVING A GIRL! Which means that everyone will go nuts buying clothes. Lucy has enough to last her until she’s 2 without me buying her a darn thing. She might have more clothes than she has days to wear them. Anyway – what am I forgetting? What couldn't you live without?


***** UPDATE: The FDA and CPSC no longer recommends the use of sleep positioners.

Comments

amy said…
*kisses your face*

thanks, nik!! you're the best.

so helpful. the little details are really what i need right now - i've got some shopping to do! (except for breast pads - my cousin brought me like 12,000 that she never used...i hope)

xoxo!
Nikki this really is a fantastic list! I think Misses Lulu and Sylvie may be living parallel lives ;).

I thought long and hard and couldn’t come up with much else to add – we too loved long-sleeves with mitts before we could do baby manicures, however we were super-slothy and opted long-sleeved kimono t-shirts with mitts. At first we were too lazy to even deal with onesie snaps (we’ve since matured!).

We are HUGE Kiddopotamus swaddle and Boppy fans as well, and if I could choose one "luxury item" I would absolutely spring for the best pump possible – we opted for the Medela Freestyle, the flexibility and speed is worth every penny!
Nikki said…
Brooke those kimono shirts are great! Lucy lived in those in the hospital (4-days for c-section) and they were nice and easy to change.

and YES I AGREE on the breast pump! the nicer the better. i use the medela pump n' style which can be used hands free which is a real joy. betcha didnt think the word "joy" could be used with a breast pump.

well it cant.

but those things are over $300! get insurance to pay for yours! my doc deemed it "necessary" and i think all docs will, then insurance drops one off in your hospital room. so i used my $300+ credit to babies r' us on the millions of other things louie just HAD to have.
That is a GREAT call on the insurance tip, Nikki - I wish we had done it! Sadly it was one of the things that was lost in the shuffle of birth... I had hoped to do it prior to Sylvie's arrival but she decided to make her appearance a bit earlier than expected. Excuses, excuses! I also wish we had set-up the pump in advance - granted it makes a WHOLE lot more sense once she's out, but having it out of the box at least would have been helpful :).

All the best to you, Amy, with your new arrival - little girls are the best! ;)
christie said…
Nikki, I don't know you, but strangely, I know two people who commented on this post - Amy, my cuz (Hi Ames!), and Peter from high school (Hi Peter, long time!). Small, small world.

But, I digress. Great list! I would add a baby carrier of some type - sling, mei tai, ring sling, etc. They are a must for when baby wants to be held but you need to use your hands (you know, for eating bon bons and such).

And no worries, Amy, the breast pads are completely milk-free! :)
christie said…
Duh, never mind. You already listed carrier. I have three kids, hence NO brain cells left. Carry on.
Christie - Peter says "HI!" and "long time no see!" What a small world indeed! :)
Amanda said…
the comment about poop being like tar has frightened me from having children like...ever. you're kidding right?
Nikki said…
oh no. it's tar. just you wait.

TARRRRR.
Nikki said…
wait a minute - christie.... that's insane! small world!!!

thanks for the comment.... 3 kids = lovely!

Popular Posts