My sister and several of my friends are expecting babies in the next few months. I’ve seen them asking for advice on social media. I decided that I would put together a list of what you will actually need to have before you bring your new baby home. There are also included things that would be nice to have but aren’t completely necessary.
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Need to have:
A place to sleep—
A place to sleep is so important. It can be a crib or a pack and play. We used a pack and play with the bassinet attachment for a long time and it worked out great. When Pancake was a year old, we moved him into the fancy crib we’d had set up in his own room for him since before he was born that we never used. 🤦♀️
This is kind of what our pack and play looks like with the bassinet.
Clothes—
I remember when I was packing to go to the hospital I thought it was weird that we were going there, and we were going to come home with an extra person who didn’t come with anything of his own. I even had to bring clothes for him. This one is pretty obvious, but a new baby will need clothes. If you would like more info on finding affordable baby clothes check out my post here.
Food—
Even if you are planning to breastfeed you will want to have some baby formula on hand for emergencies, or if you are struggling to breastfeed and need to supplement. You don’t need to bring it to the hospital as they will have everything you need available there, but you’ll want to have some at home. You can start out with the free samples that you can get at Similac and Enfamil.
Diapers—
This one may seem obvious, but you will need diapers and wipes for your new baby. You will also need diaper cream. I don’t really think it matters what kind of diapers you get. They are all pretty much the same, so I always get the ones that are the cheapest, but you may want to get the ones that are the most convenient. You can sign up on Amazon to have diapers delivered regularly. Just be aware of the sizing issue. You don’t want to have too many in the small sizes because babies grow really fast.
Blankets—
You will need blankets for your new baby. Newborns need to be swaddled to help them sleep. You can buy special swaddle blankets, or just use baby blankets that are big enough for that. They’ll also need blankets to keep them warm. Even if your baby is born in the summer it’s likely that you’ll have the air conditioning on, or that it will get colder at night and you will at least occasionally need to keep them warm. This is something that is often given to new mom’s though, so you probably don’t have to worry about purchasing them yourself. However, if you are going to purchase swaddle blankets I love these. They make the whole thing a lot easier.
Car seat—
A car seat is a definite need. If you are planning to travel home from the hospital in a car you will need to have a car seat to take your baby home. Make sure that the one you buy is not expired. Car seats are made with a lot of plastic in them that can become brittle over time and less safe, so make sure that you have a new one or at least one that is not expired. I have this one. You can get your baby all settled and buckled into the seat inside where it’s warm and then just place it on the base that’s already in your car. We bought two extra bases so that we could have one in each car and one for the babysitter.
Lotion—
The hospital will probably give you a sample size lotion for your new baby’s first bath, but you will need more pretty quickly, and you don’t want to have to be running to the store right away. I love this lotion because it was designed specifically for newborns and it smells sooooo good!
Booger sucker—
Okay okay, they’re called nasal aspirators. This is one of those things you may not think about before you need it. The hospital may provide you with one, but they may not. They are inexpensive so it doesn’t hurt to have an extra one on hand at home. You can get the traditional kind like this or the fancier kind like this.
Thermometer—
No one wants to think about it but, all babies will get sick eventually, hopefully yours doesn’t for a very long time. You’ll still want to have one of these on hand to check your baby before you call your pediatrician. I like this one, but there are a lot of baby-friendly styles out there for you to choose from. Keep in mind that thermometers can be purchased with your FSA funds if you have any available.
Health Insurance—
This isn’t something you necessarily need to buy, and you obviously won’t receive it from a baby shower, but you will want to know your baby’s health insurance situation before you go to the hospital. I was in the hospital trying to figure all of this out. Check with your health insurance provider and your spouses (if they are different) and decide ahead of time which you would like to use and what you need to do to make sure that your baby is taken care of.
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Nice to have
These items are not absolutely necessary, but they are items that I believe are nice to have around when you have a new baby.
Nursing cover—
If you’re planning to breastfeed, you’ll probably want a nursing cover of some kind. I’ve seen some that kind of look like an apron. You have a strap that goes around your neck and it kind of looks like a blanket that goes over the baby. These are my least favorite kind because when you have to lift up your shirt it still leaves your back exposed. This poncho kind is much better. It’s stretchy and gives you full coverage. However, my favorite kind is this one. You can wear it around as an infinity scarf if you don’t have somewhere to store it and I’ve even used it as a baby blanket in a pinch. It’s lightweight, stretchy, and it gives you the coverage you need. It’s also really soft.
Nursing pads—
These come in disposable or reusable options. I had both. When Pancake was born I went with the cheap disposable ones from Walmart because I was going to be throwing them away, because they were round, which showed up less under my clothes, and because they were thinner, which made them comfortable and less visible. I also made some reusable ones myself. I went to the fabric store and looked for the most absorbent kind of fabric. I decided on flannel and it seemed to work well for me. Just a little pro-tip if you decide to go that route.
Nursing Bra—
You may already have one of these because they are often more comfortable to wear during pregnancy, but if you’re planning to breastfeed these will make your life much easier. They’re stretchy to accommodate your changing size and they make access easy. I bought this kind and the clips broke pretty quickly. I replaced them once with these and continued to use them for the rest of the time I was nursing without a problem.
Nursing Tank—
This is a great idea. You can wear one under your shirt and it clips around your nursing bra which makes it super convenient and keeps you covered. You can use these with or without a nursing cover, and they’re still super great for if you’re pumping at work. Here is a link to the tutorial I used to make them out of a regular tank.
Breast pump—
If you’re planning to breastfeed, I highly recommend getting a pump. This can help in many ways, even if you’re not planning to go to work. Having a pump allows you to leave your baby with a sitter if you need, for a night out, an errand, or even just to get some extra sleep. A lot of new moms like to use Medea or Spectra pumps because they are covered by insurance. Check with your insurance company, but a lot of them will give you money towards ANY pump.
Willow and Elvie are my favorite pumps. I think traditional pumps make me feel like a cow, and they are cumbersome with lots of cords and wires and you have to find a good way to cover up, the list of reasons I don’t like them goes on and on and on . . . UGH!! Both the Willow and the Elvie allow you to pump with your clothes on and don’t have any wires, so you can go about your day while you are pumping. They fit inside your bra and are battery-powered. They have an app so you can control the pump from your phone if you prefer.
You can pump while you are driving, shopping, hanging out with your baby, whatever. The Willow is more spill proof than the Elvie and uses bags that you can put straight into the freezer, so you don’t have to transfer your milk to another container first. With the Willow, you could even sneak in a nap while you were pumping if you wanted to which is why it’s my favorite, however, the Elvie is also a very good pump. You can also use your FSA dollars towards a pump.
Bottles—
If you’re pumping, you’ll need a way to get that sweet milk to your baby. It is really tough to pick out bottles ahead of time because you can’t know for sure what your baby will accept. Some people will tell you that you absolutely have to get one kind or another, but I don’t think that’s the case at all. I recommend having one or two of a lot of different kinds. You can often get free samples of these too and try them out to see which ones work best for you and your baby, then you can buy more of the ones you need.
Baby monitor—
These are not absolutely necessary, but most parents find them to be convenient. Anytime your baby is sleeping in a different room it’s nice to have so that you know when they wake up. I really think that most baby monitors will do just fine. You can get one with a video camera if you want to check in on them, but we just used one of our spare security cameras and it works fine too.
The only thing you will need to keep in mind with the video camera ones is that if you’re viewing the feed on your phone you won’t be able to do other things on your phone while you’re viewing it. If you have one of the ones that comes with a monitor, you will have to have the monitor as well as your phone with you. If you have one of the security cameras you can use it to check on your baby when you’re not home as well, which is kind of fun.
I also highly recommend an Owlet. These are so great just for your peace of mind. Lots of new parents worry about SIDS, and who wouldn’t? This obviously doesn’t 100% protect your baby from SIDS, but it helps you keep an eye on them when they are sleeping. This is a sock that you wrap around your baby’s foot that connects to a base station with a light on it. It monitors your baby’s oxygen levels and heart rate. It will alert you with an alarm if there is a problem. We would keep the base station in our room. When I woke up in the middle of the night. I could see a soft green glow that would let me know everything was ok. You can view your baby’s stats on your phone and get alerts through your phone too.
Pacifiers—
Some moms forego these completely which is why they’re so far down on the list. I am not one of those moms, they helped my baby to sleep, especially at night, and they lower the risk of SIDS, so I’m all for them. These are similar to bottles though. You don’t know ahead of time which ones your baby will like, so I would recommend having a few different kinds until you know which kind they will like.
Stroller—
A stroller is a nice thing to have if you can. It’s pretty self-explanatory, but you can take it to the store with you or out on a walk without having to carry your baby in your arms. I really like this one because it works with my car seat. The same mechanism that allows my car seat to click into the base in my car allows it to click into the stroller so that I can use it with the car seat for very small babies. I can still use the same stroller when they get bigger. This stroller is also cool because it folds up really really small, but it doesn’t connect to a car seat. It might be a good option for when your baby is a little bit bigger.
Baby carrier—
This is another option for moving about with your hands free. Carrying your baby with you can allow you to cook dinner, or get some other things done with your baby close by. It’s also nice for taking walks before your baby gets too heavy. When Pancake was still small I preferred this to a stroller for walks. I tried a few different kinds but the one by Baby Bjorn is my favorite.
Vitamin D Drops—
At our first visit, my pediatrician told me to get these for Pancake. I had no idea I would need them and had trouble finding them, so I had to order them online. This may be something you will need, and you may want to have ahead of time.
Baby gym—
This is definitely something that is just nice to have. All babies need tummy time, and this gives them a good place to play on a padded floor and gives them things to look at. There are tons of other ways you can have tummy time, so if money or space is tight you don’t need to worry about getting a baby gym.
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Well, that’s it. That’s everything that you absolutely need, as well as some things that you may need, or maybe nice to have for a new baby. I hope this helped you out. If there is anything that I forgot please leave it in the comments!
