Newborn Essentials: Our Favorite & Most Used Products
Welcome back to the blog! I can’t even tell you how many newborn essentials posts I read and videos I watched before my baby was born in an effort to pinpoint everything she’d need most. Everyone has different preferences, but these are the items we decided to purchase and consider to be the biggest must-haves!
SLEEP & COMFORT
Love to Dream Swaddle UP — Clay sleeps in this every night and our favorite thing about it is that it zips from the bottom and it doesn’t ride up over her face at all while she’s sleeping. She likes having her arms up and she seems the most comfortable in this one. I recommend having at least two of whatever swaddle you use so you have a backup.
Hatch Baby Rest Sound Machine — We use the color-changing setting with ocean sounds every night. She seems to notice the colors and watches the light as she falls asleep.
Bassinet — We got ours (pictured here) from a local vintage-type shop & we love it! It looks great with our decor and we move it from room to room throughout the day as she naps in it. I recommend getting one that is light and moveable for this purpose!
Snuggle Me Organic Baby Lounger — This is incredibly useful and a must-buy. I love that you can sit it anywhere (on the couch, bed, table while you’re eating, etc.) and she seems so comfortable in it.
Lollipop Baby Monitor — I love that we can easily attach this to anything, including her bassinet, until she’s ready to move to her crib. It connects to our phones and you can talk through it, play music, etc.
WubbaNub Pacifier — We’ve tried a couple of different brands and this one is her favorite!
Blankets — Have a few because you’ll use them all the time!
CLOTHING
No-scratch mittens — Especially in the first few weeks, these are great so they don’t scratch their face.
Outfits that button or zip up that you don’t have to put over their head — Trust me on this one, it’s way easier and makes them scream WAY LESS!
Knotted gowns — These are great for frequent diaper changes at night.
DIAPERING
Huggies Little Snugglers Diapers — These are the best! I like the fit and material so much better than Pampers.
Wipe warmer — We didn’t buy this until after Clay was born, but I recommend getting one!
Pampers Aqua Pure Wipes or Pampers Sensitive Wipes — I love the thickness and wetness of these most and they work great in the wipe warmer. Some flimsier wipes we’ve tried don’t work as well in the warmer, so we stick with these.
Baby Bum Brush — GET THIS! You can apply butt paste with this instead of having to use your hands so you don’t get it all over your wiggling baby or their clothes. This one comes with a smaller travel one too that we keep in our diaper bag.
Boudreaux’s Butt Paste — This is the one we use and we like it.
Gathre Changing Mat — We have one in our changing basket and one in our diaper bag. It’s made of vegan leather, so it’s super easy to wipe clean and travel with as well.
SUPPLEMENTS & MEDICINE
Vitamin D Organic Drops — Your baby will need this if you’re breastfeeding. Clay gets one drop a day.
Gripe Water — We use this as needed when Clay is uncomfortable from gas for what seems to be an extended period of time and when nothing else seems to help. It really does the trick!
Mylicon Gas Relief Drops — Our pediatrician recommended this and it seems to work.
NURSING/FEEDING
Muslin Burp Cloths — You can’t have enough of these. We go through a few a day and literally always have one on us.
Boppy Nursing Pillow — I get SO MUCH use out of this! I use it for every single feeding and as a support pillow when holding her sometimes. She loves sleeping in our laps on it too. I have this cover for it and I really recommend getting a cover in a pattern/color you love because you’re going to be seeing/using this thing 24/7.
BATH
Angelcare Baby Bath Support — This is what we use in our tub and we like it.
Soap & lotion set — This set comes with so much stuff and we use it all the time!
Rinse cup — The shape of this one helps you not get water on your baby’s face.
TRAVEL/ON-THE-GO
Newborn car seat & stroller travel system — We have the Maxi Cosi Adorra Travel System in Nomad Sand and it’s great. Alternatively, the Zelia Travel System is pretty much the same thing and is a bit cheaper.
Car seat cover — I love our Roxy pink tie-dye one from Copper Pearl! It’s so soft, incredibly stretchy, and comes in so many colors and patterns. It also doubles as a nursing cover, which is great since you have it with you on-the-go anyway! Again, I recommend getting one that’s in a color/pattern you really love since you’ll be looking at it all the time.
Fawn Design Original Diaper Bag — We have the larger one and I really like it! We got the brown color so Justin can carry it too when needed without it being overly feminine.
Portable sound machine — You can hook this to your stroller or car seat for white noise on-the-go. We haven’t left the house much since Clay has been born, but we do keep it by her changing basket so we can play it when she’s fussy during diaper changes.
Baby carrier — If you want to get anything done around the house while your baby demands to be held, this is a must! We have the Ergobaby Omni 360 Carrier and I recently ordered the BABYBJÖRN Mini Carrier as well with a gift card we had because I want to try it out too. I’ll let you guys know how I like that one!
OTHER
Baby laundry detergent — You’re going to be doing SO MUCH laundry, and this is the one we use and like.
Hand & face wipes — I keep these in my nursing basket that I carry around the house with me throughout the day for getting breastmilk off her as well as dry skin, etc.
Babyganics Alcohol-Free Foaming Hand Sanitizer — We use this for all diaper changes and keep it in her nursery, in our bedroom at night for bedtime changes and in our diaper bag.
APPS
Baby Tracker — I use this to track all of Clay’s feedings and you can also use it to track diaper changes, sleep, pumping and more. This is super helpful for remembering when your baby is due to eat again, how long you’ve breastfed on each side and for recalling info to share with your pediatrician. It gives you a summary for each day and it’s seriously the best!
The Bump — I used this app during my pregnancy and it actually gives you week-by-week baby developmental updates once your little one arrives!
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Those are all of the items I recommend most for newborns! We may come across more essentials along the way as we purchase new things or use some of the items we currently have tucked away in our nursery, but these are the things we’ve used so far that we really love. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Thanks so much for reading and I’ll see you in my next post!