Newborn Must-Haves

A friend of mine posted a list like this recently, and I was interested to see that her list was massively different from my own. So I’m going to make my own personal list of newborn must-haves based on my own experiences.

Pregnancy wedge – Why is this a newborn must have, you ask? Well, not only is it useful during the final stages of pregnancy to make sleep a tiny bit more comfortable, but I have used it tons since- at first during feedings as a head support, and now it is under the mattress in the bassinet to keep his head a little elevated because he’s congested. It’s come in surprisingly handy.

Onesies with mitten cuffs – He lived in these things, but is too big for them now- they’re perfect for layering under anything, and the sleeves make a little mitten at the end to keep his hands warm and keep him from scratching himself. Love these.

Diaper Service – I wanted to use cloth diapers, but was a bit wary of the amount of laundry. Using a service has made using cloth diapers the best and easiest diapering option. I don’t have to go out to get diapers as they are delivered to my door, my diaper costs stay constant (and less than I would have spent on disposables), and they’re easy to use. We just have to wash covers, which means we’re doing laundry no more often than we would have been for baby clothes anyway. Awesome.

Flat Diapers – Best burp cloths ever. We have them all over the house.

Bouncy chair – This thing is awesome. He hangs out in it at various times during the day so I can keep him within reach but have use of both hands. It bounces (there are various settings) and it plays music (actually nice music!) or white noise or nature sounds. It keeps him upright, which is nice after feedings if I’m a little worried about him spitting up. It’s pretty sweet, I’ll be sad when he gets too big for it.

Baby Timer – This thing is great. It’s a good way to have an idea how long it has been since his last feed or change or nap or what have you. You can set alarms as well to remind you- we don’t have alarms on anything except the asterisk one, which reminds me to pump. It also has silent alarms that just flash a red light. It has a night light and a back light and yeah. It’s pretty sweet and means I don’t have to try and remember exactly when I fed or changed him last.

Netflix, BBC Canada, Grooveshark – Awesome for during a feeding or pumping, I can just put on a Buffy or some Brandenburg Concertos, or Top Gear whatever and Wesley and I can watch some vampires get slayed/listen to some Bach/watch supercars while he’s eating. I am in love with the Graham Norton show nowadays as well.

WIPES. We use disposable ones, and they’re definitely critical for us. We go through lots of them wiping him and cleaning up little messes.

Nursing tanks – I’m wearing these instead of bras most days. I do have nursing bras as well, but these are slightly more comfortable. I’m pumping/bottlefeeding rather than nursing, but these still make pumping a lot easier and me a lot more comfortable. I have several.

Breast pump – Has made all the difference in feeding for us, since nursing didn’t work. When the cats chewed part of mine so that I couldn’t use it, I seriously almost flipped out because I use the thing so much. Thankfully I had a replacement part.

Baby sling/carrier – makes it easier to tool around the house if he’s fussy, hang out while Trevor’s making dinner, do laundry, or go down to the mailbox, etc.

Laundry bag – This thing is lightweight and super easy to tote up and down the stairs, and cheap as heck. Perfect for baby laundry.

There are other things that are useful- receiving blankets (good to cover the change table pad, put down on the floor when we’re hanging out there, as burp cloths, etc), extra warm blankets for soothing him to sleep or for going out, the stroller, etc. But the things above are the first things that come to mind.