Today on the blog we are chatting NEWBORN ESSENTIALS. Like, shit you actually need when you have a newborn.
Before giving birth, I had researched the shit out of newborn essentials. I watched 94375876 Youtube videos, followed a bunch of moms on Instagram, and read a billion articles on The Bump app. I took in all the info that I was being given, but I didn’t jump to purchase everything that was being mentioned.
Many articles/Youtube videos focus SO MUCH on the baby’s nursery, which let me tell you…is SO useless. Don’t bother wasting your time with prepping the nursery. You don’t need it for a long while. I get it, it’s cute, themed most likely, and great for the gram. LOL. But definitely not an essential. We sort of got our nursery together before Lemmy was born, but it’s not quite complete. I will do a little nursery tour/blog post once she’s actually moved in. You can check out the accent wall we did, here.
But in this post I want to focus on the stuff you actually need once the baby is here. These are things I use daily, sometimes multiple times a day. I’m not including things like car seats, diapers, wipes, and strollers. Because that stuff is….well, obvious?
I also wanted to write this blog post a full month post baby so that I’m being very specific on these things. I don’t want to bullshit you guys. None of the stuff on this list is sponsored. It’s all stuff I use. Okay, let’s get into it, shall we?
NEWBORN ESSENTIALS YOU ACTUALLY NEED:
1. SNUGGLE ME ORGANIC:
We started using this from day 1! It is an absolute lifesaver. When your baby is so little, you never want to take your eyes off them and this is the perfect little bed for them once they are born. Babies aren’t supposed to sleep in here without supervision, but if you are around (which you are once they are born) then it’s perfect. We keep this on our couch and she sleeps so soundly in this. It’s perfect because you can do things around the house while your baby naps in here. You know they are very safe in here too, because they can’t roll off it when they are newborns. This is 100% a newborn essential. Our little Lemon still loves this thing. Grab it here.
2. MUSLINS/CLOTHS:
One of my best friend’s told me to have A LOT of these hanging around the house. And she was not wrong! Muslins, burp cloths, and little towels are such a newborn essential. You basically need them in arms reach all around your house. It’t not chic, but it’s very useful. LOL. Babies are just messy. Spit ups are happening, blowouts and peeing all over you are bound to happen and you need muslins and cloths all the time. If you’re creating a baby registry, make sure to put a bunch of these muslins/cloths on it. Trust me, you’ll want these! You have to keep washing them too, so you need a bunch on rotation.
3. TOUCH NIGHTLIGHT:
Well, I wish someone had told me about having a little nightlight for diaper changes in the middle of the night. I figured this out in the first 3 days of her arrival. This little night lamp IS THE BEST PURCHASE EVER. My God! When it’s 3AM and you need to change a diaper in bed, this little touch lamp is so so so good. My bedside lamp was WAY too bright and would wake Andrew up, plus the baby would be wide awake at this point. We don’t want that…This little touch lamp is dimmable, small and compact, and perrrrfect for these late night feedings and diaper changes. Honestly, grab two. You will not regret it. Such a newborn essential. Grab it here!
4. DOUBLE-ZIPPER SLEEPERS:
Lot’s of people told me about the double-zipper sleepers. SAY NO TO SNAPS. LOL. Whatever you do, don’t get snaps. They are such a pain in the ass to change a baby in them. You 100% want double-zipper sleepers. This will make diaper changes much, much easier. Just trust me on this. We had a couple of these when she was born, and ordered a bunch more very soon after.
5. MEDELA BREAST PUMP + EXTRA BOTTLES:
If you’re breastfeeding and want to collect your milk, I highly recommend the Medela breast pump. I have the Medela Swing Single Electric Pump, and that was perfect for me. You can get the double, but I found that the single was perfectly fine to collect the amount that I wanted. One thing to remember is that not everyone will get milk in right away. So, it does take time. But the more you pump, the more milk you get it. That’s what the lactation consultants told me. In the beginning, I was only pumping once, maybe twice a day. It take up A LOT of time and energy, so be patient with yourself. Now, I try and pump twice or three times a day. Regardless, this is a great pump and very easy to clean. Grab it here.
Grab some extra Medela bottles too. We were having to wash the bottles so frequently, so I ordered another 3-pack from Amazon.
6. THE HAAKAA:
In the beginning when my milk supply was low, I saw no point in using this. However, by around week 3, my milk really started to pick up and this was great! I would pump on one side and use the Haakaa on the other. Sometimes I would get as much in the Hakka as I did with the pump. It was amazing! If you’re getting a double pump, then I’m not sure you need this, unless you want to use it while feeding baby. Grab it here.
7. WIPES DISPENSER:
I talked about these on InstaStories! Another thing no one told me was that you need wipes EVERYWHERE in the house! The nursery, your bedroom by the bassinet, bathrooms, living room, everyyywhereee! The last thing you want to do is be running around to grab wipes from upstairs when your baby has a massive shit. LOL. You need wipes as much as you need muslins. Basically within arms reach. I grabbed a couple of these wipes dispensers from Amazon, and they’ve been lifesavers. We buy HUGE bags of wipes, and then fill up these dispensers whenever we get low. This is very much a newborn essential! Grab them here.
8. DIAPER BAG:
Many people go back and forth with having diaper bags, but this came in super handy for me. Some people use a giant tote bag as their diaper bag and purse. I need things kept separately in compartments. I didn’t want to be mixing my lipsticks with diapers and burp cloths, you know? I find that diaper bags have a million little pockets for everything. I have diapers in a zip up pocket, a change of clothes in another, and bottles and pacifiers in another. Everything is organized. The diaper bag we have is AMAZING. It’s the Mina Bae Kinney Backpack in black. It’s very chic and of course, functional. The backpack function is VERY important to me in a diaper bag, because I want both hands free to do other shit. Like hold my coffee….and my baby.
9. FISHER PRICE BABY SWING:
When mom needs a second to ice roll her face and have a sip of her (cold) coffee, this is the PERFECT spot for the baby. Guys, this swing is such a lifesaver. It’s a plug-in swing that has different levels of movement, music/sounds for the baby, and Lemon loves it! She chills in it for hours giving me time to do some of my own shit. Again, you shouldn’t leave the baby unattended in this swing, but if you’re around, it’s amazing! Grab it here!
10. SOUND MACHINE:
To cancel out annoying sounds. Let’s be clear, I’m addicted to my own sound machine, so I felt like Lemon needed one as well. You guys know I sleep soundlyyyy with my own sound machine, every single night. I even travel with mine. It’s the best sound machine ever. Linking it here for you guys. But, babies sometimes need to drown out sounds as well. I’m not saying have it on all the time. But once in the while, when they are fussy, throw on the sound machine. It’s great.
Okay, so that’s the newborn essentials list! Moms – would you agree? What else needs to be added to the list? Drop them in the comments.
Xx, kim
++ If you enjoyed this post, check out Baby Items I’ve Bought Recently.
+++ And if you want to know more about my sleep gadgets, check out this post!
