Newborn Essentials: My Top Ten Must Haves

Happy Monday! It may be late, but I’m still getting this up before midnight so yay!

I normally don’t post so late, but we spent the day pulling out all of our Christmas decorations, and baking sugar cookies so this had to wait. Priorities right?

It was really fun to decorate today because the twins are old enough to understand what’s going on this year so all three girls were super excited (and Gabe cooed happily in his little chair). It was a good day!

But back to today’s post: I thought I would share my newborn essentials with you today because after doing this newborn thing for the third/fourth time (technically I only went through the phase once with the twins’, but it was enough work that I’m counting it twice ha!) I realized that my memory is terrible! I kind of forgot what was useful the first couple of times for us so I wish I would have created this list a few years ago to refer back to.

My point? This will be super helpful for anyone who is having their first child soon, but it’s also helpful for veteran mamas have fallen prey to mama brain.

I said in my diaper bag post last week that I’m a bit of a minimalist when it comes to newborn gear, and this post reinforces that.

This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means because every newborn is different so what you need may vary, but these are the things that I know I would have a really hard time doing without, and that I think would help you as well.

So with all of that said, here are my recommendations:

• Nursing Cover: So I pretty much use this for everything BUT nursing. I did use it for nursing with Kit, didn’t nurse the twins, and now I just whip ’em out whenever I need to feed him. I just don’t care anymore, and it’s so much easier to feed him without a cover. What I DO use it for? I drape it over his carseat to cut out windchill, and to keep prying hands away when out in public. I use it as a makeshift blanket if I need to lay him down or cover him with an extra layer. I use it as a burp cloth if I don’t have one around (he’s not a super spit up baby). It really is an all in one!
• Cloth Diapers: These I also don’t use for their intended purpose. I mostly use them for burp cloths (they are super absorbant!), but I also will cut them up into squares and use them as nursing pads. So much cheaper than designated nursing pads, and much more eco friendly than disposable. Genius right?!
• Sleepers: I love the idea of dressing him in a bunch of cute outfits, but honestly when they’re that small it’s so much more practical to keep them in cozy sleepers. This particular sleeper is the style I love the most. They’re super soft, not that expensive, and easy to get on and off.
• Boppy Pillow: This I use constantly, and is totally worth the money. Not only do I use it for nursing (totally necessary when you have a big chubby baby like I do!), but I love to use it for tummy time, for laying him down in a pinch, and eventually for sitting up.
• Pacifiers: these are the pacifiers that I’ve used for all of my kiddos. Ella and Rosie didn’t take to them, but they ended up being thumb suckers. Kit ONLY took these pacifiers so I didn’t even shop around for Gabe… and he loves them.
• Pacifier Clip: these are SO helpful for leaving the house. Pacifiers tend to fly around and get lost, so attaching them keeps them put (side note, we don’t use these at night or for naps). A simple, but super helpful product.
• Sleep Sack Swaddle: This is probably my number one must have. These sleep sacks are a lifesaver when it comes to getting your baby to sleep! I have tried to get the hang of swaddling our babies with traditional swaddles, but it’s so dang hard to get right (why is that??). These are super easy to use, and keep them really secure so they don’t bust out as easy. HUGE fan!
• Milk Catcher Cups: This is a product I just discovered, and I wish I would have had them earlier. I put one in my bras on the side I’m not feeding him on and it catches any letdown that happens while he’s eating. BUT I also used them quite a bit the first couple of weeks when my nipples were chapped and SO sore. I couldn’t stand to have anything touching them so I just put these in my bras and it helped offer relief.
• Nipple Butter: I swear by this nipple butter. I can’t do lanolin because I have a sensitivity to wool and lanolin. This is just as nourishing, it smells great, and I don’t have to worry about him digesting it since it’s made with good ingredients.
• Hands Free Breast Pump Cups: I haven’t done a lot of pumping with Gabe… just here and there to build up a little supply, but these are such a lifesaver when it comes to pumping. I pumped exclusively with the twins and these allowed me to do a lot of normal activities while pumping (including driving!).
• Even Better Cordless Breast Pump With that said, I wanted to include this breast pump even though I don’t own it and probably won’t buy it. It’s not only a hands free breast pump, it’s also cordless… and honestly? This would have been an absolute lifesaver when I was pumping exclusively so I wanted to share it with you guys just in case someone is doing so right now. This may sound crazy, but I think my mental health would have been much better if I would have had this pump because I felt so chained to the pump and unable to do the things I wanted to do for my girls while I was pumping. Having the mobility would have made my life 1000% easier. It would have been totally worth the investment.

That’s it! Not a crazy list right? But all things that I think will really make your life easier if you have a newborn. Did I miss anything? What are your newborn essentials? Share them in the comments below and let’s help each other out!

You can find affiliate links to everything below. Just click on the picture and it will bring you to the product!

Until next time,

Karin