Alright everyone, I have been a mom now for over 10 years! I have used my fair share of baby/kid products. Some might even consider me a veteran! So with that, I want to share with you some of my most favorite newborn essentials. I also asked a few of my followers what their favorites were and added those in as well! If you or someone you know is having a baby and you want some advice from real moms (and dads), read on!
(For more information on each product or to purchase, simply click on the picture and it will take to you the site!)
Sleeping
A crib is a must have, obviously. But as for my kids, I always started them out in our room for a few months, while they were still waking in the middle of the night. And let’s be honest, I just wanted them close to me! I used a true bassinet for my 3 girls. It worked well, but had to stay in my room because it was too bulky to move around. So, with my son, I had him sleep in the Fisher Price Rock N’ Play. It’s light weight and can be moved from room to room easily! It can be rocked to soothe baby and most come with some sort of noise machine attached.
Swaddle Sacks and Swaddle blankets can be a lifesaver for some parents! These are my absolute favorites!
Some babies fall asleep easier and stay asleep longer with the help of some “white noise.” There are a lot of machines out there that will help, but there are also FREE apps out there that get the job done! My favorite app is Relax Melodies. There are multiple sounds or music that you can play, and if it helps, you can do multiple sounds at once! I’ve even used this to help me fall asleep!
Pacifiers/Bottles
If you are the type of parent who chooses to use a pacifier, I HIGHLY suggest the MAM brand. It is the only type of binki (as we call them) my kids wouldn’t spit out and I’ve heard other moms say the same!
**Pro Tip- Get the glow in the dark kind so you and baby can find them at night!
If you are breastfeeding, I recommend Lansinoh bottles. There are many brands on the market that say they “mimic breasts” but these literally had my baby’s mouth shaped just as if he was breastfeeding! If only I had found these sooner!
If you choose not to breastfeed, or your baby has no issue going from bottle to breast, I suggest Tommee Tippee bottles. They helped my kids with spit up issues and don’t have too many parts to clean like some other bottles.
Breastfeeding Equipment
A good breast pump is a necessity. If you don’t think you will need one, you are WRONG! Okay, that was harsh. But I’m just telling you from experience. Sometimes you just need to get that release and baby is either not hungry or didn’t eat enough. If you truly don’t want baby to have any bottles, I suggest at least, a hand pump. This would also be useful if you are on the go and need to get some milk out.
As for electric pumps, MOST insurances now will actually send you a pump. Check with your insurance and/or doctor. I used the Ameda brand with my first 3. It worked amazing, but at 7 years old was on it’s last leg. I received a hospital grade, Medela brand from my insurance with my last baby, and that worked great too! Both were simple to use and small enough to store in a small bag.
Any sort of breast feeding pillow is a necessity. A fan favorite amongst moms, is the Boppy Pillow. We wore ours out so much that we had to a new pillow, per child! Not only can these be used for breast feeding, but we used it when trying to teach baby to sit up, during tummy time, and to nap. Now, you do have to be careful with baby sleeping on these. I would never let the baby sleep on this unless I was awake and able to see him or her, to make sure their necks weren’t bending down and closing their airways. It’s a touchy subject, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry!
If you are like me and are determined to breast feed but you are having trouble with chaffed nipples or baby’s latch isn’t the greatest, do yourself a favor and get some nipple shields. It 100% saved me from quitting with my 3rd baby. I used them for about 2 weeks and after that, my nipples had healed and no other problems at all! If you are someone who has no trouble with breastfeeding, consider yourself extremely lucky! If you are like me and had a few painful experiences and quit before you were ready, give these a try!
Diapers
My personal favorite diapers have always been pampers. I feel like they fit all my babies the best and the straps seemed to stretch the most. We also had success with Sams Club (Member’s Mark) diapers and Costco (Kirkland’s) too. You definitely get a better deal with those, but don’t lose the quality of the diaper!
Baby Carries
Best baby carrier I ever used was the Ergo carrier. Not only was it ergonomically better for my back and shoulders, but it is designed to better hold baby’s hips and legs too! It goes on quick and easy and has an infant insert for when they are teeny tiny! I wore mine around the house and on the go and both my last 2 babies loved it!
Car Seat/Stroller
This is definitely one of the more difficult things to decide on. For one thing, safety is key for most parents, so they want a car seat that can withstand anything. Second, if you’re like me, you don’t want to spend an arm and a leg either. The brand that has always been a go-to for our family is Graco. They have a wide variety of car seats, strollers and combos. These products aren’t cheap no matter the brand, but this brand seems to be the most reasonable for the quality!
Besides the stroller car seat combo, If you have multiples, I recommend going for the sit n’ stand stroller. When our 3rd was born, we had an infant, a toddler and a 5 year old. The sit n’ stand was able to hold all 3! Our toddler would sit in the seat in front, the infant would be in her carrier car seat attached to the back of the stroller, and the 5 year old had a place to stand and could easily get on and off with no help. In some cases, like when my oldest was “sooooooooooo tired” and couldn’t possibly take another step (can you say dramatic?!) it was a life saver! But be warned, it will be a workout!
Other
A few other baby items that I have found to be necessary are:
Diaper Bag. Duh. I don’t have a specific brand that I like but I will suggest some sort of back pack. They are much easier to carry, especially while lugging around a car seat. Also, make sure it has some sort of waterproof fabric inside. Accidents happen A LOT when kids are involved! Don’t make things harder on yourself with the inside hard to clean! Here are some great options!
Bumbo seat. They are much safer now having a safety belt built in, but please do not put these on a high surface and leave baby unattended! With that being said, these are super convenient! We’ve even taken them to restaurants with is when our baby wanted to be closer to us than the high chair would allow. And, at home it helped when baby was too old to want to lay down all the time and I just needed to get a few things done!
Zip up onesies. Forget the buttons! You will thank me during those late night diaper changes!
Gripe Water. This is good for babies that may have sensitive bellies and you want to try something a little more natural than gas drops.
Alcohol. For when you just need to relax! I’m only kidding… kind of!
So, there you have it! Some of the essentials that kept me going when my kids were infants! If you have any of your own suggestions, comment below and let us all know!
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The Meltdown Mama 