My Newborn Must-Haves​ (that we actually use)

I spent months comparing newborn lists to try and have a registry that didn’t have a ton of “stuff” but instead things we would actually need.  Luckily, I had the benefit of having friends and family who were able to share their newborn must-haves.  Now I feel like it’s only right to do the same for you! 🙂 

I have to say babies are funny little creatures and some things that they may hate now in a week or two, they may decide they like.  For example, all of the rocking swings my baby hated in the beginning but now he’ll humor me for a few minutes in them.  If you have the luxury of borrowing a few of the more expensive items to see if you’re baby is a fan, I definitely would before spending a ton of money.  We bought the Snoo after our pediatrician recommended it to help with my sons’ fussiness but he hated it.  Talk about an expensive purchase to not like!  Luckily we were able to sell it and only lost a few bucks but big lesson learned!   

These are my must-have items:

Water Wipes – these wipes are made with only water and a little fruit extract.  They are great to have around the house not only for cleaning tushies but also for faces, hands, spills, etc.  My friends’ baby had super sensitive skin and these were the only wipes she used.  I love them! 

Hatch Baby Rest Sound Machine – This thing is AWESOME!  We don’t use the sound feature yet (because we use the other ones mentioned below) but the light features are amazing.  We use the red light during those middle of the night feedings after learning that babies do not get stimulated from the color red.  It won’t wake them up like the yellow light coming from a night light.  I have also heard from parents that it’s great to use for older children as a way to signal when it’s time to get up.  Green means go and the time it goes on can be programmed to happen automatically!  Technology is SO cool!

Infant Optics Baby Monitor – this one is the best!  It has a night vision feature so you can creepily see if your babies eyes are open or shut.  The clearness of the sound is great as well, almost too great at 2 AM… HA!

Hush Portable White Noise & Shusher  – my husband and I are really into the white noise if you can’t tell!  My sister in law jokes that it sounds like an airplane taking off in our baby’s’ room but it works!  Both of these are portable and great to take on the go when you want your baby to nap or stay asleep.

Blackout Window Film – we learned from the Taking Cara Babies course mentioned below that babies need a DARK and COLD room in order to sleep well.  It’s 100 degrees in Texas right now and that takes work to keep a room cold and dark.  These are easy (or so I’ve been told) to install and make such a difference without having to spend a ton of money. 

Breast Friend Pillow – the BEST nursing pillow and I have to quite possibly my best friend lately. 😉  The back support and sturdiness of the pillow are top-notch.  It’s also easy to wash the insert for those times you have a messy diaper incident…like last week for us!

Aden & Anais Swaddles – these swaddles are lightweight, long, and super versatile to use as a swaddle, blanket, burp cloth, etc.  

Microwavable Sterilizing Bags – these bags are AWESOME!  No one has time to boil hot water to sterilize bottles and these are super easy to use.

Taking Cara Babies Newborn Course -I LOVE this course and Cara’s Instagram account @takingcarababies.  Not only does she give techniques and advice through her online class but there is so much great material on her website.  I recommend doing this online class a week or two before your baby arrives because the class subscription only lasts three months.  Don’t worry, she gives you a PDF to refer back to which we do probably on a weekly basis.  

Sprout Baby Application – we LOVE this app.  Not only is it super easy to use (which trust me when you’re running on zero sleep, the easier the better) but tracks your babies sleep, feeding, diaper, and activity tracker.  It also has a great feature where you can put your medical questions all in one place.  My husband and I share the application so we can both add to it during the day.  The customer support is also great when we did have a few questions come up.

Items that we could have done without:

Boppy Nursing Pillow – it gave me zero support and I found it too bulky.  My husband didn’t like it either when he feeds our baby with a bottle.  

Baby Delight Nest Sleeper – my baby never liked it and I didn’t find it helpful.  

Bottle Warmers – one of the best pieces of advice I got was not to get your baby used to a warm bottle.  When you’re out and about and need to feed, it can be super stressful trying to warm a bottle.  Instead, get them used to a cool or room temperature bottle.

Okay, you tell me what would you add to this newborn must-haves list?  

Click here if you want to read about my first-trimester must-haves list.