Being a first-time mom can be overwhelming! Not only are you constantly fighting fatigue, but you’re also regularly making decisions based on your best guess and pure instinct. As my third trimester was coming to an end, one of the things I was the most anxious about was how to actually raise my son.

I kept thinking to myself “I have no idea how to raise a child!” What’s more, I also had no idea if I had the baby items I needed when I brought him home. Ultimately what I discovered (and I’m betting you will too!) is that babies don’t actually need as much as we think they do! Newborns want a full stomach, a consistent environment, love, and lots of snoozes.

If you’re panicked and stressed out about making sure you have everything you may possibly need, here’s a short list to help you feel more prepared with the baby items you need!

Here are 11 Baby Items You Need Before You Bring Baby Home

1.)  Boppy Pillow

I had no idea how important Bobby Pillows were until one of my closest friends purchased one for us. I even had my husband go home and grab it to bring it to the hospital.

After birth, you’re so tired, and having the extra support while cuddling your baby is so helpful, especially if you’re breastfeeding.

Here’s why you need it:

• The Boppy is perfect for visitors. Not everyone is comfortable holding a newborn.
• The Bobby Pillow helps to support the baby.
• This pillow takes away the awkwardness of holding up your little one’s head for those who may be out of practice with baby care.
• Provides a comfortable place for breastfeeding

2.) Hand Sanitizer

At this point, I’m sure all of us have a few bottles of hand sanitizer lying around our home.

Be sure to stock up before the baby comes! Regardless of how many visitors you have, you’ll want to make sure there is at least one bottle of hand sanitizer in each room for optimal convenience. Of course, hand washing is always preferred, but in a quick pinch, hand sanitizer is perfect.

Here’s why you need it:

• It provides a quick clean! In those first few days when you’re still figuring out how to care for your baby, you respond to every coo and cry and may need a quick refresher before rushing to their rescue.
• Having hand sanitizer available and visible is a good reminder if visitors came to see the baby. It provides a subtle reminder to make sure their hands were clean before holding the baby.
• Babies will not receive their vaccinations for several months and have extremely low immune systems. Keeping germ transfer to a minimum is best for you and your baby.-

3.)  Size 1 Diapers (even if you’re cloth diapering!)

Make sure to have at least one pack of size 1 diapers on hand, even if you’re cloth diapering!

I guarantee you’ll use more size 1 diapers than newborn diapers. There’s no harm in stocking up on these. You can always buy newborn diapers if you need them later on.

Here’s why you need it:

• You may not want to cloth diaper right away. As a new parent, you have so much going on and you may want to take a few weeks to get acclimated to motherhood before beginning your cloth diapering journey – and that’s okay!
• The diapers can fit even if your baby is a little smaller. Although you have an idea of how much the baby weighs from your ultrasounds, you won’t really know until they are born. Instead of spending a lot of money on newborn diapers, buy a size up, and adjust the diapers if need be.
• You’ll use the size 1 diapers eventually

4.)  Gripe Water

This is a controversial one, but WHO KNEW THIS WOULD BE SO USEFUL!

I would absolutely suggest to have a bottle on hand.

Here’s why you need it:

• It gets rid of hiccups. Baby Boy would get hiccups (and gas!) all the time. If nursing didn’t do the trick, we would give him the smallest amount of gripe water.
• You only need a small amount. The packaging recommends using ½ a teaspoon, but we found a ¼ of a teaspoon usually did the trick. It worked to settle Baby Boy’s tummy and mommy and daddy’s nerves.

5.)  Nursing cover

This is absolutely a baby must-haves for first time moms!

If you’re anything like me,breastfeeding around family/friends or in public gave me anxiety as a first-time mom. It took a while for the baby and me to get into a rhythm and I would have to remind myself not to get frustrated and upset. As you adjust to your new role as a nursing mom, grab a nursing cover!

Here’s why you need it:

• You’ll be more comfortable nursing in public and around friends and family. Once I started using a nursing cover I was much more comfortable being around friends and family while nursing.
• It’s light and breathable so you and your baby don’t feel smothered and hot.
• It’s made from bamboo – an eco-friendly material.

6.)  Baby carrier

When I first had my baby I wanted all the cuddles! At some point though, I started to miss the luxury of being hands-free. Luckily, I had a baby carrier at home to hold Baby Boy while I was doing things around the house during the day. You can start wearing your baby from day one – as long as they meet the weight requirements for the carrier.

Here’s why you need it:

• A baby carrier offers a hands-free to safely have your baby within reach while still doing another task
• Offers an opportunity for skin to skin

7.)  Diaper changing stations

The rooms in our house we frequent most are our bedroom and the living room. Although the baby’s room is fully decorated and stocked, I knew he wouldn’t spend much time in there for the first few months of his life.

Here’s why you need it:

• Instead of going up and down stairs constantly for items we needed, we made diaper caddies that held everything we needed in convenient areas. We made sure our bedroom and the living room each had a stocked diaper caddy. Inside the caddy, we kept diapers, wipes, a change of clothes, Vaseline, and extra burp cloths.

8.)  Hamper in every room

Hampers are essential for a new baby. Just like the diaper caddy, there was one in every room.

Here’s why you need it:

• There are some days I change baby boy’s clothes 4 times. Having a hamper in every room kept the house tidy and helps to keep his clothes separate from ours.  We used baby detergent and washed and dried on delicate.

9.)  Portable Changing Mat

This is one of those items we didn’t know we needed until we needed it.

As great as a changing table in the nursery looks in photos, it just wasn’t functional for us the first few weeks. We live in a two-story house and there was NO WAY I was going upstairs for every diaper change.

Here’s why you need it:

• 99.9% of the time you’ll probably be pulling out your changing mat in order to change your baby right there on the couch or in your bed.

10.) Vaseline (for baby boy’s only!)

If you have a son and you decide to get him circumcised this is a must.

Get the tube kind, not the jar. It’s a must-have!

Here’s why you need it:

• Vaseline helps prevent the baby’s penis from rubbing and sticking to the diaper while it heals..ouch!

11.) Haakaa

Haaka’s are the perfect item to make sure you don’t waste a single ounce of liquid gold. While you nurse on one side, place the Haakaa on the other side. It was amazing!

Of course, as little man discovered how to wiggle nursing with the Haakaa became a little more difficult. Baby boy would kick his legs while I was nursing and knock the Haakaa and all that valuable liquid gold all over the floor. He especially liked to show off his karate skills during those early morning feeds.

This video was extremely helpful in teaching me positioning to keep my Haaka attached, even with little man’s karate kicks. The super suction technique works like a charm!

Here’s why you need it:

• By using the Haakka you can capture a few ounces of milk without even trying! This is how I began to build up my breastmilk stash in preparation for returning to work.

Do you feel prepared for your little one’s arrival? Do you have any newborn essentials you consider a must-have?

I hope you enjoyed this blog post all about baby items you need for your newborn!

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