My top 10 must have newborn items for first time moms

Last year I had my very first baby and when you’re a first time mom, there’s a lot of trial and error involved. You rely mostly on recommendations from friends, family and the occasional blog post you stumble upon on Pinterest (like this one LOL).

There’s things you know you will need when having a baby like a newborn carseat, crib, diapers, onesies, etc. But what about the random items you forget about in the craziness of getting ready for a tiny human being to enter your life?

We tried a lot of different bottles, diapers, swaddles, etc. before finding what we liked. I feel like my Amazon Prime order history for the first few months was a lot of 3am desperation orders for whatever google recommended might make my life easier.

I’ve narrowed down my top 10 items I believe actually made my life “easier” during the first 3 months of having a baby for the first time! I tried to keep this list objective and included some more “depending on the baby” items at the very bottom like diapers, wipes, formula, etc. that we love in case you are interested in that too!

I have linked each item on Amazon below the title so you can easily find it!

Disclaimer: this post includes Amazon Affiliate links. This means if you purchase through my link I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting my blog in this way and allowing me to continue creating more content!

Baby Bathtub

The First Years Sure Comfort Deluxe Newborn-to-Toddler Tub with Sling.

I read a lot of reviews for baby tubs before adding this one to my registry and I have zero complaints about it! I’ve noticed the most popular one on most baby blogs is the Angelcare Baby Bath Support because it’s small and compact, but I read reviews saying baby kept sliding down in it, which doesn’t seem very cozy for a newborn and it doesn’t grow with your baby either.

The tub I purchased has the ability to sit on top of your sink with a little drain in the bottom, but having a small home/kitchen we just used it directly in the bathtub. The sling is comfortable for a brand new baby and can be removed and thrown in the washing machine. Once baby graduates from the sling they can sit in the reclining side, and eventually the supported seat. I think the best part is we were able to use this bathtub for 9 whole months and by then our daughter was ready for a real bath. You could certainly keep using it for a toddler but I was ready to free up the space in the bathroom.

Once she was finished with the baby tub I ordered this bath mat and have loved it: Non-Slip Bathtub Mat.

Bottles

Playtex Baby Nurser Bottles with Drop-In Liners

Even if you breastfeed, you will most likely end up using a bottle here and there. It’s good to have some on hand just in case. My husband actually read about these on a blog post written by a dad and we purchased them before our daughter was born but didn’t use them right away. We tried a few other bottles we received for free as samples like Avent and Dr. Brown but both had so much air and made our daughter super gassy and she was spitting up like crazy.

The Playtex Nurser bottles are like the ones your mom most likely used in the 80s with the liner. After 11 months of using these bottles I can say with 100% confidence they are amazing. You simply drop a new liner in the bottle, add the milk or formula, screw on the nipple and then squeeze out ALL the air. You just stick a couple fingers in the bottom and lightly squeeze the bag. The air will come out of the nipple.

I linked the gift set we purchased because it comes with slow and medium nipples, 4oz and 8oz size bottles, and some liners to get you started. The liners are disposable but can be recycled with number 5s and refills can be purchased at Amazon, Target, and Walmart to name a few places. With the bottle not needing to be washed very often, we never purchased more than just this set. The nipples have lasted us this whole time, as well.

Diaper Pail

Munchkin Diaper Pail by Arm & Hammer

Okay so this was not the diaper pail I had registered for. I didn’t even know about this one but one of my grandmas accidentally purchased it so I decided to try it and it’s the BEST. This set will get your started with two types of refill bags and the baking soda puck. Trust me, you will want to refill the puck when it runs out because it really does help lock in the odor. We’ve been using this diaper pail since our daughter was born and her room never smells bad once the dirty diaper goes in. It’s pretty large too so I would say I empty it about once a week. I personally prefer the refill ring because of the price but the snap, seal and toss bags are super convenient! You can purchase refills from Amazon, Target and Walmart and they generic brand ones work too.

Gripe Water

Mommy’s Bliss Gripe Water

Okay I cannot tell you how many times I went to put my daughter down for bed and as soon as I laid her down she got the hiccups! Gripe water is some kind of magic because as soon as she swallowed it, the hiccups were gone. This was given to me by another mom at my baby shower and I honestly couldn’t have lived without it. I couldn’t believe how many moms at a playgroup I went to hadn’t heard of it! Trust me, get this stuff and keep it on your changing table. It’s great for gas and colic, too.

Swaddles

SwaddleMe Original Swaddles

Babies have a startle reflex that lasts for the first few months of their life. Because of this, they wake themselves up all night, even though they may not need feeding. We swaddled our daughter from birth to 3 months old and these were our favorite swaddles by far. The velcro makes them super easy and fast to use, especially in the middle of the night!

Swaddling combined with sleep training had our daughter sleeping 11.5 hours a night before she was even 3 months old. When it was time to drop the swaddle we used these and still do: Cotton Sleep Bag. Carter’s also has long sleeve sleep bags for the colder months.

Around 2 months old we used this swaddle during naps to give her some more freedom: Love to Dream Swaddle UP. It definitely does not calm the startle reflex like it claims, but it helped her learn to self soothe by allowing her to rub her face and get to used to sleeping with her arms partially up.

Nasal Aspirator

FridaBaby NoseFrida

Okay this one is pretty self explanatory and I won’t go into detail. Basically this is the best nasal aspirator ever invented and you’ll be surprised how much you enjoy sucking boogers out of your baby’s nose. You do have to suck pretty hard, FYI, so don’t be intimidated. Also this will not hurt your baby if that’s what you’re thinking. My daughter would scream and cry when I repeatedly tried to use those terrible bulb aspirators and legit laughed when I used this!

Another awesome FridaBaby product is the cradle cap system: DermaBaby. This combined with some coconut oil did the trick on a nasty case of cradle cap.

Baby Brush

Green Sprouts Natural Brush and Comb

This set was given to me as a gift and I will now gift one at every baby shower I go to. The brush is made with goat hair and is SO SOFT, especially for those sweet heads with the tiniest bit of hair. My daughter loves having her hair brushed with this, and the comb is great for later on when she has more hair.

Baby Monitor

Infant Optics Video Monitor

We purchased this monitor because both families I had previously nannied for had one and I really liked it. I plug it in overnight and then the charge lasts all day. The screen and sound quality have been great and it’s easy to mount on the wall in your nursery with just one nail. You can also just set it on a dresser if you’d like.

Sound Machine

Dohm Classic Original White Noise Machine

You’ll want to make sure you have white noise for when baby is sleeping. This sound machine has been so wonderful. My family had already used them for years so I knew it would be. We have a very tiny house and our daughter’s bedroom is right next to the living room where we watch tv in the evenings and she has never been woken up. This is a great item to add to your registry.

You’ll also want to get some heavy, black out curtains for wherever your baby will be sleeping as well. We got a beautiful pink set for our nursery from Target.

Boppy

Boppy Nursing Pillow

I originally registered for a Boppy pillow for nursing but they’re actually great so many uses! Our daughter napped in it beside us on the couch for about 2 weeks straight LOL. They’re also great for tummy time and assisted sitting on the floor. We definitely put this funny little pillow to a lot of use! I linked the bare one and you can purchase pretty covers for it too.

Another awesome Boppy product is their pregnancy pillow. We have a small bed and this saved my life. I actually still sleep with it every night!

Some other favorites…

In no particular order, here are some items I love and still use. Some of them will be subjective to what works best for baby, but they are definitely worth a try!

• Pampers Swaddlers Diapers (my daughter sleeps 12 hours without a leak)
• Seventh Generation Free & Clear Baby Wipes
• Boudreaux’s Butt Paste Diaper Rash Ointment
• Enfamil NeuroPro Gentlease Infant Forumla
• Carter’s Body Suits (onesies)
• Avent Pacifiers
• Mom’s On Call – we followed these books religiously when sleep training our daughter. It’s not a “cry it out” program. It is routines and schedules that actually work! Don’t knock it till you try it. 😉

Let me know if you’ve used any of these items and what your favorite one is!

Are you interested in more posts like this? Submit an idea by clicking here!

XOXO, Kalley