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Now that I’ve had two newborns (eek, how is my youngest almost one?! I swear she was just in my uterus), I decided it was time to compile a list of what I think newborn must haves are. I know that every child is different, but these are the items I am glad I had, or wish I had gotten sooner.
**Please note, I am not including things like a crib, car seat (think of getting an extra base), diaper bag, diapers (so. many. diapers), or a stroller. Those are all things I certainly think you need, but hopefully you all know that.
Also, breastfeeding moms may want to purchase a breast pump. If you check with your insurance, many will allow you to rent one. Even if you aren’t planning on going back to work, I suggest some sort of pump. This manual one is pretty nice. Sometimes you get a bit engorged, and it’s painful. Doing a quick manual pump helps to relieve some pressure and allows you to build up a bit of a freezer stash, you know so you can get away from time to time.
On that note, if you are formula feeding (or planning on giving expressed milk in a bottle) I would suggest getting a wide variety of bottles. My first took to a bottle easy peasy lemon squeeezy. Some kids (like my second) are picky, picky, picky. In fact I was never able to get my second to take a bottle, which makes for a stressed out mom. If I want to leave without my baby, then I have to try to plan around her nursing schedule which is all dependent on her naps (read not at a set time).
So, with that said, here is my list of must haves!
{1}Baby Monitor
Now, you may not need a baby monitor right now (if your babe is sleeping in your room), but it’s good to have for when you are ready to make the switch. I love this Motorola one. You can change the camera angle from the monitor (read, you don’t have to go into the room to adjust), it is a video one, it tells you the temperature (I have actually used this, so love the feature). You can also purchase an additional camera and toggle between the two (or set it to automatically switch). This is great for when you add a second little one to the family.
{2} Swing
I think a swing is a great thing to have. When your baby is crying, and you have tried everything, a swing can be a life safer. It really is amazing to watch them be lulled into sleep. While I didn’t make it a habit of using the swing, on days where nothing was working, the swing did. I like this swing by Fisher Price. It’s not super fancy, but works well. We used it for both of our girls and it’s still going strong.
{3} Nose Frida
Ok, so hear me out on this on. The Frida is a nasal aspirator that you use your mouth with. You put one end on the outside of your baby’s nostril, and then the other end in your mouth, and suck. There is a stopper in it so you do not eat any boogies. And you get far more stuff out of your little one’s nose than with those damn bulb ones that the hospital gives you.
{4} Bouncy Seat
I know what you are saying. A swing and bouncy seat?! Really?! And you know what, I say yes, really. A swing is petty stationary. A bouncy seat is not. You can move it to different rooms with you, which is a huge bonus. Some babies have reflux, so after they eat they have to remain somewhat upright. This works will for that. Once again I went with Fisher-Price.
{5} Swaddles
So in the hospital the nurses are amazing at wrapping your little bundle of joy in a snug tight little burrito. But I assure you, once you get home, your little one will magically become a Houdini, and bust right out of those blankets. Plus, the last thing you want to do at 3am when you’re up for the 4th time changing a diaper is try to make a tight swaddle so your baby doesn’t moro reflex himself or herself awake. I’ve used the SwaddleMe and the HALO SleepSack and loved them both.
Now, if your little one can still manage to bust their arms out of those, look into the Love To Dream Swaddle UP. This allows babies to have self soothe with their hands, but still lessons the moro reflex so they are less likely to wake themselves up. Love to Dream also makes this awesome transitional swaddle. It allows you to unzip one arm at a time to get babies used to not having there arms swaddled. I used it with my second, and it was amazing.
{6} Baby Carrier
I am pretty pro baby carrying. I think it is great for baby and mom/dad/grandma/aunt/whoever else you feel comfortable wearing your little one. There are a lot of options out there. I have both a Moby and an Ergo and love them both. If you get the Ergo be sure to get the infant insert, so that you can wear your baby safely. Also, don’t be scared of the Moby. Once you wrap it once or twice it’s really easy. If you go to youtube there are TONS of ideas and tutorials of how to wrap a baby. I do feel that the Ergo was a bit more secure, so that’s the one I always wore when grocery shopping.
{7} Boppy
The Boppy is great. If you are breastfeeding it helps to position the infant, and leaves your hands free (so you can read blogs, like this one ;), while you are feeding your baby at 2am). It is also great for when you baby starts tummy time, so even if you are a formula feeding, still give it a though.
{8} Pack and Play
When you have a newborn, the pretty much eat, sleep, poop and cry. If you live in a two story home, with bedrooms upstairs, trudging all they way upstairs multiple times a day is tiring (espically if you had a c-section or particularly traumatic delivery). Setting up a pack and play, like this one as a downstairs changing area. What is great about this one, is that it also doubles as a napper. Remember, eat, sleep, poop, cry. Having somewhere to put your baby to sleep that is close by is great. Plus, the napper is somewhat small, so I think it gives baby’s a feeling of being enclosed, which helps with sleep.
{9} Pacifier
Even if you don’t think you’ll use a pacifier, have some around. My first daughter used them, my second had no use for them. Kind of like bottles, have an assortment of them Our go to were the Soothies. If these are the type your little on likes, then you should also check out WubbaNubs. If you don’t know, they are a small stuffed animal attached to a binky. They make it a bit easier for your baby to find their binky.
{10} White Noise Machine
Some babies have a really hard time sleeping when it’s too quite. A white noise machine can help this. We’ve use thisone for both girls. It’s nothing fancy, but has done good.
{11} Angel Care Movement Monitor
If there is one thing that I really think you should get, it is probably this movement monitor. When I moved our daughter’s into their own room I was really on edge. Sure I had the monitor, but what if they stopped breathing? I wouldn’t know. The Angel Care movement monitor helped put my mind at ease. It has a senor pad that goes under the crib mattress (note, you will probably have to get a wooden board to put on the springs of the crib, since the pad has to go on a flat surface), and an alarm. If 20 seconds pass and the pad doesn’t register any movement, then the alarm will sound.
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