Top 10 Must Have Baby Items

As a first time mom, I had no real clue about what I needed for my new baby.  I read tons of posts just like this one of things other moms recommended. As everything else you’ve probably read thus far in your pregnancy, it all depends on you and your baby’s individual needs. And although that is honest, it’s not exactly helpful.  This list of the Top 10 Must Have Baby Items doesn’t cover allllllllll the basics, but hopefully will give you some new ideas to consider before (or shortly after) your baby is born. 


Keep in mind, this is coming from a mama who doesn’t like anything unnecessary hanging around the house and thought that a pack of 3 bibs would suffice prior to having her child (lolololololol).

1. The Boppy Pillow

I’ll be honest… This was like many of the other ginormous new items that I registered and received for baby that I thought, “Does anyone really use these?”. This is a MUST.  Those first few weeks, especially postpartum when everything hurts and is different and you’re getting used to holding and feeding your sweet, helpless, __lb baby while trying to remember good posture for your aching back, you’ll want this.  Yes, you could just use pillows. No, they don’t work as well. You’ll either be rearranging pillows every 1.5 hours of your newborn’s life, or you’ll use the Boppy.

2. The Itzbeen Pocket Nanny

This. I got this too late.  I finally googled “something to keep track of when baby eats” and this popped up.  I had already determined that if something didn’t come up, I’d be rich after inventing it.  Turns out some other mama came up with it and many mamas after have been enjoying it!

After weeks of struggling to remember every couple hours at what precise time the baby ate, or slept, or pooped, I finally found this.  Sadly, it was kinda too late because I was never able to get into the habit of using it. BUT, if I had it when Evvy was born, I’m certain my brain would not have felt so much like jello, and that I would have maybe known what time it was sometimes, as opposed to using my brain solely to remember when it was time to feed her. 

Link to the pocket nanny here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MEB3GE/ref=twister_B0022NGRV4?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

3. Hatchbaby

I am actually recommending two of these!  This sound machine rocks for several reasons.  Yes, it’s a little on the pricey side for a sound machine.  BUT, it can grow with your child. It has several features, can play white noise, lullabys, the sound of waves, etc, and is connected to an app that you can customize the light color and brightness (perfect for nighttime feedings).  Once your child is older, you can schedule the light to change to a different color once it is a certain time, signaling to the child that they can get up, or leave their room, or whatever your rules may be. I am recommending two if your baby will be sleeping in your room and if you also have a nursery.  I put Evvy in her crib for naps right away and was always moving the Hatch from room to room. I ended up purchasing an alternate sound machine (linked below) for her room and keeping the Hatch in our room for now. I chose this alternate because I wanted a smaller, more portable option for when we travel. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this exact one because it’s still kind of bulky to travel with and for the size, the white noise is quite “tinny”. I would probably get a smaller more portable one if I had a do-over, as well as a second Hatch solely because the white noise is much deeper and more pleasant to listen to.

Here’s the secondary one I purchased:

4. Mam Bottles

Turns out you want some bottles when you have a baby.  I seriously only had 3 when Evvy was born, besides my Kiinde pumping system.  I didn’t want to get a bunch of bottles only to successfully breastfeed and pump and only use the Kiinde system.  It ended up being a bit of a pain initially when the breastfeeding wasn’t working and we switched to formula. The three bottles I had on hand were a Dr. Browns, a Philips Avent (both free from baby swag bags at stores we registered at), and a Mam that I registered for.  Breastfeeding didn’t go so well for us- I mostly blame Evan. I’m kidding…kind of. She had a partial tongue tie and a lip tie. She could latch on to my breast all she wanted, only to unlatch moments later. Over and over. I actually felt much less guilty with a formula filled bottle once I saw how poorly she “latched” onto every type of bottle nipple we had.  Our favs were Kiinde and Mam. I’m not pumping, but I still love Kiinde (linked below) for travel because you can use the breast milk bags for formula and they’re lighter and don’t require washing. As it turns out, the breast milk bags really aren’t very economical when you’re also buying formula. We tried. Because you only have to wash the nipple. Anywho, our next favorite was Mam.  Evvy liked the nipple and latched to it well. I like that I can hear the air venting out the bottom which makes me believe she isn’t getting much air. I linked the large Mam bottles. They have small ones that go up to 5 oz, but I figure it makes more sense to get a bottle that will last until she’s out of bottles. Just note that these large bottles come with size 2 nipples, whereas the newborn (small) bottles come with size 1 nipples. I would suggest getting these large bottles and purchasing some size 1 nipples if you’re using for a newborn under 3 months- I’ve linked the nipples below.

Kiinde (Includes the bottle warmer we use for Mam)

Newborn Size 1 Nipples for Mam

Click here to read Formula Feeding 101.

5. Earth Mama Organic Diaper Balm

This stuff smells so natural and delightful. Evvy had her first diaper rash around 1 month old. I was trying to use up all of our gifted diapers which included a pack of Target Up&Up brand that felt cheap to me. She had been wearing them for a few days when I noticed a red patch one evening.  Being a first time mom and/or dummy, I didn’t do anything about it right away and the next day it was firey red and looked like open sores. Bummed, since I had taken the direction of her pediatrician and applied Desitin on her dry bum after each bath, I went back to what I would normally do had I not received that instruction, and used this Organic Diaper Balm that I had previously purchased with the intention of using for diaper rash.  I applied this to her bum after washing and rinsing in the sink post-poop for a couple days, and boom, it was gone. Now, we put this on her air dried bum after each bath as a preventative measure. You need only use a very small amount, so we still have most of the jar.  This is a must have!

6. Bibs Pacifier

I’ll be honest, I originally only purchased these because I thought they were cute.  The hospital gave us some Philips Avent pacifiers, so that was Evvy’s first binky experience.  Surprisingly, she’s been a binky snob ever since. I had a couple NUKS at home that I received as a gift, but Evvy refused. I mean, she really hated those things. The drama. The Avent binkys aren’t exactly cute… And since we’re getting out of the house more often, I was in search of a nicer looking binky in a more neutral tone.  Also, now that I’m a more seasoned mom I’m branching out by putting together outfits including pants and bows, as opposed to strictly onesies, which is 100% what she lived in for the first 6 weeks of her life. Anywho, I liked that these binkies had a straight design, sort of similar to Avent, and that they’re made of natural rubber.  When I received them, I was worried about Evvy’s reaction because the ball on the end is quite large. She took right to it! AND the best part?? The crazy big- ball design is magical and keeps the pacifier IN HER MOUTH while crying or losing suction so she can just resume sucking as opposed to flinging the thing to the floor as soon as she stops actively sucking.  I love these things!

7. Angelcare Baby Bath Support

I saw lotsssss of positive reviews for this thing when I was doing my registry. I just didn’t think it would be that practical, having to put water in a bathtub for a tiny newborn, when you could just use a baby bathtub. Fast forward to my baby shower when I received the baby bath that I registered for. That thing was HUGE!  I could not fathom where we would store it when it wasn’t bath time. I remembered hearing how small this Angelcare support was, so I returned the tub and got this! It’s great. You barely need any water in the tub and the baby is nicely supported and doesn’t slip around, which is apparently an issue with other tubs/supports. 

We also have this whale of a rinser, and it’s the bomb.com

8. Molly’s Suds

I knew I wanted to keep things as natural and fragrance free as possible for my little one since they have such sensitive skin, and I also suffer from sensitive skin issues including eczema.  The one thing I didn’t bother changing was our laundry detergent. The one I was using was for sensitive skin and had no fragrance and was more natural than a lot of other brands. Fast forward to a 6 week old baby with eczema on her face.  Her doctor was not concerned as many babies get eczema. She recommended that we double rinse our laundry to get any additional irritating detergent out. This is a pain. Also, I figured I’d just try to find a more gentle detergent other moms liked.  I found Molly’s Suds. The price is right. The ingredients are right. The whole family can use it. Best yet, there’s been no more eczema and I don’t even double rinse anymore. Hoo-rah.

9. Dekor Plus Hands-Free Diaper Pail

This one seems like a no- brainer, but I had heard about other popular brands of diaper pails not doing that great of a job.  It wasn’t until I was finishing up the nursery when I realized I would need some kind of trash can. So I checked out the options for diaper pails instead, and landed on this one. It was cost effective and so were the refills.  It really does hold a lot of diapers. And I know that it’s doing its job because I can smell the horror inside when it’s too full for the flap or lid to close. It’s also easy to change the bag. Win, win, win!

The Happiest Baby on the Block

10. The Happiest Baby on the Block (Book)

This book changed my life, I’m sure of it. A fellow new momma friend of mine recommended this to me at my baby shower.  I wrote it down on my note app and didn’t bother to read it or the other books on the list until one evening- er, actually morning, at 3am.  After attempting to calm my screaming baby for over an hour, my husband swooped in and was now trying to get her to sleep while I cried tears of defeat and helplessness and promptly purchased the audiobook version of Happiest Baby on the Block at 3am. I was desperate. I needed to sleep. I began listening to the audiobook around 5am when I was up next, and finished it that evening.  By afternoon I had started utilizing the techniques in the book and was already seeing progress. By evening I was thrilled to tell my husband all about the new rules of how to calm Evvy and showed him how they worked instantly! I finally had the tools to succeed at calming my child. And I felt confident for the first time as a mother. No more panicking when she started fussing- I knew I could calm her down, at least most of the time.  

What are your baby must haves? Let me know in the comments!

XO

Abby

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