These are my newborn essential items, aside from the necessities! Shiina and I use these products everyday. If not everyday, they’re extremely convenient for when we do need them! You can also find my 12 postpartum care essential items here.
Apparel
Zipper Footies – These were all our baby wore for at least a month and a half. A lot of the zipper footies that had the zipper on the bottom. This made diaper changes so much easier! We didn’t have to deal with any pants, mittens, or socks! There’s way less laundry to do too.
Bath and Care
Baby Bath Support – I don’t think I could give baths without this support! My baby’s comfortable in it and it’s at the right angle as well. It’s perfect as she grows too! TIP: Turn the support upside down so your baby can sit in it.
Nose Aspirator / Nose Picker – This is incredibly helpful as babies tend to sneeze a lot and can’t get mucus out on their own. We have several of these throughout our home and keep one in our baby’s diaper bag at all times.
Baby Gear, General Items and Transportation
Cart – I have two of these carts, one in our living room and another in our bathroom. It’s made our transition to parenthood so much easier! We don’t have to run all over our home to grab or look for something. Not to mention, it helped with my postpartum recovery!
The living room cart holds my breast pump supplies, baby’s diapers, burp cloths, and other necessities. The bathroom cart holds my postpartum and menstrual cycle supplies as well as Valkyrie’s bath items.
Heater – You might ask why we need a heater. It seems like an odd item to need. However, we use one everyday! We use it after Valkyrie’s baths to keep her warm as we dry and change her. This way she isn’t surprised by the sudden change of temperature.
Monitor – After several weeks with our baby, we decided to use the monitor that was gifted to us. We knew we wanted to use it, but we didn’t have time to set it up before our baby was born. Once we did, we didn’t turn back! Although our bedroom is only steps away from where we are in our home, having the monitor to keep an eye on our daughter at all times is nice to have.
Wet Bag – I love using these whenever we’re out of the house! We always have one packed in our diaper bag, ready to go. We use the bags to collect any wet and dirty clothes or cloths while traveling. These bags are also reusable, so that’s great! I keep another one in our bathroom in case!
Rocker/Bouncer – This is convenient when we want to take Valkyrie around our home with us as we get things done. For example, I would put her in the rocker while I fold laundry. This way she can still be involved and see what I’m doing. I can also interact with her and keep an eye on her. Update: Valkyrie’s one year old now and she still uses the rocker to sit in it!
Bassinet – We had this bassinet in our living room for the first two months. It was nice to have, although her crib wasn’t too far away. Aside from having it in our living room, we use it for trips like when we visit family. It takes up decent space in our car, but it’s awesome to have!
Boppy Pillow – I brought the boppy pillow with me to the hospital and used it for our nursing sessions. I loved it! I felt more relaxed. However, I chose to exclusively pump so now Valkyrie receives milk from the bottle. I still use the pillow by putting it under my arm for assistance.
We use the pillow for tummy time as well! Valkyrie quickly strengthened her muscles with the pillow. It helped with her transition to doing tummy time directly on her play mat.
Diapering and Nursery
Receiving Blankets – Our baby likes to be tucked in. Both sets of Valkyrie’s grandparents gifted her with custom receiving blankets, which she loves. They help her to sleep better and be less startled by sound.
Hatch Rest Sound Machine, Nightlight & Time-to-Rise – The Hatch is a must have for us! Our baby enjoys background noise whether that’s while she sleeps or while she’s awake. We’ve used it each night since Valkyrie’s birth. That includes her first night at the hospital!
Although Valkyrie doesn’t always need the Hatch, we use it to block out any sounds that we’re making while she sleeps, so that she isn’t startled by them. For example, we check on her from time to time while she sleeps. The Hatch blocks out the sounds of our footsteps.
Hamper – We keep this hamper in our living room. I didn’t do this until Valkyrie was almost two months old, but I wish I had done it earlier! Instead of having a pile of dirty clothes or cloths to pick up at the end of the day, I’d throw them into the hamper right away. It’s one less thing to worry about.
Feeding
Bottle Warmer – While putting our registry together, I kept seeing that a bottle warmer wasn’t necessary. However, we added one to our registry anyway to test if it’d work for us. Valkyrie is exclusively breastfed and I exclusively pump, so she receives all of her milk from the bottle. I personally choose not to feed her cold milk and she doesn’t like it either. Therefore, the bottle warmer is a necessity for us!
It’s great for traveling too. Whenever we’re out of the house for a few nights, we bring it with us. It makes the process of warming up milk a lot faster. Update: We also have the Baby’s Brew Portable Bottle Warmer for when we’re on the go and it’s been amazing! We tried packing hot water in a thermo, but that didn’t work well for us.
Burp Cloths – These burp cloths are great! I like the feel of them and it doesn’t go away even after multiple washes. They’re the right size to tuck under my baby’s chin for feedings. After feeding, I throw it over my shoulder and burp my baby.
The length of the cloth is amazing. I didn’t think I would need all of it at first, compared to the smaller wash cloth size, but I was wrong. The longer size is essential! It catches my baby’s spit up or drools. It’s less of a mess!
Play, Books and Toys
Play Mat – This is where she gets most of her tummy time and play time. I wanted her to recognize the different surroundings. For instance, her crib is where she sleeps but her play mat signifies play time. This creates consistency, which she can grow into. Update: We received a foam playmat from my mother that’s bigger. We still use it now as Valkyrie’s walking.
Books – We’ve read books to Valkyrie since before she was born! While I was pregnant, we’d read to her at night before going to bed. Now that she’s here, we’ll read to her in the morning or afternoon. She loves to look at the images. She also enjoys all the talking that we get to do. She’ll even talk back!
Toys – We used a variety of toys. The toy she responded to the most over the last few months were rattles. These are great for sensory development. She’d turn to where the rattle was based on the sound, follow the rattle by turning her head, and grab the rattle.
Other
Baby Tracker App – This app allows us to track Valkyrie’s sleep, feedings, and diaper changes! I also track when I pump breast milk and how much. I tracked all of these until she was around two months old. Now I track how much I pump and how much she eats. This way I know whether or not I’m producing enough breast milk each day.
I like how this app shows the data that’s collected. I can see and compare the times of her naps and feedings. As a first time parent, I needed this feature to understand what schedule she had. Update: I used this app for about 3-4 months, then eventually got into the rhythm! As a first-time parent, it was great to utilize.
