10 Must Have Items for your Precious Newborn - Extra Items That are Helpful with Newborns
Updated: Jan 25, 2022
Just found out you were pregnant? On behalf of us, We want to say Congratulations!
Whether this was a surprising shock, or you and your partner have been trying for years.. Nothing beats holding that baby girl or boy in your arms for the first time.
BUT WAIT! We have to prepare for this little ones arrival!
How can such a tiny human need so many things??
I found myself wondering this everyday, during pregnancy and after. And spoiler alert! As they continue to grow, they somehow need more and more things. Never enough space!
Have you found urself feeling overwhelmed with all the important things you may need for your your new little bundle of joy? Don’t even want to think about starting a baby registry? Feeling the financial stress of it all?
Why is everything this expensive?
Well this post is to help relieve some of that stress, give you ideas, refresh your memory, find the best cheapest items, and even make it easier to start your baby registry! So, Read on!
1. Bassinet

The Aspirev Bedside Bassinet is one of the most standard, cheapest, and portable bassinet. This gives your baby a safe sleeping area but also makes it easy for you, tired parents. It has wheels which makes it very mobile, giving the ability to move baby while sleeping. This is good if you find yourself wanting to switch off night shifts from you to dad (yes, we all been there). It also has 9 different height settings making it perfect to adjust so your baby can be as close as possible to you.
Another route you can take if you find yourself wanting to splurge is the Graco Sense2Snooze Bassinet. This bassinet is awesome for the newborn days (Will I ever sleep again?). This bassinet is equipped with technology to sense a baby’s cries and fusses. This bassinet can vibrate, play white noise, soothing sounds, and sleeping songs.
This item also has wheels to make it very mobile if needed, along with storage pockets for those middle of the night diaper changes.
2. Baby Lounger

The GoXteam Baby Lounger Baby nest is one of the best loungers. We used this in our baby boys bassinet for the first months, for we found that the thin mattress of the bassinet our son did not care for. This baby nest is the cheapest of every one I have found, along with it being super safe and comfy. It has a firm foam mattress in the middle insert, and what mimics a pregnancy pillow to wrap around. This lounger is wonderful for our little ones backs and puts them in a safe breathing position, all while making them feel safe!
3. Diaper Caddy

A Diaper Caddy Organizer is something that I wish we got for the side of the bassinet when my boy was a newborn and sleeping in our room. However, we did not have this so all the diapers, wipes, burp rags, diaper rash cream, and anything else we needed for night wakings was scattered on top of my bed side table, which left no room for my things. Something of this nature would make night diaper changes or feeds so much easier and make the room look more organized as well (And we all know we take all the tidiness we can get with a newborn).
4. White Noise Machine

A sound machine is a much needed item when you are expecting. Having the sound machine on during the night as a newborn, makes it easier to adjust your infant to sleeping in their crib. Hearing the white noise, their brain will soon learn and know “this sound means it is time to sleep for the night”. The Fitniv White Noise Machine is an awesome choice. It is compact, not overpriced, and has many options of sounds. It also has different warming night lights for those middle of the night pacifier drops, where it’s too dark to even see the crib.
5. Swaddles

We loved these SwaddleMe Original Swaddle when he was first born! They are so easy to put on, even my husband had no excuses to not swaddle. They are super light weight so baby can’t get overheated. And since these swaddles velcro in order to keep intact, there is no chance of suffocation due to a swaddle unraveling.
Another option is sleep sacks! Not all babies are the same, and some hate being swaddled, my baby boy was one of these. It took us a little bit to realize it, but after we did, we all 3 got better sleep. Yoofoss Baby Sleep Sack is just one of the many options there are for sleep sacks. We preferred the long sleeved sacks when he was a newborn in order to keep him cozy.
If your newborn prefers a sleep sack rather than a swaddle, great! Only thing different is that you don’t have to suffer through the weaning of the swaddle.
6. Swing

Now some people look down on Graco brand because we all want the most expensive mom item, nothing to be ashamed of, we all are guilty of this. But the items like mamaRoo, are simply not worth the hype of the cost. You can buy a much cheaper swing that soothes your baby almost the same way. The Graco Simple Sway Swing has been a life saver for fussy times. When our little boy is cranky and won’t go down for us we strap him in and he will be out in minutes. He has loved this swing since he was a newborn!
7. Soothing Toys

The Fisher-Price Snugapuppy is just one of the the examples of the many soothing snuggle toys. We have the hedgehog version of this toy and our boy loves it. This toy vibrates and plays soothing music that your baby can hug when he or she is having a fussy moment. But it doesn’t always have to be a fussy moment we learned, it prevents them as well. I use this toy in the morning when I have to put him down in his swing, right after getting him up, so I can make a bottle. We also use this as a soothing tool for the car seat, because as we know babies don’t love their car seat.
8. Stroller

This stroller is a must have for families that love to take walks, moms that love to run, or if you would prefer to push your child around the store. This Evenflo Urbini Reversi Lightweight stroller is only available at Walmart but I had to review because it is awesome all around, especially for the price. It has the diversity that you need with a growing adventurous child.
You are able to lay the seat more flat for newborns and smaller infants, but also transition the seat up when they start enjoying sitting up by themselves. This stroller also has the ability to be back facing towards mom or dad or front facing towards their exciting new world.
Bonus: You can even clip your baby’s car seat into this stroller, for easy transitioning from the car to running errands. It is very easy to put together, steer, and fold up.
9. Baby Carrier

A baby carrier is another must have for walks, long shopping trips, vacation trips, or any other situations where one parent is going to be walking for a long period.
Let me start out by saying there are two types of carriers: a wrap, like the Acrabros Baby Wrap Carrier and the shoulder strap carriers, like the GROWNSY Baby Carrier.
Both are great in very different ways, especially for the price. Other versions of these carriers can run from $60-$200!
I find that my wrap carrier works better for my back, but my husband prefers the shoulder strap carriers. However, the strap shoulder carriers tend to extend to heavier weights for down the road.
10. Bottle Warmer

Now don’t get me wrong, now that our son is older he will take bottles on the colder side if we are out running errands and we can’t warm a bottle. But when he was a newborn, like many newborns, he would ONLY take a warm bottle. Especially cause I breast fed for a short period. My favorite bottle warmer is the Parent's Choice Electric Baby Bottle Warmer and Sterilizer. This warmer is only available at Walmart.
However, I found that with the price being one of the cheapest I found, it very much
exceeded our expectations.
This warmer has options for plastic bottles, glass bottles, and even steel. It also is great because you can select the volume of the bottle depending on how many ounces your baby is eating. It can even defrost breast milks, warm cold fridge kept formula, and sterilize bottles and pacifiers. This is one of my favorite items!
Bonus Item:
11. Doona

The Doona Car Seat & Stroller is a very much a splurge item, but boy was it worth it for us. We were very blessed to have it bought and given to us, but without a doubt we would be purchasing another if it so happens that our doona is expired before our (maybe) next little one. The doona is amazing in all kinds of ways. It converts from a stroller to car seat back to a stroller, all in seconds without ever waking your baby up from their much needed nap. This item has been a lifesaver for us, given how heavy car seats are.
This item also comes with a base that makes car rides safer and easier for all of our
precious babes.