While pregnant, I was super overwhelmed with all of the baby registry options. I wasn’t sure what newborn must-haves I needed. I asked my friends, family, and Instagram family. I’ve compiled a list of newborn must-haves that we’ve used over the last two months.
Baby Registry Newborn Must-haves
I’ve compiled a list of our favorite newborn must-haves and divided it into sections for you to help you. One thing we did was register with BabyList. A coworker suggested it because it can hold registries from all your favorite stores like Target, Buy Buy Baby, Amazon, etc. It will even let you sync up your registries so that everything is in one place. It also makes it super easy to return things you don’t end up needing. It has a shopping extension that you add to your computer so anytime you’re on a website, you can click that shopping extension and it will automatically add it to your Babylist registry, which is super useful.
Tip #1: Only sync things once. If you add more items to your Amazon registry for example, and sync it again, it will add everything, so you’ll end up with duplicates. So, if you’ve synced once, just add an item to your Amazon registry, then click the shopping extension to add to your Babylist registry.
Tip #2: A lot of registries give you a completion discount. I found that Amazon has the best one, 15% if you have Prime. And, Amazon lets you use the discount twice. Which for us, I filled my cart a few weeks before baby got here with things I thought we needed. Then, after about a month, I filled it again with things we needed. (I added more items to our registry once baby was here and the discount worked)
Travel
We did a lot of research on carseats and strollers. I had no frickin’ clue where to start. I read different things online and got recommendations from friends. We finally went into Buy Buy Baby to try them out. After trying things out, I added them to our registry and ended up purchasing the big items with the completion discount. Just click the photos and they’ll take you to my affiliate links for easy shopping. I am paid a small fee for sharing these items with you.
Carseat
This carseat has the best reviews and works for the toddler stage as well.
Stroller
I have a bad back and when trying different strollers, I was overwhelmed with how heavy they all were. I had no clue what stroller features we needed and left the store in tears. We tried again the following week and asked a sales associate to help us.
This shuttle stroller only weighs 13 pounds and is the lightest on the market. I keep it in the trunk and add the carseat to it when I’m out running errands. It’s got plenty of storage below and has a pocket and two cup holders up top. Best thing, you can open and close it with one hand!
We knew we wanted a jogging stroller, although I don’t run anymore. It’s perfect for trips to Sea World, walks around the neighborhood and our local trails. They sell used ones on Facebook Marketplace for even cheaper than here. What’s kind of a pain about this stroller is that you have to buy a lot of stuff to make it complete.
This holds water coffee, and maybe even your wine! It just velcroes on and is easy to attach! When we fold up the stroller, it stays on.
Apparently, you need this if you have a newborn so that you can attach the carseat. This attachment goes with our Chico carseat. However, I couldn’t fathom spending 60 bucks on it so I bought one on Facebook Marketplace for just 20 bucks!
You have to even buy the frickin’ snack tray which I think is ridiculous, but it is-what-it-is.
Sleep
Holy moly, I had no idea where to start. I saw so many things that were recommended but didn’t know what we actually needed or what the baby would even like. Here are some of the things that are working well for all of us! We knew that we wanted the baby in our room for the first few months.
Bassinet-Co-sleeper
I loved this because it’s adjustable to the height of your bed. I hear it’s especially helpful for moms who have c-sections because you just reach in and grab your baby as the side lowers. It can also swivel which was helpful for me to get in and out of bed. It comes with a thin mattress and cover. Like with all baby stuff, there’s a newborn insert, but we didn’t buy it. We only got 2 or 3 week out of this because we moved baby to her own room faster than we thought she would. All her sweet baby noises were keeping me up all night.
Baby Lounger/Portable Crib
I didn’t know this thing even existed but was told it’s a must have. I actually purchased ours at the Nordstrom Sale and didn’t open it until baby got here. They have a really good return policy so I wasn’t sure if we’d need this or not. I bought it because I thought we’d use it in her crib and bassinet. However, the website states that this should only be used under adult supervision. Check out the website for more info.
A lot of people rave that their baby sleeps so well in this. We lucked out and have a pretty good sleeper so I can’t say this attributes to that because most of the time, she sleeps in her crib without it. Cara from Taking Cara Babies has a great post about it here.
We lay it on the bed and couch and put baby in it. It’s perfect for quick getaways or trips to see family and friends because it’s easy to travel with. When I take her to my parents next week, this is the only thing I’m bringing.
Pack n Play
We keep the pack n play downstairs in the living room. Sometimes baby takes naps in it or just lounges. When she gets bigger, we’ll just lower the mattress. Our friends got us this mattress but I don’t know if it’s a necessity. They swear it is so here we are.
Crib
We scored and I got our crib during the Toys R Us Going Out of Business sale. We scored this convertible crib for 75 bucks.
We got this waterproof mattress to go with it. We registered for mattress pads but haven’t used them since the mattress is already waterproof. As for bedding, I just searched for stuff on Amazon. We have 3-4 sheets for those diaper blow-outs or excessive spit-ups.
Swaddle
I didn’t know what the heck this even meant until baby was born. In the hospital and for the first two weeks, we swaddle with a muslin blanket. But our baby moves a lot and it was always coming undone. The startle reflex is real and it would wake her up at night. There swaddle stops that so that her little arms aren’t flailing all over!
We switch it up with this lightweight swaddle that she’ll wear with her her jammies on. A huge tip we learned is that it’s not just the swaddle that helps with sleeping, it’s what you do after the baby is swaddled. Check out these story highlights to learn more!
Feeding
Shocker, had no clue what to do here. I knew I wanted to try breast feeding and lucky enough, our insurance gave us a breast pump for two months. Lots of insurance companies will give you one as well, so I wouldn’t register for one. I’m glad we didn’t because I only breast fed and pumped for 3 weeks.
Breastfeeding
A breast feeding pillow is way easier than stacking a bunch of pillows and gives your arm and neck a rest. But, during those emotional new days of motherhood, I felt ridiculous strapping this thing on while standing in my mesh panties with this thing around my waist. I felt like someone with a tiny little water ring around my belly. When I used it, it was great! But for me, it was a pain to strap this on and get situated with a hungry, screaming newborn,
This things were sweet relief. If you see a lactation consultant, they may even give you some as well!
When I was engorged, these felt so good heated up. I also put them over the falange as I was pumping and it helped with the milk flow.
Bottles
We had tiny bottles that came with our breast pump that we used when she was only drinking 2 ounces. Then, we moved to Dr. Brown’s, which are apparently great to eliminate colic and gas. They come with parts, which I could do without, but my husband thinks these really work so we use them. We have a set of 3 4 oz bottles and a set with 3 8oz and 2 4 oz bottles and rotate through them all. They also come with a tiny little brush to clean the parts. We haven’t used it yet and just throw everything on hot, soapy water.
Drying Rack
We started out using a towel but moved to this drying rack. I love it and it’s easy to clean! We added this stand and bottle brush.
Health