Newborn Essentials

A new baby brings so much excitement – and so much shopping! So what do you really need? What are the newborn essentials? The first thing to know is there is SO MUCH available out there and you absolutely don’t need it all. In fact, your little one will grow out of most newborn products in a few short months!

However, there are definitely some things you absolutely need in the newborn phase, and others that will make your life so much easier. Now that our baby is just over five months old, I’ve decided to put together a list of my newborn essentials which will (hopefully!) help you figure out what’s worth it, and what’s not!

If you are pregnant or planning to start a family, make sure to check out my 6 Pregnancy Essentials & my Postpartum Recovery Essentials.

Newborn Essentials – Top Tips

Before we get started, remember everyone’s situation is different. What you want or need may be quite different to me or any other new mom. In short – you do NOT need everything on this list!!! 

Babies are not cheap, so don’t be pressured to “have it all.” I highly (highly) recommend borrowing any items that are expensive and/or that babies grow out of quickly. I was lucky enough to have three older sisters all with young children so there was a lot I could borrow. I saved quite a bit this way so invested a little more in some items we will use all the time for many years (like a buggy).

Also, there is no pressure to have everything before the baby arrives. Some items you will need in advance of course, but others can wait until you see if it will actually help you day to day. This is not a totally comprehensive list at all – just what worked for us (and what I can remember to include with baby brain lol)!

Newborn Sleep Essentials

Moses basket 

Your baby will likely spend most of their sleeping hours in a Moses basket during the early days and weeks! I had ours in the sitting room for all daytime naps. She would mostly sleep in there (and sometimes on me!) and I would try to eat or nap on the couch while she snoozed. I wouldn’t invest too much on this item. Our baby was too long for hers in less than three months!

Co-Sleeper

While the baby napped mostly in the Moses basket, she slept overnight in the co-sleeper. I used an older version of this one that was adjustable so you could have it right up flush against your bed to easily (and safely!) access the baby during the night. You can also zip up the sides so it’s more like a mini crib when the baby gets a bit bigger. You can still have him or her close by, but a little out of reach while they are learning to put themselves back to sleep during the night. 

Crib

Your newborn baby isn’t actually going to spend too much time in it’s crib – at least for the first few months (unless the crib is in your room with you). As I’ve mentioned, I had the baby in the same room as me sleeping during the day in a Moses basket and then beside me in a co-sleeper overnight. 

Once she started to get easily distracted and wasn’t able to sleep in the sitting room, I started putting her down for naps in the co-sleeper with the monitor. Then, I gradually moved her naps to the crib so she could get used to sleeping in the nursery. By about 4 months, she was sleeping in her crib for every sleep except her long stretch overnight as I kept her in the co-sleeper for that one a while longer.

Everything for our crib was from Ikea (the actual crib borrowed from my sister and I bought a new mattress and sheets to fit). The actual crib is not in stock anymore but it is similar to this one. It’s nice to have one with some drawers at the bottom and one that you can move the mattress height up and down as you need to. 

Crib Bumper

If you have a crib with bars, you also might want to get a bumper like this one to prevent the baby’s leg getting stuck between the bars. It’s important for this to be secured properly so there is no risk of the baby pulling it into the crib. I actually weaved ours in and out between the crib bars so she could neither get a leg stuck or pull the bumper in on top of her (the things you have to figure out!).

Monitor

A monitor is a definite on your newborn essentials list! I didn’t think much about what monitor we were going to use but when we ended up with this one, I actually loved it! The picture is SO CLEAR you can actually see the baby breathing! It also has a built-in sound machine so we saved on that. I always play the womb music track for the baby during nap times and she is out! We got this on sale so it was probably about €50 cheaper than the normal price.

Sleep Sacks

Safe sleep is SO important. No loose blankets, pillows or toys should be anywhere near your sleeping baby so sleep sacks are the way to go! We attempted to swaddle the baby in the early weeks but she very quickly learned to kick the blankets off and HATED her arms being confined. We moved her into a sleep sack by about four weeks old and never looked back. 

Books

While it may seem like it’s a bit early to start reading to your baby, it’s such a great habit to get into early and is so great for babies development. By 10 weeks, we had a lovely, easy bedtime routine and I would read 10 Little Fingers & Ten Little Toes followed by Goodnight Moon every single night. It only takes 5 minutes extra and is so sweet! 

Taking Cara Babies Newborn Class

The BEST thing I bought in the newborn phase was the Taking Cara Babies Newborn Class. It’s so easy to follow and gives a really nice sense of structure to the hectic newborn days. It definitely takes some work and a daily commitment for it to pay off, but it’s worth it. Like all babies, ours has lots of ups and downs with sleep but for the most part she was great and was sleeping through the night (for the most part!) by about 4-4.5 months.

Getting Around & Travel Essentials

Buggy

A buggy is definitely a newborn essentials and was one item we decided to spend a bit more on. We got so much second hand from family and so many people warned me that cheaper buggies keep needing to be replaced anyways! We went for the Uppababy Vista Jake V2 and it’s been perfect. It also easily converts to a double buggy if you plan to grow your family.

Bubba Baby Cover

With a January baby in Ireland, most of our walks were in the cold, dull, rainy weather so I just used the rain protector that came with the buggy. But the first sunny walk we went on I quickly realised I needed something else! A friend recommended Bubba Baby Covers and I was so (so!) glad I got one. 

I also love the fact it’s an Irish mother behind the business who makes all the covers herself! They are so reasonably priced and really good quality. I think this is also a brilliant gift idea if you’re not sure what to buy a new mom. I bought this one and LOVE it – but there are tonnes or gorgeous styles available. 

Car Seat

A pretty obvious one – you will need a car seat if you want to bring your baby out and about with you. In fact, you can’t leave the hospital without one so make sure to buy it early and have it fitted in your car somewhere between 35-36 weeks of your pregnancy. I also recommend practicing taking it in and out of your car a few times to make sure you are confident using it. Much easier to do it without a baby in your arms! You might also want to consider getting a newborn insert for your car seat to support babies head while their neck is still so fragile. Depending on your buggy and car seat, you can get adaptors so you can connect the car seat to the buggy. 

Backseat Car Mirror

A backseat car mirror is another newborn essential to have in the car so you can keep an eye on little one while driving! I got mine as a gift but they are easily available online and inexpensive like this one.

Baby Carrier

A carrier is great for the days you don’t want to haul a buggy around, or you are going somewhere not suitable for a buggy (like a walk on uneven surface etc). Being honest, we only used the carrier a handful of times in the newborn stage as our baby slept way better in the buggy. But, we always bring it with us in case we go somewhere the buggy won’t work. We used an older Baby Bjorn carrier – another item I borrowed from family.

Nappy Bag

Goodbye handbag and hello nappy bag – the space where you try to cram everything you will need for leaving the house. And if you are like me, you always forget something! I used an over the shoulder nappy bag in the newborn phase and it was totally fine, but I think now as baby gets bigger (particularly when she is on the move) I am going to get a backpack style one instead. Tip – always always bring not one but two spare outfits (or more!) in your nappy bag. Newborns blow out their nappies A LOT 💩

Bath & Grooming Essentials

Baby Bath & Thermometer

While you can of course give your baby a bath in the sink, the Shnuggle Bath is brilliant! We were very kindly gifted this by friends and I love it so much. It makes it so much easier and comfortable to give the baby a bath, particularly when they are really tiny and it all feels very new (and slippy!). We were also gifted a thermometer like this ducky one which is so handy to make sure the water is the perfect temperature. Once the baby was old enough to grab things, she loved playing with it in the tub too!

Skincare

Babies’ skin is so sensitive you don’t need to use much at all. I started just using coconut oil after bathtime on her skin for the first few months. When I noticed she was getting a few dry patches, I ordered Aveeno emollient cream and this Aveeno barrier cream and they both worked so well.

Haircare

Much like babies’ skin, their hair (if they have any!) doesn’t really need much or anything. I didn’t use anything at all for the first couple of months until she also got a little cradle cap. I used a small amount of this Aveeno daily wash shampoo. It’s not specifically for cradle cap so it didn’t have an instant result, but did help over the course of about a month. 

Baby Hairbrush

A little soft baby hairbrush is really handy just for general use when your baby’s hair gets a bit longer, but also good for massaging their scalp if they have any cradle cap.

Nail Clippers

Your little baby is going to need regular mani pedis, and you need to learn how to do it! A baby nail clippers is easy to use but I’ve also seen some people use a baby nail file when the clippers were too stressful for them LOL!

Snot Sucker

Yep – you will need a snot sucker! When little baby gets a bugger stuck in their nose and can’t get it out, you’ll need to use this little contraption to help them along. In our case, we only needed this a handful of times. The baby soon started sneezing it all out herself 🙂

Newborn Essentials for Your Home

Changing Table

Ikea made my life really easy for this one! I ordered this table, mat and cover and it was perfect. I have this in my sitting room where most of the changing happens, and I bought another padded mat for the nursery too. 

Storage Baskets

Having a few storage baskets around is really helpful to (try!) keep things organised. Get a few small ones for your changing table to keep nappies and wipes stocked up, and have a similar set up for your bedroom for overnight changes too.

Nappy Bin

There are going to be A LOT of nappies in your house filled with A LOT of poop. I got this Tommee Tippee Twist & Click Bin for our bedroom to keep overnight nappies well sealed. I had another more basic Tommee Tippee bin that we emptied more regularly beside the changing table downstairs.

Baby Seat

When your baby is able to safely support their own head and sit up, this Mamas and Papas chair is so handy and can be moved around the house. She loves sitting in this playing with a toy in front of her! It also has an insert you can remove meaning your baby can use it from as young as three months up to a year old.

Newborn Play Essentials Play

Toy Basket

While a newborn doesn’t really need too much in the way of toys, a little basket is great to help keep your sitting room tidy during nap times and when baby goes to bed. I got this basket set in Ikea and love it. Not expensive at all and stores everything we have with space left over!

Play Mat

I ordered this play mat from Ikea too and use it every single day – a definite on my newborn essentials list. I lay it down over a thick carpet so the baby can lie down, kick and roll around comfortably. So cheap and washes really well too!

Black & White Books

Our baby was absolutely obsessed with these books. Newborns can only really see black, white and grey so they are transfixed with the contrast patterns. These books are made from soft cloth so once baby starts grabbing they can chew on them a bit too and turn the pages themselves!

Mr. Zebra

Much like the black and white books, this black and white zebra teddy has been so so popular in our house. We lovingly nicknamed ours ‘Mr. Zebra’ and she will literally play with him all day. You better believe we took the batteries out though hahaha! 

Touch & Feel Book

We got this Noisy Farm Animals Touch & Feel book and used it a lot during tummy time! Lots of black and white which the baby loves. But it also has bright colours, textures and sounds for when the baby gets a bit older. 

 

So there you have it – phew! Remember I said there would be some shopping with a new baby? But in all seriousness, it will take a little trial and error to see what is actually helpful for you. You absolutely don’t need everything on this newborn essentials list, but most of the items will make your life considerably easier. The transition to motherhood can be hectic! Make life easier on yourself where you can but don’t feel like you need every item under the sun. Remember – borrow where you can (particularly for anything baby will grow out of quickly), pick quality over quantity on items you will use for years, and just do what’s best for you!