Minimalist must-haves.
What do you REALLY need the first few weeks home with a newborn? Some people think NOTHING ????♀️. Other people think they need every possible thing or they're not prepared, I admire those people.
Therefore, this list will differ depending on your personality type and things like if you're breastfeeding, bottle feeding, formula feeding, cloth diapering, doing elimination communication or disposables, or many of the other choices we get to choose for our families!
I am breastfeeding and doing disposables to start but have a stash of cloth diapers.
I like to consider myself a minimalist. I don't want extra stuff I don't need, but will pay top dollar for the things I do need.
Less but better.
With that being said, this is what I've found to be the essentials in that first month:
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The first week with a newborn: For the babies
1. Food (your boob)
I went the breastfeeding route so I was able to skip the bottles… for now. But I had to get the nursing bras and the boob pads and a few other things (found in the blog, what tired new mom's need to heal).
2. Clothes
I put 2 outfits on my registry and have an entire closet full of clothes until about 6 months. People always want to gift outfits even if you don’t ask for them because BABY CLOTHES ARE SO GD CUTE!
There are also lots of people who are trying to give away their entire lot of baby clothes when they're done having babies. If this happens to you, as it did for us, make sure to pay that forward! Let's be honest, even “used” baby clothes (if they don't have poop stains) are basically brand new.
For the registry, I used babylist.com because I could add something from ANY store.
See something cute on Insta? Add it.
Target? Add it.
Amazon? Add it.
Anyyyywhere!!!
You can even sync your Target/Amazon lists with your babylist, here's an article on how.
I didn’t do that, I just went 100% with babylist. PLUS they have seriously helpful guides on anything you're trying to learn more about, car seats, strollers, high chairs, etc!
3. Diapers and wipes
Cloth Diaper (Bum Genius is what we have)
Wipe Warmer (we skipped this)
We will be cloth diapering eventually, but we wanted to start with disposables and take on the cloth when we felt we had a grip on the rest (I don’t even know if that's a real expectation). Apparently breastfed poops are water soluble so “clean up” is literally an extra load of laundry.
People will tell you pampers through infancy are worth the extra $5 over off brands because of the amount of liquid they’ll hold. I've tried both now and I don't notice a difference.
We use sensitive skin wipes… just because… and we don't use a wipe warmer because it hasn't really been an issue for us. I’ve heard the warmers are great when you’re home but create an absolute baby monster when you’re out and about without it!
4. Burp rags
The amount of things I’ve used a burp rag for…
A friend gifted me my favorite ones so I asked her where she got them.. surprise AMAZON. Here's the link.
5. Somewhere to sleep
This is different for everyone: are you co-sleeping? Having a bassinet next to the bed? Crib? All of the above?
We’re co sleeping with a snuggle me organic to start. This can be a cultural and controversial topic, but it works for us. Please do your research so you do it safely and decide if it's right for you and your family.
I also picked up this bassinet because it swivels over the bed and the side comes down to easily get her out. I grabbed mine off FB marketplace because they're a little pricey and can only be used until about 6 months (or until they show signs of sitting up).
6. Bath
I got this tub because the sling is so great for an infant and keeping that belly button dry (you need to keep it dry while its on and for about a week after it falls off).
The one con is that it’s not compact AT ALL.
I also got baby washcloths from my registry. At first they felt super unnecessary, but they are SUPER helpful cleaning between every baby roll. I usually use an adult towel bc it feels warmer to me. She’s always so cold when coming out of the tub! But… also the baby hooded towels are cute af (registry item maybe). You decide.
We also have a “Blooming Bath” flower thing for the sink that we’ll use once her belly button is totally dry and healed up and she can sit up on her own!
THAT IS IT. Now here is the thing, you will need more things. But it's all about baby's preference. We went on baby's cue. We bought the Mamaroo and she haaaaated it. She loved swinging in her car seat though so we thought a swing would be better. We were right. Luckily FB marketplace is the best for buying and selling baby stuff.
Good luck, you've got this. And if you're feeling overwhelmed, that's normal! Reach out to another mama!
xo Shay