Ok, so you’re a new momma, looking at baby items, needing inspiration, struggling to figure out, WHAT DO I NEED (and want). We’ve all been there, staring with glazed-over eyes at the million baby things to pick from. So here is MY list – a list of my favorite items and must haves for your new precious babe. Lists are GEAR, FEEDING, NURSERY, BATH, and ESSENTIALS.
Stroller – UPPAbaby Vista – We got this stroller for our second baby and I wish we would have just gotten it first! It comes with a bassinet, so perfect for new babies and it looks so cozy! Then, when two babies are in your family, you can buy a second “rumble seat” to then configure your stroller to 9 different configurations! AWESOME. Then there is a ride-along board you add for another child. Another great thing is that it has a UV shade that pulls down SUPER far and the seat sits up really straight, which is nice when kids want to look out and see what’s happening. Very easy to use and stroll with. Perfect.
Car Seat – Maxi-Cosi Mico AP – this car seat is THE BEST. It’s SOOOOO light, which was huge for me. In fact, it is the lightest infant car seat in its class and features an ergonomic handle for extra comfort while carrying. The car seat features advanced Air Protect Side Impact Technology that protects around your baby’s head, where it’s needed most. The sun canopy pulls down pretty far to help protect baby’s sensitive eyes.
High-Chair – Bloom Fresco Chrome – John wanted something that looked like a piece of furniture since it was going to sit out around our dinner table at all times. It is the world’s highest baby chair, and has easy up/down height adjustments (like a beauty parlor chair! Hydraulics baby!) and a 360-degree swivel that allow baby to join the family at any dining table. There are recline positions; fully lie-flat newborn cradle, semi recline & upright seat. Also, there is even a removable sculpted booster seat for use with smaller infants. Boon also has a similar much more affordable high chair, see here.
Sleeper Bassinet – Fisher-Price Rock n Play Sleeper – Your baby will probably sleep next to you for the first 2-4 months. I swaddled Ivy and put her in this for the first 2.5-3 months before I put her in the crib. It is nice because it’s lightweight so you can move it all over the house, and it folds up easily for traveling. The deluxe one even vibrates to soothe baby.
Pack N Play – Graco Haven Aprica Playard – Easy to pack up, easy to put together, comfy.
Infant Swing – 4 Moms Rockaroo – The mother of all 5 infant seats. It moves like you do. The 4Moms mamaRoo infant seat bounces up and down and sways from side to side, just like parents do when comforting their baby. Five unique motions and built-in sounds or connect it to any MP3 player. The seat reclines to multiple positions to allow baby to lie back and relax or sit up and play.
Infant Lounger – Boppy Newborn Lounger – I used this a lot to lay baby down for a minute in something cozy. It is uniquely designed with a recessed interior perfect for a newborn’s bottom. Easy to carry around and lots of cute covers!
Breastfeeding Essentials – If you plan on breastfeeding, we mommas gotta take care of our boobies! Lansinoh lanolin is a cream that soothes sore or cracked nipples, a must have at first! You will also need nursing pads to make sure you don’t leak through your clothes :) These are soft and thick for any leakage. You should get a big chunk or all of your breast pump paid for by insurance and I got the Medela pump with the on the go tote. The tote is nice for hauling around everywhere you need to go. With it, I suggest the Medela breastmilk storage bags, they’re easy to use, I never spilt, and they don’t leak at all.
Nursing Cover and Clothes – I like the Bebe Au Lait nursing cover. It’s big and covers everything you need to cover. I like the Poppy Hills print, but there are a ton of cute ones! To take care of any spillage or wiping baby, I like the Aden and Anais muslim burby bibs. They shape around your neck for when burping, or they can button around baby to use as a bib. So practical! And anything Aden and Anais is so soft. These are the only burp clothes I used!
Boppy Pillow – This pillow is essential to prop baby up during nursing, especially when you’re tired! It’s also nice to use just as a pillow for baby to use or to even use as a back support when baby is first starting to sit up. Lots of uses! You’ll need it and love it. I suggest Ivie baby and Little Woolf to look at any covers!
Bottle Essentials – I like the Dr. Brown’s bottles. They come in different sizes and shapes so you can try out which works for you and your baby. There are several parts, but it helps eliminate air and reduces any colic, spit-up, burping, or gas. You will need a baby soap to clean them, I suggest Dapple baby dish soap. In fact, any Dapple products are awesome! It uses safe ingredients to remove milk residue and odors. Use this bottle brush to scrub out the bottles and nipple parts. I got this bucket to clean the parts in and let soak. Once they’re clean, you may need to sterilize – use these Medela bags, they’re so easy! 90 seconds in the microwave with two oz of water and you’re set. Then set them on this Boon lawn countertop drying rack to let them air dry. You can also purchase some flowers and twigs to accessorize it and have extra spots to hang the parts on. Cute for your countertop!
Dresser – A dresser is really nice for extra storage and to put a changing pad on. I got this one from Ikea – I actually love it. Usually Ikea stuff is pretty cheap quality, but this one is really sturdy, was a bitch to get together, but it’s great. And it has a ton of storage – 8 drawers! It also has a matching book shelf, doesn’t look as high quality, but I liked the height it added to the nursery.
Crib – We got the Jenny Lind DaVinci crib for Ivy – I just loved the delicate white spindle look for a little girl. And this crib is seriously on like EVERY blog I followed. Quite popular. Love the look of it. We got the Union Crib for baby boy. Both inexpensive, convertible, and look great. We got this mattress to go with it. I recommend sheets from Iviebaby – she’s the best!
Rocker – Pottery Barn Wingback Rocker – I would rate it 4/5 stars. It is exactly the look I wanted, but for the price, I feel like I could have found something more comfy. It is comfy, but it’s not REALLY comfy. And seriously, I spend HOURS in there. I had just ordered it online without sitting in it, so I would just suggest pick one that you LOVE and can try out. I did not get the matching Ottoman – I bought this one from Urban Outfitters instead.
Diaper Pail – Ubbi – This diaper pail has some serious odor control. We got the bags to go with it, but you could use any bag. It even comes in 12 colors! I only put #1 diapers in there because I felt like the #2 diapers were just making everything moist and yucky in there and it was like a whiplash in the face each time I opened the pail to put a new diaper in. Now with just peepee diapers, it is totally fine.
Changing Pad – Summer Infant Changing Pad – a must in a nursery. Easy to use to change diapers on and looks cute with all of the different choices of covers out there! I have used Iviebaby for my covers. She has a ton of fun ones!
Monitor – Motorola Baby Monitor – this one is so nice! Easily get range all over our house. Great camera and lots of additional features that make our minds rest assured. This one looks newer and pretty awesome too!
Humidifier – Crane Penguin – This humidifier is so cute for a nursery and it works great! I have to refill it each day if I have it running all day and night, but it’s easy to clean and refill. There are a ton of other colors and animals to choose from too!
Sound Machine – Mybaby Sound Spa – Love this one! So many sound machines have strange noises, I liked this one had just normal rain and ocean waves. It is also a projector, but I’ve never used that, just as a sound machine.
Storage – Land of Nod Knit Storage Bin – I LOVE these! They come in small, medium, or large and in various colors. Land of Nod has the best storage bins, so cool. They’re perfect to stuff blankets or toys in.
Swaddle Blankets – Aden and Anais – I swaddled Ivy all of the time! She loved it when she napped. Aden and Anais are the best, there are several colors and patterns to choose from and these bamboo ones are really soft, stretchy, and nice too. Little Hip Squeaks has some super cute blankets as well! Can’t go wrong with either.
Books – Definitely need some books! Ivy loved Goodnight Moon because it was color and black and white and so much going on in the book. You are My Baby: Ocean is another great one and there are tons of ones to choose from! They are fun because they have a smaller book inside the larger book for the kids to turn. Ivy has many of them and they’re great! Guess How Much I Love You is one the Moms will love. So sweet! Really, any book is terrific! So many great ones out there!
Here is a peek at Ivy’s nursery to see how I used these items!
Bath-Tub – Boon – Sleek, smart, and made to support your growing baby in numerous ways. It also comes in several different colors – we chose green. You can count on it from newborn to toddler. Recline it, expand it, drain it, collapse it and hang it up to dry. Diggity damn.
Towels/Washcloths – Aden and Anais have the best ones! They are big, made of muslim, and cuddly for baby with the hood. The washcloths are terrific too! Nice and big compared to other little tiny ones.
Lotion and Shampoo – The Aveeno baby lotion is natural and so so smooth and creamy. Fragrance-free and a super moisturizer. The shampoo and body wash I love is Honest’s. It uses natural and organic materials for baby. Love both of these. In fact, anything Aveeno and Honest is recommended by me!
Spout Cover – Skip Hop has a fun whale that is easy to use to cover the water spout. Keep those babies heads safe!
Toys and Toy Bin – Boon makes some great bath stuff and these appliques are perfect for sticking to the sides of the bath. Plus, they are fun for babies to nibble on and don’t come apart. Nice and soft for teething! The Munchkin animal bath squirters are fun for kids to play with too! To keep all the toys in, I use the Boon whale pod. It easily suctioned to the wall and holds a ton of toys!
Baby Carrier – Ergobaby – Tough choice, Ergo or Bjorn? I decided on the Ergo simply because of the look. The Ergo has a ton of colors and designs to choose from and they are ALL cool. Overall, the Ergo has been awesome. We chose the navy blue. It’s hip enough for me to wear, yet manly enough for John to wear, and he wore it a bunch. It’s easy to wear and it looks super cozy for the baby. Newborn insert is a must for small babies. Helllloooo trips to Target. The Solly Baby wrap is a must too because it’s a lot smaller and the baby wraps close to your body. Easy to walk around in and looks fashionable.
Diaper Bag – I LOVE my JuJuBe diaper bag! I knew I wanted a backpack to keep out of the way and for easier carrying. This one has several chic prints that made it hard to choose! I love all of the storage it has. Love love love this one.
Medicines – Infant Tylenol is a must. I give it to Ivy before and after vaccinations because she got so cranky from them. Poor little tikes! Ouch! A rectal thermometer should be used on infants and this Vick’s one is nice. It’s smaller and has a backlight for easy reading. It even stores the temperatures.
Diaper Rash Ointment – Triple Paste ointment is the BEST! It lasts FOREVER too so even though it looks expensive, Ivy is 18 months right now and I’m only through half of it! When I use this, her rash is gone the next day, super effective and works fast.
Pacifier – These Avent ones are nice. They are hospital grade and sized and shaped to fit a baby’s mouth. The Avent ones come in different sizes as baby grows so if you keep up with a pacifier, make sure to go up to the next size when the time is right.
Blankets – get a bunch of blankets! I love the Little Hip Squeaks ones and any Aden and Anais swaddle blankets. Blankets seems to be the gift everyone gets you, but trust me, you’ll use them all!
Teether – Yes yes, you need a Sophie. The giraffe teether is so easy for babies to grab and nibble on. Get two of them :)
Floor Seat – The Bumbo Floor Seat is so great when baby gets big enough for it. It holds them in tight and helps them work on sitting up. Comes in lots of colors and there is even a tray you can purchase to use it when feeding baby.
Diapers and Wipes – I prefer Pampers Swaddlers. I think they fit Ivy the best and they’re so soft. Plus the stripe that turns blue when wet is kinda handy. Get lots of diapers! You will use them! Whew! For wipes, I like the Pampers natural and sensitive wipes. I go back and forth with them because I can never decide. They’re both great. And speaking of diapers, next is some info on Amazon Prime and Amazon Mom – you need them!
Amazon Prime and Amazon Mom – Amazon Prime is $99 a year, but it’s AMAZING. With that membership, you get free 2 day shipping on all Prime items, which is almost everything on their site. This is SO nice because Amazon has pretty much everything, and when you order something, bam, it’s here in 2 days. So nice. especially when you need diapers, wipes, see a new toy, this, and that, order it, and it’s here. Kinda impossible to get out with a newborn sometimes, so I used Amazon a ton. Then, Amazon Mom, you just sign up for free. It’s 20% off diapers if you subscribe to monthly shippings, which is ultra convenient, because they just show up on your doorstep at which ever day you pick. I’m pretty much obsessed with Amazon. They have EVERYTHING.
Where to Shop
Land of Nod – this store has the COOLEST stuff!!! They have everything from furniture, storage, nursery items, decor, and toys and gifts. I have a crib skirt, lamp and 2 toy bins from here. I love everything in this store. It’s Crate and Barrel’s kid store. I’m obsessed. @landofnod
Carter’s – SUCH CUTE CLOTHES. And affordable. $
H & M – One of my favorite stores! And now they have baby and kids stuff! Super cute!
Ivie Baby – This store is made by the lovely Elizabeth Ivie. She makes and design crib sheets, boppy pillow covers, blankets, bumpers, and pillow covers, and they are just TO DIE FOR. The neatest prints! I have a changing pad cover and boppy cover. Love it. @iviebaby
Little Woolf – This Etsy shop has the funkiest stuff! Blankets, crib sheets, boppy pillow covers, etc, all in the coolest patterns! @littlewoolf
Little Hip Squeaks – This store has really cool products! Lovely little headbands and dresses for the girls, and super hip stuff for the boys. @littlehipsqueaks
Candy Kirby Designs – The COOLEST blankets, beanies, sheets, dolls, and leggings. LOVE THEM ALL. Many watercolor designs, beautiful. @candykirbydesigns
BlaBla – I mean, every baby has to have a BlaBla doll. Ivy has Splash the Cat. The also have other items including the most dreamy knit mobiles.
Sugar Plum Lane Boutique – One of a kind baby and toddler leggings, headbands, burp cloths, bibs, baby blankets, and nursery designs for your little one. @Sugarplumlanebaby
Zulily – Designer boutique on sale! This has all sorts of brands and products that change every day.
Gap – I mean, who doesn’t love Gap? Cute, quality, great stuff. Adorable
Urban Outfitters – Ya, ya, this store is for us adults, but their apartment stuff is RAD! I have a foot stool, curtains, and a nightstand from here, and they just add a bit of cool to her nursery.
Lucy Darling Shop – The best nursery prints. I have 6 :) @lucydarlingshop