Want to know the best baby essentials that every first-time mom should have? These are the tested and approved baby products you need to know about.
Baby Essentials for the First 3 to 4 Months
Creating a little life is one of the most rewarding and beautiful experiences and if you’re anything like me, you are doing all the research you possibly can to make sure you are very prepared. As a mom myself, I am giving you the top baby essentials that my family and I swear by.
You are going to learn about all baby essentials from traveling, feeding, and sleeping with your sweet baby.
After Learning about all of these baby products, you are going to be a pro and extra prepared when bringing the newest member of your family home.
This post is all about the best baby essentials that every mom should have within the first few months.
I’ve categorized the below list into Bathing, Bedding, Clothing, Play, and Feeding.
Bathing Essentials
- Diapers & Wipes: ($30-$50/box) We’ve been pretty faithful to Pampers Pure diapers as opposed to Huggies diapers. Whichever diaper you use will just be a personal preference for your family. We have also tried a variety of wipes brands and our current favorite are Water Wipes.
Here are some organic healthy brands to research as well–> Healthy Baby, Kudos, Hello Bello, Millie Moon, and Honest.
The babylist website shares a great breakdown of how many boxes of diapers you will need for each size.
2. Bathtub: ($20) Bathtime has truly helped with our bedtime routine and any blow outs that happen often in the first few months. This infant bathtub has a removable net and is easy to clean. Your baby will be most comfortable during bathtime.
Tip: Learn from me.. please spray and clean baby bath tub daily to avoid mold.
3. Bath Towels: ($25) Baby bath towels and washcloths are one of those must-haves that you just can’t have enough of. I love that these sets are so soft and at a great price. You will just love to take pictures of your little one looking adorable.
4. Changing Pad ($80)
We didn’t invest in a full changing table but opted for a changing pad on top of the dresser. This cushioned foam changing pad was so easy to keep cleaning wipes next to and wipe after each diaper change.
5. Soaps/Lotions/ Diaper Creams ($30-$40)
Rian has extremely sensitive skin. So.. sensitive that even the products labeled sensitive seemed to break her out even more. I’ve looked high and low for “clean” products but we’ve found what works for her. We currently use the A&D diaper cream and the Vivvi & Bloom wash and lotion.
Baby Bedding Essentials
6. Crib/ Bassinet: ($100-$200)
My husband and I were perfectly fine with taking any hand-me-downs for the first few months knowing these items would be used for a very short amount of time. Our bassinet was the same one my youngest niece used. This bassinet was a beautiful fit for our small apartment at the time. We didn’t buy this crib until my daughter was 6-7 months old. We also bought a silk sheet to protect her hair.
7. White noise machine ($60)
We shared a room with our daughter and as soon as we would move or make any noises she would start waking up. We learned very quickly the importance of white noise. We have the hatch rest that can be controlled by phone. We still used this a full year later.
8. Baby Monitor: ($90-$100) I knew I wanted a baby monitor that would settle my nerves at night but it had to be 100% hackproof. We settled for this baby monitor with no wifi as our safest option.
Baby Clothing Essentials
9. Swaddle ($21)
Suppose there’s one item that truly helped my baby’s sleeping habits it would 1000% be a swaddle. It is a cozy snuggle and safe alternative to blankets for babies. I’ve used nearly every affordable swaddle on the market and this is my absolute fave.
10. Sleepers: ($20-$30) The only clothing item you will truly need for babies those first three months is a sleeper. The fabric of the sleeper was very important to me. I didn’t want her to have anything rough or itchy on her skin. These sleepers are 100% cotton and very comfortable.
Tip: Whenever you have a doctor’s appointment schedule it for the afternoon/ evening and dress baby in a sleeper. This allows you to keep baby calm and straight to a cozy sleep.
11. Hats & mittens & socks: ($20) Depending on the season, you will want to have hats and socks to keep your baby warm. You may also want these items if you tend to keep the house cool in the warmer months. Babies also tend to scratch their faces pretty often so mittens are very helpful to keep those tiny scratches away. Find the links for what we used: here and here.
12. Onesies: ($20) Onesies are pretty much what your baby will live in outside of sleepers daily. There are so many onesies options. Here are the ones we loved. Here are links for short sleeves and long sleeves.
Baby Play Essentials
13. Baby rocker seat: ($50)
Yes, your baby will almost always be in your arms but this rocker seat is helpful when you need to quickly do something for yourself. i.e.use the bathroom or brushing your teeth lol.
14. Playmat: ($140)
This is an additional helpful item if your baby likes it. This play mat is another item i splurged a bit on but it will serve as the baby’s first toy and give Mama a few moments hands-free.
Baby Feeding Essentials
15. Boppy: ($44) Some would think this isn’t a necessity. But after having an unplanned C-section, I am so happy I already had a bobby at home to breastfeed with. This boppy will help lift your baby up to protect your back while feeding. Even my husband approved the boppy during feedings.
16. Bottles/ Pacifiers: ($20-40)
This is probably the most tough purchase for newborns. Surprisingly, babies are pretty picky when it comes to bottles, pacifiers, and cups. This is going to be a personal preference. I wouldn’t suggest to go out and buy 7 of the same brand. Start with 1-2 of two different brands and change as needed. We used Evenflo bottles and pacifiers. Here are a few links to popular dentist-approved items.Glass Dr. Brown, Plastic Dr. Browns, tommie tippie. Nano-bebe pacifier & bottles.
Also, Im adding the bottle cleaning brush.
17. Muslin cloths: ($17) If you are anything like my family we had a lot of visitors and we mainly used these muslin cloths to have family and friends cover their clothes from the baby’s face. We loved this material and used the same materials bibs.
18. Vitamin D: ($12)
Doctors ensured we gave baby girl this vitamin while she was drinking breast milk. After much research, I’ve found that vitamin D helps with the absorption of calcium to build strong bones and teeth.
19. Breast pump: I got my breast pump for free with insurance. Check out my post and comment section here to see how you can order one too.
Other Essentials
20. Baby Bag: ($80)
If you think your purse is bad.. the amount of things you will need in your baby bag will outshine your everyday purse. I chose a very spacious baby bag with lots of pockets. Love it and would definitely re-purchase over and over.
21. Thermometer & Nose cleaner & Nail clipper: ($25)
This health care grooming kit are items that you won’t need every day but you will need them eventually. It’s nice to have them stored in the house so you don’t have to run to the store in the middle of the night.
23. Stroller/car seat: ($650) This is where I decided to splurge. There are so many strollers and car seats there but since we have a small living space and travel often I opted for the doona carseat. Again this is a personal preference and will take some research to decide on. I would choose the doona over and over again. My husband and I struggled to transition to a travel system because I had to untrain my brain from the convenience of the doona.
24. Car seat mirror: ($26) If you need comfort like me to see the baby while driving this is worth the buy.
25. Baby carrier: ($32)
Lastly, Yes Im giving you all the options to be a hands-free newborn mommy as much as you can. This helped me and Velcro Baby so much. Please thank yourself later for investing in a good baby carrier.
This post was all about the best baby essentials to help you be as prepared as possible when bringing your new family member home.
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something using my links, I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.
