Now that we are through the first month (!) of Leo’s life I feel comfortable sharing our must-have items. These are truly the items where without them the last month would have been so much harder! We really tried to focus on buying the essentials before Leo was born because we a) didn’t know what items he would prefer and didn’t want to buy a bunch of things without knowing him and b) tend to lean more minimalist in our accumulation of items in our home – we don’t want a bunch of things we don’t need.
These are all items that have been essential for us. Keep in mind, every baby is so, so different! What works for us might not work for you and that’s okay.
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Sound Machine for Nursery
A sound machine is a must for us, especially when baby is sleeping in the same room as we are. I was honestly shocked how much a constant white noise helped keep Leo calm and sleepy. It helps us all get a little bit better of sleep. Once Leo is asleep loud noises don’t tend to wake him (for now), but when he is in the drowsy but falling asleep stage noisy things do wake him up and using a sound machine to muffle the noises is really helpful. He goes to sleep before us (usually) and because of the sound machine we don’t feel like we have to tip toe around our room when we go to bed, though we usually wake him for a dream feed anyway. We love the one we have because I can control it from my phone – if we need to turn it up or down from the living room we can do so without going into our room. When he moves upstairs to his nursery the machine will definitely be moving with him. I also appreciate the sound machine for myself. Newborns are noisy sleepers! Lots of grunting, groaning, and even crying out in their sleep. We keep the sound machine low enough that I can hear him if he cries, but it helps muffles his normal sleep noises a little bit, which helps me sleep better since I am a light sleeper anyway.
Portable Sound Machine
A portable sound machine is super nice for those times that your newborn isn’t napping in their bassinet or is napping on the go. We use this when Leo is sleeping out in the living room during the day. I would use it on the go for naps too, but because of Covid we really haven’t been going anywhere.
Baby Shusher
The baby shusher was an item that Nathan rolled his eyes at when I got it, but now we are so thankful we have it. LOUD shushing is one of the only things that helps calm Leo down when he’s really upset, keep him calm, and helps get him into a very sleepy state for sleeping, especially after he’s been upset. A lot of time we will do the shushing ourselves, but during times when he is extra fussy or having an extended crying period this thing has been a lifesaver. It may seem silly, but shushing for an extended period of time can wear you out!
Bassinet
I wanted a bassinet I could move around the house easily. I love the look of the basket bassinets and the fact that I can easily remove the basket from the stand and move it into the living room for naps or take it to a grandparent’s house easily sold me on this style. Some people use a stationary bassinet and then may have a pack and play set up where they are spending the most time (like in the living room) – that option totally works too! Having multiple locations for naps and laying your baby down safely is key. I love soaking in all of the newborn snuggles I can, but having a place to safely set baby down so you can have a free hand is essential.
Large Exercise Ball
This is not a typical newborn must have item, but I can say we would truly be lost and getting a lot less sleep without a large exercise ball. Two friends recommended using an exercise ball to help calm a fussy baby and I’m so, so glad they did. I would have never thought of it and I am confident it has given us many, many more hours of sleep. Shushing combined with bouncing on the exercise ball is what truly works to help get Leo to sleep. He does not care for rocking (I think it’s not vigorous enough for him), though I’m hopeful he’ll like it one day. This little guy needs loud white noise or shushing and a vigorous (but safe) bounce while held tightly to our chests to help fall asleep. Sometimes he will fall asleep with just us holding him if he’s really tired, but more often than not we bounce him to the sleepy/drowsy stage before we put him down or else we’re up many, many more times trying to get him to fall asleep. Even with the ball it sometimes takes a few rounds of putting him down and bouncing before he is finally asleep.
Baby Carrier
A baby carrier has been a huge help. It’s an easy way to help calm a fussy baby (if they’re feeling it at the moment), or help get your newborn to nap if they are fighting sleep. Sometimes all Leo wants is to be held, but he does not want to be held while you are sitting down. He wants you to be moving around. This is an easy way to hold him while moving around and having a free hand to eat, throw in a load of laundry or even vacuum. I personally like this carrier compared to a wrap carrier because it’s a little quicker to get the baby into and it feels more secure to me, but maybe that’s just because I still haven’t gotten the hang of my wrap carrier.
Baby Seat
I mentioned it before, but having multiple, safe, locations to set your baby down around the house are a huge help! I like to have one “seat” in every room. Leo has started liking this seat more and more. I like it because it’s so portable! I can easily move it from room to room, even while holding him in my other arm. I also love that it grows with your baby and is more versatile that some of the other seats I have seen. The one downside is that moving/bouncing the seat is manual – meaning it’s dependent on you to move it. So far this has been alright for us because Leo’s wake windows currently aren’t very long, but I could see how an automated bouncer or swing would be helpful in the future.
Baby Lounger
A baby lounger falls into the category of baby seats for me. We typically keep this in the living room as a place for him to lay down and hang out when we are on the couch. I don’t like to let him sleep in here, unless we’re right next to him watching him because of the soft sides, but this lounger has still been very useful in his first few weeks of life! He does like to be upright a little bit more, so I can see how a Boppy lounger would be beneficial.
Burp Cloths
Leo has some major spit up for such a little guy. He’s gaining good weight and our pediatrician isn’t worried about it, BUT it is messy. Having good, absorbent burp cloths all around the house has been key. I like to keep one on the coffee table, at the kitchen table, on my night stand, and one on his changing table at all times. We have a few different kinds of burp cloths, but these are by far the favorite for us. I think they are the most absorbent and I love that the shape allows for the best coverage around your neck – if you baby is a spitter this comes in handy.
Swaddle(s)
Newborns have a startle reflex that often wakes them in their sleep, especially if their arms are not swaddled. We have chosen to have Leo sleep swaddled from day 1 and I do think it has helped him stay asleep longer during naps and at night, as well as be able to put himself back to sleep easier. He definitely fights the swaddle when we first put him in it and seems to prefer having his arms up, but I once he gets swaddled and calmed down it does seem to help him sleep better. We use these velcro swaddles and this arms up swaddle. They both have bottom open capabilities which are great for the middle of the night diaper changes.
I know babies needs change frequently over the first year as they grow, but for now these items have really been key for us during the newborn phase!
