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When you’re a first time parent, you don’t know what to expect. The baby gear industry is full of nick knacks and conveniencies and if you’re not careful, it’s super easy to fall overboard. Drowning in baby clothes and items is a very real thing.
So what do you really need for baby? What do you really not?
Most things are honestly going to be dependent upon your particular child and what they like and dislike. You may find something unnecessary that I couldn’t live without, so it’s all very tailored and relative to what works for you. You’re not going to know until baby’s here though. So what should you have before hand?
First, Decisions.
- Will you do cloth or disposable diapers?
- Where will baby sleep?
- Will you practice baby wearing?
- Are you breast feeding or formula feeding?
Each one of these descisions steers you in a different direction of what you need.
Clothes for Baby
This one’s easy to lose hold of. And if you’re not careful, you’ll be suffocating under the mountains of baby clothes. Half of which will never get worn.
I didn’t buy a single article of clothing for my daughter. If you’re having a baby shower, clothes is the number 1 item people are going to get you. So my advice is to wait until after the shower and reevaluate what you have, don’t have and fill in the gaps then.
Also take into account what time of year it’s going to be when baby is born. Winter babies will need more than summer babies. (It’s good to reference this in the invitation somehow since many people don’t think about it and just get whatever is in front of them. Newborn swim suit for a baby born in November!? How cute!)
- Onsies
- You’ll need probably at least 20 of these. Somtimes, poop and spit up aren’t contained. Sometimes drool drenches and food misses the mouth. Plus you’ll need a spare one to carry around with you.
- Pants
- Especially for those winter babies. You can get by with probably 10 of these although more is good too. Summer babies can get away with 2-4 pair. I’ll go into more details below the list.
- Socks
- My son was a summer baby. He never ever ever had socks on. My daughter needed them since she was in the winter. 1 pack will honestly probably do you as long as you can keep up with them.
- “Go” Outfits
- These are those nice but impractical for around the house outfits. How many you need depends on how often you’re out and about doing things. 3 is plenty for us since we don’t leave the house but a couple of times a week.
- PJs
- In the dead of winter, you’ll probably want some footie pajamas. 5 will probably do as long as you don’t get too far behind on laundry. 7-8 if you like to let laundry pile up a bit first. (Plus they’re super stinking cute) In the summer, you can totally get by without them, opting for onsies and pants instead.
I’m a big advocate for multi-purposing. Onsies paired with pants is an “around the house” outfit, pajamas and a “running errands” outfit. Footy pajamas are cute and useful if they pull their socks off in the cold nights but honestly unnecessary unless it’s super cold.
If it’s winter, at least 2 sweaters or coats are needed. I say 2 because one is always going to be dirty and need washing (This is also relative to how often you leave the house. 4-5 may be needed if you leave daily). And 1 toboggan type hat is great for cold outings.
That’s all you need and if you have family and friends like I do, you may never have to buy anything and STILL end up drowning in clothes.
I also highly recommend asking around if anyone has clothes they want to get rid of. They grow out of things so quickly that it’s a complete waste of money to buy brand new things that they’re only going to wear twice.
And don’t save your favorite outfits for special occasions only! Put them in it EVERY time you can. They’ll out grow it in a couple of days and you’ll be sad they only wore it once.
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— S.S.Blake 🌿 (@Earthand_Water) November 27, 2018
Diapers
We’ve always done cloth diapers, so I can’t really speak to how many disposable you need. If you’re doing cloth, though, you’ll need:
- About 20 covers
- About 50 inserts
- (More of both of these if you’re wanting to wait a little longer between laundry or if you have a particularly poopy baby)
- Large Wet bag
- Small wet bag
- Trash can with lid that fits the large wet bag
- 2-4 packs of cloth wipes
- Spray bottle
- Wipes solution tablets
These are the basics. They’re due to vary depending on what types of things you’re wanting to use, how many comes in a pack, etc. We use regular wipes when we’re out and about but we stay home 90% of the time at least and about 20-25 cloth wipes does us fine without ever running out.
All sizes diaper covers don’t fit newborns either, by the way. With my son, we got enough disposables from the baby shower to get us to him being big enough for the all sizes without ever having to buy any. With my daughter, we bought about 8 newborn covers and they did us fine.
I could go on forever about some cloth diaper knowledge but this post isn’t about that, so here’s the first post I wrote on them to get you some basics and I’m feeling called to do some more content on them so make sure you sign up to The Temple Tablet to catch those when they come out!
Feeding
If you’re formula feeding, I really don’t know what you’ll need, sorry. But if you’re breastfeeding, you’ll need a pump and a form of freezer storage for the milk. Plastic bags are the most commonly used although if you’re trying to opt for plastic free/ zero waste / eco friendly, I have seen people use small glass mason jars. They take up a lot more room though so be mindful of that.
- Pump (electric is worth it but hand pump is fine if you wanna put forth the effort)
- Storage bags or jars
- 1-2 bottles depending
My body never responded well to a pump (You can read about it here) so we never needed many storage bags or bottles since feeding directly at the breast was pretty much all we could do.
If you’re planning on going back to work though, you’ll need a good heavy stock pile of milk in the freezer and probably at least 5 bottles. For me, really all I ever needed was boobs.
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Nursing covers are a waste. They’re super hard to deal with and honestly, a receiving blanket does better.
Nursing pads may also be a must for you. I never needed them but I think I’m the odd ball out on this one. I did order a bunch of reusable ones from here! Use code ZEROPADS4 to get some free ones!
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A Bag
With my son, we had a super nice, expensive diaper bag that we took everywhere and really didn’t even use. It was just a catch-all and was always over packed with stuff we didn’t need and didn’t see for a month or two.
With my daughter, we started out with a backpack diaper bag for more hands free conveniences but after a couple of months ditched it for a basic canvas bag. I pack it right before leaving the house every time we go somewhere and it’s so much better than having an always packed diaper bag. I’m going to write a post on this too, so stay tuned.
You definitely need a bag of some sort but I’d pick my basic canvas bag over a big, bulky, lose-everything-in-it, cluttered diaper bag any day.
Furniture for Baby
This is one of those relative topics as well. A swing was dire for my son but my daughter didn’t like it very much. A bassinet was a waste of money for my son but a must have for my daughter.
It really depends on your baby and your preferences. We use our changing table all day every day for years (and have with both kids) but I’ve heard others say they never used it once. I think this one has a lot to do with cloth diapering, though. You’ll need a place to store all of your cloth diapering supplies so if you’re doing cloth, you’ll probably NEED a changing table or a dresser with a changing pad on top.
As far as coming home from the hospital, you’ll need:
- A car seat
- Somewhere for baby to sleep
- A bouncer (also relative)
- A bathtub seat of some sort
A bouncer was a must must must for me with both kids so I could bounce them to sleep in it and stare at them to make sure they were breathing as I did things all day. New borns sleep a lot and you’ll want them right there in front of you while they do and not in another room. You’ll be running in there to check on them every 3 minutes if you don’t.
I wouldn’t worry about getting any other things until you get to know your baby a little bit. Do they seem to need movement? Then look into a rocker or swing or something of the such.
Definitely see what other people have sitting around or look on Facebook market for 2nd hand things. We got our Halo Bassinest (regular $250 new) for $50 and it was basically brand new. There’s no sense in buying new anything if you can find it used and in good condition. You’re only going to use it for a few months.
Let the furniture situation evolve and grow with baby.
Transportation for Baby
Obviously, you’ll need a car seat. It’s also super handy to have a place to put them when you’re out doing things not in the vehicle as well. My baby carrier was a godsend. I used it with both of my kids almost daily.
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My son wouldn’t ride in a stroller so it was a waste of money. With my daughter, we bought a travel system where her car seat snaps directly into the stroller frame. I highly recommend it 100x over! Nothing’s better than transfering a sleeping baby undisturbed from car to stroller.
Health and Safety for Baby
There are only a few brands I trust with these sorts of things. And Johnson and Johnson is not one of them. Babyganics, Seventh generation and doTERRA’s are the only one’s I’ll use. That being said, I really don’t use much of anything anyway.
What you’ll for sure need:
- Baby finger nail clippers
- A thermometer
- Lotion
- Soap
- Diaper cream
- Monitor
I don’t use any special baby soap. I use the homemade charcoal goat milk soap that I got from the vendor at the local fiddler’s convention. If you wouldn’t put it on your baby, you shouldn’t be putting it on yourself either.
I don’t use shampoo on myself, much less my kids. My thought process is that if I can avoid getting their hair into the mess that commercial shampoos have gotten ours into, I can help them to avoid a lot of problems that I had to deal with.
Read how I went “No poo” here.
Things like baby proofing gear and baby gates won’t be needed until they start crawling.
Things you definitely DON’T need for Baby
- Baby towels
- Baby wash cloths
- Wipes warmer
- Diaper pail
- Bottle warmer
- Baby shoes
- Toys
There is no universal list
It’s all relative, just as anything else. I wish I had definite answers for you but I can only provide guidelines. Every baby and parenting style is different.
My biggest advice is to stick with the things you KNOW without a doubt you’ll need and save everything else for later. Invest in things when the time comes that you feel they’re needed.
All our ancestors needed was a few towels for diapers and they got along just fine.
Other Posts you may like:
- Common Pregnancy Myths & Fear Mongering Misinformation as Told By a Midwife
- Birthing From Within; a book review for new parents
- Your Beliefs Around Birth Can Make Labor Easier or Harder
- Expecting Trouble; Prenatal Care in America (A Book Review)
- The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding; a book review for new parents
Best Vibes Always, S.S.Blake
Author
S.S.Blake; Spiritual Life Coach, Yoga + Meditation Teacher and Founder of Earth and Water
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