Here are the top 5 newborn must haves for your baby. When I was 37 weeks pregnant, my husband and I were finishing up our baby shopping. The one thing we realized along the way is that the best baby products are not necessarily the most expensive ones. It all comes down to knowing where to shop and doing research on the products you want to buy. We understand it is hard for new parents to sort through numerous articles and reviews just to come up with a baby registry. We know this because it was what we were doing before our baby arrived.
In this article, we will start with the five most essential newborn baby items. We will call it “part one of our baby shopping saga.” If you are thrifty, you can find most of these items used on Facebook garage sale groups. However, we felt some of the things below were better purchased new. Doing so also gave us something to add to our baby registry.
If you have family and friends eager to buy you something, setting up a baby registry would make it easier for them to get you something that you need. Us being an Indian couple, this was true for us. Indian families come together to support one another when there is any special occasion in the family. We had a lot of family support, and they were more than willing to help with our baby shopping.
5 Newborn Must Haves – The Baby Shopping Has Begun!
We have been through tons of reviews and YouTube videos to finally come up with a great newborn must haves shopping list. We are very happy with the items that we have gathered for our baby. I am putting these together into a concise article so that you don’t have to spend hours doing extensive research. These are the 5 must have newborn baby items for any baby registry.
Be sure to set up your baby registry beforehand so that it is much easier to add baby products directly to it. We used the Amazon baby registry as we did most of our shopping there.
1. Baby Car Seat
This is one of the most important things you will buy for your newborn so spend the most money and research here. The hospital won’t let you leave without a proper car seat. You can get pretty good deals on used car seats but be wary of the expiration dates. There are tons of car seats out there in the market today and picking the right one can be a mundane task. The Graco Click Connect 40 is what we picked at the time of this article. We picked the Graco baby car seat for the following reasons: the ease of use, safe and comfortable construction, simple integration with other Graco products such as the stroller. I loved how the adjustable pads support the baby’s head and neck. I also love the fact that it can support baby’s up to 40 pounds, This means that you can use this car seat until your baby is at least 2 years of age. But most likely you will move on to a booster seat way before that.
Post Update (2019): Unfortunately, the Graco Click Connect 40 is not available currently and Graco went with the Graco SnugRide SnugLock line instead so I will list that below. While on Amazon, I suggest you also add the extra base as well as the stroller from the “Frequently Bought Together” section.
Having an additional base will definitely come in handy. In our case, we had one installed in my husband’s car and the other in mine so switching cars for baby transport was no problem!
2. Bassinet
I preferred to have a Bassinet for the first 3 months of our baby’s life instead of a crib as it significantly reduces the chance of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). A Bassinet also provides convenience for the parents to easily wheel the baby to a different room without disturbing them. I chose to get this item off a Facebook garage sale group for as little as $15. I figured that a Bassinet will only be used for a short time so better buy it used and save some money. I found many that are in excellent condition on Craigslist as well. If you can’t get your hands on a used Bassinet in excellent condition then my recommendation is to get a brand new one online. Baby Bassinets are very affordable for the convenience they provide. Listed below is a very nice Bassinet I found online by Delta. This Bassinet includes a storage compartment on the bottom which is handy for keeping essential baby items. Trust me, you will need all the easily accessible storage that you can get when you’ve just had a baby. The following Bassinet by Delta, like most other brands, supports babies up to 15 pounds.
3. Baby Feeding
I went with the Philips AVENT Infant Starter Set for baby feedings. This is a really wonderful product for anyone who wishes to bottle feed. It is (BPA) free and made of quality plastic from the western world. The Philips AVENT Infant Starter Kit has an anti-colic valve to prevent air from entering the baby’s tummy. This kit also includes a starter cup! which means you can eventually transition your baby from bottle feedings to cup feedings. The powder dispenser definitely comes in handy while traveling and the cleaning brush is also a nice addition.
4. Swaddle Blanket
At first, I was hesitant to buy the Miracle Swaddle Blanket as opposed to a regular swaddle blanket. But I knew I would be getting regular swaddle blankets from my baby shower or from family so I went ahead with the purchase. Today, I am more than glad I made this purchase because I am hearing from friends how their baby sleeps comfortably in this for a longer period of time. It is good for warmer climates as well because the Miracle Blanket is made thin and provides breathability. This blanket is also perfect for dad’s who want the “easy swaddle” way out. It is also perfect for new moms who want to take the fuss out of swaddling. It is also very good for those “baby escape artists” who squirm through regular swaddling methods.
5. Infant Tub
The First Years Sure Comfort Deluxe infant and toddler tub received nomination by BabyCenter’s Mom’s Picks Awards and it is still selling very well. This is a very good tub that will come in handy during your baby’s first year of life. This product is very reasonably priced and supports your newborn through the toddler stage. It is ergonomically designed so that it supports your baby’s head and neck during bath time. The headrest also has padding for additional support. This tub provides a handy holding station for baby shampoo and other bathing items on one side. Here is another cool feature about this baby bathtub! The drain plug will turn a lighter color to indicate the water is too warm! You can place this on top of your kitchen sink or on the bathroom floor. We used the bathroom as we didn’t feel comfortable using the tub in a sink. Once done bathing, you can easily drain it into your bathtub and leave it to dry.
Hold on, guys! You are not done! With your newborn must haves! Baby’s are expensive, but we can mitigate a lot of the costs by purchasing only the things we need and being thrifty where we can. However, I am concluding this article here and will continue with another must-have newborn baby items list soon.
If you haven’t already, set up your baby registry soon and share the link with family and friends!
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