Baby Must Haves

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When I finally became a mommy in 2022 at the age of 34 years old, I was unprepared for ALL the stuff a baby would need. I had added some stuff to my baby registry but apparently I hadn’t even scratched the surface on what I needed.

Here is a list in ONE place for things that I have found to be extremely helpful the past 1.5 years with my little one. From things like clothes, feeding, bath, and play to bed, car and nursing/pumping.

Clothes

Tip: I learned something about baby clothes that I didn’t know until I was actually starting to move up in sizes. When it has a range, for example 0-3 months, the 3 months sized clothes go with that size range. For 3-6 months the 6 months sized clothes go with that range. 6-9 month is 9 month sized clothes also, etc. I didn’t know that at first and missed out on my little one wearing some of her cute outfits.

• Footless Sleepers - We LOVE these footless sleepers. I am so blessed to be able to stay home with my little one all day that most of the time she just wears these as her outfit.

• Footed Sleepers - A MUST for all babies!! I especially loved these ones when my little one was younger. Now that my little one is bigger I LOVE these Amazon Essential Sleepers

• Slippers - When your little one starts walking these slippers work great. The bottom is rubber so they won’t be slipping around on the floor.

• Onesies - Another MUST have for all babies. In their earlier stages you might not want to get expensive onesies as they may have a bit more blow outs and it is easier to just throw the soiled ones out.

Feeding

• Highchair - We love this highchair that clamps into the kitchen table. We have a big sturdy table so it can still hold my little one as 26 pounds and even when she is jumping around. It saves on floor space if you have a smaller area.

• Food Processor - Before I became a mom, I had the idea that I would make my own baby food. Well, I did most of the time so this food processor came in handy. I made purees like butternut squash, sweet potato, green beans, and even peas.

• Glass Food Jars - I used these jars for storing most of the purees I made for my little one. They work well in the freezer and take out to put in the fridge the day before you want to use them.

• Food Pouches - My little one loved applesauce and I was able to get a big jar of applesauce for real cheap. I used these pouches to put the applesauce in them, even mixed some with strawberry and blueberry to make different flavored ones.

• Food Pouch Filler - This stand filler for the pouches worked like a dream. Simply attach the bags, upside down, pour in the puree, place the syringe and push down to fill bags. I found 2-3 ounces of food worked the best, any more than that it seemed to leak out a little.

• Sippy Cups - The transition to a sippy cup was fairly easy. My little one loved these ones the best.

• Electric Kettle - This electric kettle worked the best for us when we needed to warm up a bottle of milk, specifically breastmilk. We warmed up the water, placed it in a bowl and then put the bottle in the hot water to warm up. Gently shake the bottle every minute or so. Typically warmed it up within 5 minutes. My little one didn’t need it too warm and eventually started taking it straight from the fridge, so this process didn’t last too long but got us through the first 5-6 months.

• Instead of this bottle warmer - We were gifted a bottle warmer like this and after trying it out for a month or so we found that it wasn’t the best fit for us. It warmed it up too much or not enough.

• Silicone Plates with Lids - Once my little one started eating table food, we found that these plates work great. They have suction cups on the bottom, so they stay put on the table. Anytime we go out to eat we bring one with us so she can eat and we don’t have food flying all around!

• Gas Relief Drops - We were told about these drops by one of the nurses in the hospital as we were being discharge. My little one wasn’t too fussy but when we noticed she was getting uncomfortable we would add a few drops to her milk. This was mainly for when she got breastmilk because what the mother eats can potentially affect the baby.

• Bottles - My little one was not picky about her bottles so these Parent Choice bottles worked great for us.

• Bottle Drying Rack - This bottle drying rack is a must for all the bottles you have to wash on a daily basis.

• Bottle Brush - Brushes to wash the bottles with. Need I say more!

• Dishpan - A dishpan is a MUST. While we were in the hospital they gave is a simple dishpan like this one for my breast pump parts. We used this for the breast pump parts as well as all the baby bottles too. Just use mild dishsoap like dawn or pamolive.

Bath

• Bath Towels - Love these hooded towels to dry the little one off in.

• Washcloths - These washcloths are super soft and work great for bath time.

• Baby Bath - This baby bath works great while the little one is a newborn as there is a mat that will allow them to recline. This baby bath will grow with them as they get bigger!

• Bathmat - As my little one out grew her baby bath and only needed to sit in the tub, this bath mat came in handy so she didn’t slide around so much. We had a few head bonks before I realized I needed this!

• Bath Cup - This cup has become a necessity during bath time. My little one now loves to hold on to it and play with it during bath time.

• Cradle Cap Comb - My little one had a bit of cradle cap. I used a soft brush at first but didn’t seem to help. Then I did some research and found these cradle cap combs. They worked great! The little silicone nubs help to massage baby’s scalp while I found that metal end of the comb worked the best to really get the dried flakes.

  • Use Coconut Oil, like this one, with the cradle cap comb to help loosen the crusties. Apply a small amount to baby’s head, ensuring the lightly massage into scalp, approximately 10 minutes before bathing.

Play

• Gel Teether Keys - These gel teething rings are so fun to play with even when the little one isn’t teething.

• Baby Teething Toys/Rattle - LOVED these teethers and rattles. A few of them were my little ones favorite that they ended up breaking (after 8 months of playing with it).

• Penguin Silicone Teething Toy - This little penguin is so adorable. The little one can hold onto it and it won’t fall off their hand.

• Play Table - This table helped my little one figure out how to stand.

• Little Tikes House - This little house is so fun to play with as it has a slide, a window, a mailbox with shapes, and a little door.

• Activity Folder - This works great for car rides and even just to play with in the house.

• Folding Chair - My little one loves this chair. She relaxes in it and even sits nicely to watch some tv!

Bed

• Bassinet - We didn’t use this bassinet too much but when we did it worked great.

• Co-sleeper Pillow - This co-sleeper pillow fit nicely in the bassinet as well as between my husband and I.

• Nursing/Lounger Pillow - We LOVED this pillow. Used it co-sleeping (even though it is NOT recommended). I even put it on the loveseat in the living room when she was younger. She could sit and watch everything.

• Nursey Set - This is the nursey set for my little one. It comes with a crib, that can turn into a toddler bed (additional buy), day bed, and even a full-size bed (additional buy). It also comes with a dresser with a changing table topper and a rocker glider.

• Mattress - I got this crib mattress. I love that the waterproof liner can be unzipped and tossed in the washer also.

• Changing Table Mattress - This changing table mattress is a MUST. I thought I needed the sheets for it but skip the sheets so you can easily wipe off any mess.

• Sheets - Be sure it is 100% cotton. I originally got sheets that were NOT breathable and that can increase chances of SIDS.

• Sleep Sacks - My little one did not like to be swaddled so we found that these sleep sacks worked well.

• Warmies - Warmies are amazing and my little one loves hers so much. After 1.5 years it is getting very dirty but still works well. She requests it be warmed up for pretty much every nap and before bed time. We just started letting her sleep with her warmie about a month ago (so at 18 months old).

• Nursery Organizers - Babies have a lot of small things like socks, headbands, etc. so these came in handy to keep things organized.

• Sound Machine - This sound machine is a MUST! Our house echoes so badly that this sound machine helps my little one not hear all that noise.

• Diaper Genie - A diaper genie is a MUST for any nursery.

• Diaper Pail Refills - These Amazon Brand - Mama Bear diaper pail refills work great with the diaper genie.

Car

• Graco Car Seat System with Stroller - I LOVED the Graco car seat we had when my little one was smaller. This travel system works well together and the car seat clicks right into the stroller. A MUST!!

• Evenflo 4-in-1 Car Seat - As my little one got bigger and we couldn’t carry around the car seat anymore, we got this 4-in-1 car seat. Rear facing for infant and toddler, then to front facing, and then eventually booster with a highback and without.

• Car Seat Cover - Winters in the Midwest it is necessary to have a car seat cover for the little one.

• Head Supports - My little one looked so tiny in the car seat when we brought her home from the hospital. These head supports really helped it so her head wasn’t falling too much to the side.

• Mirror - Get this mirror to put on the car seat so you can easily keep an eye on your little one.

• Diaper Backpack - When my little one was younger we used a backpack diaper bag like this one. It was extremely handy to bring everything we thought we might need.

• Diaper Caddy Bag - Now that my little one is bigger and we just need a few snacks and a diaper or two, this little diaper caddy bag is what we use now. This small bag works well as a crossbody bag as I use it.

Nursing

Breastfeeding, pumping, or formula? It doesn’t matter how you feed your baby, just know that you are doing a great job.

With that being said, breatfeeding and pumping are hard. I tried breastfeeding my little one for the first couple weeks but she just didn’t latch on well to my right breast, so I went to strictly pumping. I felt that worked best for me. I was able to continue pumping until my little one was 6 months old. We did supplement with formula here and there also as she was jaundice when she was born. More on that down below.

• Nursing Pads - Lactation is crazy. While your milk starts to come in and when your breasts get extremely full you will leak. I did not know how much I would leak. These nursing pads were always in my bra to help soak up any leakage.

• Boppy Pillow - This pillow worked great for nursing or just holding the baby closer to you!

• Nursing Bras - These nursing bras worked great for nursing and also for pumping. I figured out how to hook the flange in and secure it.

• Nursing Camisoles - I LOVED these camisoles as I could just wear these by themselves around the house.

• Portable Breast Pumps - When I started pumping these little portable breast pumps came in handy. I was able to get up and do some cooking or laundry but still get some pumping done.

• Medela Breast Pump - While the portable breast pumps were nice to help here and there, I did find out that I needed a good morning pump session and evening pump session to really help get all the milk out. You want to ensure that you are getting all the milk out of your milk ducts to help prevent mastitis.

• Nipple Cream - This nipple cream was great for my nipples while breastfeeding to help prevent chapped or cracking nipples. I also used this on the flanges of the breast pump as lubricant when I was pumping and of course on my nipples once I was done with a pump session.

• Vitamin D supplements - My little one was jaundice when she was born. The doctors weren’t concerned too much, however, I felt they took the wrong approach to help with the situation. I told them from the start that I wanted to breastfeed (give my baby my own milk), however, in the hospital they told me I had to give her formula or use donor milk until my milk actually came in. My little one needed food to help push the jaundice out. It wasn’t until we left the hospital and I had a lactation consultation and they mentioned that I, as the mother, can take a higher dose of Vitamin D so it can go through into my breastmilk. WHY isn’t this common knowledge, or at least the OB telling pregnant ladies to start getting the Vitamin D in. Anyways, the lactation specialist told my approximately 6,400 IU per day. I was taking these drops which 2 drops is 1,000 IU. So, you will need to take approximately 14 drops per day to get the appropriate amount of Vitamin D for yourself as well as for your infant. Again, this is if you are breastfeeding or pumping.

I hope this list helps you out with all that you may need for your little one. I am sure I am forgetting something but these are what we use on a daily basis or things I thought were super helpful.

Best of luck!!