Newborn Essentials

Photo by Pauline Nicole Photography

When I had my first born almost 10 years ago, I was 16 and absolutely clueless on what a newborn needed. Luckily, I had helpful family and friends who were there to fill me in on the needs and necessities. These days, we have the option to look to blogs and online personas for advice.

Throwback to a little over two years ago when I was pregnant with my second baby, and I was back at square one. It had been almost 7 years since I had a newborn and I was back to knowing absolutely nothing about what a newborn would need. Thankfully, there were more mummy bloggers/vloggers around and I made sure to watch and read absolutely everything there was to know about the newborn essentials.

I loved that they talked about the things you needed, and the things that companies want you to believe you need, but you really don't. I also loved that they expressed what worked for them and what didn't, because like anything in life, what works for one person, won't work for another. That goes the same for newborns. What may have worked for my baby, more often than not may not work for yours, so just be mindful of that.

Besides the obvious things like clothes, nappies, wipes and bottles, I've curated a list of newborn essentials that I think are vital in your first few years of parenthood.
In no particular order, here we go:

• BABY BAG
  Now this is really important. For the first year or so of your bub's life, you're going to be carrying everything but the kitchen sink in this baby bag, so make sure you pick a great quality, sturdy, long-lasting and spacious baby bag to fill all of your baby (and mummy) necessities.
  As a new mum, you'll find yourself over-packing a lot for "just in case" purposes, but that's more clever than one would like to admit because you wouldn't believe me if I told you how many times we actually used everything in the bag, at one point or another.
  I did a lot of research to see what type of baby bag suited me and my needs. I opted for a discounted Mimco baby bag which was made out of mainly nylon, as I read they were easier to clean and maintain. Classically, mine was pink. And I absolutely loved it.
  My recommendation: Mimco waver baby bag - couldn't find the exact one I had, but this is similar and just as cute {click here to shop}

• NAPPY CADDY
  This is controversial in the sense that some people never think of it, and honestly, we never did either until we were in the baby store and saw it. For us, it came incredibly handy to have because we didn't have space for a nursery for bub, so we would change her on our bed and used the nappy caddy to lug around all of the diaper changing necessities we needed whenever we needed them. It's also useful to have once your baby becomes a little more active, because then you have every diaper change necessity in one place that can be transferred from room to room.
  Just like it's name, it's a box that has compartments for wipes, nappies, changing mat and then a drawer for other bits and bobs. In the drawer, we kept the nappy rash cream, a thermometer and nappy bags. This is something I always recommend when new mums ask me what I think they need to have for bub.
  My recommendation: b.box nappy caddy {click here to shop}

• DIAPER BIN
  I never actually thought of this until my cousin told me how much of a lifesaver it was for her. She actually gifted me our own at my baby shower and nappy changing has been a breeze. Our room constantly smells divine rather than like a constant array of baby excrements. I guess some would argue that a diaper bin isn't a necessity because wrapping a dirty nappy in a nappy bag works just the same, and that's exactly what we did with our first born, but if you have the finances to get a diaper bin, I highly recommend it because it takes the struggle of constantly taking out the trash every other day. We only take out our trash once a week now because that's how handy the diaper bin has been. You really only need to clear it out once (or sometimes twice, if need be) a week.
  Even though nappy bags work just as well, we did test it out and found that it would still stink up our room every so often, unlike the nappy bin, where the smell was always trapped right where it belonged until we had to take the trash out.
  My recommendation: Tommee Tippee Sangenic TEC Nappy Disposal Bin Unit {click here to shop}

• BABY CAR SEAT
  Before you even leave the hospital, this is one vital newborn essential that you MUST have. The hospital even checks to make sure you have one of these before letting you go home, so make sure this is your number one must-have on your baby shopping list, because it's the highest necessity, up there with your baby. You can choose to either have a capsule or a car seat - totally up to preference and budget.
  We were lucky enough to be gifted our baby seat by my best friend and her fiance, so we didn't even have to go through the stress of researching and finding the right one for us. But we decided to go with a convertible car seat instead of a capsule since a capsule only lasts till their 6 months old and then you have to get a convertible, so it just made sense to go straight to the convertible, which you are able to use from birth until they are 4 years old (which you will then switch over to a booster, but more on that later.)
  My recommendation: Safety 1st Summit AP Infinity Car Seat {click here to shop}

• BABY CARRIER/SLING
  This may not be a necessity to most mums, but I found it really helpful to have because with my first-born I spent a lot of my time carrying him around since he didn't like his pram, so this time around, I wanted to be prepared for the sake of my arms. It was useful in the sense that I was able to be hands-free when necessary, but still close enough to baby for her to feel safe and nurtured. Your newborn spent 9 months in the womb, super close to you and these baby carriers/slings are the perfect invention to keep that closeness as they develop and grow. I've also heard of many positive things about baby slings if you're thinking of going in that direction. But if you're a mama who likes to get stuff done, these carriers are you. But please, relax for the first few months and spend quality close time with your baby. Time is constantly fleeting.
  My recommendation: Ergobaby All Position Omni 360 Carrier {click here to shop}

• SWADDLES/WRAPS
  Newborns spent nine months in a warm, cozy womb. Naturally, they're going to struggle with all the room they have in the outside real world. A swaddle is the perfect item to help them feel all snug, safe and warm. Newborns also have a spasm reflex that wakes them up during naptimes, which can make them feel really uneasy and scare them a bit. The swaddle helps tame that down and keep them calm and sleeping soundly.
  Make sure to get different kinds of materials, especially for when the weather changes up. when my daughter was born in Winter, we had jersey/cotton fabric swaddles and also wool type ones. But in the Summer, we switched over to muslin wraps, and they're great and light too! Just have a little scour for the perfect ones for you and bub. They will have your newborn sleeping soundly for hours.
  My recommendation: Living Textiles Swan Jersey Wraps {click here to shop} but honestly, we even loved the ones from Kmart if you're looking for a cheaper alternative

• PACIFIERS
  Now this is a hit or miss product. For some babies, they're great; for others, not so much. Both of my babies were NOT a fan of pacifiers. In fact, they both hated them and you can quote me when I say I tried absolutely eeevvveeerryyyttthhiinngg out there. Every shape, size and brand, nothing seemed to work for my babies. I eventually gave up, but that doesn't mean you should! When bub's a newborn, be sure to introduce the pacifier early enough for them to get used to it, but not so early that it'll confuse them with the nipple (if breastfeeding.)
  My recommendation: since none of them really worked for us, I'd recommend just buying a bunch of different brands and trying out different ones for your bub. Doing your research also helps!