Are you ever really ready to have a baby? I don’t think so. But babies don’t wait for you to mature to the appropriate level; they mature you. Six months after David and I got married, we found out we were going to be parents. We weren’t even used to each other yet–what were we going to do with another human being? Once I got over the first 20 weeks of misery, I started making a list of all the things we might need for a baby. Other than diapers, that is. Some things we found necessary (like several changes of sheets) and others not so much (like the chilled teething rings–Baby J usually prefers his thumb or our coffee table).
I found it helpful to look at the lists of other people, so I’m going to share our list of things we use most for our baby and rate them on a scale of 1-10 (not necessary at all –> extremely necessary). I hope it’s helpful for parents-to-be who are getting ready (and not too overwhelming–that’s what the scale is for!). Even if you’re not planning on making a baby registry. And I hope it’s also helpful as a gift guide for others.
Things We Use Most For Our Baby: Rated from 1-10
Bedding
10 – Crib & Mattress
We found a lovely Pottery Barn crib on Craigslist in a different city and David’s mom picked it up for us. Our crib is basically a more expensive (when new) version of this DaVinci Jayden 4-in-1 Convertible Crib with Toddler Rail
7 – Pack and Play
We used the Pack and Play as a bassinet for Baby J’s first 8-9 weeks. He slept in it all the time, so for those weeks I would’ve rated it a 10. But, realistically, we could’ve set the crib up in our room at first. It was just a lot easier to use this Graco Pack ‘n Play Playard. We never used the changing pad insert, but the napping insert was great. (And this was a garage sale find!) I used to bring just the mattress with us for J to nap on, but now he can crawl. So now we’ll have to bring the whole thing with us.
10 – Pack and Play Sheets & Mattress Protector
If you decide to use the Pack and Play as both bassinet and traveling bed, you’ll want extra sheets, etc. I am SO glad I bought a mattress protector, because J has always been a frequent pooper and spitter-up (leading to frequent sheet changes). These are the sheets I got 2 sets of (and love): American Baby Company Knit Fitted Pack N Play Playard Sheet made with Organic Cotton, Natural Color
10 – At Least 3 Crib Sheets
I regularly used 3 crib sheets when J was tiny, and now I cycle through 4 when he’s going through a frequent blowout stage. This sheet is by far my favorite: YourEcoFamily Certified Organic Cotton Fitted Crib Sheet. I’d put it on my Amazon registry and someone from church bought it for me. I also bought 2 of these sheets, but they don’t feel like they’ll last for years like the YourEcoFamily one does. I love their softness and the beautiful light blue color, though. And as a new mom, I was a sucker for the word “organic.” 🙂 Right now as I’m writing this post, they’ve gone to almost the same price.
10 – Crib Mattress Protector
I have 2 for Baby J, and we use both of them regularly! They came with our crib mattress. If I’d had to choose one, I probably would’ve gone with something like this one if our budget allowed it.
3 – Baby Blankets
Yes, I bought this one (except at TJ Maxx) for Baby J. Just because it had adorable airplanes on it and J’s daddy is a pilot. And it was soooo soft. And I love baby blankets. So why just a 3 on the scale? Because everyone loves baby blankets! If you have ANY friends and family who are going to bring you gifts, a baby blanket will probably be one of those gifts. Or two, or ten. So I’d wait until people have crocheted and sewn and bought their fill of blankets and see if you still need one.
Travel
10 – Car Seat
A car seat should be an 11 on this scale. If you have a hospital birth, you won’t be allowed to leave with your baby if you don’t have a car seat. I read tons of reviews and results of crash tests before buying a carseat (although I found the one I wanted on Craigslist) and ended up choosing the Britax B-Safe. By the way…did you know that carseats have expiration dates?!
10 – A Stroller
We chose a jogging stroller because we wanted to be able to drive it over gravel, mostly. Not so much because I’m such a faithful jogger. (Ha!) I am a pretty faithful walker. That’s all. We bought this one used from friends. It didn’t work with our car seat, but we could use it laid back all the way with blankets for padding and support when J was tiny. (If you don’t often walk, a stroller might not be a 10 on your scale.)
8 – Baby Carrier
I couldn’t use the one I had at first (this Infantino Mei-Tai style one was given to us) because Baby J wanted to eat every time he was close to me when he was a newborn. Even if he’d just finished eating and was so full he wanted to spit up.
I do use it pretty often now that he’s bigger because he will make my life miserable (and leave no room for food in the shopping cart) if I keep him in his infant carrier in the store. If I were to choose one now, I’d go with buckles instead of long ties like ours. It’s just more practical for me. I’m not a constant baby-wearing momma, so if you want to wear your baby all the time you might want to go with the popular Moby.
10 – Diaper Bag
A friend bought this Eddie Bauer diaper backpack for me. (I requested a backpack and she bought me the one she’d used with her children). I absolutely love it and wouldn’t change anything about it after having used it for 8 months. (Some of the reviews on Amazon aren’t good, but I haven’t had any problems with it.) I love the backpack style where when I’m going places by myself I can carry baby up front and the backpack behind me.
Bathtime
4 – Hooded Baby Towels
I’ll admit, I love my baby towels and use them every day. My favorite is this durable, thick, organic cotton one, although it isn’t as soft as some towels a friend found for me at Kohl’s. But you can just wash a regular towel in baby detergent and call it a baby towel.
4 – Baby Washcloths
Although I really love my super soft, organic baby washcloths and would probably get the same ones from the Motherhood Collection as a gift for a friend, normal washcloths work just fine. (Just wash them with Dreft or your homemade, fragrance-free laundry detergent.) Some cheap baby washcloths are thin as handkerchiefs and pretty much useless, so be careful what you buy if you decide to get Baby her own washcloths.
9 – Tear-Free Shampoo/Soap
A friend bought Aveeno baby shampoo for me and I’ve been using it ever since because J’s skin doesn’t react to it. (We get the massive bottles in a 2-pack.) Why a 9 instead of a 10? Because you may want to look into making your own! I wasn’t up for that while I was Mrs. Sick Mama-to-Be. By the time I had energy, late in the pregnancy, I was more focused on cleaning the entire neglected house than making my own shampoo.
2 – Bath Toys
They aren’t necessary, and they’re prone to mold inside if they don’t get dried out, but bath toys like these are tons of fun for Baby J.
1 – Special Cup for Rinsing
David likes to use this cup when he’s helping out, but both of us agree that a normal plastic cup would be just fine. 🙂
Nursery Decor/Furniture
8 – Glider for Nursing/Rocking
You’re going to spend a lot of time in this chair, so choose wisely! We actually have 2, one of which is the Dutalier Sleigh Glider, Reclining (which I like–but I expected it to recline more. It does recline, but only partly.) The other one was given to us by a friend who’d finished using it.
The reason this is just an 8, not a 10, is because you can use a normal recliner that you may already have in your house.
7 – Diaper Changing Station
I just used an old dresser we had and put the changing pad on top. That means I can’t leave him unattended while I go wash my hands or he’ll roll off. However, at his age he could probably do that even with a beautiful piece like this one.
10 – Diaper Changing Pad
The Summer Infant one works really well for us.
10 – 3 Changing Pad Covers
Yes, three. At the very least, two, but you want to be prepared for when the dirty stuff leaks. Watch for sales on these Summer Infant ones–I was able to buy the patterns I liked really cheaply by keeping them on my baby registry and checking for sales.
2 – Nursery Decor
Decor may be much higher on your list than on mine. I was sick so much of my pregnancy that I really didn’t care much about the decorations. It was important to me to replace the old drapes with new valances (which I found for 25 cents apiece at a garage sale). Beyond that, I didn’t really care. A friend from church gave me the great idea of putting up some simple wall decals. I found these easily removable vintage airplane wall decals on Amazon. Voila! Cheap decor that Baby J loves to look at while getting his diaper changed.
Nursing/Feeding
8 – Nursing Pillow & Slipcovers
Some people would put the Boppy much lower on their scale of necessities, but I LOVE my Boppy! I carried it with me on trips (we could stop on the side of the road when J got hungry and I had an perfectly shaped pillow to support him in the car). Now that he’s sitting up, we use it less for nursing and more for supporting him while he’s playing on a hard floor and liable to topple backward. My friend, Mandy, bought us both the Boppy and 2 adorable covers. (She bought this Boppy that included the too-cute whale mama and baby slipcover and this hot air balloon slipcover. Baby J loves playing with the mama whale’s raised tail.)
8 – Nursing Pump
I just got an inexpensive manual Medela pump, because I knew I wouldn’t need it often. But if you’re going to be pumping a lot at work, you might consider a workhorse electric one like this (also Medela).
9 – Bottles
You’ll have to figure out what works for you. Are you going to nurse or formula feed? Make sure you check the nipple size on the bottles, since a newborn doesn’t need the same amount of milk stream coming through as an older baby. Obviously, if you decide to pump or formula feed, bottles go up to a 10 on your scale.
7 – Milk Storage Bags
Obviously, these bags are for nursing moms who need to freeze extra milk. I haven’t used them much, simply because after the first few months of nursing, my body only produces exactly the amount of milk Baby J needs and no more.
If you’re going to formula feed, you’ll probably be considering things like a bottle warmer, a bottle cleaner, etc.
Clothing/Swaddling
5 – Mittens
These mittens were so important when J was about 4 weeks old and kept scratching himself close to his eyes. Why just a five on the scale, then? Because you can use socks!
10 – Burp Cloths / Swaddling Cloths
These are my favorite swaddlers!
Oh, my goodness. So many burp cloths. For months, we had 10 large ones (flannel receiving blankets like these) in constant rotation.(That’s with me doing baby laundry every couple of days.) Plus these beautiful swaddling cloths in the picture on the right that we still use more for burping than swaddling. The tiny Gerber ones were basically useless to us because Baby J was just one of those kids who spat up a lot. (I promise, I cut out milk and yogurt and bell peppers and whatever else bothered him as soon as I figured it out! My mom said I was the same way as a baby!)
Other Clothing
Honestly, next to baby blankets, people will probably give you the most clothing. Why? Because baby clothes are the most adorable thing in any store and are so fun to buy! The only clothes David and I had to buy for Baby J when he was tiny were a couple of sleepers. Now, he’s getting tons of hand-me-downs, which is a huge blessing to us!
Miscellaneous
1 – Teething Rings
Baby J just isn’t a lover of teething rings except on rare occasions. Your baby may be different! I do want to try a wood one with him like the hedgehog one in my Natural Baby Toys article, just because he loves chewing on wood.
5 – Pacifiers
Again, your baby may love pacifiers. Baby J was sucking his thumb even in the womb, as far as we could tell on ultrasound. The only reason pacifiers got all the way to a 5 on my scale is that we survived some miserable car trips by me holding the pacifier in his mouth (he couldn’t keep it in by himself). The pacifier wouldn’t always do the trick, but it would at least “pacify” him for a 10 minutes or so.
10 – Thermometer
You want to know for sure (more than just by waving your hand over his forehead) if your baby has a fever! We like this forehead thermometer because you don’t have to fight with your baby’s dislike of things in his mouth, bottom, or armpit.
6 – Safety Kit
This Safety 1st Kit makes a great gift! We don’t like the nose-sucker thing or thermometer included, but the baby nail trimmer is perfect!!
10 – Nose Sucker
You will probably get one of these from your midwife or the hospital, but you’ll want to have one like this on hand at home before Baby arrives. We kept one by our bed for nighttime emergencies, one in the bathroom, and one by his changing table when J was tiny.
4 – Baby Swing
We loved the hand-me-down swing we were given, because Baby J was happy rocking back and forth in it while we ate dinner. But it’s certainly not necessary. (Just a really nice thing to have.) You may want to take some time to talk with your spouse about how you’re going to raise your baby (toys/machines or baby wearing?) before buying something like this online/at a garage sale, etc.
9 – High Chair
You’ll need a high chair more quickly than you expect–unless you’re planning to use the Montessori weaning table. My mom-in-law found this amazing Peg-Perego high chair at a garage sale in her neighborhood. And as much as I like some of the Montessori ideas, I like having Baby J corralled sometimes, happily “cooking” with his teaspoons right alongside me (but away from hot, popping/bubbling things on the stovetop).
10 – Baby Detergent
I tried to switch from the Dreft we used with all the newborn clothes when J was just a couple months old. He immediately had a light rash on his back, so we bought another expensive bottle of Dreft. You do what you have to! Now that he’s older, we can use cheaper brands (sold at Walmart) of baby detergent.
I’d love to know if you’ve tried making baby detergent!
That’s It!
Whew! I feel a little overwhelmed all over again! I’m glad we’ve got all this stuff already for the next baby…until our carseat expires! (Who came up with that idea, anyway?) I hope this list was helpful for you in some way! I know it would have been for me pre-baby! I do want to add something, though: if you love your baby and will care for him/her (change diapers, bathe, cuddle), very few of the things on this list are absolutely necessary. Money doesn’t make a beautiful childhood–love does.
One more thing: if you make a free registry on Amazon before buying any of the things you need, you’ll get a welcome box once you or someone else makes a purchase from the registry. Ours had free bottles, wipes, and some samples of baby detergent, etc. Also, they gave us a substantial completion discount near Baby J’s due date for some remaining items that hadn’t been bought yet, like mattress pad protectors.
Shop Amazon – Create an Amazon Baby Registry
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[…] to set up) ready and the carseat installed in the car. (Yes, the carseat is important!) Read our list of the things we’ve used most for our baby if you’re not sure you’ve remembered everything. (We rated them from 1-10 […]