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Becoming a mom is overwhelming enough—don’t let an endless list of baby items add to the stress. After welcoming my own baby, I’ve learned what’s actually useful and a few things that were just hype. This guide will help you avoid wasting money and feel confident about your baby must-haves (and what to skip!).
So, you’re becoming a Mom for the first time, congratulations!
I remember the months before my daughter arrived. I would love to say that I was a calm, relaxed, organized, peaceful mom-to-be, but I wasn’t.
I was a mess. I was stressed and anxious about all of it.
And to be honest, although it really is a big change welcoming a new little person into your life it’s also the most wonderful thing I’ve ever done. I wish I had been able to feel less stress and more joy in that time. And if you’re feeling overwhelmed, try to remember that it really is all going to be okay.
But I do know how scary it feels. One of the big things I struggled with is knowing what to buy as I was preparing for my sweet baby’s arrival. I was trying to do things on a budget, and there are so many baby products, relentless advertising, TikToks of moms telling you that they “could have never survived without this bajillion-dollar bassinet.” It’s hard to sort through what’s important. Not to mention your pregnancy hormones tend to wreak a little havoc on your mind.
It’s stressful and overwhelming. And it’s advertising so it’s made to play on your already vulnerable emotions in pregnancy to make you feel like you have to have these things in order to be a good mother.
But do me a favor, take a deep breath and remind yourself that keeping your baby happy and healthy can be achieved with or without the huge price tags.
Now, let me give you the list of baby must-haves that were really helpful and some baby items to skip. I say this with the disclaimer that all babies are different and this is based on my personal experience. Use it as a guide, not a gospel.
Baby Items You’ll Actually Use
1. A Bouncy Seat
My sweet little girl LOVED her bouncy seat. She would kick her legs and bounce so fast that she would start scooting across the room. It was a way for her to get her legs moving and wear off some energy in a safe way that allowed me time to get dinner made. A dear friend bought this seat for us and Baby K to this day still loves checking out the zebras on it even though she’s outgrown sitting in it. You can find it on Amazon or Walmart.
Amazon.com – Baby Bouncer Seat with Zebra
Walmart.com – Baby Bouncer Zebra Seat
2. Swing
Every baby is different and this one ended up being a hit or miss for my daughter, however my nephew was always happiest in his. I recommend this if you can work it into the budget because while she didn’t always want to be in it, there were many times where it was the ONLY place she wanted to be. And options always help. This is the swing we used and I liked that you could turn it to swing her either direction.
Amazon.com – Ingenuity Baby Swing with Adjustable Swing Direction and Speed
3. Sleep Sacks
This was essential for us in the winter. Safe sleep requires that babies sleep with nothing in their cribs. We live in a really cold climate and sometimes even the warm pajamas weren’t enough for the cold windy nights of January. Sleep sacks are considered safe for sleeping so I used heavier sleep sacks for the winter time. Now in the summer with the air conditioning on I still put my daughter in a sleep sack and she seems to sleep very comfortably. I used these heavier sleep sacks for winter and these light ones for summer.
Amazon.com – Summer Sleep Sacks Lightweight
Amazon.com – Warm Sleep Sacks for Cooler Weather
4. Newborn Clothes and the Sizes Beyond
First of all, newborn clothes may be short lived. Maybe your baby won’t even need them, some little ones come out bigger than newborn size. But don’t short change yourself on these. First of all, in those early pictures you are definitely going to want those cute outfits. But more importantly, between spit-up and diaper mishaps you may go through more outfits than you expected and when you are in the first days of postpartum life and motherhood you don’t want to have to do more laundry than necessary. Do yourself a favor and have a few extra outfits on hand.
Do keep in mind, however, that babies grow quickly and you will likely end up with a lot of clothes they never had a chance to wear. I got a lot of clothes from friends, consignment stores, and baby swaps and while it was fun to go pick out brand new stuff just remember they will grow out of it quickly so there’s no shame in hunting down a bargain.
Also, don’t skip on one piece body suits of all styles. With legs, without legs, long sleeve, short sleeve, tank tops. Shirts slide up and get tangled when you’re carrying your baby around all day and it’s easier to manage them in a onesie.
5. A Baby Wrap
This was not something I purchased initially but it was a life saver. I ended up buying one from Walmart for speed/convenience but I used it a ton. It was sometimes the only place she would be peaceful and gave me the ability to walk around and use my hands while still keeping her safe and cuddled. It was a win-win and I probably wouldn’t have made it through a few days without it. This is the one I bought from Wal-Mart, but I had this one highly recommended to me by a very experienced Mom of five littles.
Walmart.com – Moby Wrap
Amazon.com – Ktan Baby Wrap
6. Hip Carrier
Once Baby K was old enough to sit on my hip I quickly realized the limitations of carrying a 20 pound baby around all day. My sweet girl loves to be held up so she can watch what I’m doing but my arm was constantly painful and my back hurt from throwing my hip out to hold her up. I got this hip carrier and it’s been my best friend. I call it the side saddle, but it allows me to keep Baby K on my hip without having to be holding her up the whole time. She’s happier because she can be held longer and my arm and back feel a whole lot better.
Amazon.com – Baby Hip Carrier for Better Positioning and Pain Relief
7. Bottle Steamer
A lot of people will want to point out the obvious here: steamers don’t actually sanitize. And that is technically true. But steam cleaning bottles after they have been thoroughly cleaned of milk residue can help kill bacteria and viruses. Consider it the same as when you steam clean your carpets or your bathroom. It reduces harmful things in your bottles and leaves them feeling nice and clean. I used this Dr. Brown’s bottle steamer and I LOVE it. It steams and dries the bottles and then acts as storage. It was worth it, even for a bargain lover like myself.
Amazon.com – Dr. Browns Baby Bottle Steamer Sterilizer and Dryer with Storage Option
8. A Carseat That Clicks Into a Stroller
This was important to me because I wanted something I could move easily from the car to the stroller, especially in the early months when she didn’t have the head and neck control to sit in a stroller. I love my Graco Verb Travel System. It’s quick, easy, and convenient, and when you are directly postpartum that is incredibly important. It comes with the stroller, the SnugRide 30 carseat, and the base for in the car. Baby K is now one year old and will be graduating to the next size car seat, but we will certainly miss using our car seat stroller for quick runs to the store.
Amazon.com – Graco Verb Travel System with Click-In Stroller/Base and SnugRide 30 Carseat
9. A Pack and Play
Whether you plan to take your baby on overnight trips or not, a pack and play is a great thing to have on hand. I have used her pack and play far more now that I did when she was smaller. It makes for a great safe space to put her in when I need to do something in the house. I also have one in our basement where our laundry room and my sewing room are. I keep a few more interesting toys in it, and then when I need to throw a load of laundry in or want to work on my sewing for twenty minutes I can easily set her in her pack and play and she is safe and entertained. This is a good quality one with good ratings on Amazon worth checking out!
Amazon.com – Graco Pack n Play
10. A Video Camera Baby Monitor
Most baby monitors now come with a camera. Again, being bargain-minded I considered just going cheap and buy the sound-only ones. I ended up finding a reasonably priced camera baby monitor and I am so glad I went that direction. I cannot tell you how often I am looking at the monitor, watching her move around, checking her position in the crib, making sure she’s still breathing (IYKYK), and determining if the sounds she’s making means she’s awake or just readjusting. Sometimes, I even just look at it to see how cute she is when she sleeps. Definitely worth it. This one was reasonably priced and has done a great job for us.
Amazon.com – Uksup Video Camera Baby Monitor
11. Portable Diaper Changing Mat
If you look at the studies they have done on the cleanliness of public baby changing stations you will realize quickly that you do not want to be changing your baby directly on them, if at all. There are real concerns not only about cleanliness but also substances you may find on these tables. It’s something I encourage parents to do their research on because it does present safety concerns.
But sometimes changing tables are unavoidable. I use this portable diaper changing station as a barrier between her and the changing table. I can also use it in the back of my SUV as another option for changing a diaper. It’s something that stays in my car and goes everywhere with us.
Amazon.com – Portable Baby Changing Station with Storage Compartments
12. Super Warm Carseat Cover
If you live in a cold place, you are going to want a super warm carseat cover. This goes over the front of your carseat as you are carrying baby in and out of the car and protects them from wind, rain, snow, and cold. This is essential because it can be very hard for a baby to regulate their temperature, and you definitely don’t want them getting damp with rain or snow on a cold day. I love this one on Amazon.
Amazon.com – Winter Car Seat Cover with Window
Honorable Mention: Boogie Wipes
These are not essential but they were gifted to me and I will definitely be buying them again. They are great for cleaning up messy faces and runny noses. They are made for the face so they are gentler and don’t have the smell of normal baby wipes. These are great for avoiding the mom-spit-on-the-thumb technique for cleaning up chins. This is a good price for a pack of 90 on Walmart.com!
Walmart.com – Gentle Saline Boogie Wipes for Face and Hands
Baby Items You Can Skip
1. A Wipe Warmer
My pregnancy brained agonized over this. I worked in hospitals and saw how people would respond to cold wipes, and I was sure that a cold wipe for a baby was going to be the worst thing in the world. But honestly I never once used this and my baby never seemed to notice the cold wipes anyways. I was actually more concerned about leaving something that heated up plugged in in her room than the coldness of the wipes anyways and I wish I hadn’t spent money on it.
2. New Clothes For Me/Expensive Hospital Kits
You will see a ton of advertising that wants you to buy a whole new set of things for the hospital but you don’t need a new outfit to give birth. Of course you can if you want to and I went out and bought pajamas and slippers but the things I wanted to wear the most were my favorite comfy clothes. And if you do want to invest in some new cute things for yourself, skip the ones that are made for just after birth because they’re pretty much the same as regular clothes but with a bigger price tag. There are some real essentials that you will need postpartum like good quality high absorbency pads and a peri-bottle (I had a c-section so I can’t speak to whats needed for peri care beyond that) but there are lots of resources out there making recommendations.
3. Winter Clothes for the Baby
I was very concerned about having a snowsuit for my six month old and spent a lot of time shopping online for it because we live in a place with very cold, snowy winters. I ended up with not one but three (super cute) snow suits for Baby K.
And never once took her out in the snow.
It’s good to have a couple of good bundled up options on hand, but realistically it’s not safe to take a baby out in most cold weather conditions so don’t go overboard because you just won’t need it until they are a little older.
4. Most Baby Shoes
Babies grow quickly not to mention putting shoes on and keeping them on is a struggle. Skip the baby shoes (no matter how cute they are) and instead keep a supply of warm socks and a pair of good baby booties on hand. I used these booties from Amazon and they were great. They stayed on and were nice and warm for those cold winter outings!
Amazon.com – Unisex Baby Booties with Non-Slip Soles
For this information and more all in one place, download my Free Printable Baby Essentials Checklist here!
FREE PRINTABLE BABY ESSENTIALS CHECKLIST
Last but not least…
Remember that this is overwhelming because it’s unknown. And while having a newborn is hard you will figure it out and learn and grow. And pretty soon you’ll realize that you actually feel pretty confident as a mom. You’ll look back and realize that these big changes are behind you and now you have your feet under you. You can do it.
But the most important thing to have on hand when you’re navigating all stages of parenthood is Scripture and prayer. Lean on the heavenly arms to carry you through these hard things. Be preparing yourself now by memorizing some scriptures you can call to mind at 3:00am when you’re up feeding your little one. Develop a sturdy prayer life to fill those long hours. You won’t regret it.
I will leave you with a verse that meant a lot to me during the months leading up to the birth of my daughter and pray it brings you the same kind of encouragement.
So, tell me, what things are you planning on getting for your baby and what are you planning to skip? Do you have a plan to splurge on all the baby goodies or keep it on a budget? Let me know your thoughts and experience!