Newborn Essentials...

Namastè!

New babies are the toast, y'all. So sweet. They are just the most.

...and they need the most stuff.

Or do they?

I went over my own registry with a fine-toothed comb.  What did I end up using? What do I wish we got more of? What have I already exchanged? What do I wish we never bought at all?! I'll get into all that here, as well as what items my little Tiger Lily loves. (Moms and babies don't always agree on gear. For example, none of my babies ever preferred their bassinets, although I liked them a lot.)

Let's break this down by categories.

Baby Gear

Oy, the options! Travel system or 3-in-1 and separate stroller? Bouncy seat or swing? Pack and play or baby gates?!

I love baby gear. The techier, the better. My husband and I spent many hours comparing and contrasting different items. We hadn't bought baby gear for nearly a decade after Princess so we weren't even sure what things were like! Here's what we got.

☆ Car seat
* For Brother Bear,  we got a travel system and ended up switching to a 3-in-1. For Tiger Lily, we skipped the infant seat and got a 3-in-1 from the start.
☆ Strollabout
*Brother Bear's travel system came with a spiffy, comfy jogging stroller, but for Tiger Lily we got this fancy Euro bassinet/Strollabout/rolling luxury bed type thing. We also sprang for a sweet double.
☆ Pack & Play - mainly for travel; we love the one with the Cuddle Cove!
☆ Mamaroo - Hubby Namastè thought this was just an over-hyped Bouncy seat until he saw it in action...now we own two.
☆ Rock & Play - This, we ended up giving away. We have quite possibly the only babies in America who are not in love with this thing.

Breastfeeding

I already own multiple pumps, so the only thing I needed for this portion of the list were:

☆ Flanges
☆ Membranes
☆ Tubing
☆ Rechargeable AAs for the battery pack
☆ Cute Bag
☆ Bamboobies
☆ Parachute brand coconut oil
☆ Breastmilk removal soap and wipes for pump bag
☆ Kiinde pouches
☆ Kiinde twist breastfeeding gift set (mainly for the Kozii 😍 warmer)

I splurged on a few tops and some new nursing bras. Oversupply means my cups runneth over once again, and while my regular tops fit fine, I like the panels in nursing tops--who really wants to pull their shirt over their head or stretch the neckline to nurse?! (I have and will, judge me if you wish. I just prefer easier access.)

Bottlefeeding

☆ Mimijumi Not-So-Hungry baby Bottle
☆ Mimijumi Dark nipple

We don't introduce bottles until around 4 or months, as I greatly prefer to nurse. (For me it is much easier, and I get more sleep--whip out the boob and feed, then back to snoozing versus stopping to wash bottles and caps and such.) So bottles aren't a major purchase. When we do give bottles, our firstk choice is always going to be the Mimi with the dark nipple. (Our son was a brand model for them and I love everything this company stands for!) The Not-So-Hungry bottle is 4 ounces. We pace feed, so that's plenty. We have the Very Hungry Baby bottle too, but neither of the tiniest bears has ever taken more than 5 ounces or so.

Diapering

I like cloth diapers. They're cute. However I don't use them when we travel...mama's car won't be stained, nor will I be hauling soiled ones between destinations. Sue me. *shrugs* (I know, I know...cloth diapers are absorbent and all that goodness. I also know my car smells like a honey blossom, and I like that.)

I made a few cloth diapers that held up pretty darn well, but my favorites are prefolds.

☆ FuzziBuns prefolds (choose your pattern!)
☆ Liners
☆ Wet bin
☆ Soiled bin
☆ Sprayer attachment for laundry sink
☆ Space to hang them

Note: I rinse ours downstairs at the laundry sink. I imagine a hose pipe would do nicely as well but I don't do them outside.

Disposables are simple enough. I like Pampers!

☆ Pampers
☆ Wipes
☆ Disposal baggies

...and of course a nice bag. (I use a diaper bag that looks more like a purse, because the cutesy characters don't hold my interest long.)

Clothing

Clothing is a big thing. The first thing we do after the gender reveal--buy a wardrobe. Which, from personal experience, the baby either grows out of within two weeks or never wears it in the first place. (Mine were more likely to not have worn the little outfits at all, as in the haze of those early days and weeks, I prioritize feeding and sleep over the hundred outfit dash.)

We got by on onesies, gowns, and socks. So many socks. The baby wore the same, by the way. *chuckle* Our shopping list was super simple. Because we knew the hospital would give us a stash of newborn tee shirts, we bought everything in 0-3 to start.

☆ 8 Short-sleeved onesies
☆ 8 long-sleeved onesies
☆ 8 pairs of newborn socks
☆ 8 gowns (I really like the ones with the scratch sleeves--they fold over baby's hands like a scratch mitten--and are one less item to lose/wear/wash)
☆ 8 one-piece pajamas (footie jammies--perfect for early appointments and snuggles because seriously, baby looks like a little teddy bear!)
☆ Scratch mittens
☆ 4 pairs of newborn pants
☆ One glorious dramatic coming-home outfit that never actually saw the light of day because I didn't have the heart to disturb the baby to change them into it. *sighs*
☆ Newborn hats! I'd recommend two or three, depending on how warm you're willing to keep the house. And how willing your little one is to actually wear them. Good luck.

My babies didn't get much use of the pants, as they hated anything on their little legs. They also never wore hats for more than a minute or two.

Sleepy time!

Sleepy time needs sleepy gear, eh? Baby's bedroom is the fun part of this prep.

☆ Crib
☆ Good quality mattress
☆ Sheets
☆ Mobile
☆ Video monitor
☆ White noise machine

I don't use bumpers or comforters or any of the extra fluffy stuff for cribs. I like safe and simple. My babies primarily sleep in their beds for naps anyway. Their rooms are cute, but not as Instagram overdone as Princess Namastè's was.

NOTE: Because I nurse, we cosleep. Call it what you will--I logged 6 hours a night WITH a tiny baby and for that, I'll take your judgment, butter it, and dunk it in my chai. Added bonus: because sleep has never been a battle of wills, I've not had to endure or inflict sleep training.

☆ Wall art
☆ Changing table
☆ Rocker and ottoman IF you'll actually be spending time there

Honestly we didn't spend much time in our babies' rooms. We lived in the living room, so the nursery was never a big deal besides the occasional photo.

Co-Sleeping

We considered all the options but after not losing a ton of sleep with Brother Bear, we already knew we'd be co-sleeping with Tiger Lily too. While it doesn't require anything special, I do recommend one item...

☆ Dockatot co-sleeper

Playtime

Babies don't really play at first. But they do need different things to look at and you can't go wrong with a few simple staples. Get some good contrasting colors so baby can gaze at them early on--newborns love high contrast, as it's easier for them to see.

☆ Boppy pillow for tummy time
☆ Play gym (the one we have actually converts to a ball pit when baby is older!)
☆ High-contrast books
☆ Sophie la Girafe

We generally buy toys as they grow, rather than pile up a bunch of stuff they can't use yet and risk overwhelming them with a toy they're not quite ready for yet.

Things I Didn't Buy

Sometimes new parents get caught up in the whirlwind of shopping for baby and completely lose themselves. Because I've done this three times now, there were some items I skipped with Brother Bear and Tiger Lily. 

🚫Wipe warmer
We had one with Princess. The wipes dried out because we kept forgetting it was there.
🚫Regular Bottle Warmer
We didn't use bottles with Princess--she went from breast to cup. (I did buy the Kiinde warmer, as it is designed to safely warm breast milk.)
🚫 Car seat canopy/strap covers
Aftermarket items do NOT belong on a car seat. They can defeat the seat's safety. Save the cutesy stuff for outfits, 'K?
🚫 Diaper Genie
We cloth at home. Plus of you use the Genie infrequently enough to forget to empty it, it still stinks like a landfill.
🚫 Newborn clothing
Aside from one or two special outfits, we stuck to 0-3 and up.
🚫 Stuffed animals
Large ones, anyway. Each kid has a special lovey, but they're all small. We didn't invest in a playroom full of them because one, dust. Two, everyone else buys plushies for babies. It's like an unspoken rule.
🚫 Baby laundry detergent
We use a "free and clear" detergent already, so despite that lovely fragrance, we didn't cave to the pressure for sweet scented laundry soap.

Things I Got But Returned or Donated

As careful as I tried to be, and as practical, I still ended up with a few duds.

🚫 Rock & Play
Tiger Lily was having none of it. Not on day one and not on day twenty-one.
🚫 4Moms Rockaroo
The Mamaroo is just better.
🚫 Exersaucer
Everyone loves these. Our babies did not. Which was a bummer to me, but eh, can't win them all.
🚫 Bumbo seat
Neither of the littlest Namastè took to it. But they did gnaw on it!

...

I'm no expert. I'm just a mom who's spent--and regretted--likely more than my share of obey on items I both loved and hated, used and ignored. I hope my experiences are helpful but feel free to do as you wish! Maybe something that didn't work for me will be a gem for you.

Namastè!

-- ♡Tayè K.