When I started my maternity leave 4 weeks before my due date, I was so focused on cleaning and decluttering the entire house (because I was told it would never be clean again) and setting up a cute nursery (because it has to be Gram-ready, right?). What I wish I would have done instead was to read up on sleep training and learn how to use and clean my breast pump parts. Instead of trying to KonMari my dresser and closet, I wish I had better figured out how to set up a cleaning station for pump and bottle parts.
So yes, when my daughter came, my closet and bathroom and kitchen counter were impeccable. And yet we still found ourselves scrambling every day to buy stuff we needed on Amazon and Target–extra pump parts so we wouldn’t have to wash things all the time, different flange sizes to try, flange adapters, pumping bras, water boilers, more bottles, etc.
Recently, some friends expecting babies have been asking me to share with them some of the things I found most useful as a new parent so they can put it on their registries. While I’m very flattered you guys value my opinion, the thing is, everyone will find different value in different items depending on what your family needs. And also, you’ll find that different items are useful at different stages and there’s so much you’re going to need.
You can certainly register for future items you’ll need, but just keep in mind that storage can be a big issue. So for this post, I’ll list some of the things I found particularly helpful as a parent of a newborn, since hindsight is always 20/20! And I’ll list the resource I used to narrow down the research for most of my purchases too.
I do highly recommend Amazon Baby Registry, as Prime members can use a 15% completion discount twice (up to $2000 combined value) either 2 months before and/or after your due date. And you can continue to keep adding things to the registry even after the due date, before you checkout with the completion discount! And you have a year to return most items from the registry too, which we definitely had to take advantage of.
Please feel free to click the quick links below to jump ahead and the back browser to come back to the master list. I will disclaim that some of these items I may get a very small commission at no additional cost to you. If you find this post helpful, please consider purchasing using my links (or starting a registry with my link!) so it can continue to fund the costs of hosting my blog and the time it takes me to compile these! I’ve already lost one entire draft of this post and it’s killing me how much time I put into it that I lost!! *sob* 🙁 But I’m over it now lol… And please feel free to Pin for other people to find, if you think it’s helpful! 🙂
- Baby Bargains Book
- Little Martin’s Drawer Electric Nail Filer
- Diaper Backpack
- Incontinence Pads
- Bouncer Chair
- NoseFrida & Windis
- Earth Mama’s Organic Nipple Butter
- Dual Nursing and Pumping Bra
- Zojirushi Water Boiler
- Dyson 3-in-1 Heater, Fan, Air Purifier
- Amazon Prime Membership
- Misc. Tidbits
1. Baby Bargains Book
If you’re overwhelmed and have no idea where to start, I would pick up the Baby Bargains book. My sister-in-law gifted me a copy for my birthday, and it was the only “pregnancy book” I read from cover to cover. (Skip What to Expect When You’re Expecting…you can expect to fall asleep reading it at some point.) Baby Bargains is an easy read and organized like an encyclopedia so you can quickly find the research on whatever item you’re trying to buy. OR you can read from front to back if you have no idea what you need to buy.
I like that the authors have done all the research in terms of prices, quality, and value for multiple items in a genre. For example, cribs, strollers, car seat, diapers, etc. They tell you what you might have forgotten that you needed and they tell you what you might not actually need. And they don’t always necessarily make their best overall recommendation in a category the most expensive or the cheapest item–it’s all about the value for the cost. The authors have not been paid to promote any products or received any for free so they would advertise it more; it’s purely the authors’ honest research.
My husband even finished the book within a week. And that’s saying something, considering he doesn’t really like reading. (If you are reading this K, ignore that last sentence; your daddy LOVES reading!) It was basically my bible of baby items because I was a little too tired (and busy growing an eyeball) to do all the research. My husband had self-researched a bit before we got the book and he agreed with a lot of the recommendations for the items that he had already looked at.
2. Little Martin’s Drawer Electric Nail Filer
I am forever indebted to my friends Christine and Walter for gifting us this lifesaver tool at our baby shower. I still remember the note, “We know this isn’t on your registry, but we thought it was so useful and still use it even to this day [for their 2-year-old]!” Well, if that wasn’t an introduction, I’m not sure what would have caught my attention!
If the thought of cutting your baby’s nails absolutely terrifies you, like it still does my husband, then you need this in your life as well. Within hours of bringing our daughter home from the hospital, we were shocked to discover that her nails were already like kitty cat claws scratching us and her precious newborn face. My husband and I looked at each other like we’d rather eat dirt than to be the one responsible for her first nail cut.
Cue electric nail filer! This is a battery-operated device that also has a little light at the end of it. The tip for the filer can be switched out, much like toothbrush heads for a Sonicare toothbrush. However, we only ever used the newborn tip because it’s the softest and still gets the job done! You don’t have to worry about the filer hurting your baby’s fingers or accidentally cutting too deep with a clipper. I used to put my finger on the end of the filer to slow it down at any point too, and it never hurts. And the light at the end of it makes it so that you could even file in the dark when your milk drunk baby is asleep!
We still use the same nail filer, although sometimes I will cut longer nails with a NailFrida. To be honest though, I still prefer the filer. My husband has still never cut my daughter’s nails with actual nail clippers and prefers to use the electric filer. Now this is one of my favorite items to get for friends’ baby shower gifts, as I like to pay it forward like our friends did to us. Thank you Christine and Walter! 🙂
3. Diaper Backpack
New Mom Rookie Mistake #178: Getting a diaper tote instead of a diaper backpack.
I picked out a pretty nice diaper tote that was recommended in Baby Bargains, and I did like it for awhile! Until I remembered I am not an octopus. When you’re trying to hold your squirming daughter nearly the weight of an average bowling bowl while trying to reach for a tissue in your diaper tote to wipe her drooly face and the tote is sliding from your shoulder down to the crook of your elbow, you’ll really be wishing you had a diaper backpack instead. This is especially crucial if you’re by yourself and need more hands free to do things.
It took me all of about 3 months after my daughter was born before deciding I needed to get a backpack instead. I hopped onto Amazon and found this Halova diaper backpack that was highly rated. I noticed it was the same one my mama bestie also was using so I picked a cute color, got it delivered in 2 days, and never looked back! It’s relatively inexpensive and highly functional with lots of pockets! My daughter actually loves digging through it and pulling everything out. Sigh. But now I finally feel like I’m not juggling so many things when I go out with her.
I like this backpack so much that I kind of want to get it in the leather version which costs a little more. Just for more fancy occasions… But honestly, that would be more of a splurge than anything. I really wanted the light gray color, but I only see black currently. Well… FYI my birthday is in November, k thanks! 😉
4. Incontinence Pads
This sounds a little weird, but these pee pee pads were some of the most surprising things I never knew I would need with a baby. But they proved to be super useful to reduce laundry loads, keep things clean during blowouts, and a quick changing station anywhere in public!
When I look at Amazon now and see the variety of portable changing pads, I can’t help but laugh. I mean, what baby that fits EXACTLY on the pad and pulls his feet up by himself will stay still long enough for you to wipe up a messy poop without rolling off the edge of the pad?! My husband and I usually layer a smaller sheet over a larger sheet. That way if there’s a big blowout mess that gets onto the smaller sheet, we can roll it up and cover it up while the baby is still on a sheet and the surface is still protected from more mess.
We use these pads out in public changing rooms and then just toss them afterwards. The larger pads can usually cover the entire surface of a changing table and then some so baby doesn’t touch any germy public surfaces. (I’m a germaphobe in case you couldn’t tell.) They’re also useful for on hotel beds as a changing station, and we even use it over our Summer Infant Contour Changing Pad in our nursery. Usually we don’t have to swap them out too often in the nursery, so they last awhile! We had bought a cute cover for the changing pad, but never washed it past the first time using it since we always have these blue pads on top!
And also, if your baby spits up or blows out a lot, you can put a layer of this under a crib sheet to soak up some of the mess. We also do have a waterproof mattress protector with a terry cloth on top so it doesn’t make crinkly noises, but the problem is that if anything leaks or soaks through, I gotta wash that cover too. And I don’t have time to wash that mattress protector multiple times a day!
I do wish, however, that these sheets were definitely biodegradable or something of the sorts. My husband bought so many in a bulk pack that we’re kind of stuck with them for awhile, but in the future if we still need these, I would love to find a green option. Not sure if the ones we got already are biodegradable (they might be!), but the good thing is that we don’t usually change our daughter in public spaces too much so we reuse a lot of these covers if they’re not soiled! If anyone knows of a good biodegradable option, please let me know!
5. Bouncer Chair
I am not sure if I was the only new mom not to get the memo to get a bouncer chair, but I quickly learned that my daughter was a not a baby swing kinda girl. Sigh. She wanted to look around at her surroundings more than at a little mobile of the same items and lying in a swing gave her a better view of the ceiling than of the world around her. So sadly, we didn’t get to use the baby swing that much and she quickly outgrew it.
My daughter also sat up on her own much sooner than most babies (at four months) so she had a big craving to look around more. Between 3-4 months, I finally caved and bought the Fisher Price Infant to Toddler Rocker because I needed somewhere portable to put her down when I was doing dishes or other things and she was rolling over from back to tummy already. She didn’t like being in the swing since she couldn’t see as much and I knew she was probably going to outgrow this chair soon too.
So I bought this rocker for its multi-purpose because toddlers can use it when they’re a little bigger too! It’s also pretty light, which was great for portability. I was able to drag it with me and place it outside the bathroom within line of sight when I was taking care of my daughter by myself. (Because you know how babies have FOMO…)
As I expected, by 5 months, she was not sitting in this chair anymore because she was already army crawling and didn’t want to be confined. But at least I know she can still use the chair when she’s a little older as a reading chair! There is a newer version of this chair that seems a little bulkier but probably a little sturdier too. It came out after I bought ours so I didn’t really have the choice. But I think a bouncer or rocker chair is more useful and lighter than a swing, so consider it if you are debating between a swing or not! This one is another popular that I saw many mommy friends have!
6. NoseFrida Nasal Aspirator & Windi GasPassers
I could probably write a whole separate post about FridaBaby products (maybe I will…) since we own so many of them and love them so much. You may have heard of the controversial FridaMom commercial that was “too graphic” to air during the Oscars. They are the same company! The products are simple and easy to use for baby and mom alike. They really put thought into their items and I haven’t found too many products that I didn’t like.
But if I were to highly recommend only 2 items, the NoseFrida and Windi would be my top ones that I’d say you should definitely have around.
The NoseFrida works like a nose bulb should…but better! When your little one gets sick (and they all do eventually), this sucker (quite literally–we call it the booger sucker) is going to become your best friend at clearing up congested, snotty, runny noses! We got one in a gift kit and recently took it out when my daughter caught her first cold. Her nose was runny all day long, and the NoseFrida was so helpful and clearing out the snot and making her more comfortable. Nasal bulbs are hard to clean, have risk for not drying and growing bacteria, and they don’t get necessarily get everything out. But the NoseFrida is gentle AND easy to clean–simply put the tube on baby’s nose and suck from the other end to draw out whatever boogies they have. There’s a replaceable hygiene filter at the end so you won’t/shouldn’t be eating any of it. Get one!!
We had no idea what the Windis were until one night, about 2 weeks postpartum when baby girl was crying inconsolably at 3am. I had already fed her, burped her, changed her, and needed to go pump the boob that she couldn’t latch correctly on and had damaged. I was at my wits end too. My husband and I looked at each other in confused exhaustion. Maybe she was gassy?? She hadn’t had a poop in a day or two, now that we thought about it. Maybe she was backed up. So we dug through the FridaBaby bag and pulled the Windi out.
Not completely sure what we were doing and without any petroleum jelly in the house (bad mommy pharmacist, I know), I picked up my Earth Mama Nipple Butter and slathered it on the Windi. Hey, if nipple butter was safe enough for her to ingest, it was safe enough up her other end for all I was concerned. The Windi was basically a really simple little tube that you insert into your baby’s rectum and just hope it releases the gas! My husband gingerly put it in…and…nothing for about 20 seconds. Did we do it wrong?
Nope. 5 seconds later we heard a loud whistling noise. Oooo…yes, there was the gas! And then… another 5 seconds later, spurts of liquidy poop came shooting out from the tube, landing all over the blue pads!! We were lucky they didn’t splash the wall or anything else! My poor husband holding the Windi… but we had never been happier to see poop. And she stopped crying and finally went to sleep!
My husband promptly went online and bought another pack of Windis since the one in our kit was a smaller version. So friends, keep this around because babies get gassy and constipated.
7. Earth Mama’s Organic Nipple Butter
And speaking of nipple butter… this little jar was with me whenever I breastfed. I had a lot of issues with breastfeeding and couldn’t make it work in the long run, as I mentioned in my posts about postpartum depression. But when I was trying to make it work, I always had Earth Mama’s nipple butter ready to lather on after nursing or pumping! My sister-in-law gifted it to me in an awesome bundle of things and it proved to be so much better than lanolin, in my opinion. It was way less sticky and uncomfortable than lanolin, and I liked that it was made with organic and natural products that my baby would be okay to ingest if it was still on my nipples. And plus, if you don’t have petroleum jelly to lubricate a Windi…you can take a leaf out of my book and use nipple butter instead! (lol)
8. Dual Nursing and Pumping Bras (Kindred Bravely or Ollie Gray)
This is one of the things I’m recommending that I did not actually own. However, I really wish I had thought of this when I was still trying to make breastfeeding and pumping work. When I saw that Kindred Bravely had come out with this new bra for both nursing AND pumping, I thought it was ingenious!
One of the things I hated most about pumping, especially right after nursing, was that I’d have to change out of my nursing bra and put on a double pump bra, which was actually not that easy or comfortable to set up and put on! Not everyone pumps after they feed, but I was doing it to increase supply and because I had one side that was damaged and needed to heal. My daughter never quite latched correctly on that side.
I also never understood why the manual Haakaa pump was so popular because I couldn’t figure out how I could catch a let down on the other side that my baby wasn’t nursing on. There was no way of making sure the suction on the Haakaa pump was strong enough so it didn’t hurt yet didn’t fall off if my daughter kicked it or I bumped into it. So with a dual nursing/pump bra, you wouldn’t need to change to pump or nurse. And if you wanted to breastfeed on one side and pump or catch a let down on the other side, this bra makes it possible to do so securely. It would save so much time! I wish I had it when I was still trying to breastfeed, but Kindred Bravely came out with it after I had already stopped for a few months.
However, I had heard of Kindred Bravely before because one of my best friends had gifted me a Kindred Bravely Nursing PJ set. I started wearing it during pregnancy, actually, and it was soo incredibly soft and comfortable! I still wear it even now when I’m no longer nursing. So I think their products seem to be of good quality and I just wanted to let other new moms know about this kind of nursing/pumping bra because it probably would have been super helpful for me! My mama bestie recommended Ollie Gray bras, which are designed with the same concept but a little more athleisure chic. They are a little more expensive but definitely have more choice in cute patterns!
Disclaimer: I get absolutely no incentives for referring for these bras, but I just genuinely think they are such a good idea. Any time that mamas can save themselves during newborn months is well worth it, so that they can go rest instead!
9. Zojirushi Water Boiler
If you grew up in an Asian household, you’ve probably owned or seen one of these water boilers before. After they boil the water, they can hold 3-4L of water at piping hot temperatures for hours/days. (Though you probably should use fresh boiled water if you’re going to drink it…) Anyway, getting one of these was a way better investment than a baby bottle warmer, in my opinion.
For one, baby bottle warmers tend to be designed to fit the bottle of their brand. (e.g. Avent bottle warmer only really heats Avent baby bottles.) I thought that it could be interchanged with other brand types, but soon found that our Dr. Brown bottles didn’t quite fit the Avent bottle warmer the right way. I swear, these companies do it on purpose so we have to trial all these bottle types and their accessories!
In the end, I returned the bottle warmer (thank you 1-year Amazon registry returns!) and bought the Zojirushi. With the hot water boiled already, it’s ready at the touch of a button and we would just use a large mug and place a baby bottle inside to warm it up. (See picture above). And having the Zojirushi was a bonus because I always had hot water ready to brew tea with and my husband could make a midnight snack of Cup O’ Noodles.
Now the Zojirushi water boiler is more expensive than some of the other water boilers out there on the market, but its quality is unbeatable. As true testament to that, my parents were gifted a Zojirushi water boiler when they got married and they gave it to me when I moved into my own house. Their water boiler finally stopped working the year my daughter was conceived. Which means it lasted over 30 years!! So I have faith in the brand and even after I’m done heating baby bottles, I know I’ll still find a lot of use in this water boiler!
10. Dyson 3-in-1 Heater, Fan, Air Purifier
Okay, this is definitely a pure splurge. But when we took my daughter for her Christmas sitter photo session at our photographers’ lifestyle studio, she would not stop crawling around and stay still for photos. Hence, daddy and I were a big sweaty mess chasing her around and trying to make her smile for the camera. The photographer had a bladeless fan that was a lifesaver and we would take breaks sitting in front of it cooling off (yes, in the winter).
But that’s when I thought, “Wow, a bladeless fan is such a good idea for kids.” It’s easier to clean off dust and there’s less risk of injury. And it’s also pet friendly! My husband must have thought the same because he bought a Dyson 3-in-1 for Christmas. I never even knew such a device existed! This one was next level–a heater, a fan, and an air purifier all in the same device…rotates 350 degrees and even wifi controlled. Okay, so the wifi thing was definitely very extra, but I guess he found a good deal!
I gotta say…it’s definitely not necessary, but I love it! 😀 Since we have to keep room temperatures not too hot and not too cold for the baby, this is a great space heater/fan/purifier to use.
11. Amazon Prime Membership
This goes without saying, but if you don’t already have an Amazon Prime membership, you should really consider it. You can sign up for just 3 months of membership if you don’t foresee using it long term, or just do the 30-day free trial! Free 99 is better than nothing!
We have had Prime since we moved into our house a few years back, but I have never utilized our Amazon Prime and Target Drive Up more than in those first few months of baby’s life. We were constantly realizing that we needed certain items delivered quickly because baby didn’t like swaddles or baby kept losing mittens or even just “I literally should not be out there driving to buy something because I slept so little, my blood alcohol level would look like I was drunk.”
So yea…I feel like it’s a no-brainer, but I never knew how much I needed Amazon until I had a baby. My Prime membership is totally worth it! You also get two times to use a 15% off completion discount for your baby registry on Amazon if you have a Prime membership. Yes, you may even sign up to do the free 30-day trial before you want to do the 15% completion discount. And they can even do same day grocery deliveries now too! Definitely helpful for new parents (or seasoned parents)!
12. Misc. Tidbits
I mentioned in the very beginning of this post that I wished I had done certain things during my time off before my baby came instead of scrubbing down the house. Just as my personal advice and experience, I would get your breast pump out and figure out how to use it. Check if your flange sizes are correct. I had to use 19mm ones that do not come standard with pumps! Learn how to take all the parts apart and how to assemble them again. I thought that I wouldn’t need to use the pump until I was close to going back to work, but I thought very wrong. It wouldn’t hurt to learn your pump early on.
Trial wearing your double pump bra with the pump parts in it to get familiar with it putting it on so you’re not desperately trying to figure out how it works at 4am in the morning when you’re running on 2 hours of sleep. (And consider the dual nursing/pumping bra I mentioned above too!) I had a lot of Medela parts from my godsister and I got both a Medela pump (I got this one because it comes hidden in a tote bag so easier to transport to and from work like my coworker does!) and a Spectra S1 pump. One was going to be for my office and one for at home. My husband found conversion parts to make the Medela parts work on the Spectra so it was helpful not to have two sets of parts, but I did have to learn how the parts attached and I wish I had done this before the baby came.
Unfortunately, I never got to use a pump in my office because I stopped breastfeeding long before returning to work. I could definitely tell you a lot about the Medela vs. Spectra since I tried both, but in a nutshell, I have to say, go with Spectra S1 since it’s way more portable and quiet! (The Spectra S2 is not rechargeable and must be plugged into a wall. You will not want to be tied to an outlet, trust me.)
Mommy Pearl: Amazon now takes FSA/HSA cards so you can get reimbursed by your pre-tax savings accounts if your employer offers them!! I got both of my pumps with FSA money.
Lastly, all you technically need when you take your baby home is basically just the car seat. Make sure the base is assembled correctly and that you know how to put your baby in the car seat safely. If that’s the only thing you get ready, then you’ll at least be able to get home and then figure everything else out there! If you’d like to know which car seat, stroller, and crib we got, I’ll link them here just as FYI, but I know everyone values different things in these key products. These are probably the most expensive items too, so read the Baby Bargains book for the best comparisons!
Car Seat: Chicco KeyFit 30 — we had decided on this carseat already and then by stroke of luck, Amazon also had a Black Friday deal back for this carseat plus two carseat bases for less than $200! It’s helpful to have two carseat bases if baby will be riding between two cars often.
Stroller: Usually you get the stroller that you can compatibly put your carseat into. We got the Chicco Mini Bravo Plus
Crib: Pottery Barn Kids Kendall Convertible Crib
Hope this post was somewhat helpful in helping some new parents figure out some items they may not have thought about or known about. I’m planning to write the next one for items I loved and found useful once my daughter was more mobile and started solids and another post for useful travel items. Again, I appreciate any shares or Pins or purchases and registry sign ups through my links if you found this useful! Mama’s gotta pay the blog bills somehow! Thanks in advance 🙂
xoxo,
Jas
