We have officially survived the first month with our precious Ava girl and wow, what a wild ride it has been. She has completely turned our world upside down, but in the best way possible. The photo below was taken by a photographer in the hospital, Bella Baby Photography, who comes around after you have given birth and provides you with the option to purchase a few photos, which of course we could deny. This is a genius idea for any photographers out there looking to specialize in newborn photos!

When we first brought her home we were completely overwhelmed and rolling with the punches of being first time parents, but now that we have settled into our new way of life, I feel confident in sharing the most used items we have used during this four week time period.

I wanted to share this list because it is SO difficult to decide on items to place on your baby registry (at least that is how I felt). There are many websites out there with “must have” items, but the lists often include items that will not be used until your baby is 6+ months. This list only includes newborn items that we use multiple times a day, every day, and would be absolutely lost without them.

Now I do plan on sharing my entire registry with a longer list of items that we still use or will use, but just not as often as the items below.

Essential Newborn Items

1. Muslin burp cloths
2. Hatch nightlight/sound machine
3. Portable sound machine
4. Snuggle Me lounger
5. Solly Baby wrap (code: drmaehughes10 for 10% off)
6. Bibs pacifier
7. Newborn sleep gowns (code: DRMAE for 10% off)
8. Contrast cards
9. Ollie swaddle
10. Uppa baby car stroller/bassinet
11. Mesa car seat
12. Keekaroo changing pad
13. Ubbi diaper pail
14. Pampers diapers
15. Huggies Natural Care Sensitive wipes
16. Diaper rash cream

Muslin burp cloths

This is probably the item we use the MOST (honestly even more than diapers and wipes) because our girl has some major reflux at the moment. These burp cloths are incredibly absorbent and super soft, so they also double as great mini blankets. We often put one behind her head when she’s in the Snuggle Me lounger or just on the sofa to catch any spit up that is 99.9% likely to occur. We put 3 packs of 10 on our registry and truthfully we could probably benefit from ordering some more. Hopefully your baby does not spit up as much, but I definitely recommend at least 1 pack of 10 to have on had, and then you can always order more (thank you Amazon) if your baby ends up producing a lot of spit up like ours!

Product link: Muslin burp cloths

Hatch nightlight/sound machine

Now this is an absolute MUST have regardless of the temperament of your baby. The nightlight feature is super helpful to have for feedings and diaper changes in the middle of the night without having to turn on all of the lights and disturb your baby. Trust me, keep the overhead lights off. You can adjust the brightness and change the colors on it as well which I love because we make it red at night to help calm her and then change it to blue or white during the day to help wake her.

The sound machine feature is a gem. Your baby is used to hearing the sound of blood flowing in the womb and that sound is LOUD, so when your baby is sleeping you want to try and recreate that sound to help them sleep longer stretches. A more familiar environment leads to an easier time falling to sleep. The Hatch has multiple types of sounds and you can create presets through the app on your phone to pair certain sounds with certain nightlight colors. Then all you have to do is tap the top of the Hatch and it cycles through to the next preset you have created. Our little girl personally sleeps best at night with a red color on low brightness paired with the washing machine sound.

Product link: Hatch

Portable sound machine

If you plan on taking your newborn anywhere outside the house (walks, car rides, coffee shop, etc.) then you will definitely want to have a portable sound machine. This one is basic and has worked well for us. We tie it to her car seat that way it is always with her when we go on walks or car rides, and I can turn it on if she falls asleep. We also use it around the house sometimes if she is in the office with my husband, however we have found a few white noise YouTube clips that we will play on our TV in the living room or a laptop if the portable sound machine is not nearby.

Product link: Portable sound machine

Snuggle Me lounger

This product comes highly recommended not just from us, but also nearly all of our friends with babies. Ava loves her lounger and this is where we will put her right after a feed during her “awake time.” I love it because if I get tired or my back hurts from holding her I can just plop her right into this lounger and bring it with me from room to room. Now it is not recommended that your newborn sleep in these due to risk of suffocation, so please, please, please keep a watchful eye on them and move them to a safe location.

Product link: Snuggle Me lounger

Solly Baby wrap

I am a huge fan of this wrap for newborn baby wearing. It fits newborns from 8-25lbs and can easily be thrown in the wash when your baby inevitably spits up on it or when you spill your food while eating over their head…oops! I do recommend watching the tutorials on their website showing you how to wrap it because it can be a little tricky at first. I practice a few times before putting our little one in it and practicing definitely helped. Another tip is to pre-wrap it before you run errands that way you aren’t trying to wrap it in the parking lot, but you likely won’t be running too many errands this early anyways.

Product link: Solly Baby wrap

BIBS pacifier

These were actually gifted to us as we did not think to put any pacifiers on our baby registry, and wow, we are so so grateful some other smart mom gave these to us because we use them all the time. I will admit I was slightly hesitant to use any pacifier at first because I really wanted to make sure Ava established a good latch. However, after about one week we caved and used the pacifier, and she has not had any increased difficulty breast feeding even with daily use of the pacifier. Make sure you do not use this pacifier past the age range listed because you want to get a non-newborn pacifier when they start developing teeth.

Product link: BIBS pacifier

Newborn sleep gowns

We cannot recommend these knotted sleeper gowns from Quinn St. enough! We have 4 gowns that we simply rotate through the week for nighttime because it has made diaper changes a breeze in the middle of the night. We often even have her wear them during the day because they’re so adorable! What I love about these bamboo gowns versus some other brands out there is that these gowns wash really well and after 6 weeks of constant use they have yet to pill on us like other brands have. We wash them in cold water and air dry most of the time (when desperate and short on time we have put them in the dryer without a problem).

Product link: Newborn sleep gowns (code: DRMAE for 10% off)

Contrast cards

These are great for visual stimulation for your newborn and we use them every time we do tummy time. Newborns can only see 6-12inches in front of their face and can only see in black and white for about 4 months. Pro tip: tape one of these to the wall near their diaper changing pad and it helps to distract them while you are changing!

Product link: Contrast cards

Ollie swaddle

At first our little girl was NOT a fan of this swaddle and we used a sleep sack, but after 2 weeks we tried this swaddle again and it has worked like a charm! The velcro makes it so much easier to swaddle in the middle of the night (or really any time of day) and it has a good amount of stretch to it which allows some bit of small movement for your little one. It is a bit pricey, but you only need one! I promise you won’t regret it.

Product link: Ollie swaddle

Uppa Baby stroller+bassinet

I included this because we used this bassinet for our little girl the first 4 weeks as we shared a bedroom. The Uppa Baby stroller system is fantastic because the stroller is compatible with the bassinet and car seat, plus this specific Vista grows with your family to accommodate multiple children. Yes, I am already planning ahead. We have had 0 complaints so far and I used the stroller multiple times a day for walks.

Product link: Uppa baby car stroller/bassinet

Mesa car seat

A newborn car seat is a no brainer for a must-have item and we have been super happy with the Mesa. The base is easy to install and the car seat just clicks in without having to deal with any seat belts attachments. It comes with an infant insert that you remove after your baby is over 8lbs. It is compatible with all Uppa Baby strollers.

Product link: Mesa car seat

Keekaroo changing pad

Ok, I wish I could give this changing pad to each and every one of you. When I first looked to buy a changing pad for our dresser, the most commonly suggested one is the classic small mattress that comes with sheets and liners. I did not even know that a wipeable changing pad was an option, and let me tell you, it is LIFE CHANGING! Anytime Ava pees or poos onto the pad you just take a baby wipe and clean it off. No dealing with changing the sheet over the pad or laying down an additional cloth. It saves on so much laundry.

Product link: Keekaroo changing pad

Ubbi diaper pail

While you could just use a traditional trash can we cannot recommend this diaper pail enough. It keeps out the smell so well. There have been a few times that I forgot to close the lid and wow it made the whole house smell, so I cannot imagine what our house would smell like without this. It takes regular kitchen trash bags which is convenient.

Product link: Ubbi diaper pail

Diapers

I hesitated even putting this on the list because of course you will need diapers for your newborn. We went through 2 boxes of newborn size for our little one who was born at 6lbs 10 oz. and we just purchased Pampers because honestly they were the cheapest. I know there are so many brands out there that are made with better materials and what not, but these have worked for us and our budget. No complaints here.

Product link: Pampers diapers

Wipes

Just like the diapers we did not spend a crazy amount of time researching wipes. We wanted something affordable and also not super harsh on her little bum. Ava is now 6 weeks and we’ve been using these without any problems. We buy them in bulk off of Amazon and bought 2 large boxes that we still have not gone through yet.

Product link: Huggies Natural Care Sensitive wipes

Diaper rash cream

This is a must. There is a 100% chance that your little one will get a diaper rash at some point in their first month of life and Bordeaux’s came highly recommended to us from our friends with children. Ava developed a rash from diarrhea in her 2nd week and this stuff cleared it right up no problem. We have made it a habit to put it on a few diapers a day even though her rash cleared up simply because we are those overbearing, anxious parents.

Product link: Diaper rash cream