As you prepare for the arrival of your first baby, you’ll encounter a wealth of information and a multitude of opinions. Whether you’re a first-time parent or a seasoned pro, this journey will involve making a variety of decisions, purchasing essential items, and adapting your lifestyle. Remember, you are the one who knows your baby best and can make the most informed choices for their well-being.
While your healthcare providers can offer valuable advice on pregnancy, nursing, and bottle-feeding, other parents can provide unique insights that you won’t find in books. This collective wisdom can help you navigate the uncharted waters of parenthood, providing reassurance and support when you need it most.
One aspect of bringing a new baby into the world that is highly important to you is the equipment you need. Babies need a lot of stuff. And in a world where you can buy anything and everything for your baby, you should be able to get pretty much anything you need. However, just because you can buy it does not mean that you should.
There’s no denying some purchases are absolutely essential for your newborn. Diapers, clothes, blankets, swaddles, towels, etc, are all items all parents will use on a frequent basis. However, there are many novelty items that you can add to your home with the promise they will make life with a new baby easier and more straightforward. But do you really need all the gimmicks and bells and whistles? Or are you being wooed by big brands who are selling you something you don’t actually need? Or is the latest pregnancy influencer making you feel like you’re a terrible parent before your baby is even here because you don’t have the latest in baby gadgets?
Taking clothes and feeding equipment such as bottles and pacifiers out of the equation, you are still left with so many decisions to make regarding what exactly you need for your newborn to make life easier for you and the.
This post is going to attempt to cut through some of the noise in the baby world. With this sector being worth an estimated $12.6 billion globally and sales expected to boost the baby products sector to just under $30 billion by 2030, there is a lot of noise. Let’s look at the things you should be buying and maybe even a few of the things you can leave on the shelf.
Crib and Mattress
Your baby needs a place to sleep, and they will at least need a crib. How and where you prefer your baby to sleep is entirely up to you, but you need a crib and a good-quality mattress for crib, too, so your baby can have a comfortable place to sleep.
However, other options can include a co-sleeper if you want your baby next to you or a portable crib that you can fold down and move from room to room if you wish.
Stroller and/or Baby Carrier
You need a way to get your baby around when you’re out of the house, and a stroller or a carrier is designed for this. There are many different types of strollers on the market, so going to take some for a road test can help you get a feel for what style you prefer, what features you can expect, and what will work best for your lifestyle. Sporty parents might prefer a 3-wheeled stroller that is perfect for off-road adventures and taking the baby on runs once you’re back to working out. And even joining baby fit or exercise classes you can take your baby along to with you. Other parents might need travel systems that adapt as the baby grows and come with a carrycot and car seat as an all-in-one package.
Baby carriers or slings are great alternatives to strollers and can be ideal ways to hold a baby around the home and when out and about, especially if you use public transport a lot or you simply prefer not to use a stroller.
Car Seat
All children need to be restrained when traveling in a car to ensure their safety. It is a legal requirement that all children up to the age of 8 and under 65 lb be in a federally approved car seat. Always check the car seat’s safety ratings and ensure it meets minimum legal standards to ensure your child’s safety. Then, you can familiarize yourself with how to fit the car seat correctly and strap your child into it. But as far as essential pieces of baby equipment go, you need a car seat if you are traveling with your new baby in a car.
Bedding
Your baby needs comfortable and breathable bedding to sleep on. This means sheets and blankets to keep them warm and cozy.
If you prefer, you can get sleeping sacks for your baby to keep in to help avoid the risk of them getting stuck under blankets when sleeping and reduce the risk incidents involving babies and bedding. However, you do at least need clean sheets for cribs or sleepers, strollers if required, for a carrycot, and to lie the baby down in the event of there not being a place to put them down.
Changing Mat
You need a safe, clean space to change your baby. While changing stations seem like amazing pieces of furniture, they restrict you to changing your baby in one place, which isn’t really practical at all times, especially when unpredictable babies are concerned. Feel free to buy a changing station if you wish; however, having a changing mat gives you flexibility as to how and where you change the baby, and a travel mat you can take out will also be a good investment.
Bathing Supplies
Your baby needs to be washed and cleaned regularly, especially after spit-up incidents or ever-delightful exploding diaper situations. Having a good supply of gentle, high-quality baby cleaning products will help you care for your baby without damaging its delicate skin or causing allergies. Always look at the ingredients to make sure you’re happy with what you’re using and that they are gentle enough for your baby’s skin.
Swaddling Cloth
Babies love the feeling of being wrapped up, and swaddling them can be a great source of comfort as they learn about the world around them and get used to their new environment.
Inverting on a good swaddling cloth can be an essential tool for calming your new baby and ensuring they get enough sleep and downtime in a way that makes them feel safe and secure. But swaddling isn’t as easy as it looks, so learn some swaddling techniques to help you perfect this skill and be ready to swaddle as the situation calls for it.
Baby Monitor
It’s only natural that you will worry a lot as a new parent, and when you aren’t with your baby, you need to bathe and use the toilet after all! A baby monitor can be helpful to alleviate worries and keep an eye on your baby when you’re not physically with them. Baby monitors are useful from birth and can be used around the home to help you see the baby even when you’re not physically with them. Using baby monitors with an app can give you peace of mind, too, when you’re out of the house and leaving your baby for the first time with the parents, your siblings or friends, for example.
Parent Essentials
Essential items for newborns aren’t just for babies, although they certainly do help. Parents need some essentials to help cope with the demands a newborn can bring and ensure they, too, are supported.
Products such as feeding pillows or even chairs can provide comfort when feeding a baby, especially for breastfeeding parents. Back supports and cushions can assist with recovery after birth, and breast pads and nursing bras can also be helpful.
Don’t forget to include yourself when looking at things you need for a newborn to make your life easier. You don’t always need expensive items. It could be that you rearrange your home to make caring for a newborn easier and to accommodate all the new items you will have in the home, or it can be investing in water bottles you can refill and leave around the house to drink and even vitamins to help you retain your health through the whirlwind days of being a new parent.
What To Avoid
With this list in mind, what are the things you might find you actually don’t need as a new parent?
- Diaper disposal system
- Wipe warmer
- Bottle warmer
- Lots of baby outfits and accessories
- More than 1 soothing baby chair
- Diaper organizer
- Baby shoes
- Grooming products such as baby perfume
There are so many baby products on the market today, and finding out what you really need and what isn’t so essential can help you save money and use it where you need it instead of having a house full of items you thought you would need but, in actual fact, don’t.
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