My Newborn Essentials

When you are expecting a baby, it is completely overwhelming when it comes to choosing and buying the items that will be essential for your newborn when they arrive! When it came to preparing for baby second time around, I was really glad that I had put so much thought into our purchases for our first child, because it meant I had a lot of good quality items to use the second time without needing to buy too much!

Nobody wants to buy too much, and I dont think you need to have every single item ready before baby arrives! Therefore, with the help of my friend Tiffany from The Mummy Concierge, we have put together what I consider to be the real essentials for the early days with your baby! I always like to remind everyone that in this day and age, there is always next day delivery and plenty of places to get last-minute items so dont worry too much if you dont have it all in advance!

If you would like to download our newborn essentials checklist, then subscribe to my email list here, for an instant free download!

In addition to the bare essentials, I researched extensively the products I am currently using for my newborn, and wanted to share with you some of my favourites! I have divided the list into the key sections, but dont forget to download the full checklist above!

The best time to start thinking about purchasing items for your new baby is when you are around 28 weeks pregnant. However its always a good idea to plan your purchasing around sale times! Both my babies were born near the time of Black Friday which came in handy as I had already researched what would be my essential newborn purchases!

If you want to know what to pack in your hospital bag for birth, check out this blog post.

Sleep Essentials

Moses basket/ Bedside crib

For my first baby, I had a beautiful old style crib which was handed down by my parents. However this was not practical with the never ending nightfeeds and I found myself craving the ease of a bedside crib.

Being able to drop the side of a crib makes accessing the baby easy, and you are less likely to disturb them when transferring them back to their cot! It is important to note that you should still use these products with the crib side up while baby sleeps.

Sleepyhead

Its a controversial topic, and I really encourage you to read about the advice on the Lullaby Trust website. However, I use the Sleepyhead during the daytime for supervised naps, and it provides a safe place to keep my baby at a distance from my toddler!

Nappy bin

No changing area would be complete without a good smell-proof nappy bin! Ive been a fan of the Tommee Tippee bin, and more recently have discovered the cheaper, more environmentally-friendly refills from Amazon!

Nursing pillow

Ive been absolutely loving my bbhugme nursing pillow*, which is a smaller and thinner version of the pregnancy pillow (if you want to read about a pregnancy pillow and how to use it for sleep, check out this post!)

Furniture

This can definitely be expensive when it comes to buying the wardrobe and changing tables. I didnt buy any of these initially because we were in a 1 bedroom flat when my eldest arrived! Theres a huge range available, from Ikea to expensive high-end brands such as those at the gorgeous The Baby Cot Shop.

Breastfeeding nightlight

My favourite night light is this one from VAVA. It allows me to feed during the night without disturbing my husband, or waking the baby too much!

Bathtime

We have loved the Shnuggle baby bath for both children. Its easy to bath baby without hurting your back, and they can sit upright even from newborn and kick their legs.

Another useful item when baby grows bigger is the Angelcare bath seat.

Muslins

I could literally never have enough of these! My favourites were Little Blue Nest, Aden & Anais, Little Bamboo and MADPAC.

It’s also useful to go to Primark/ John Lewis for extras that you don’t mind going in the washing machine frequently.

Out & About

Now that we have 2 kids under the age of 2, we have just got our THIRD buggy! We still researched our buggy choices very extensively, but have come to the conclusion we actually do need all 3!

Uppababy Cruz

This was our first buggy purchase, and still our main choice. The bassinet is brilliant and can be used for overnight sleep which really came in handy when we stayed over at grandparents etc so we didnt need a travel cot! It folds down nice and small (we had a mini convertible when we bought it!) and is also a comfortbale height for us both to push (we are pretty tall!)

Babyzen yo-yo

When it comes to travelling abroad, and getting in and out of the car regularly, theres nothing easier than the yo-yo. I have reviewed this buggy in full here. We use it as our main buggy for my toddler, and it lives in the car. We also have the newborn pack* so can use it for both children with the buggy board* on the back!

Citi mini double

We have just been given this Citi Mini double buggy as a hand-me-down from a relative!

It has become an absolute lockdown essential for us, since my son grew too heavy to carry in the sling on a daily basis. The newer versions are narrower but this buggy has been reliable and I couldn’t manage without it.

Make sure when buying a new double buggy to look for one that is light when you fold it, and narrow enough to fit through door frames!

Baby carrier

Both my husband and I are big fans of baby carrying! I love using my Boba wrap with a newborn as it is super soft and feels almost weightless to carry the baby. It feels softer on their joints and keeps them close to the wearers chest!

With an older baby, I like to use my Baby Bjorn One carrier, which is ergonomically designed for optimal hip positoning and also comfortable for the wearer when baby weighs more!

Car seat blanket

One of the trickiest parts of having a winter baby is working out how to dress baby in the right amount of layers! It’s even harder in the car seat because the child shouldnt wear thick puffy jackets as it can impact the function of the seatbelts. Therefore a car seat blanket is the perfect answer – it can stay permanently slotted into the straps so doesnt fall out, and does up outside of the seatbelts so doesnt impact the safety of the seat!

We absolutely love this grey one from Kura Organics* which is super soft on the inside and has poppers to keep baby snug!

Playtime

Newborns dont need too much in the way of toys. However a few key items are essential as your baby grows and develops to allow you to provide the stimulation baby needs!

Playmat

This gorgeous Skip-hop playmat* has a much more appealing colour scheme than the usual baby toys, and provides options for a range of activities!

Bouncer

Having somewhere to sit the baby slightly upright gives a new perspective, and baby can bounce themselves which can help settle them when mum needs a shower! Ive been a big fan of my Baby Bjorn bouncer for both kids!

These are just some of the top items we found useful! If you want my recommendations for any more products, then leave a comment below and Ill update this list!

*This blog post isnt sponsored, and the majority of items were bought by us. Where indicated with an asterix, these items were gifted but reviewed and recommended by me honestly! Some links may be affiliated.