7 Must Haves for New Baby

It is baby season in my world. Lots of my friends and family are having babies. My 7 must haves for baby is my list of top baby gifts to give or register for.  These are all items that I loved for my daughter, I give as gifts and would 100% buy again.

Since starting my own business I’ve placed a higher level of priority on giving great gifts as a way to say thank you to my friends and mentors. I’ve also become much more particular about what we buy and bring into our home. I try to treat gift giving the same way.

These recommendations are simple staple items. If you are in need of a gift or registry ideas I encourage you to consider my 7 must haves for baby.

7 Must Haves for Baby

1. Hands down my top baby item is the Fisher Price Rock & Play. If I could have only one piece of baby gear it would be this. It is light weight, easy to move from room to room, and it folds nice for travel. Most importantly, my daughter slept in this better than any other baby bed or contraption. I think I might have cried when she outgrew it.

2. When my daughter began to outgrow the Rock and Play and it was time to transition her to her crib I was worried she would be cold after being so cozy in the Rock and Play. I switched her crib sheet to the “winter” crib sheet a family friend had gifted us. The Pottery Barn Kids Chamois Crib Sheets haven’t left her bed yet and she’s 2.5 years old! These sheets are super soft and feel like a fleece blanket. I didn’t register for these and am eternally grateful we were gifted them.

3. I am a big fan of hooded baby towels. There is a bit of a debate in new mom circles about their necessity. I vote yes! My favorite is the Pottery Barn Kids Gingham Baby Bath Wrap. I’m a sucker for the cute matching washcloths too. Hooded towels are easier for me to manage a wet slippery wiggly baby. We were gifted a few different towel sets, but my favorite are these. The soft thick cotton of the Pottery Barn hooded towels has stood up to heavy use and have stayed super soft.

4. The Fischer Price Baby Bouncer is my second favorite piece of baby gear. My OBGYN was the one who recommended this baby seat to me. Her exact words were “this is how new mom’s take a shower.” And she was right! Light weight and inexpensive it was easy to take into the bathroom and was also great for the kitchen. While I agree that babies should be on the floor moving their little bodies as much as possible the kitchen is not a good place for that. My daughter loved to play w/her toes in this chair and watch me cook or wash dishes. My husband was also a big fan of having somewhere to contain her if he needed to work while I was out.

5. My daughter was a big eater and ended up being formula fed. It seemed like we were always making or washing bottles. The Munchkin Steam Guard Microwave Sterilizer was a quick and easy way to have bottles ready to go. I washed her bottles by hand until she was about 4 months old and then sterilized them. I washed them in the dishwasher from 4mo until about 6mo old before sterilizing them. I’m not sure if it was necessary to hand wash or sterilize them for that long but that’s what worked for us and this gadget was a great time saver.

6. We skipped the diaper disposal contraption. Neither my husband or I were excited about the idea of a giant sausage looking bag of poop diapers.  We tried out the disposable diaper bags from Babies R Us instead and they worked great. Just toss the bag in the kitchen garbage and take out with the regular trash. When the Babies R Us bankruptcy rumors started I switched to Tadge Goods Baby Disposable Diaper Bags. There are a couple different options on Amazon and we’ve been happy with these.

7. If you are looking for a gift to give from a group I highly recommend the BABYBJORN Travel Crib Light. My Mother-In-Law was gifted this amazing travel crib. It was a “Grandmother gift” from a dear friend with many small grandchildren. It is the second-best gift we received that we didn’t register for, right after the Pottery Barn Chamois Crib sheets. With its low to the ground base and angled sides my daughter tried every which way to get out of it and wasn’t successful until she was much older than when she could escape her own crib.

Conclusion

The baby items above were my must have baby items and the gifts I give to friends and family.  I also love to include one or two of my daughter’s favorite books like Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See, Are You My Mother or Bear Snores On. And a package of baby wipes.  Babies outgrow diapers but you can never have too many baby wipes!

The movement toward simplifying a home can be hard during the baby stage.  If you are interested in buying toys I recommend this great guide at mamaot.com.  It helped me maximize my daughter’s development while keeping the baby toys at a minimum.

15 Toys for Baby’s First Year – MamaOT.com

Do you have go to baby gifts or favorite baby gear?