This list of newborn essentials is designed to be the complete list of everyday, must-have items for new moms. It’s as minimal as possible and has items that are trusted and loved by moms. I’ve included some of their top Amazon reviews. And almost all of these items were also used daily by me as a new mom. Whether you’re putting together your registry or trying to figure out what you really need for baby: this list will walk you through what you need along with specific product recommendations.

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on and/or make a purchase using some of the links in this post, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Read my full disclosure policy here.

Travel

1. Car Seat

“This carseat is AMAZING! Around 6 months old, my daughter really started hating her infant carseat because she couldn’t sit up and look out the window. My mother-in-law bought a convertible carseat for her car, so she was really starting to love that one. Also, my husband and I were getting tired of moving the infant seat from car to car since she was so heavy. Therefore, I went on my journey to find a convertible seat. I was not willing to spend over $200 because we need one for each of our cars and that money adds up! I read review, after review, after review. These were what I wanted:

1. To go all the way to a high back booster
2. Under $200
3. Easily Machine Washable
4. Easy tie back for straps (my mother-in-laws Britax has velcro)
5. Cup holders for when she gets old
6. Nice neutral color

Do you know how hard it was to find that? SO HARD. Half of them were either pink or blue, which I hated because our interiors are black and I wanted something that could be used with another baby someday. Therefore, I stumbled on this one and was excited to order it and get it in. I was a little worried though that it might not be the quality we were hoping for or might be hard to get her in and out, but it’s literally amazing! We’ve had it now for about 3 months and it’s perfect. We are saving up now to buy the second one for my husband’s car, but know that it’s exactly what we want!

The only negative thing I can say is that it’s a bit harder than our Chicco Keyfit to loosen the harness, but it’s not impossible, just a little harder.

Would recommend this seat to anyone in the market for one, and at a much better price than the Graco 4ever seat.”

2. Jogger

“I love this jogger! This jogging stroller is lightweight and easy to push. This stroller made it so easy to explore the outdoors and run around the park with my children. The ride was so smooth even over bumpy terrain and grass. It also folds easily with an easy pull of the levers under the handlebar. My daughter loved having a snack tray to put her snacks on and I loved that it was easily removable so that I could take her in and out of the stroller. The basket underneath the stroller is spacious and easily fit our diaper bag. The handlebar is made out of soft foam and there two removable cup holders for drinks. I also love that I can switch back and forth from a front swivel wheel. This stroller is the perfect jogging companion and I look forward to bringing it along for all of our adventures.”

3. Car Seat Cover

“We love this cover! We use it to cover the car seat, cover me when breast-feeding, and it is convenient to wear like a scarf. It covers the car seat nicely to block wind, sun, and people who are trying to get close to your child in a pandemic. I used this to take my daughter on a plane And I use it a lot in the car to block the sun and keep her asleep. My only issue with it is that it is inconvenient if you’re trying to keep her completely covered because there is a big neck hole so you can wear it and there’s always some part of her exposed”

4. Baby Carrier

Buy this $30 carrier!!! You will not be sorry! I’ve had it for nearly 3 years. I bought it for my son after realizing our other (very expensive) carrier did not have the capability to forward face. 🤷‍♀️ I bought this one to take my son to a parade. It was comfortable for him and me! When my daughter was born, I used it exclusively. Because it can carry a newborn over 8 lbs (our other carrier needed a very expensive newborn insert🙄), I just strapped her in and chased my son around. She loved it then, and loves it now (At 11 months old) as she can forward face. We use it all the time!!! On grocery trips, to the zoo, to the beach, on hikes, everywhere!
This carrier is worth every penny. I regret not buying this sooner! Save your money on those other expensive carriers! BUY THIS ONE!!!

Feeding

1. Bottles

Comotomo bottles are a game changer. I have to bottle feed my baby and finding a decent bottle is quite the challenge. You name it, I’ve tried it; from Dr. Brown’s, Avent, Mimijumi to Tommee Tippee. All of these bottles gave my daughter horrid gas (even the beloved Dr. Brown’s).

I finally discovered Comotomo and man, I wish I found these earlier. My baby’s issue with gas is now nonexistent.

PROS:
• Bottle mimics the milk let-down during breastfeeding. If you squeeze/massage bottle milk will gently flow out of nipple.
• Made of 100% Food Grade Silicone. Much safer than plastic bottles. Colored rim is plastic, but does not touch milk.
• Bottles have not turned yellow from warming/sterilizing.
• Dual air vents on nipple work wonders for gassy babies. Seriously.
• Slow Flow nipples do not drip milk when turned upside down.
• Modern and attractive bottle.
• Soft silicone and round shape make it easier for baby to learn to hold bottle.
• No leaks whatsoever.
• VERY easy to clean. Such a plus!
• Nipples do not collapse as baby drinks.
• Easy for baby to latch. Wide nipple prevents bottle mouth.
• Both 5oz and 8oz bottles fit into The First Years Bottle Warmer.
• Great price point.

CONS (a few things to be aware of):
• These bottles take longer to warm milk in bottle warmers. Almost twice as long in our First Years warmer (about 8 minutes/5oz).
• Tight fit in diaper bag pockets designed for standard bottles. They will fit, it’s just tight.
• Medium Flow nipples drip milk if turned upside down.

If you’re debating these bottles, don’t! Just try them out. They are the best on the market. No other bottle compares. The nipple on Comotomo’s bottle is amazing and really sets this bottle apart from the others.

2. Burp Cloths

3. Drying Rack

I would classify this item as a necessity for bottle feeding parents. You may want 2-3 of these per child, depending how many bottles you want to use or have. I would also recommend buying more “trees” for the boon set but the grass alone is very useful for the many bottles you use in one day. It’s easy cleaning and set for your bottles. I believe it to be a convenient system for organizing pumping parts and bottles. It easy to put together. Great item for baby showers, hand-me-down, and travel. My #1 recommendation for baby items to add in your registry

4. Dishwasher Basket

Ha — lots bigger than I expected! I got this to wash the few tiny items that I sometimes stick in my dishwasher, either in the utensil caddy or on the top shelf, like lids and small measuring spoons. These often end up in the bottom of the dishwasher since they are so light. This basket certainly works to contain and control them, but something smaller would be better. However, my mistake. I still will use it as long as I can find room in my already-full washer. It is very sturdy and well-made.

Sleep

1. Merlin Magic Sleepsuit

There are so many products out there to help with baby sleep, and it’s so hard to know what will work for YOUR child. So I was skeptical about this product, but was surprised and very pleased with the results! My baby at 2 months was already a good sleeper, the problem was she only wanted to sleep in the Rock n Play. I heard a lot of moms used this suit to help with the transition to the crib, and it definitely helped us too! I still have to rock or feed baby to sleep, but she stays asleep once I put her down. Wish I would have had this with our first who would only sleep if we held her. The only “downside” is having to figure out how to dress baby since the suit is thick and therefore warmer than most sleepers.

2. Bassinet

This product is definitely worth every penny. The mesh siding provides safety and peace of mind. The swivel is a necessity when getting up and down at night & the collapsable side is great both for picking up baby or simply reaching in to soothe. Due to previous reviews I’ve diligently checked for mold and defects, no issues so far. I love this bassinet!

3. Mattress Cover

These mattress pads go with the bassinet and offer leak-protection as well as some extra padding.

4. Swaddle Blankets

These blankets are such a nice quality material. It holds up well in the machine, time after time. They absorb well also so that’s an added bonus. They are perfect for newborns and a great gifting idea. I promise you any new mom will be grateful for these. I also like that the colors are neutral and can be gifted to both genders. So soft!

Diapering

1. Diaper Bag

This company is absolutely amazing! I have made this a 5 star now due to the immediate response and care they showed for the problem I had. I will definitely be doing my business with them and recommending them to anyone!! The quality of the bag is sturdy, has many pockets for everything (parents know we carry a lot of stuff lol!), the bag is great for sanitary purposes as well when they need changing, and the bassinet portion is a great size! The bag is easily compacted for travel and a wonderful asset to have!!

I really wish these were around when I had my daughter, but now they are around for my daughter and son on their first baby! I love how it is compactable to a back pack with plenty of pockets, and the portable bassinet aspect is wonderful, especially to travel with!
The one and only reason I didn’t give it a full five stars was because the zipper holding the bassinet portion is broke at the tab part to connect both sides, so it will not hold together.

2. Changing Pad

I went the first 3 months of my baby’s life without a changing pad. I didn’t think I needed one because who wants to go to the nursery every time you need to change a diaper? Then I saw this changing pad for $15 and thought, “meh, I might as well give it a try”. I’m glad that I did. Did purchasing this all of a sudden get me changing all diapers in the nursery? No. But I do use this a lot. Now that my daughter is 8 months old, I use this a lot more than when she was 3 months. As babies get older, their diapers get nastier. Especially when they start solids. I ALWAYS use this changing pad when my daughter has a messy diaper.

WHAT I LOVE:
•Extra plush padding. This pad was comfortable for even my tiny 3 month old.
•Wide sides work well for keeping my 8 month old (16lb) contained. Although, never leave your baby alone people!
•Safety belt is convenient now that my baby is older. I didn’t start using the belt until she was about 6 months old. When they become wiggle worms.
•Safety belt can actually strap baby’s arms down as well. So they aren’t too curious about what you’re working on down there.
•Pad is completely waterproof. I haven’t had any issues with messes seeping through the material.
•Pad is super easy to clean. Messes literally wipe right up with a baby wipe. Once a week I clean with a hot, soapy washcloth.
•No stains! This has been in a lot of messy situations already and it still looks brand new.
•No weird chemical smell when I first opened it.
•Pad has kept its shape.
•Pad is extremely lightweight and easy to carry from room to room. We all do it sometimes.
•Universal changing pad covers fit this perfectly. Like a glove.

3. Diapers

Wow I’m impressed! I’ve purchased the regular Mama Bear diapers in the past and recently decided to give the gentle touch version a chance. Reading the current reviews of the product it’s often mentioned how thin these diapers are. Compared to Targets Up and Up brand of diapers (see photo), these are noticeably thinner and very soft. I was surprised how well these diapers hold wetness because of how thin they are. The longest my daughter wore these diapers was about 8 hours overnight, no leaks. What was most impressive to me was that out of every diaper my daughter has worn (Pampers, Huggies, Luvs, Honest, Target) this is the best fitting diaper on her! I’ve never put a diaper on her that fit so perfect. I will definitely be buying this brand again in the future.

4. Wipes

I’ve worked at a preschool where parents bring in the wipes for their children so I’ve wiped many of butts with different types of wipes from standard big box to the most organic obscure wipes. As potty training and diaper changes are a huge part of the job, you start to notice a lot when changing 15-30 kids a day with blow outs and different types of poos and bottoms.

After much research, I brought these for my own baby.

Main issues I’ve found over the time:

1. Wipes that don’t actually wipe or clean, where I have to do multiple pass throughs in order to keep it clean. On wet poops or dry poops. Pampers is a huge problem in this area. Their wipes have no traction or pattern making it hard for the poop to cling on to anything. They try to make the formula more wet, but that really just adds more wetness. Multiple passthroughs needed.
2. Wipes that pull out 2-3 at a time instead of one (leading to wasted wipes or me having to stuff them back in). Really inconvenient when you are trying to keep a clean and tidy space or have to change lots of kids.
3. Wipes that dry out super easily if accidentally not shut perfectly. One whole bag ruined/unusable
4. Wet water/liquids sloshing at the bottom of the bag, so inconsistent wetness
5. Wipes that left a kid with clean but too wet bottom
6. Not enough wipes to last a week. Depending on the child and also the size of the wipe and size of blow out a larger wipe does help.
7. Sensitivity – Some wipes can be painful on bums with rashes :(, in this case softness is better, where you can dab instead of wipe motion to clean.

So I did my research and for the money and the convenience with a prime membership, amazon prime wipes are the best hands down. They do a clean wipe, are big enough for me to fold and use one wipe more than once. I left one open for a day by accident and they were not dried out. The way they are folded I can take out one at a time. Wetter is not always better, and Amazon wipes do not have that problem.

I can warm it up with my hand if it’s a cold night and I’m changing my child.

My rule is if my child is eating it or using it I’m going to try it out (diapers excluded :P) and this wipe is very comfortable and easy to use.

As far as I’m concerned, the only downside is that you cannot pick these up in a store in case you forgot and are running low. These are not the most travel friendly. The only other thing is perhaps considering a travel pack size with each of the large packs would be helpful as these are a brick if you are going to be traveling around with them.

Otherwise I just take one of the ones I’ve used up 50% of the pack and bring that out instead of lugging around a large pack.

Health + First Aide

1. First Aide Kit

2. Baby Monitor

This thing is incredible!!!! We had the Owlet Cam before this and it never worked and always lost connection because it used Internet to work.

This camera, on the other hand, has its very own private network. It has never once lost connection since we got it. The picture quality is exactly the same as the Owlet Cam (when it worked, of course), and the sound quality is excellent.

Pros:
– great picture quality and night vision
– it mounts on the wall, and comes with the hardware to do so
– it can rotate almost any direction so we can see the whole room
– it’s quiet when it rotates – it doesn’t wake up the baby if we need to adjust the angle
– it can zoom in
– it has a room temperature sensor
– the handheld screen is really nice
– walkie-talkie mode
– no lights on the camera itself to bother the baby at night
– wire is long enough to almost reach the ceiling – we hung the camera about a foot from the ceiling so we could pan over the whole room

3. Baby Nasal Aspirator

Absolutely hands down the most effective nose sucker I’ve ever used for my baby. It’s also disgusting so toughen up, anything coming out you, me, and our kids typically is. I had 2 types of nose suckers, both gifts, I’d tried before getting this one and I’ve gotten rid of the others.
My lil’ guy’s first cold was handled much better once we got this. Baby boy hates getting his nose sucked, he fights it every time, but he was showing better attitude and breathing easier after we used it on him. Also use some baby safe saline solution before nose sucking your baby for extra gross double snot removeage.
Heads up, if your baby is sick while you use this, you will get sick as you are breathing in the air and bacteria from inside him. As long as you don’t mind It’s a great nose sucker to use. Plus if breast feeding, once mom gets sick, baby will start getting better because you start producing immunities that go right to baby’s food supply. My son got better before I did once he got me sick.
Also it’s possible to use on yourself, and is a very odd sensation.

4. Diaper Rash Cream

This is by far the best diaper rash cream that I have found. It is not cheap compared to the other brands but I like the consistency much better then A&D cream. It is not too runny and not too thick (like some other brands that make it hard to spread on a wiggly baby). Also it is nice for kids with sensitive skin and allergies. My son developed a weird rash and the dermatologist was impressed with the ingredients on this cream and said it was very unlikely that it would be causing the allergy (turns out it was the disposable diapers he was allergic to).

Clothing

1. Onesie

2. Pacifier

I am a very frugal person. Need to be when you are a momma of 6 and a stay at home mom.

So had it not been for the fact that I was buying this as a gift for a dear friend and it came with 2 pacifers, ( I kept one for myself) my daughter would not be having what would turn out to be her favorite pacifer.

So worth the extra bucks. Love the fact that the nipple is made out of rubber and the shape of it.

Had it for a week now and she has used it more then any other binkie we have for her.

The company knows what they are doing.

****I forgot to post the review back in May. Oops.
*****Update***Now it’s September and with her turning 6 months and that’s the ONLY pacifer she likes. I splurged and bought a 4 pack of the bigger size (6+months)

When I first saw it and that it was a smaller nipple I didn’t know if Grace would take it. She did, no problems at all. Now I have backups. 😁

We are happy campers. This is the brand of pacifers I will buy for baby shower gifts.

But remember every child/ baby is different as so are their preferences. So it’s always good to test things out first.

Just because this is my daughter’s one and only brand of pacifers she uses, doesn’t mean it will be for your child. Best thing to do is experiment! Good luck!

3. Hats

4. Laundry Detergent

I typically use non-scented, free and clear detergent on my baby’s clothes. I’ve heard great things about Babyganics and was intrigued by the natural lavender scent of this particular variety so I was really excited to be given the opportunity to give it a try.

When I opened the bottle I wasn’t sure what I was going to think of the fragrance. It was fairly strong, but keeping in mind that detergent is concentrated I used it with an open mind. The clothes came out of the dryer smelling wonderful – just the right amount of lavender, and the fragrance smells authentic – not a fake floral scent like so many products claiming to be lavender. I’ve actually started using this detergent on my linens as well (the bathroom towels now smell amazing).

As for cleaning, I have no complaints. My baby is still small enough that his clothes don’t get super dirty, but nonetheless everything did come out clean. I love that this product is non-allergenic and I respect what Babyganics stands for as a company. All in all an excellent detergent!