The Most Useful Baby Items for New Parents

I’m going to preface this post by stating these are simply our opinions and in no way are we intending to tell you how you should parent.  We wrote down these notes when we were a few months in to our role as new parents in case we had any friends or family who were expecting in the near future to pass along some lessons learned.

There is SO much marketing and advertising when it comes to two life events: babies and weddings.  It’s as if you’re a bad parent if you even think about buying things second hand or if you don’t get the very top rated stroller.  Did you know there is a $1,300 bassinet out there these days?! $1,300!!  Do you know how long a baby is in a bassinet for?  Weeks?  Maybeeee a month or two?  How oh how did parents ever survive without this magical contraption in the past?

Please do not go broke over your new baby!  Many of these items are used for a very short time frame.  You are looking for good quality at a reasonable cost.  Many of the items listed below we received for free second hand from other parents in our community and guess what, our little girl is still alive!

We figured it wouldn’t hurt to share these notes with the world as there are always soon-to-be-new-parents out there looking for as much information as they can find about babies.  (Insider scoop, no matter how much reading and prep you do pre-babes you still have NO idea what’s coming for you.)  We took a solid look to see what we decided we actually needed for new babes vs what all the marketing tells you you’ll need.  We’ve made a few updates since our initial notes and we hope any new parents out there find this useful.

We will follow up this post with a post detailing exactly how much we spent on our daughter during her first year and then another post similarly outlining how much we spent on her second year now that we’re past the two year mark. And yes, of course I keep track of these expenses to the penny!

We are trying to dispel the myth that kids have to be expensive!

Full disclosure: The links for several of the products listed below are affiliate links. This means Modern FImily would receive some cash money if you sign up for them using our links (at no extra cost to you). And for that, we thank you. For other items, we won’t receive any money at all – I’m just telling you about them because I happen to think they’re handy.  Please try to buy second hand as there are SO many parents out there trying to get rid of these items from their garages.  Your wallets and mother earth will thank you.

Items We Actually Recommend Getting for You/Your Baby:

• First off, good news, you need way less than you think you need. 
• A place to sleep
  • Baby Box/Bassinet: We used a baby box, which was provided by the government of Alberta for free, which is essentially a bassinet on the ground aka a cardboard box with a small mattress.  It came with a few sample products, some newborn diapers, soothers, baby socks, etc.  Some people started their baby off in the crib from day 1 so even this isn’t necessary. We just wanted babes in our room for the convenience of nighttime feeds and diaper changes.  We transitioned Finn into her crib around 3.5 months which is when we started some sleep training (which was a nightmare, and still is to be totally honest).  The downside to the baby box is that it is on the floor vs being elevated. No biggie for us.
  • Sleeping Nest: Nic’s sister made us a baby sleeping nest to help the transition from baby box to crib.  We absolutely loved this super neat contraption as it kept babes from rolling as we transitioned her into a larger crib.  It helped her to feel “snug” and she was in this for a good few months once out of the baby box and in the crib.  We also liked that this helped to keep her from rolling and to instead remain on her back at night.  This is also great if you plan to do any co-sleeping as there is a clear separation between you and baby so you don’t need to worry about rolling on to them when you’re asleep.
  • Crib: Whether you start off in a crib right off the bat or not, unless you plan to do co-sleeping, your little one will need a crib.  Our crib is very practical and is able to convert to a toddler bed if we choose.  Two sets of sheets are more than enough.  We also bought two waterproof liners to put between the mattress & sheet and haven’t had to use either of them at all yet so those don’t make the list for us.
• Rocking Chair: Most new parents are going to find themselves awake at random hours in the night.  Enter the world of sleeping in a rocking chair.  We also use our rocking chair to read stories in before naps and bedtime each night.  We found the most important aspect is to rock/glide back and forth without making a sound.  We hardly use the foot rest part now but it was nice when we were dead tired and would have a snooze on it ourselves.
• Feeding
  • Bottles: Luckily Nic was off work for the year thanks to Canada’s generous parental leave so we never had to deal with bottles while Finn was drinking breastmilk.  We tried to expose Finn to a bottle multiple times but she showed 0 interest.  Absolutely none.  We had Dr. Browns bottles in our house as they were recommended to us by several other parents as they’re designed to prevent gas in babies and you want size 1 nipples (which is what I believe comes standard on them).
  • Breast pump: My cousin gave us her unused Medela electric breast pump.  If you are going to pump, we’d recommend electric vs manual for the ease of it.  Check with your insurance company as my cousin got this one for free in the States.  
  • Storage Bags: You can purchase breast milk storage bags but really any plastic freezer bag would work just fine. We ended up hardly using any of ours.  Breast milk can be used for nipple cream, diaper rash, treating ear infections, teething, healing cuts, eczema, blocked baby eye tear ducts/eye discharge, etc. so storing breast milk has come in handy but you don’t necessarily need a special bag for it.
  • Lanolin cream: If you’re new to breast feeding, heads up, your nipples WILL hurt to begin with and it takes about a month for your body to get used to it.  Enter lanolin cream to help with the pain.  We also would suggest you see a lactation doctor (before and after birth) to increase your comfort level with feeding and what to expect, if one is available to you.  It can be a challenge to get your baby to latch correctly and concerning to not know if your supply is enough for baby – enter lactation specialist angels!
  • Nursing bras: You may think you can just use sports bras, but they really aren’t the same at all.  Nic suggests to have (at least) 3 nursing bras. 
  • Nipple shield: Nic had some issues getting Finn to latch so she used a plastic nipple shield to feed Finn (from the lactation specialist).  If you’re having issues, ask your lactation specialist about this as it really helped us.  Finn used this for a few months (5 maybe?) until she suddenly spit it out on her own one day and decided she no longer needed it.
  • Nursing pillow: Nic really only used a nursing pillow for the first 1.5 months then it got in the way.  But she found it helpful when she was trying to figure things out and needed to use 2 hands. We then used it to prop Finn up when she was learning how to sit on her own.  
  • High Chair & Bibs: When it comes time to introducing food to babes, you’ll want bibs and plastic/bamboo utensils, cups, etc.  We found that plastic bibs with the crumb catcher on the bottom were much more user friendly compared to cloth bibs as we could easily wipe and reuse them for the next meal.  We used the silicone ones too but found them to be a bit more bulky and took up more space – still good though.  We opted to not get a big clunky high chair and instead we use a high chair/booster that clips onto our kitchen chair (which our 2 year old is still in today) and a second one that is portable and attaches on to our kitchen countertop. The portable one is handy but definitely not necessary.  We also found reusable baby food pouches to be useful if you plan to make your own baby food.  Finn moved on to solids quickly so we didn’t use these for a long time but we still use them for applesauce to this day.
• Clothing
  • Sleepers: We started off with 3 newborn sleepers with zippers.  That’s it. We needed more ha. Through our experience, if you have about 7 newborn sleepers with zippers that is all you need for that age – we really didn’t put Finn in anything but sleepers until she was past 0-3 month clothing.  They grow out of newborn sizing so fast (depending on their weight at birth of course) and you won’t want a sleeper with snaps, they can be very frustrating especially for the middle of the night diaper changes!  They are so fragile and itty as newborns that we found we didn’t use any other outfits besides sleepers which were the simplest to put on.  Our favorite sleepers were the Cloud Island brand ones from Target (or something similar) as the zippers start at the feet vs neck so you only have to unzip half of it for diaper changes.  Doesn’t sound like anything too fancy but it’s genius as it keeps babes warm for those middle of the night diaper changes!  Try to avoid snaps at all costs.  Of course, baby clothes are adorable and hard to resist, but if we’re talking practicality… all you really need is sleepers/onesies through 6 months.  After that age, they start being more alert and mobile and you’ll want more variety.  Depending on the season, you’ll want some outwear too of course.  Forget shoes for now, they aren’t walking so just warm socks/booties will do.
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• Diapers, Wipes, Diaper Cream
  • Diapers: We went through about 150 new born size diapers (Finn was 8 lbs 3 oz at birth).  We went through ~300 size 1 diapers and ~900 size 2 diapers before shifting over to size 3 which is what she was in until just a few weeks before turning 2.  We’ve shifted to size 4 now but fingers crossed that won’t last too long as we’ve been working on potty training recently.  They can be in size 3 for a while, so if you see diapers on sale, stock up on size 3.  Most stores will let you swap out sizes too if you end up with too many.  She ended up going through 2,252 size 3 diapers.  Wow.  That was the first time I’ve calculated that.  That’s A LOT of diaper changes!  We use the Pampers Swaddlers diapers which aren’t the cheapest but when your child has sensitive skin you don’t scrimp on diapers.
  • Reuseable Diapers: We commend the parents out there who use reuasble diapers.  Diapers have definitely been our most expensive line item so if you use reuseables instead you’ll definitely save some costs.  We were all setup to use reuseables ourselves (we bought 12 adjustable reuseable diapers prior to Finn arriving) but for whatever reason we ended up being intimidated by them.  Maybe it was the stress of being a new parent, not having a clue what we were doing, and/or feeling oh so exhausted?  Perhaps the thought of needing to go through the extra step of washing the diapers turned us off?  I’m not really sure to be honest but we ended up selling those diapers for a wash and used disposables from the get go.  Hats off to parents out there who have the extra energy to use reuseables.
  • Wipes: We found Costco Kirkland baby wipes to be the best (we don’t have a membership but Nic’s sister or our neighbors pick these up for us).  So far we’re on box 3 of Costco wipes which contain 900 wipes in each box.  This is quite low as we actually didn’t use baby wipes to start.  Well, we did, but we realized Finn’s bum was super sensitive so we used water wipes instead for the first 6-12 months as per recommended by our lactation consultant (I can’t recall when we switched to regular wipes).  After a week of buying water wipes, we decided to make our own simply by cutting paper towel in half and dipping it in water ourselves.  Super simple and a cost saver.
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  • Change pad: Note I am just suggesting the changing pad only and not the entire changing table here.  We left our change pad right on the floor and felt way more comfortable changing her bum on the floor vs higher up as she was a wiggler.  I don’t see the purpose of buying a piece of furniture to change your baby on when putting the change pad on a dresser will do if you want to be elevated. Two sets of sheets is more than enough.
  • Diaper cream: We’ve been using Destin Extra Strength on Finn since she was born.  At first we were using it for every diaper change, then it shifted to just after she had a poop, and now we just put it on before going to bed. She’s sensitive….
• Nose Frieda
  • This snot sucker is my go-to gift for new parents as it’s such a practical item to have.  It is a life saver as babes can’t blow their nose on their own.  We somehow have accumulated 3 of these bad boys.  We thought we lost the base of our first one so we bought a second only to then find said supposed lost piece a few weeks later under our guest room bed.  Oh the joys of having a toddler hide things on you!  The third one was purchased while down in Florida for a trip earlier in the year where we forgot to pack our beloved snot sucker.
• Burp Cloths, Swaddle Blankets, & Sleep Sacks
  • 6 burp cloths and 4 swaddle blankets should be more than enough.  We liked the muslin swaddles as they had a bit of stretch to help keep babes wrapped up inside.
  • We tried quite a few sleep sacks to start with.  We found the blankets with Velcro were useless.  Finn got her hands out of them so easily and would startle herself with her hands and wake herself up.  Our go to sleep sack was the Ergo Cocoon which is a zipper, stretchy material which she loved, and it has snaps at the arms so you can keep babes hands inside when they are little and then transition their hands out as they get older. After her arms were out, we then switched over to Halo sleep sacks with a zipper (no velcro!) which is what she’s still in today (we first switched over to size medium (16-24 pounds) and now she’s in large (22-28 pounds, 18-36 months)). 
• In Transit
  • Car Seat: Bucket vs Convertible car seats, that is the question… We went with a bucket seat but if we could go back we would have started off with a convertible car seat.  After the fact we purchased the Graco 4-in-1 4ever car seat that has 4 different seating options and good from birth to 10 years.  The bucket is great if your child can transition easy and/or stay asleep when you take the bucket out of the car to say a stroller or indoors.  Of course, you’re likely buying the car seat before babes is born and you don’t know if they will transition sleep well yet which is why most people (us included) go with a bucket.  Finn never transitioned well, let alone slept in the car as a baby, so that didn’t work too well for us as it meant first getting the bucket and then the convertible for extra costs. Hopefully your babes is not as terrible of a sleeper as our little monster!  The one pro to the bucket seat was the portability, which came in handy when she was little and we could pop her car seat out of the car and into the grocery cart to go into the grocery store. The other option would have been to wear her in the store with a carrier/wrap, which is totally doable also. 
  • Car Seat Cover: We got a stretchy car seat cover and found it useful for the first few weeks when Finn was sleeping non-stop but found we did’t use it much after those initial weeks, again mostly because she wouldn’t sleep in her car seat.  This can also be used as a nursing cover for mom. I wouldn’t really recommend it since we personally didn’t use it a lot and felt that any blanket/sheet can be used for the few times you’ll want it.  If you have a car seat sleeper you may have more respect for this item.
  • Carrier/Wrap: We know a lot of people who used wraps to hold babes but we decided on a carrier.  We purchased the Ergo carrier second hand and loved it, great back support for the parent. This was the only way we would get Finn to nap during the day for a longggg time so it was a life saver for us (and we definitely got our steps in as we were going for multiple walks a day).   If we could go back in time though, we would have gotten the Ergo 360 which babes can face both inwards and outwards. We were given the Baby Bjorn by my cousin for Finn to face out in (she LOVED to face out and look around when she was awake) but the Baby Bjorn was awful in terms of ergonomics and hurt our backs so much more compared to the Ergo (note that we’ve heard the more expensive Bjorn One is better for ergonomics). We ended up getting the Ergo 360 (for free by a fellow mom we befriended in the grocery store one day!) as Finn could face forward in it and it’s the only way we could go for family walks – she wasn’t a fan of any stroller we tried out for the first 6-12 months.  She has finally transitioned to be agreeable to walks in a jogging stroller… as long as there are snacks!  Note that we don’t even have a stroller on this list as we hardly used ours for the first 6 months so not something you need right away. Now that we are well past the 6 month mark, we have definitely made good use of our (free) Baby Trend jogging stroller.
• Activity Play Mat
  • Finn loved her play mat from the start and we used it for months (6?) and would definitely recommend getting one.  Ours had a hanging arch with some toys hanging from above and an adjustable piano at the end that she could kick with her feet to make noise. Once she was sitting upright, the piano could change positions so Finn could tap it with her hands.
• Exersaucer
  • Not a necessity but Finn loved hanging out in her circle of neglect aka exercauscer when we could use some hands free time.  It takes up a lot of space though so we donated ours once we were done. We started using this around the 4/4.5 month mark and only used it for about 2-3 months.
• Jolly Jumper
  • Again, not a necessity but Finn loved bouncing around in her jolly jumper even more than the exersaucer.  She would bounce in here for about 20 minutes a day. That may not sound like a lot but that was 20 glorious minutes where you could do whatever you needed to with your hands besides holding a baby.  You can either get it to hang from a doorway or get a stand, the stand does fold up for storage.  The stand takes up way more space but it’s safer than the doorway. We had the stand and started using this around the 4.5/5 month mark and used it for about 2-3 months.
• Bathing
  • We used a baby bathtub that had an additional mesh included for when babes was very young which was removable as they got older. We were giving her a bath with baby wash every 2-3 days for the first month or two and then transitioned to a daily bath.  She loves bath time.
• Coffee
  • Every new parent always needs more coffee and that’s coming from a non-coffee drinker pre kiddo.  I now have a latte every morning ☺ 

That’s really it!  Again, SO many of these items can be found for free or a steep discount if you shop second hand.

Of course, there are MANY more baby items out there not mentioned on this post.  These were the ones we personally felt were practical for us.

How much did we pay for our baby items?  Stay tuned for the follow up parenting posts detailing the costs we’ve spent on babes so far (hint, it’s NOT a lot!).

Any parents tuning in have anything to add, subtract, or edit?  What did we miss during those first months?

Anyone reading who’s planning becoming a parent, we hope this eases some of your worries of actual practical items you’ll want to look into getting for your kiddo. Let us know in the comments below if you found this helpful or if you have any questions for us 🙂

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