Hey there! Welcome! I’m a first-time mom to an 18-month-old boy. When I was pregnant with him, I remember scouring Pinterest to figure out what I’d need to buy for him when he was first born—because I had no idea!

It turns out you really don’t need a lot for newborns. They’re pretty simple! So, I’m going to share a short list of newborn essentials I found really helpful during his first few weeks of life.

After those first few weeks, everything else came pretty easily, and we bought things as the need came up.

Here’s the shortlist — in no particular order:

1. Stretch Swaddles
2. Soothers
3. Diapers & Wipes
4. Sleepers
5. Egg lamp
6. Sound machine
7. Stroller
8. Digital thermometer
9. Snot Sucker
10. Bassinet
11. Bottles
12. Breast Pump

Big stretch swaddles were my absolute favorite! My little guy loved being wrapped up tight, and these big blankets did the trick. I tried several other types of swaddle blankets, and while they were good, none were as great as the big stretchy ones.

If you prefer a sleep sack, I recommend something like this one. I didn’t end up using one until my little guy was a few months old and started breaking out of the swaddle blankets. He still loved being wrapped up tight, and he couldn’t bust out of these sleep sacks!

Soothers are kind of a personal preference—whether or not you want to use them, or even which variety to choose! There are so many different types on the market. I’m a big fan of soothers, and I really wanted our baby to use one—and he did until he was about five months old. It really came in handy, and I’m glad I gave it a try.

I also recommend trying a few different kinds if your baby doesn’t like one type. Soothers are all made differently—just like babies—and it’s not a one-size-fits-all situation.

And speaking of sizes, I didn’t realize that soothers come in different sizes! That was definitely a new mom learning curve for me, so be sure to start out with the newborn size.

This one kind of goes without saying—you’re going to need diapers and wipes. The choice is completely yours when it comes to which type you want to use. There are so many options out there—from scented to natural, cloth to fun patterns—you can find just about any kind you’re looking for.

I personally use Pampers Pure diapers for my little guy because he has sensitive skin. We tried quite a few other brands, but a lot of them gave him a bit of a rash on the insides of his legs.

For wipes, I use Huggies. They’ve worked really well for us, and I like how thick they are. But again, there are so many options out there—use the ones that work best for your baby.

My little guy basically lived in sleepers for the first month of his life. I rarely dressed him in actual clothes because sleepers were just so much easier — plus, they seemed so comfortable!

These are some of my favourite sleepers (not sponsored). I always kept an extra one in the diaper bag, just in case of a blowout while we were out and about.

Okay, so this might seem like a weird thing to have on the list, but this little lamp was one of the best things to keep beside my bed.

My old lamp was big, clunky, and made a lot of noise when I clicked it on and off — plus, it was so bright!

This new lamp was perfect for not waking up my husband and worked amazingly well for those middle-of-the-night nursing sessions with baby.

I still use it now as a lamp in my son’s room — he loves tapping it on and off. All around, such a great purchase!

Some people use a sound machine right away, while others wait a little before introducing one.

We personally waited until our little guy was about three and a half months old. Around that time, he started going through the four-month sleep regression and wasn’t sleeping as deeply as before. The sound machine provided a steady background noise that helped him stay asleep.

Some parents choose to use one from the start to help create sleep associations — and that’s totally fine too.

There’s no wrong answer here. Choose whichever approach works best for your family.

Having a stroller right away was a lifesaver — I literally used it all the time! My stroller and car seat paired perfectly together, so I could just click the car seat into the stroller for easy use.

I kept my stroller in the vehicle so that any time I needed to run errands, it was handy and ready to go.

I highly recommend this stroller! It pairs with several different car seats and can even be used as a double stroller. I’ve really loved it so far.

I highly recommend having a digital thermometer on hand. They’re so much easier to use than the traditional ones that need to go in the mouth or under the arm.

This is one of those things you hope you never have to use — because no one wants their baby to be sick — but it’s incredibly helpful to have when your little one spikes a fever.

Our son, Tate, randomly developed a fever when he was just six days old. It was so scary! Thankfully, nothing was wrong, and we had a great support system around us. But after that incident, we went out and bought a digital thermometer (since I didn’t even have one in the house at the time!).

Again, this is one of those things you hope you never have to use — because it usually means your baby is sick — but it really comes in handy!

This snot sucker is absolutely repulsive, but the results make it worth it. We originally just had one of those bulb-style snot suckers, but it never seemed to do the trick.

When we got this one, it was a game changer! It worked so much better and was far more efficient. As gross as it is, I definitely recommend having one on hand.

You’re going to need a safe sleep space for when you bring your baby home from the hospital.

We had a bassinet beside our bed, and it worked perfectly for us. The one we had was on a rocker, and I absolutely loved this feature. It saved me a few times when Tate needed a little extra movement after being put in the bassinet — it would gently rock him back to sleep.

Bassinets come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, so there’s something for everyone. Choose the one that fits best in your space or the one you think your baby will like the most.

They even make twin-size bassinets, which I just think is the cutest thing ever!

You may or may not need bottles right away — it all depends on which feeding route you choose for your baby.

Bottles come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, just like soothers. You may need to try a few different kinds before you find one your baby likes, so don’t be discouraged if they reject the first one you offer.

My son was fully breastfed, but I still kept bottles on hand. I would pump and offer him a bottle occasionally so he could become familiar with it. That way, when he got a little older, I could leave him for an evening without him being completely reliant on me.

This worked really well for our family and gave me a little freedom to step out for an evening every now and then.

I had a breast pump on hand from day one. I knew there would come a time when I’d want a babysitter for an evening, so I needed to pump some milk ahead of time.

I also used my pump a lot in the beginning to relieve some pressure. My son nursed fairly regularly on both sides, so when he didn’t, I would use the pump instead.

This worked really well for me. The pump I had was mostly hands-free, which I really loved — it made it easy to use whenever and wherever I needed.

That said, a pump is definitely not a necessity. It was just something that came in handy for me. If you don’t have one or can’t afford one, don’t stress — it’s absolutely not required!

I’d love to hear if your essential list is different from mine! What did you find most helpful after your baby was born? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Next up:

Gift ideas for your toddler!

What to pack in your labor and delivery hospital bag!