The Newborn Essentials you REALLY need (and the ones that you don't)

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As a parenting blogger and Mum to two young children, I often get asked by friends, family and colleagues for my experiences of products and services for Mums and Mums to be. In fact, back in 2013 when expecting my first child, this is where the idea for Real Mum Reviews originally came from. As a first time Mum, I had no clue what to expect from pregnancy and motherhood. With word of mouth being the main source of advice and support, I wanted to share our experiences, good and bad, to help other parents going through the same journey!

For any new parents who have had their baby over the last 12 months, during COVID times, their maternity leave has been quite different from my own, from experiencing antenatal appointments alone to being separated from friends and family. If anything, it has proven that many of the items people claim to be ‘essential’ when expecting a baby really aren’t that essential after all. In fact, the list of things I believe you need with a new baby is actually relatively small – with the rest being simply a nice to have or additional luxury.

Having reviewed a fair few products for newborns in the past, as well as raising two young daughters of my own, I thought it would be helpful to share details on my Newborn Essentials – the items that you really do need (and those that you almost certainly don’t).

Table of Contents

A good nights sleep…

By far one of the biggest and most challenging experiences you go through as a new parent is adjusting to a new form of sleeping pattern. Gone are the days of 8 hours solid sleep, the Sunday morning lie ins and the only seeing one 3 o clock a day. With a newborn on the scene, it can be incredibly hard to achieve that illusive good night’s sleep; but the chances are far more in your favour if you have the right supplies at home.

With my first born we chose to have a Moses basket set up next to our bed, but like many babies, Erin had a habit of waking the instant we lay her down – probably due to the fact she could no longer smell me or sense that I was close. She would also occasionally jolt herself awake by accidentally kicking or thrashing out at the fairly compact sides of the basket. It didn’t work well for us, and as such I found myself incredibly sleep deprived and grumpy.

With Neve, our second child, we opted for a Chicco Next to Me crib instead and the difference in the quality of sleep (both for her and me!) was huge. These incredibly clever side sleeper cots can have the one side of the crib zipped down and can be aligned right next to your bed, making it as close as you can get to co-sleeping without any of the potential risks of sharing a bed. Neve slept really well (as babies go!) and was close at hand for when she woke during the night. As a breastfeeding Mum, the ease of access also made night feeds much easier, being able to retrieve her from her space with minimal effort. If you’ve had a cesarean birth in particular, this ease of access to your child in the night without having to get in and out of bed can be a real positive.

The Chicco Next2Me Air (an updated model) has been released since we had Neve and now features enhanced airflow to allowing little ones to sleep comfortably next to you all night long. With a padded mattress and six adjustable heights, the Next2Me Air can also be tilted to help with reflux, colic or congestion; removing some of the other potential barriers to getting a good nights sleep.

The Chicco Next2Me Air can also be used as a stand alone cot, is super easy to assemble / disassemble as required and comes with a handy carry bag making it ideal for travel. For babies under 6 months, this would be right up there with my newborn essentials with it’s portability also removing the need to invest in a separate travel cot too.

Cosy and comfortable…

When I first bought the girls home from the hospital, I was desperately trying to find something similar to the lilac NHS hospital blankets, attempting to replicate the swaddling technique the midwives had shown me back in the comfort of my own home. At the time and as a new Mum who didn’t even know what to ask for, I couldn’t find anything quite like it and as such, my swaddling technique fell apart almost instantly!

I later learned that cellular blankets are a great option for newborns, with their unique design helping regulate babies temperatures – keeping them warm in Winter yet cool in Summer. Bloomsbury Mill make a great range of cellular blankets that are the closest thing I could find to the NHS original – made from 100% organic cotton, they are super soft against your babies skin and are available in white, blue, pink, grey or cream.

For a new baby, I would say a good selection of cellular blankets, swaddles or sleep sacks are definitely essential! It’s always handy to have spares so you can have some in the wash, some in use and some drying (you’d be amazed how often you might need to change them!). As your baby gets a bit bigger and starts becoming more aware of their arms and legs, the sleep sacks are really useful as they prevent babies from kicking their blankets off accidentally and waking prematurely.

It can be really difficult if you child has sensitive skin or eczema, with the sore, red patches on their skin keeping them awake and uncomfortable. Happy Skin specialise in Eczema Clothing for babies and toddlers, which is coated with a clinically-tested DreamSkin® technology, proven to soothe and reverse the effects of irritated skin. If you’re desperately trying to get your child comfortable at night, this is worth its weight in gold.

For Peace of mind…

When you do finally come to move your baby into their own room or nursery it can feel a little like you’ve lost a limb. You may find yourself nipping in and out of their nursery every 5 minutes during the night, constantly checking that they are still content and comfortable. As a result, many new Mums find themselves lying awake even when their baby is sound asleep!

Whilst the video element isn’t essential, a good quality baby monitor would be right up there on my baby essentials list and given the choice, I would always opt for a monitor with video capability.

Video monitors are ideal for peace of mind, as they allow both noise and motion triggers to alert you if your baby wakes up during the night. Something like the BT Video Baby Monitor is ideal, with night vision, a large 2.8 inch viewing screen and even a temperature indicator so you can check room isn’t too hot. It even comes with 5 different lullabies to help them drift off to sleep! With a long range of 250 metres outdoors and 50m indoors, you can rest assured that you will be alerted if your baby wakes even if you are downstairs, hanging the washing out or attempting to sleep when baby sleeps!

Bathing your newborn

Despite being shown how to bathe my daughter in the hospital, I was so so nervous when it came to bathing her myself at home. It turns out newborn babies are slippery little suckers when placed in water and I found myself constantly worrying that I would drop her, struggling to support her head whilst simultaneously washing her skin and reaching for a bath towel. I also worried about water temperature of the water too – constantly checking it with my elbow to make sure it wasn’t too hot or too cold!

A friend of mine recommended the Angelcare soft touch bath support – a moulded bath support that enables you to have both hands free for washing, comforting and entertaining your baby during their bath and it totally changed the way I felt about bath time.

The unique mesh material on the Angelcare bath support allows the water to flow through to your baby’s back whilst fully supporting their weight, helping them stay warm and feel safe and secure in the water. My girls absolutely loved bath time in their Angelcare seats and it helped turn what had been a really stressful experience into more of a fun bonding one for all of us! The Angelcare Bath supports are available in a variety of colours including grey, pink and aqua.

Choose the skincare wisely…

Another big challenge for us was deciding when and how often to bathe our baby. Many of my friends from the NCT group were bathing their children every day, but after using a popular baby bath time product, we found bathing this often was leaving our daughters skin very dry and flaky. Both of our girls have sensitive skin and as such, I would say my next baby essential would be to find a skincare product that is kind to gentle skin. Research the ingredients that are used and ask for others experiences before deciding which ones are right for you.

One of our personal favourites is MooGoo; which whilst a little more expensive than some other baby bath products on the market, is made from completely natural ingredients and is designed not to dry or irritate young babies and children’s skin. Their fragrance free 2 in 1 bubbly wash not only creates big bubbles that babies love, but also contains Rice Bran that helps sooth, condition and replenish their skin. For the best value, the Moo Gopo Baby Starter Kit not only comes with a selection of their popular baby care products but an adorable cow playmate too!

Precious playtime…

As a new Mum, it can often feel like you’re holding your baby all the time, whether that be feeding, winding, or rocking them to sleep! As much as I loved those newborn baby cuddles, it was also nice to have a few moments during the day to engage in some handsfree play, laying them down on a play mat and offering a bit more visual and mental stimulation for both of us!

Investing in a play mat / baby gym is something which saved my sanity when the girls were young and as your baby gets bigger and can start to support their own neck, they can also be used for tummy time to encourage rolling and movement (normally from around 3 months of age).

The Taf Toys All Around Me Gym is a great example of how a play mats can encourage your little one to practice a variety of body positions, helping develop their motor, cognitive, sensory and learning skills.

With enchanting lights to draw their attention and calming music, it’s really lovely to watch while your child plays with the many multi-sensory hanging toys that are included with the this 4-in-1 playmat gym; starting to focus on the toys and interacting with the double-sided crinkling ‘Sensi centre’, with a high contrast side and colourful side to help your baby explore colour.

The Taf Toys 4 in 1 floor gym is also has toys which are fully removable meaning you can fasten them to your pushchair for them to teeth on or play with on the go. It’s also super portable, which is ideal if moving between houses or visiting grandparents.

Feeding, winding and burping….

However you choose to feed your baby, feeding comes with its fair share of challenges too.

I breastfed both of my children and whilst many people will tell you that breastfeeding covers and pillows are essential, in my experience they are most definitely not. There are plenty of practical ways to feed discreetly without having to hide yourself away and whilst the pillows can be handy when your baby is tiny, the reality is, its often easier to be able to rearrange and readjust during feeds – I had a pillow but it fairly quickly got discarded.

For breastfeeding my newborn essentials would be Lanolin – an absolute MUST for preventing cracked nipples and pain (especially during those first feeds) and some decent breast pads.

I tried a fair few breastfeeding pads whilst breastfeeding both girls and experienced some good, some bad and some downright ugly. By far the most effective disposable breast pads I used were the Lansinoh – Lansinoh Disposable Nursing Pads are described as having an ultra-thin but super-absorbent contour for a natural fit that won’t show under clothing. The soft, stay-dry lining is supposed to draw milk away from the skin and into the core of the pad where it is absorbed by a special polymer to prevent leakage. They are the only ones I used where I didnt experience leakage or feel like I was wearing a nappy in my bra!

For bottle feeding or when you decide to move away from breast feeding, the Tommee Tippee Night and Day whilst not entirely essential can be a bit of a life saver and is a far more efficient and practical way of preparing feeds for your baby.

One thing is for sure, when babies are hungry they don’t like having to wait and will certainly let you know about it if they do! During those early morning feeds, attempting not to wake the whole house, comfort your baby and simultaneously make a perfectly warmed bottle can be a real test of stress and patience!

The Perfect Prep day & night machine helps prep the perfect bottle in two minutes, which is 10 x faster than using a kettle! With the Perfect Prep™ day & night there’s no more waiting for the kettle to boil or water to cool, instead it dispenses an initial “hot shot” of water at 70°c that kills any bacteria before cooler water to ensure every bottle is delivered at body temperature – just like breast milk! This can make it much easier when transitioning from breast to bottle too.

Ideal for night feeds (especially those 2am bottles where you can barely keep your eyes open) it even has a soft-glow tank light so you can clearly see if your water needs refilling and even handy bottle stand down lights, so you can prepare your feed in the dark without turning on the light and overly stimulating your baby.

On the Move…

It goes without saying that with a newborn baby, a high quality pushchair or travel system is an essential. We’ve reviewed a few car seats and pushchairs in the past some examples of which can be found here:

Due to the very personal preference relating to car seats and pushchair preferences (depending on where you live and your usual mode of travel) I wont be focusing on those in this post. One thing that lockdown has proven however is that sometimes walking with your baby and baby wearing can be far easier in terms of freedom and hands free commuting / exercise. When Neve was little we reviewed the Baby Bjorn Carrier One and loved it. Having her close to my chest where she could be comforted by my voice and scent not only helped her to nod off, but gave me much more freedom to explore whilst holding my eldest daughters hand and without some of the restrictive elements of a larger pushchair.

The new ergonomic Baby Carrier Move is a carrier designed for simplicity both in the home or out and about and can be used with babies from day one up to the age of 15 months. With a superior back support and an ergonomic waist belt, it is super comfortable for parents whilst offering babies the comfort of being close to their parent’s heart as they explore everything their new world has to offer!

The Baby Bjorn Carrier One baby carrier is made from thin and flexible 3D mesh fabric that can be adjusted as your baby grows, whilst completely supporting their back, legs and hips. For the first five months, you can use the Baby Bjorn Carrier One facing inwards and then from approximately 6 months parents have the option of carrying their baby facing outwards.

Finally… A well stocked Changing Bag

Once you’ve been caught without nappies or a change of clothes, trust me when I say, you won’t ever do it again. You can NEVER have too many muslins, spare nappies and changes of clothes when you head out for the day with your baby. A sturdy and spacious changing bag is an absolute must and ideally one with lots of pockets so that you can organise your items and not have to rummage through and take everything out searching for that last remaining sock! I got into the habit of bagging up complete outfit changes (nappy, baby grow and vest) in a bag inside the changing bag, meaning I could quickly retrieve the entire set in one go in the case of an unexpected poonami explosion!

I found rucksack based changing bags (as opposed to those with a singular strap) were far more practical when walking or out with the pushchair, and left the bottom basket of my pushchair free for any essentials we picked up on our travels! I love this one from Beatrix Potter Gifts by Enesco. With easy to wipe down PU fabric and plenty of interior pockets for easy access, this changing bag offers handsfree carrying of all your baby essentials.