There’s a lot of product out there in the parenting world and a great deal of it you just. don’t. need. But some things are essential, here’s our list of 10 things you really do need for baby:
- Safe sleeping place for baby
Babies need a safe place to sleep. Even if you’re planning on cosleeping you’ll need to have your bed set up for a baby to sleep safely with you. Some parents opt to hire a hospital bassinet like our hospital bassinets for hire or perhaps a baby hammock? Babies can go straight into their own cot. Make the cot up so that baby is at the foot of the cot and can’t slip down under the covers. SIDS guidelines recommend babies sleep in their own bed in the same room as an adult caregiver for the first 6 to 12 months of their life. - Infant restraint for the car
If you have a car or use Go-Get or other car share program, you’ll need a rear facing infant restraint for at least the first 6 months. You can choose to hire or buy a baby capsule or you may prefer a convertible carseat that rear faces till baby reaches the first height marker then turns around at between 6 and 12 months and faces forward till about 4 years. - Pram
Even if you plan on babywearing, having a pram for walks, and getting out and about with your baby is a must. There’s a very wide range of prams available on the market, priced from the affordable right through to the ridiculous. Some prams will take a baby capsule on the top so you can have what’s called a travel system which is very handy indeed. - Nappies
Whether you go eco-friendly cloth or disposable, you’ll find you’re using quite a few of these in the first 6 weeks so stock up before baby arrives. - Easy to wear cotton clothes
Babies don’t need a huge range of clothes as newborns, just some vests, grosuits and a “nice” outfit or two for going out will be fine. - Good quality nappy bag
You’ll be using this bad boy quite a bit so go with something you’ll love, that has lots of storage space, matches all your ensembles and will last the distance. A little bit extra spent here should save you buying 3 in 3 years. - Change pad or table
If your bed is high enough for you to comfortably change on it or you don’t have a lot of room, you don’t need a change table per se, I bought just a few padded mats that worked fine. - Bouncer or rocker
Really these are just somewhere safe to pop your awake baby so you have your hands free to do whatever else you need to do. Many babies love the motion and there’s musical bouncers and swinging swings and rocking rockers – a huge range. - Swaddles
Many newborns love to be wrapped firmly, and having a few blankets made just for this purpose can make your life much easier. Summer babies would be best wrapped in muslin or other light cloth, and winter babies can go in something a little thicker. There are many swaddles purpose made for wrapping babies to sleep, with flaps that fold over your baby’s arms and secure with Velcro. - Digital thermometer
Keep this in your baby’s room. Its sometimes hard to tell if baby is just warm or its actually a temp so having a digital thermometer is a must.