There are plenty of items that you don’t need as a new parent. Every company out there is going to try to convince you that you need their product and it will change your life and make you a better parent. I’ve even compiled a list of common baby items you can live without.
However, in my parenthood journey I have come across a few items that will forever be in my parenting arsenal. These are the things I believe every parent should buy and will make your life and that of your child easier.
The Snot Sucker
Yeah, completely gross. I thought it was ridiculous. Like really? Thats nasty. I was prepared for poop and pee but now I got to deal with boogers too and I need to suck them out? What did I sign up for.
I have come around and I am now a fan of these snot suckers. While I do still think they are gross, you never get snot in your mouth – it’s okay.
When your little one is sick and they are stuffed up and crying, you too will come around to the snot sucker. The snot sucker can clear those little nostrils right up, letting your little one breath properly again which helps them calm down.
They are inexpensive. Even if the idea of it still grosses you out, just pick it up to have on hand should you need it.You can also just pretend to be asleep so your significant other does it – a strategy worth trying from time to time.
Bucket Car Seat
There are a ton of options out there on the type of car seat you can use. For newborns and pre-toddlers you should be using a bucket car seat. These will just make your life so much easier.
If your little one falls asleep in the car, you can disconnect the bucket and bring it with you. Don’t wake them up by taking them out of the car seat. Bring the whole thing in with you, let them sleep and get done what you need to do.
This will help save your sanity.
The one word of caution is watch out for Plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome). You never want to leave your baby’s head against any surface for an extended period of time.
Get a High Chair
To me the high chair is essential. It makes life so easy. It keeps your child stationary in one place while you try to feed them – no running away, no flipping over. The only things you need to worry about are their wailing hands and getting the food in their mouth.
Without a high chair you will be stressed. You won’t be able to have a normal dinner without staggering when you eat and when your child eats. You will probably have the staggered eating at first anyways, but once your kid can use their own hands or spoons and forks to eat – family meals are on.
The high chair allows you a few extra minutes of peace. If your little one is still comfortable after eating they can continue sitting in there while you go about cleaning the dishes or some other activity. This is another sanity check, being able to just get a couple of more things done before having to worrying about your little one climbing onto the table and jumping off while your back is turned for three seconds.
Changing Pad
In my other post on the items that aren’t really necessary to have for new parents, I put the changing table on there. My preference is for the a portable changing pad.
It offers more versatility because it is portable and you can use it for a longer period of time. It can also be tucked away and doesn’t take up space like a changing table. It can be brought between rooms and used on the floor, bed or other surfaces.
It also gives you more options on the angles you can use when changing a diaper and provides more room if you need your partner to help you out with an especially nasty number two.
Crib
Probably the most iconic baby item and an obvious “duh” to have on this list. To me it is essential.
We started off having our daughter in a bassinet in our room then moved to having her on another small mattress. The crib is really what changed the game – especially a crib in a different room.
Once you can start sleep training and putting your little one down on their own, your sleep will dramatically improve, which dominos into the rest of your life. Does this mean you are getting an uninterrupted eight hours of sleep? Definitely not but it means you are on the path to normalcy once again.
Bottles
Yes another obvious one and for good reason. Having a plethora of bottles on hand is convenient and will optimize your baby-caring-abilities. Whether it is for formula or mom’s pre-pumped breast milk, have several bottles on hand, try for a couple of different sizes.
If you have too few, hopefully you enjoy doing dishes at 1am to clean a dirty bottle so you can fill it with milk. They don’t always need a large bottle so having something a little smaller will be useful as well.
Stroller
You are going to want a stroller. The type really depends on where you live and the type of lifestyle you want to maintain. I’ve written about what to look for in a stroller before.
Now you may think that the stroller isn’t for you and instead you are going to just baby wear your child all the time. I enjoy the baby wearing as well and do it often, however it doesn’t always work.
Sometimes your little one is just uncomfortable and doesn’t want to be strapped to you and will let you know it. If it is hot out you will both be uncomfortable because of the shared body heat. Some kids just don’t take to it and will rebel against it.
Other times, you might just get sore from baby carrying. As these kids grow, its like strapping a couple of bowling balls onto yourself.
Having the option to use the stroller will be beneficial, even if it is after prolonged baby wearing. You don’t want to be at the opposite end of wherever you are with a sore back and a crying fussy toddler with no other options than a baby harness.
Side note: If you are planning on having kids close in age, perhaps think about getting a double stroller or a stroller that converts into a double.
Umbrella Strollers
The one downside of a stroller is that they can be heavy bulky and take up a lot of room. Every stroller is different in each of these regards but in general they have some issues. I do 100% wholeheartedly recommend getting a stroller, however it can also be beneficial to have a secondary backup stroller for different occasions.
Yes I am recommending having more than one stroller. The second stroller would an Umbrella stroller which are lighter and fold up into a smaller package. They are not as strong has other strollers, and you can’t use them with newborns or younger babies.
I recommend getting one of these and using it to supplement your main stroller. For us, on road trips we pack the car pretty tightly. There isn’t a lot of extra room. Our standard walking stroller takes up a ton of room in the trunk which is not ideal for optimizing space.
Our Umbrella stroller takes up so much less room, which is why we tend to use it when traveling. It also makes air travel much easier than bringing your regular stroller.
Double Umbrella strollers also exist for carting around two kids.
While I don’t generally recommend buying two items with the same purpose, in the case of the umbrella stroller it is money well spent.
Multiple Blankets, swaddles, burping clothes
This is one area where you will never be upset at yourself for having a few extra of these on hand. Between keeping some of these in different rooms, having some in the wash and keeping others in your diaper bag or car you’ll want to have numerous of each.
Things get messy. Quick spit ups happen all the time. Diapers somehow don’t hold together and crap literally gets everywhere. Blankets, swaddles and burping clothes will get beat up pretty well. You should stock up on multiple of each one and go at least 7-10 deep on the blankets.
Nail Clippers
From newborns to toddlers and beyond, these little kids have no idea what they are doing or how easily they can hurt themselves. If you don’t keep on top of cutting their nails they will scratch themselves, sometimes badly.
If they aren’t wearing baby gloves they may even absentmindedly scratch their eyes and face in the middle of the night.
Get a set of baby nail clippers and just keep on top of it.
Tear Free Foam Shampoo
Tear free is obvious right? This means no eyes stinging while you are trying to bathe them.
The foam shampoo is a personal preference of ours. It dispenses quickly and stays on your hand better than regular shampoo which is beneficial if you need to make any quick unpredictable movements like keeping a toddler from slipping.
The foam shampoo rinses out a lot faster than regular baby shampoo that sometimes takes several passes with water until it doesn’t feel slick any longer.
We have found through our two children that foam shampoo also lasts a long time. One bottle of our favorite Angel Baby Mama shampoo lasts the better part of eight months.
Baby Bath Tub
Until your baby is old enough to sit up on their own and you are confident that can handle themselves in a bathtub – under your close supervision of course – use a baby bath to make your life easier.
You sit them in it and then wash them. No need to get in the tub with them or to hold them for the entire duration of the bath. These little ones can get heavy.
Lay them back and quickly go to work and get them clean. You will be happy to have one, especially on those days where you are just exhausted and want it to be easy.
Baby Monitor
Most likely another obvious recommendation. Get a baby monitor for the peace of mind of yourself and spouse. You won’t need to run into the baby’s room every time you hear the odd little noise.
While we do have a set of audio only baby monitors for travel, a baby monitor with a video screen is the way to go. You will have to install a small little camera on the wall of the baby’s bedroom so that you can see what’s going on.
Sometimes they make weird noises – the video monitor should allow you to quickly assess and decide if you need to go storming into their room. On a similar note to other points, if you plan on having children close in age you may want to opt for a video baby monitor that can support more than one camera, so you can keep on eye on both of them.
Bibs
Babies spit up a lot. Especially when they are eating, have just eaten or just had a fresh helping of milk. Having an abundance of bibs mean you spend less time cleaning their clothing because spit up got onto it.
White Noise
Having white noise in the baby’s room can help them fall and stay asleep. It blocks out ambient noise and produces relaxing brain waves to help them drift off to neverland.
Over time the baby will also start to associate the white noise with sleep time. It is quite funny to see my toddler full of energy causing mayhem but once she hears that familiar white noise she is ready for bed.
You don’t need to drop any cash on an expensive white noise machine either. Here are a few options I’ve been using:
- Download the audio of a YouTube White noise video and play it through an old iPod that I’ve left in the room
- Make my own white noise using a computer program. PC users can checkout Audacity while Mac users can use GarageBand. I’ll make a six hour white noise track and then play this through an old ipod, making sure to put it on repeat.
- Put a bluetooth speaker in the room and use your cell phone to play white noise through it. Just make sure to silence your notification and ringtone, I’m sure you can imagine what happens otherwise.
A Bassinet
Before we put our kids in a crib in their own room, we had them sleep in the same room as us in a bassinet.
Some parents prefer co-sleeping which has its own risks depending on the type of sleeper they are. I’ve even seen those mini-mattresses that are walled off that you slide next to you in the bed for a bit safer of a co-sleep experience.
If you have a baby and a toddler – the toddler may make their way into your bed in the middle of the night which wouldn’t leave much room for your new baby.
We’ve found the bassinet gives us the reassurance of keeping our babies close and listening to their breathing while mitigating the risks or co-sleeping.
I’m sure there are many more items I could add to this list but these are the ones I feel are essential after sometime having Dad added to my resume. Your situation may differ and you’ll need to add or take some of these out. I’d love to hear your thoughts and if you have any good recommendations I should add to this list.