9 Baby Essentials For Every Family

There are soooo many lists online of what people think every baby needs. There are minimal lists, huge lists that have every single baby item on it. This list is different because it is minimal but has the essentials that every baby needs. Buckle up and get ready for my list of 9 baby essentials for every family.

Another thing that makes this list different is that I highly suggest you get gender neutral things. Especially if this is your first baby. We got all of our big ticket items in gender neutral patterns and we are still using them for baby number 5. It saves so much money down the road. And your baby will not care!

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All baby essentials that I have linked are either the exact products we have, upgraded ones because they no longer carry what we bought, or very similar to what we have because I could not find what we have or have used. To shop this post simply click on any link and it will take you directly to Amazon.

9 Baby Essentials Every Parent Needs

1: Car Seat

You can not take your baby home unless you have a car seat. So this might be one of the first things that you get. We have had two infant car seats for our babies. We had to buy the second one because our first expired. My two favorite brands for car seats is Britax and Graco.

2: Diapers, Wipes, Bum Cream

You are going to want to have a collection of diapers for your little one. They will go through a lot. We have done both cloth and disposable diapers. They both have their pros and cons.

If you want to venture into cloth diapers; you can save a lot of money, and it’s really not as bad as you think. Here are some of our favorite clothe diapers and accessories that made our life easier for cloth diapering.

• Bum Genius Newborn
• Bum Genius
• Toilet/Diaper Sprayer
• Thirsties All In One
• Wet Bags
• Diaper Pail Bags
• Diaper Pail

When we don’t cloth diaper our go to diapers are Target brand, Up and Up. Why? They have a wetness indicator, latex and chlorine free, and they are free of sulfates, parabens, petroleum, perfumes and dyes. Not to mention they are a great deal.

The wipes we use are also the Target Up and Up brand; the fragrance free box. They are also made without alcohol, parabens, phthalates and phenoxyethanol. All great in my book.

We have used many different kinds of bum cream. Our favorite is Butt Paste and Burt’s Bees.

3: Feeding Supplies

If you are nursing or bottle feeding your baby, you will need some supplies. Some of my favorite baby essentials for feeding that have been SOOO helpful:

• This nursing cover
• This pump (I have used this one with 4 babies. It is not working as well, so I will need to get a new one for baby number 5. There are also more high tech ones available.) Check with your health insurance, because most will cover the cost of a pump.
• Pump supplies: here, here, here, and here.
• These bottles
• This nursing pillow
• Burp Rags

In my experience with nursing my girls we needed a TON of burp rags. All three of my girls nursed really fast, which resulted in them spitting up a lot. We would go through 5-10 burp cloths a day. My son nursed slowly so we didn’t have to use as many.

4: Clothes

This can be a trap! There are so many cute, adorable, and fun clothes that you can buy for your baby. You may think you need a huge supply, but you don’t really.

For the first few weeks or even months you can get by with onies, nightgowns, zipper outfits, and a few fun outfits.

We have always had winter babies (besides our last, which was born in May 2020) we we liked to layer our kiddos so they were warm. Our favorite onies are from Carters. I feel they are thick, true to size, super cute, and easy to get on and off. The snaps last a long time as well.

Can I just say that baby nightgowns are heaven sent?! It makes it so darn easy to change your baby in the middle of the night when you can barely keep your eyes open. And most baby nightgowns have the hand cuffs to help keep their little hands warm. Here are some more nightgowns: here, and here.

I preferred zipper jammies to snap jammies because it was easier and took less time. I love zipper jammies because it helped to keep my winter babies warm and much less hassle then a “real” outfit. Here are some cotton and fuzzy jammies: here, here, here, here, and here.

I bought a cute outfit to bring our babies home in. One for our son and our girls have all used the same one. I have not regretted doing this. If you are in need of a list of things you will need for the hospital, I’ve got you covered!

5: Swaddle Blankets

Hands down my favorite blanket to swaddle my babies in is the Aden and Anais Swaddle Blankets. They are the perfect thickness, big, and so comfy. We have used ours for 4 kids. And my 2 year old has made them into her blankies.

You will probably get many blankets but these will probably be your favorite. They have been mine.

6: Something To Sleep In

There are going to be so many options for your baby to sleep in. We keep our babies in our room with us for the first 6-9 months. I can be a nervous wreck and may or may not have to check on my babies often when they sleep…

It is also nice to have my nursing baby close to me at night. We were blessed to have a refurbished cradle loaned to us while we were having our babies. All of our babies have slept in it until they started to get stuck in the slats.

Then we moved them to a pack in play with the bassinet in it. Once they started to sit up we removed the bassinet and laid them on the bottom. If you are on a tight budget I would suggest getting a pack n play. Our son slept in his for a very long time before we bought a used crib.

If you want your baby out of your room for any reason a crib in another room is a great option. I would suggest getting a grow with you crib. One that the side can come off to make it into a toddler bed. We bought our used from a friend but here is one that is similar to ours.

7: Baby Carrier

I would not have survived life with newborns and babies without my baby carrier. All of my kids have slept like a champ in it. I’d carry them when I needed two hands, when we went for walks or hikes. Or if we were by a lot of people I would put them in my carrier and a swaddle blanket on top to keep them protected.

We love our Beco Baby Carrier! Our’s is 8 years old, so it doesn’t have some of the awesome features of the new versons. You can wear your baby so many ways. It is worth the investment.

I would go to a baby store where they have many kinds of baby carries to get help with one that is comfy, easy to put on and off, and fits your budget.

8: Stroller

Strollers! This can be a hard decision to make. There are endless options with so many different price points.

Our first stroller was a Jeep stroller similar to this one. It took up our whole trunk so we bought one like this to keep in our car. After our second baby we needed a double stroller. So we bought a used one similar to this one.

We now have a hand me down City Mini Stroller from my sister. We love that it is doesn’t take up all the trunk space in our van, the wheels don’t get popped by all the goat heads in our neighborhood, and it has many options of attachments.

9: Basic Medical Supplies

It is important to have a baby thermometer, medicine, nail clippers, brush, nose sucker, etc. around just in case. Here are some good kits that include a lot of supplies: here, here, and here.

I know binkies are not medical supplies but all of our babies have used them and they have been a blessing and a curse. Haha! My dentist uncle recommended the Nuk brand, which is what we use now.

Preparing for a baby can be so exciting and overwhelming at the same time. I hope this simple list of baby essentials will help you realize you do not need all the newest and latest baby gadgets.

Are there other baby essentials that you feel need to be on this list or are there baby essentials on this list you feel are not necessary? I’d love to hear your thoughts, comment below. 🙂

Good luck and happy baby snuggles!

Xxx, Steph