BABY ESSENTIALS CHECKLIST: BEST GUIDE TO BABY SHOPPING

Are you expecting a new bundle of joy soon? In that case, you might be getting ready to dive headfirst into new mom life. This often involves a lot of baby shopping — perhaps even more than you expected! Planning ahead can save you time and money in the long run. You’ll not only have much of your shopping done before your little one arrives but also avoid having to make unnecessary return trips to the store.

Whether you’re planning on staying home with your new addition or returning to work, it’s helpful to have an organized checklist of all the baby items you’ll need. Read on for our ultimate baby essentials checklist for baby shopping.

Create a master baby essentials checklist

Before you even think of buying a single item for your little one, you’ll want to make an organized shopping list. Take a second to think about your daily life and decide what you’ll need to be most comfortable. This can include a car seat, stroller, and breastfeeding pillow, to name a few.

Don’t neglect to include items for yourself, either. Pregnancy can be a trying time for your body, so you’ll probably want to splurge on some comfy maternity clothing. 

You’ll also want to keep your mind on a few safety concerns when it comes to shopping for your little one. For one, you’ll want to keep your child warm during cold months but avoid overheating them during warmer months. You’ll also want to keep your little one safe while in the car and while sleeping by purchasing a few special items.

Baby Safety Basics

Your baby’s health and safety should be your top priority when it comes to baby shopping. Check the recall list on Consumer Reports to see if any of the products you’re considering purchasing have been recalled.

Also be sure to pay attention to the expiration dates on any products that you purchase, since they can be dangerous to use after a certain amount of time has passed.

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Baby Nursery Essentials

Of course, your baby will need a place to sleep, play, and store toys. Here are some baby items you’ll want to consider adding to your baby essentials checklist for your nursery. 

• Changing table: You’ll use this to change your baby’s diapers. Some are equipped with storage areas for extra supplies like wipes and ointments. 
• Bassinet: This is a small crib-like structure that’s portable enough to move around with you. 
• Crib: A crib provides a safe sleep space for your baby, more room for her to grow and often can be converted to a toddler bed.
• Mattress: Choose a firm foam mattress and ensure the size of the mattress is an exact fit for the crib with no space in between the mattress and crib wall.
• Fitted crib bed sheets: Have a few of these, between 2 to 4, so you will have spares in case of diaper leakages.
• Waterproof mattress protector: This helps to prevent your baby’s mattress from getting soiled from any diaper leaks. Have a few or the same number as fitted crib bed sheets.
• Dresser: This is a good place to store clothes, blankets, and other items for your baby. 
• Glider: This is a comfortable chair that doubles as a feeding or rocking chair. 
• Hamper: This is where you can place the items your baby has outgrown. 
• Night light: This is helpful for parents who want to keep their baby in a dark room but need to see what they’re doing, such as changing diapers. 
• Nursing stool: This is a portable chair that’s great for breastfeeding mothers. It’s small enough to fit in a corner or at the foot of a bed and is equipped with a footstool for added comfort.
• Baby monitor: This helps you to monitor and alert you about your baby’s movement and sound.
• Toy basket: Keep toys organized in one place with this.
• White noise machine (optional): This helps to create sounds, such as a running fan or washing machine, that are able to mask other noises in the environment. Thus, enabling your baby to sleep longer undisturbed by the surrounding noises.

Wardrobe Essentials

You can never have too many tiny baby clothes with cute designs! Consider buying a few varieties of accessories and clothing in different sizes and for different weather conditions for your baby’s first year. These are baby must-haves for his/her wardrobe:

• Bodysuit
• Sleepsuit
• Romper
• Pants
• Shirts
• Sweaters or jackets
• Booties or socks
• Mittens
• Hats
• Swaddles
• Blankets
• Gentle laundry detergent

Diapering Essentials

As you can imagine, you’ll have to purchase a lot of diapers for your new baby. Whether you choose reusable cloth diapers or disposable ones, you’ll need plenty to keep your little one clean and comfortable. You’ll also need a few accessories, such as diaper cream and diaper pail bags. The diapering must-haves for baby as follows:

• Disposable diapers and/or Reusable cloth diapers: Have a few boxes (around two to three) for disposable diapers or a few pieces (preferably eight to ten) for reusable cloth diapers in newborn size.
• Changing pad: This is a comfortable waterproof padded surface on which to change your baby’s diaper and for easy clean up.
• Changing pad cover: Unless your changing pad is waterproof, this is good to have so you can protect your changing pad from stains and soil with a cover that zips shut. 
• Baby wipes: Have a few boxes ready, around two to three. If your baby has sensitive skin, choose baby wipes that are hypoallergenic, fragrance-free and/or made with all-natural ingredients.
• Diaper cream: This can help alleviate any diaper rash your baby may get. 
• Diaper pail: You can use this to store dirty diapers until you’re ready to throw them out. It has a tightly sealing lid that kills odors. 
• Diaper pail bags: These are designed to help control odors in your diaper pail. 
• Diaper organizer: This makes it easy to stack diapers and baby products and neatly store them for easy reach.
• Diaper bag: Keep and carry your baby’s diapers and other changing supplies in a diaper bag, which has many different compartments and is big enough for everything you need to bring for the baby when you are on-the-go.

Baby Bath & Personal Care Essentials

On top of bath time, your baby would need a little grooming also from time to time. Here are items to consider purchasing for baby’s bath and personal care:

• Infant bathtub
• Baby bathtub insert/hammock
• Baby body wash and shampoo
• Wash cloths
• Hooded towels
• Baby moisturizer and ointments
• Baby hairbrush
• Baby cotton buds
• Baby nail clippers
• Baby thermometer

Breastfeeding Essentials

If you plan to breastfeed your child, you may want to purchase a few extra items for convenience. 

• Breast pump: This can be helpful for getting milk flowing during early breastfeeding, especially if you are away from your baby. 
• Breastfeeding pillow: This is a useful helper for breastfeeding mothers who want to be more comfortable while feeding their baby. 
• Breastfeeding cover: This is helpful if you ever want to breastfeed in public.
• Milk storage bags: This enables you to store and build your stash of your breast milk safely.
• Nursing pads: This absorbs and prevents any breast milk leakages onto your bra or clothing.
• Nipple cream: This helps to relieve sore nipples from breastfeeding.

Bottlefeeding Essentials

If you plan to bottlefeed your child, here are items to consider purchasing:

• Infant formula
• Milk Bottles
• Sterilizer: This can help you keep your baby’s bottles clean and bug-free.
• Bottle warmer: This enables you to heat up formula milk, breast milk or baby food safely and evenly.
• Bottle brush
• Baby cleaning cleanser

Solid Feeding Essentials for Older Babies and Toddlers

As your baby grows, you’ll want to keep a few extra items on hand when starting solids such as these:

• Feeding booster: This makes it easier for your baby to sit up while eating. 
• Sippy cup: This is a good way to introduce your child to a cup. 
• Bibs
• Burp cloths
• Highchair
• Baby spoon and fork
• Plates and bowls with suction

   

Baby Gear Essentials

As you go about your daily life, you may find these on-the-go baby gear, which allows you to be hands-free, useful whilst keeping baby content, safe and secure.

• Infant car seat: This is an important item you should have for your car for traveling with a baby. It should be rear facing, meet the latest safety standards and is properly fitted to your car seat.
• Stroller: Choose from a variety of different types of strollers to meet your needs and lifestyle. From full sized stroller, lightweight stroller and jogging stroller to double stroller, car seat carrier and travel system stroller.
• Stroller rain cover: Keep your stroller and little one dry when it rains with this accessory. Some strollers may have this additional item, if not, you can always purchase a universal model.
• Baby carrier: This helps you to carry your baby instead of you holding on to them. Choose from a variety of types such as a wrap, ring sling, pouch sling, soft structured carrier, meh dai and backpack.
• Baby swing or bouncer: Keep baby safe, relax and comfy on this while you try to get things done around the house. It is also important to supervise whilst using them.
• Portable playpen: Your baby can play here safely while you do other tasks.

   

Activities and Toys for Baby

Your little one will grow and learn best with a variety of different toys and activities. While you can’t go wrong with classic toys, such as blocks or stuffed animals, you’ll also want to keep your child’s development in mind when shopping. You can choose to purchase toys designed to teach your child letters, numbers, and colors. Try to find toys and activities that are safe and developmentally appropriate for your baby. 

• Activity mat: This is a good surface for your baby to lay on her tummy, crawl around on, sit on, practice rolling and play with toys.
• Activity table/center: This is a more developed version of your baby’s activity mat. 
• Baby books: These are great tools for helping your baby learn. They can also help develop your baby’s language skills. 
• Baby laptop: This clever toy lets your baby click a button to hear fun sounds and music.
• Building blocks: These are great toys for improving your baby’s motor skills.
• Rattles and teething toys

Confirming Your Purchases: Is It Worth It?

While you’re preparing for your new arrival, you’ll want to make sure each purchase is worth the investment in your baby essentials checklist. Here are some general tips to help you make the best purchasing decisions possible. 

• Read reviews: You can get a good idea of how a certain product works by reading customer reviews. These types of reviews can also help you avoid purchasing a faulty or low-quality product. 
  
  
• Compare brands: You may find that one particular brand works best for you, but it’s always a good idea to compare different brands to see what may be available. 
  
  
• Compare prices: You don’t want to spend a fortune on your new baby, but you also don’t want to compromise on quality. Look out for any sales before buying or try some samples before committing to a product.

   

Conclusion

Preparing for your baby’s arrival is both nerve-wrecking and exciting. With this Baby Essentials Checklist, we have got you covered for all the things you need for your newborn. Download the free Baby Essential Checklist here to start your baby shopping journey.

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