Newborn Equipment List

Moms-to-be have asked me what stuff is necessary to buy for newborns. You really don't need every baby gadget out there and some things they sell are just plain useless or even dangerous. Here are the basics and some other items that we have found to be useful, along with the brand names that we have come to love:

Basics

Crib (unless you are co-sleeping!)

Highchair (Stokke)

Stroller (UppaBaby)

Carseat (Graco Snugride for infants, Britax Boulevard for toddlers)

Swing (Boppy Travel Swing - its very small)

Playpen (we only use this as a travel bed, if you don't travel much, you don't need it)

Comfy Chair

Set of Cloth Diapers & Diaper Pail

Other Good Stuff : Used very often and loved!

Baby Sling (Pippalily)

Baby Carrier (Ergo Baby)

Hooter Hider (bebe au lait)

Bumbo Chair with Tray

Nursing Pillow (My Breast Friend)

Electric Breast Pump

Place Mat with trough (Kiddopotamus)

Travel High Chair (Mylittleseat)

Sophie the Giraffe chew toy

The Snacktrap

Exersaucer (Baby Einstein)

A million tiny facecloths

I'll blog a little later on about some of the research we did before deciding on these particular item/brands and why we love them. Let me know if you are interested in hearing more about anything in particular!


Things We Did Without

A changing table. We just had a changing pad on top of a table or dresser and eventually it moved to the floor. When they start to roll and wiggle, its much easier (and safer) for all if you are already on the floor!

A "fancy" crib. Does anyone remember what their crib looks like? Does it make a difference? We didn't think so. We bought the least expensive, yet safe, no frills, no fuss, basic crib we could find. I just couldn't justify spending $500 on a piece of furniture that was so temporary.

Diaper Genies, Disposable Wipes & Wipe Warmers. The disposable diaper marketers didn't get us with these items either. Ha!

A "fancy" mobile. We have a fairly inexpensive "farm" theme mobile - black and white cows and red barns. It doesn't have batteries or bells and whistles or play a million different songs but it does the trick of providing some interesting things to look at. The kids love it. I have since discovered the most beautiful mobiles on the Montessori toy websites - gorgeous, real looking butterflies that just float above the crib. So pretty. Again, no bells or whistles, just nice things to look at.

Crib aquariums or other musical sleep aids. I was afraid of creating a sleep-association/dependency so we never had these. Plus it just seemed like one more gadget to me. How did children ever learn to sleep before these were invented? In the end, I created a sleep dependency with nursing (which is a whole other story...).

If you are looking to simplify your purchases or save some money consider what is really necessary. Most of the products out there marketed for infants are really for you. For example, a swing to soothe your infant is not for them, it's for you, to give you a break. If you think you could survive without it, you probably can. After all, it was only invented recently.