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Home » Recommendations » Newborn Essentials: Must Haves, Calming, & Feeding Tips That Work

Newborn Essentials: Must Haves, Calming, & Feeding Tips That Work

Updated February 19, 2021

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Want simple chaos-erasing family routines? Who doesn't? Check out our Family Routines Reboot!

Want simple chaos-erasing family routines? Who doesn't? Check out our Family Routines Reboot!

These newborn essentials and baby necessities will help you prepare for baby, then enjoy those early days in peace.


I should know. I’ve done it 5 times and I’m alive to tell the story. After having had 5 babies on 3 separate continents, I know a thing or two about actual newborn essentials.

There is something so absolutely precious about having a newborn baby. It’s utterly exhausting and all consuming and yet one of the biggest privileges in the world.

And not just what your doctor tries to tell you.

But like what you really really need to survive the newborn phase with your wits in tact.

“Let me love you a little more before you’re not little anymore.”

First, we’ll talk about baby necessities, then we’ll talk about the other essentials… like feeding tips, calm down tips, and those early sleep tips.

Do Not Pass Go without collecting these $200 tips that will pay dividends for years.

Read: Life Changing Advice For New Moms (That Your Dr. Won’t Tell You)

In This Post...

  • The essentials
  • Basic newborn feeding information
  • Why routines work so well with babies
  • Tips to help newborn babies sleep well
  • How to care for YOU well during this period

After having raised all 5 of my babies (the first two Irish twins) from birth onwards, here’s what I believe to be actual baby necessities.

Newborn essential gear

The truth is that you can be a minimalist and get by with about 5 baby things. Or you can take great joy in shopping and stockpiling all you need for your upcoming bundle.

You really only need a few things, but there are quite a few that are just plain old handy to have. Let’s jump into it.

a co sleeper baby bed which is a newborn essential

Essential baby items for sleep

First, you’ll want to figure out whether you are going to room share with baby or not. Either way, there are a few handy things to have at your disposal.

  • Bedside or co-sleepers (or a crib)
  • Bassinets for when baby is sleeping in other rooms of the house
  • Swaddle (this is our fave and zips from the bottom for easy diaper changes)
  • Pacifier (which is a great tool to help baby calm themselves when they’re having witching hours)
  • Infant seat
  • Carrier or sling (lots of options here)

Read: 5 Non-Negotiable Newborn Baby Needs

Stuffed animal pacifiers

Baby necessities for day to day life

Here are some things to have that’ll help baby throughout your normal days. Whether you are going on errands or hanging out at the house, these baby necessities will come in handy.

  • Diapers
  • Onesies and comfy outfits
  • Burping cloths
  • A baby nest (you can put these into cribs, on your own bed, at someone else’s house for naps, or even in a pack and play)
  • A stroller
  • Baby monitors (here are some pros and cons for ya on monitors)
  • An organized diaper bag
  • A lovely mat or blanket to use for tummy time

Read: Advice For New Parents (How to Rest, Relax & Enjoy)

blankets, newborn essentials on baby's feet

Tips For Feeding Newborn Babies

If you want to demand feed your infant, then you know what you need to know.

Feed any time you think baby wants to feed.

On the other hand, if baby is whiny, seems to snack all the time, or isn’t sleeping well, the best thing you can do is to put your newborn baby on a good routine.


newborn feeding chart newborn is a baby necessity

Download, print, and get baby on a feeding routine that works!

Here’s why routines work with newborn babies:

  • You meet baby’s needs in a systematic way before baby needs to cry to make his wishes known.
  • Babies sleep better.
  • They feed better at regular intervals as opposed to snacking.
  • Mom has some predictability and peace in her days which leads to less stress, depression, and worry.

Newborn Feeding Tips

Here you'll find all you need to know to make sure that feeding your infant goes well.

Newborn Feeding Schedules - All You Need To Know!

These sample schedules will help you organize your day so you have a happy baby and happy mama

Breastfeeding Schedule By Month -- Birth to 1 Year Of Age!

Get schedules for newborns to 3 months (and beyond!).

A Newborn Routine That Works Every Time

Here's a schedule that will help you with those early days and weeks.

What To Do When Baby Is Feeding Every Hour (& Not Sleeping!)

If your baby is feeding every hour (and you are losing it!) there are solutions.

A Printable Newborn Feeding Chart That Works Like A Charm

This gives you a printable to help track your newborn's feeds so you can see patterns and help you decipher any fussiness or colic.

Cluster Feeding Newborns: Do's & Dont's (& How To Do It Right)

Cluster feeding will help your little one fill up and sleep longer stretches. Here's how to do it.

If you want to get started with cluster feeding, use my free downloadable checklist!


Newborn Baby Sleep Tips

You may feel out of your league now, but with a bit of encouragement and some sound sleep strategies, you can have a baby who is napping the day and sleeping the night away.

If you put baby down to nap after every feed, avoid excessive snacking, teach baby to sleep on their own, and don’t let baby get overtired then you are golden.

Below are my best (and most popular) posts on how to do these exact things.

Newborn Baby Sleep Help

Here are newborn baby sleep tips that'll help your little one rest well from the beginning.

The Ultimate Newborn Sleep Schedule: Week By Week

This newborn sleep schedule will help you get baby set onto a routine that allows for good naps and good sleep.

How to Fix Your Newborn's Day and Night Confusion in 3 Nights or Less

Is baby sleeping all day and awake all night? These tips will help reverse the day night confusion.

How To Get Your Newborn To Sleep Well From Day One!

From the very beginning there are habits and routines you can implement that'll help baby be an angel sleeper from the get go.

Easy Peasy Swaddling Tips for Happy Newborns

These swaddling tips will help you wrap baby up so he can sleep well.

Foolproof Baby Sleep Tips -- Routines, Habits & Strategies

This is an exhaustive (and I do mean huge) list of all the tips for baby sleeping I've compiled over the years.

Baby Bedtime: 4 Essential Elements To Success

You don't just turn the lights off and put baby into bed. By having a bedtime routine you've set the stage for sound sleeping. Here are the newborn baby bedtime routine tips.

How to Encourage Sleeping In and Longer Naps

Your newborn baby may wake up too early for your tastes. You're not alone! Here's how you can help your little one to sleep later in the morning and nap longer.

How to Help Baby Nap With Loud Older Siblings

If you've got more than one child, odds are that the older siblings wake up baby. Never fear! These tips will help you protect your newborn baby's sleep even with loud older ones in the home.

Baby Sleep Times: The Ultimate Guide To Naps, Nights, & Sleep

Wonder how often baby should nap and how many hours they should sleep at night? Here are some baby sleep times that will give you something to aim for.

Wind-down Routines Guaranteed to Help Your Baby Sleep

If your little one seems hyper and wide awake when it's time to sleep, these wind down routines will help you calm your little one so they fall asleep more easily.

Common Habits That Help and Hurt Baby's Sleep

If you want to make sure you aren't starting any habits that will be hard for you to break later - that contribute to tiredness and fussiness for baby - then here's a list of things that help and hurt newborn baby sleep.

The Surprising Reason Your Baby Fights Sleep

This will help you get ready mentally to work on your newborn's sleep. Once you realize what's holding you back, you can move forward.

Baby Reflux: A Surprising Cause (And How To Help Baby Sleep)

If your little one has reflux know you aren't alone. And that you can have a newborn baby that sleeps pretty well even with reflux. Here are some tips to help with reflux in newborns.

Why Frequent Night Wakings Will Actually Make You Crazy

You may feel a bit nuts after you have a baby, but frequent night wakings (more than one every couple of hours) will actually - in the long term - make you crazy. That's why it's so important to work on your baby's sleep now.

If your little one struggles with sleep in general, try my checklist:28 Things To Try When Baby Won’t Sleep!


Watch this video to see what newborn habit you DO NOT need to start!

How To Take Care Of Your Newborn Baby (And Your Mental Health) Well

It is the most joyous time of your life… having a newborn baby.

It can also be one of the most stressful. You are a tired, wired, hormone crazed shell of a woman you used to be. And you ain’t the only one!

You’re up at night feeding, spending all day very home-centered meeting the needs of your precious one 24/7 because newborn babies have 0 independent skills.

It is truly precious.

It can also be, for some women, one of the hardest seasons of life. Here’s how you take care of yourself while you’re taking care of baby.

Motherhood In The Early Months

Those early months can be so difficult for mothers. Here are some strategies, routines, and encouragement.

5 Non-Negotiable Newborn Baby Needs (And 1 For Mom!)

Here are some non-negotiables you can take on board now to keep the sanity for the long haul.

How To Mentally Survive the Newborn Phase

The hormone changes, crying, lack of sleep, and complete life shift can really take a toll on a mother. Read on to find out how you can weather the storm well.

The Scientific Reason Moms Are Super Tired You've Never Heard

You are probably absolutely knackered from life with a newborn baby, toddler, preschooler, etc. It's not only for the reason you think (lack of sleep) but for this reason as well.

Why Moms Lose Their Identity and How To Get It Back

Mothers with babies, toddlers, and preschoolers lose their identity so easily. Here's why it happens and what to do about it.

Words Every Emotionally Exhausted Mom Needs To Hear

Those early months with baby are so exhausting. If you're emotionally exhausted, well, even more so.

Why Your Husband Isn't Doing You A Favor By Watching The Kids

Especially with newborn babies in the home, it's so important to have help around the house. If you have a spouse, read this about your own mindset.

The Real Reason Moms Never Have Enough Time (Hint: It's Not Because They Waste It)

This post had SO MANY Ah Ha moments for moms. It's something we all tend to do that actually ends up driving us bonkers. If you have a newborn baby, you need to read this.

How To Live Within Your Limits And Hold Your Boundaries

So many of us didn't learn how to create limits and hold them in our lives. This post will help you figure out what your limits are and how to live within them so you are the happy mom you want to be.

Click here and get your tired mom checklist. Download, print, and start sleeping better tonight.

FAQs on newborn essentials

When to start buying stuff during pregnancy?

Anytime. You can buy as soon as your budget allows, particularly if you are going to buy gender neutral baby items. If you are going to find out your baby’s gender, you may want to wait until after 20 weeks to start buying.

Do I need to make a registry for my baby?

Nope. If you only want a few essentials you can simply put the word out. Registries aren’t too hard, though, if you want quite a few things to get your nursery ready.

What do I need to take baby ome from the hospital?

Diapers, a car seat, onesies, and some love and cuddles for your little one. You can grab the rest later, as you are able.

Rachel

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I'm Rachel, mother of 5 young kids living in the Florida panhandle with my Australian husband. I write about family culture, family rhythms and routines, and boundaries in motherhood and life. You can see snippets of my daily life here and visit my shop for baby sleep, organizing, and routine help.

“Inside my brain”

Geeezzz, it was like you were inside my brain today!  (and most days recently)  I needed this badly.

Thank you!!!
Andrea P.

“Nothing was working…”

I just wanted to say thank you for your easy peasy routine for 2 year olds! I day-weaned my 2 year old a month ago and have been trying everything to get him to go down for a nap without the nursing. Nothing was working and I was starting to think he would never have a nap again.

Anyways I started following your routine and we just sat in bed and had what I told him was “quiet time.” We sat and read and made a fort and had warm milk. Then today I told him it was quiet time again and he tried to escape the bed a couple times, but in the end he snuggled up after the warm bottle and fell asleep for 3 hours! I was almost in tears I was so excited! So thank you!

Meghan

“Thanks for your bundle!”

Thanks for for doing this Everyday Mom Super Bundle sale. I’m four months into my parenthood journey with a sweet and spirited boy.

I was feeling overwhelmed and frustrated just yesterday, thinking if only I had the right resources and “trail guides” I could figure this all out. Your sale is serendipitous. I can’t wait to dig into my download materials and start learning from your tips.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

Lauren N.

“It’s a breath of fresh air”

I just wanted to let you know that your blog and emails have been a tremendous help to me. Your practical, honest, and humble writing is a breath of fresh air!

With help and encouragement drawn from your writing, I have made some incredible changes in the order (and sanity) of our home, in just the past few weeks. My kids are doing chores daily, and I also have clearer expectations of myself.

My husband is in awe!

Which helps reinforce what you said- the problem wasn’t me; it was my systems. Our home is in much better order, and so is my mind. So, thank you!!!! You have made a difference for me and my family.

Ann S.

“We are slowly getting back to normal…”

I stumbled upon your blog one morning after praying night after night for God to fix my home! I had just had a baby this May 1st and also have a 2 and 4 year old and my home broke out in complete chaos!

Even my marriage seemed like it was on the brink of extinction and this had happened in 2 weeks! I read numerous amounts of your entries and applied them to my home life and I am happy to say we are slowly getting back to normal. Thank you Rachel! 

Madison S.

“You’ve been a life saver!”

I’m a first time mom to a 15 day old baby girl. I had no idea what I was doing and couldn’t get her to sleep in her crib until I found your blog.

You’ve been a life saver!

Candace R.

“Within a week or two our little girl changed!”

I tumbled into post partum depression/anxiety and didn’t know what to do anymore. I was a mess, baby girl was a mess and I don’t even know how my husband was dealing with it all… 

I googled everything I could think about but there was never really something that felt right, that felt genuine instead of just telling do’s and don’ts. 

And then I found your website and read your pieces about sleeping and eating. I carefully read through your schedules and decided to try it.

IT WORKED!! 

And within a week or two our little girl changed from a frustrated baby into this happy dappy smiling ray of sunshine, that is able to settle herself down by sucking on her fists, even in the middle of the night. At 12 weeks baby girl slept through the night and now at 20 weeks old she sleeps a good 10 to 12 hours every night. 

I just wanted to thank you for sharing your experience online. The way you wrote your experiences made it understandable, seeing it from the babys side but also the moms side. Maybe we were lucky that your way fitted our baby, but it worked and I tell it to everyone that wants to know!

Stephanie P.

“Had tremendous success from Day One!”

I just wanted to thank you for your sample routine.  I’ve been using it for a week with my 13 month old and had tremendous success from day 2! Wind down time is so important and so is consistency.  Thank you so much!!!

Sam M.

“In a few short days…”

I am grateful to have found your blog, as I do a great deal of searching on Pinterest when I am up against a parenting moment that I do not feel qualified to handle.

I will say though that since reading your blog I am really focusing on remembering that every moment is a learning \ experience for my son and I try to take a breath and count to ten. In the few short days that I have been exercising this method I truly have noticed a change for the better in his response to me.

Tami K.

Comments

  1. Jane says

    The thing with routine is so right! Baby are so much better when you follow the patten. I discovered my biggest mistake – no schedule. I was trying to have one but I was cheating myself and the baby. Routine with more than one hour of delays is not a routine for a baby anymore!

    Reply

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Hey y'all, I'm Rachel Norman, BA, MS, Language of Listening® parenting coach, mother to 5 babies in 5 years on 3 continents, no multiples. Join me in parenting without losing your mind. Read More >>

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