Top 10 essentials for the first few months
If you're a new parent, you'll be surprised by many things, including the multitude of baby-related products out there, many of which you'll find indispensable. Below is a list of the top 10 items I found most useful for the first few months after my son was born. To be transparent, if you decide to click on the Amazon links below and purchase an item, I will indeed receive a small commission as part of the Amazon Associate Program. However, these are all products I've used in the first few months after my son's birth and I would recommend to all new parents.
The first nights were all about feeding, not much about sleeping. Finding ways to effectively save time between feedings to catch some sleep was crucial, and having a bottle sterilizer proved very effective. The one listed here is the second one we got after the first one broke down easily. This sterilizer has been easy to use and has lasted several months now.
Yes, babies come home from the hospital brand new, but they also need regular cleaning. Having a bath tub that we could easily move around was helpful for those first few baths. It also looks nice on those initial adorable pictures. I have about 190 pictures of my son's first bath at home.
In case you didn't know, babies poop a lot and anywhere. This cart fits the theme of saving time to catch some sleep at night on those first few days and weeks. It was great to have this cart loaded with everything needed for diaper changes that we could move around between rooms, especially since my son would sleep in one room at night and often nap in a different room during the day. Yes, babies also take over your entire home.
Chances are that in the first few months your child will not sleep on the nursery’s very nice crib you spent hours assembling. My son spent the first six months sleeping next to my wife and me in this bedside sleeper, which is easy to set up and move around. These days it also serves as a portable crib that we take with us when visiting grandma so that he can nap comfortably on the go. It’s convenient, mobile, and comfortable.
This is my wife's favorite, so I feel like I must add it to this list. It keeps wipes warm for diaper changes. That's it. I don't personally think it made a difference for my son, but my wife says that there is a big difference between a warm or room temperature wipe, and my son has not given me a straight answer yet.
The benefits of this one are self-explanatory. Yes, newborn diapers can also get a bit stinky. And, again, babies do poop a lot.
This is a fun one and highlights well how rapidly babies grow and develop their sensory skills. In a span of weeks, my son went from just looking at the different toys to trying to grab them, to finally pulling them strongly. At eight months now, he pulls this gym entirely and throws it around.
Check with your pediatrician about this. Having this thermometer around proved to be very helpful. No one wants to have to use it, but chances are you might need to check on your child’s temperature sometime. This thermometer is easy to use and very convenient. Our pediatrician suggested also having a rectal thermometer since those could be more precise for newborns in case the temperature was to elevate, and we had to call the doctor. However, the one listed here was a more convenient first step to take than the rectal one.
This is more an advice in case you didn't know like me. There are different sizes of baby bottle nipples. Depending on your feeding preferences and the size of your baby, you might need to try a few different sizes to make sure your baby is feeding well.
Finally, this is not so much a product but more of a service. My wife and I used Amazon’s baby registry when planning the baby shower and were very happy with it. It is very easy to set up and share with your family and friends. It offers longer return periods compared to when items are bought outside the registry, and it provides a way for people to contribute to the more expensive items—both of which proved to be very helpful for us.
And yes, in case you didn't know, you also have to make sure you have plenty of diapers and wipes on hand. Did I mention that babies poop a lot? And anywhere? Don't worry, though. I had never changed a diaper before my son was born, and I got to change his first diaper in the hospital and most of them (if not all) for the first few weeks after he was born. I loved every single stinky diaper, and consider the diaper-changing-experience one of the first bonding experiences I had with my son. It's also where I could contribute the most in the first few weeks.