Our Tips on What to Buy for Baby and Yourself Postpartum!
When you’re pregnant you need new things. Especially if you’re having your first child. But you’re probably also wondering which products you actually need during pregnancy and birth and for a new baby. Tip number one: just remember that for the first couple of months your baby doesn’t actually need anything aside from something to keep them warm, somewhere to sleep, and something to eat (and of course, someone to snuggle them). That picture to the left is my newborn daughter sleeping in a box on the kitchen table. They truly don’t need a lot.
Whatever else you buy or receive should really be intended to simplify and improve your experience as much as possible. And just remember that what you buy and ask for shouldn’t be exclusively “baby” items - you can (and should!) also purchase and request items that make your pregnancy, birth, and, postpartum recovery simpler and easier!
We’ve had babies ourselves a few times, so we figured we would share a list of our favorite items. This list is not all-inclusive - there are so many other things you may want to purchase or receive. These are just our tip of the iceberg faves.
We’ll start with items that can soothe your tired body and mind:
Pregnancy pillow: If you’re early on in your pregnancy, you might want to consider a pregnancy pillow – which is an amazing body-length pillow that will be a lifesaver as you get bigger and bigger and sleeping becomes really uncomfortable. You can wrap yourself around them in a million different ways to support your belly or ease aches and pains.
Good nursing bras: my pelvic floor PT gave me a serious talking to when she saw my nursing bra and immediately prescribed that I go get fitted for one that fit correctly. You’re probably going to start wearing them in your third trimester as your breasts outgrow your regular bras, so don’t be afraid to buy them early! And be sure to consider a bra that allows for hands-free pumping
Mini fridge: if your bedrooms are on a different floor than your kitchen, you might want to consider this one. It might not seem like the kitchen is far away, but if you’re doing bottles at night (and you might, even if you’re planning to give your baby breastmilk), having a mini fridge near your bedrooms where you can grab a pre-made bottle or throw a bottle of milk you think the baby might finish in an hour…sounds pretty heavenly. I can’t begin to tell you how sad it is to throw away 4oz of milk in the morning when you realize you brought it upstairs, your baby refused to take it, and you ultimately fell asleep again without putting it back in the fridge.
Some help for your diaper bag: Diaper bags are heavy, dark, deep, and similar to a black hole - ie. where do things end up once they go in? No one knows. They are going to be your worst enemy/best friend because they’ve got everything you need (you hope) and yet when you’re trying to find a burp cloth or that one pacifier you baby will agree to take - you can’t locate it for the life of you. A poorly designed or very heavy diaper bag can also cause back pain if you’ll be carrying it around a lot. Our advice: get a diaper bag with backpack straps to help distribute that weight on your neck and shoulders and also invest in some containers to keep things organized.
Postpartum support! We talk a lot about this, but that’s because it’s soooo essential. Ask for pre-cooked meals, lactation support, a postpartum doula, someone to clean your house for a few weeks…anything you can hand off so that you’re focused on rest, healing, and baby care.
Nightlights: you’re going to be up a lot when it’s dark out. But turning on the lights can give baby the wrong idea (no, 1am is NOT playtime!). Investing in some nightlights for the hallways, bathrooms, bedrooms, and kitchen can be really helpful.
Non-newborn clothes: If you have lots of family with older kids, you might be getting a ton of hand-me-downs in all sizes. But when that’s not the case, many of parents end up with a TON of newborn and infant clothes that their babies wear very briefly (but totally cute and worth it), spit up on a bunch, and then never wear again. Then six months later, your baby is twice as big and you’re running out of stuff to dress them in. It might seem like a FAR distant future, but don’t be afraid to put 6-12 month and 12-18 month clothing on your registry.
Baby nail clipper or scissors: You might need this right away – you can even pack it in your hospital bag. Some babies are born with really long nails that can scratch their super soft skin (my daughter has two scars on her face from self-inflicted nail wounds when she was a day old).
Older toys: Similar to the clothes, you might receive a lot of stuffed animal and teething toys for infants at a baby shower, but if your baby ages out of those before a big holiday, you might find yourself desperately seeking things to keep them entertained. We’ll preface this by saying that babies are pretty easy to entertain – give them some spoons and a ball and something that makes noise and they’re good. But in the event that you want them to play with a few age appropriate toys, it’s smart to stick some older toys (say, for 6-12mos) on your registry now too. Our favorite? bouncers, stacking cups, and things that wobble and roll.
**You can also ask for our childbirth preparation courses or our birth planning sessions as gifts - educating yourself about birth before you do it can be extremely impactful to your experience and result in a smoother postpartum transition.**
And now – here are some things you honestly do not need (though, of course, if you WANT it – go wild):
Baby bathrobe: nope. I mean, do you even wear yours? The pictures are just as cute when they’re wearing a towel and they’re even cuter if they’re naked. So scrap this one for some extra diapers, which they definitely WILL use.
Bottles: trust us, lots of babies are ridiculously picky and will refuse whatever bottle you decide to stock up on before they’re born. Buy one bottle (better yet, get a free one when you sign up for a baby registry), see if they like it and expect to have to buy a few before they find one they’ll accept. Note – this is especially true of breast/chestfed babies who like to be super DUPER picky. (same goes for pacifiers. Make sure they’ll even take a pacifier before you buy more than one.)
Kneeling pad for the tub: I was sure I would need this – knee to tile? No thanks. But really…it takes up space in my bathroom and I’ve used it once or twice in over four years of baths. I sit next to the tub on a stool or I put a towel on the floor… my advice? Skip it.
Wipe Warmers and Bottle Warmers: These sound great in theory, but they're often not necessary and can contribute to clutter. Putting the wipes in a wipe warmer is an added step to the already busy cycle of feedings, diaper changes, and naps. It is easier to just toss wipes in a diaper caddy, that can be moved around the house as needed, instead of a warmer that needs to be plugged in. I actually would hold the wipe in my hand for a few seconds (when possible) to warm it up and that seemed to do the trick. Bottle warmers may also be unnecessary if you’re really trying to stay simple - bottles can be warmed in a bowl of water, or even easier (assuming your baby will take it this way), served cold. It was convenient that my son was already used to cold bottles when we found ourselves out of the house without access to a way to warm up her bottles. My daughter, on the other hand REFUSED cold milk - so the bottle warmer came in handy. I would label that one a “wait to buy when necessary” item.
Of course, there are a million things you’re going to buy while pregnant and as a new parent (and then forever afterwards). One last, very important item we believe in - clothes that are nice enough to wear out of the house but that make you feel comfortable and not self-conscious about your changing postpartum body (learning to love that new body and treating it to some new clothes is a must-do, in our book). <3
Shoot us an email at enrichedbirth@gmail.com if you have any questions or tips about pregnancy and new parent items - we love to hear from you!
