5 Essentials: What To Buy Before Baby Comes

You've probably read articles or talked with friends and got innundated by endless lists of "must haves" for your baby and nursery.

But really, only a handful of things are trully necessary to have when your newborn arrives. For everything else you can probably wait on 2 day Amazon delivery or just drive to a CVS/Target/etc and grab.

Note: There is a plethora of options for each item and in this article I won't exhaust them all. Instead, I'll recommend the one we have and you reserve the deep dive for a different post.

1. A Car Seat

You won't be able to leave the hospital without a car seat. That's unless you aren't planning to walk home of course.

So, buying a car seat before the baby arrives is a must.

I would recommend ordering one on or before month 7 to make sure you have it on time. That way you won't have to worry about supply chain issues, or the baby arriving early. (our daughter was 3 weeks early for example)

We have the UPPAbaby Mesa which we purchased as part of the 3-piece bundle that included the stroller and bassinet.

2. A Place to Sleep

When you bring baby home, you'll need a place for it to sleep.

The absolute minimum you can buy is a bassinet.

We purchased the bassinet that comes with the stroller bundle mentioned above so we didn't have to think about it.

While you could get away with only having a bassinet, we also purchased a co-sleeper which made things super convenient.

If you can afford it, I recommend it.

Something like this (the one we have) or this (more affordable).

3. Baby Formula & Bottles

It's a good idea to have some spare formula, regardless of whether mom is brestfeeding or not.

You never know what happens and you don't want to scramble in the middle of the night with 2 hours of sleep trying to find formula.

We used the Enfamil Neuro Pro which we thought was the most nutricious and widely available but consult your pediatrician.

Also get a bottle. We liked Dr. Brown's Natural Flow but that's something that may require some trial and error to find out which bottles your baby prefers. So you may end up buying one of a few different styles and trying them out later on.

4. Diapers and Wipes

You could get a handlful of diapers from the hospital but don't count on it and just get a pack to be safe.

It really doesn't matter too much which diapers you get to start. Over time you can try different once and see which ones you like the best.

Some people say that Pampers are better for girls and Huggies for boys due to anatomy. Really, just try them both and decide for yourself. There are even Amazon brand ones (good value), as well as a variety of others.

We use Pampers Pure with our daughter. They are awesome and don't smell like artificial perfume. Plus we never had leaking issues (unless it was our fault for not closing the diaper properly.)

And while you are at it, grab some baby wipes like Honest Wipes (our favorite) or Water Wipes.

We also use tissue paper to dry her up so you can grab a box of that as well while you are at it.

5. Clothes and Swaddles

Clothes are quite personal so I'd encourage you to browse the internet for things you like without making a recommendation.

Depending on the weather you may want to buy different clothes but at least a set of body suits and a couple swaddles can get you by until you decide what works best for you.

Bonus: Postpartum Sanitary Pads

As I was putting together this list my wife strongly suggested I mention postpartum pads. Remember, a baby came out and there's more stuff where it came from. I won't pretend to know what's good but you can do a quick search and pick something.

Alright, you are almost there, hang tight and good luck with the delivery!