If you’re pregnant, planning out your baby registry, or just curious about what newborn babies need, this is the blog post for you! Today, I’m sharing all the newborn must-haves and essentials from a second-time momma perspective! Budget-friendly baby basics to put on your registry—from clothing to carriers, bathroom essentials, nursing essentials, bedtime, and more! What to splurge on and what to save money on when planning for your baby.

Newborn Must Haves & Essentials

In this post, I’ve rounded up everything that I found helpful during these first three months. I’m sharing why I loved these products and what worked best. Of course, you can also watch my chit chat style video, where I talk about each of these items in detail, over on my YouTube channel. 

Just remember—when it comes down to it—all you really need for a happy and healthy baby is love, food, and sleep! Don’t feel overwhelmed, and don’t feel like you need to buy every single baby product out there. I hope that this post helps you as you research what to get!

Hygiene & Health

Vitamin D– Must-have item if you’re breastfeeding (but please check with your doctor first!) 

Tiny Baby Nail Scissors—I wish I had these with my first! I was so nervous using any type of clippers with my first child but these tiny ergonomic baby scissors make cutting little soft baby nails a lot easier. Using these Frida Baby Nail Scissors makes me feel much more sturdy and in control when Im giving Oakley a manicure. And because baby nails grow so fast (it’s kind of crazy) I’m pretty much using these everyday.

Dr Bronner’s Unscented Castile soap– We use the baby one, which is unscented! A little bit goes a long way and if you look at the bottle it’s so multipurpose for jobs all over the house, not just bath time. You can even use it for laundry! I like to keep a mini bottle in the diaper bag in case we have a blow out or when travel for baths on the go.

Nose Frida Snotsucker—this little device works so well! I use it with this saline spray solution… to help loosen up those boogers! This device goes a long way and is a must-have item if you live in a dry climate or have a winter baby with the heating on because it can get so dry in the house.

Diaper Cream–  I have a few of these throughout the house because you can never have too many diaper creams ( and It works!). We have yet to have a diaper rash on any of our children with this natural diaper cream. One thing you want to know with diaper cream is that you don’t want to rub it into the skin like a lotion, you want to lather it thick over the baby’s butt (You want to see the cream, don’t rub it in).

Clothing

Comfortable and cozy basics for every day. These soft bamboo footie onesies are a good basic outfit and cozy for daytime, nap time or night time! I love the ones that also have built-in mittens (when needed), footies and zippers! These ones are so soft and delicate on baby’s sensitive skin and what we use every night for bed time.

Kyte Baby is our go to brand for jammies and our 3 year old still wears them for bed time and hanging around the house. Fun fact – they have matching ones for mommy too!

Old Navy ribbed onsies are a new discover and such a great dupe for the pricier Mebie Baby ones.

Baby Carriers

The famous Artipoppe baby carrier: I debated whether to purchase this baby carrier because let’s be honest…It’s not the cheapest! My back was hurting me after a while from using my old baby carrier and I also found out that it wasn’t approved by The International Hip Dysplasia Institute (you can see the approved list of carriers on their website HERE). I saw so many good reviews about the Artipoppe and how it doesn’t hurt your back (I was sold!) This baby carrier puts the baby’s legs in the proper M position so it keeps baby’s hips safe. This baby carrier is designed to put the baby’s weight on your hips instead of your back. It’s very sturdy and comfortable (not to mention stylish).  

Solly baby wrap– It is perfect if you have a tiny baby! These wraps looked complicated but there are some great tutorials online on how to wrap it ( I promise it will only take a few tries!) These wraps are also really good for skin-to-skin on the go and getting nice and cozy with baby. Oakley is now 4 months and I still use it occasionally.

Sleep

If you’re struggling with sleep right now you need to check out my friend Lily’s amazing Newborn Sleep Course only $39.99 (Use my code HEALTHNUT10 for 10% off!) and get your dream sleep from the very start! For babies 0-14 weeks (I can’t recommend Lily enough- she’s why our family all sleep so well).

Soo Bassinet— This is one of the pricier investments and one thing that we splurged on when we had our first. We did buy it secondhand, which helped bring down the price to almost half. We did a lot of research when I was pregnant with our first child and found out how safe this one is and how they can help soothe your baby to sleep. We used it with our first child and now our second. I think it’s safe to say we got our money’s worth! Not to mention they hold their value so when we’re done with it we can resell it again.

Portable light—This portable soft warm night light is definitely a budget-friendly essential. It’s perfect for nighttime feeds and early morning diaper changes. I even use it to brush my teeth in the bathroom before I go to bed so I don’t have to turn on the big lights.

Humidifier- I can not recommend it enough! Babies can often be congested when they are born and having that extra moisture in the air really helps! Especially in the winter it really helps to prevent dry nostrils which can make drinking milk and breathing out of their nose difficult.

Swaddle Blankets—It’s nice to have a few soft and stretchy blankets for swaddling. You can’t go wrong with these swaddle blankets because they will be useful for years to come! I love that these have the perfect about of stretch it wrap up your baby while still giving them room to move around and the fabric is so soft.

In The Car

Car Seat Cover—If you’re having a winter baby, you NEED this, and I can’t recommend it enough. I only recently discovered it and I wish I had had it sooner. It’s a warm sleeping bag that helps protect the baby from the winter weather. Having one of these helps keep your baby warm and cozy while you’re out and about going from house or store to car or even stroller walks. Our son Oakley sleeps so well on walks with this.

Portable sound machine—You can attach this to your carrier or put it on your stroller/car seat. We used it a lot in the first two months and still use it when we travel or leave the house. We love it because you can adjust the volume and clip it onto anything!

Nursing Essentials

Breastfeeding and nursing essentials – these are a few things that have made my life easier while breastfeeding! 

Nursing pillow—My Breast Friend nursing pillow is the best breastfeeding pillow ever! (I wish I had it with my first!) Its back support is amazing and supportive, which I love for my sore back these days. When I have the pillow on, it feels secure, and I can relax when I feed my baby. It has a velcro

Baby Muslin Cotton cloths—The muslin cotton is so soft that it is super useful for everything from burping to using in the bath to help keep babies warm. 

Speaking of food! I know this probably isn’t even on your radar yet, and most babies start taking their first bites at six months! The Baby HealthNut Cookbook is something that I created after I went through the journey with my first child. It is full of 30 delicious recipes focused on handheld self-feeding—everything from 6 months through a year old and up! Breakfast, smoothies, popsicles, desserts, and even my happy poops recipes! My daughter is three years old and is still eating some of the recipes. It’s versatile and great for everyone in the family. 

Toys & Bouncers

This Lovery Play Gym, aka Oakley’s baby playground, is the best thing ever! It comes with black-and-white cards for newborns and sensory strands for your baby to play with during tummy time. You can add so many different things to it as your baby grows, and they also have customized toys for every stage of development that your baby will go through. We use it at least once daily, and it’s been so fun to see both babies play and learn with it!

Contrast Cards—If you don’t know how to play with your newborn, this is where it’s at! This is the “newborn TV” with bold black-and-white patterns. Newborns love looking at these! They are great to have during tummy time. Using the contrast cards is a great way to stimulate them, and get them ready for nap time. 

Speaking of toys, a bouncer is another great way to keep your baby occupied and happy during those wake hours! My favourite is this Baby Bjorn Bliss Convertible Quilted Bouncer. You can easily bounce it with your foot, or your baby will bounce themselves when they move their arms and legs. It folds flat for easy storage and you can buy a travel case for it to take with you on the go. There are 3 settings so you can have baby lay almost flat down or tilted so they sit up higher. This is how I get ready in the morning, eat my meals, and just be hands-free while still having Oakley close by (It saves me literally every single day! I don’t leave the house without it).

If you’re trying to prep for yourself as well for after the baby comes and trying to figure out all the things you might need to help you heal, check out my blog post on My Postpartum Care Cart with all my must-have items. 

These are all my must-have items to help you through the first few months! Honestly, and this is an unpopular opinion but I love the newborn/ early postpartum phase. It’s a very special time in your life that can feel very long in the moment, but in reality, it’s such a short period. Hopefully, these items will give you some ideas while you prepare for your newborn and early postpartum phase. Comment below with your favourite newborn item.