What do babies really need from newborn – 3 months?
I am due october 8th, its real soon & i know babies can sometimes come before, i am starting to worry because i dont have all the things my baby needs ready, and theres so much out there but im not sure what you really need, and what are just luxuries.
Do i really need a waterproof crib pad?
Do i really need changing pad covers?
I can go on for ever so please tell me what i really need, so far i have lots of clothes i got alot of that as gifts, so i woudlnt worry about any clothing, i have more than enough blankets, i also have the crib with mattress & crib bedding set. I have bibs, burp clothes, bath essentials, diaper rash cream, wash clothes, hooded towels, stroller, i still need a car seat so what else do i need?
11 Responses
Brianna
05 Sep 2010
Beth
05 Sep 2010
You definitely need diapers and wipes. That could be cloth diapers and cloth wipes, or disposable diapers and disposable wipes. Or some of both. And, as you said, a car seat. The rest you can buy if/when you decide you need it.
You don’t have to get a waterproof crib pad, but I would recommend it because it will protect the mattress and make cleanup easier. If you plan to have more babies in the future and want to reuse the mattress, you definitely want to keep it clean.
You don’t have to have a changing pad at all – I have several friends who don’t. You can just change your baby on a blanket or towel or something. You just want something under your baby that will be easy to clean up if he/she decides to make a mess before you get the clean diaper on. Same goes if you have a changing pad, the covers are convenient but you can just spread a towel or blanket over it instead.
It sounds like you’ve already got most of the essentials. You might want a baby sling or other baby carrier. Babies like to be held all the time, so a carrier might make it easier for you to get things done. It’s also convenient for going out someplace where a stroller wouldn’t go easily – lots of stairs, narrow spaces, etc. I prefer a ring sling for the first few months, then a mei tai carrier once they can hold their head up well.
You probably want a diaper bag – but this can just be a big purse or tote bag that you use as a diaper bag.
Bouncers, swings, etc. are nice for keeping baby entertained at home, but not strictly necessary.
A portable crib/playpen is nice for traveling, and also useful at home when your baby gets mobile. Again, not essential and you could always wait to buy one if/when you need it.
Honestly some of the stuff you already have isn’t that essential – you really don’t need hooded towels, regular ones work fine. If you are breastfeeding, you can put breastmilk on diaper rashes and skip the cream. Some moms let their receiving blankets double as burp cloths. Unless your baby really spits up or drools a lot, you don’t need bibs until your baby starts solids (6+ months). Some moms co-sleep with their babies and never use a crib. Some parents always carry their babies and never use a stroller (my back couldn’t handle that!). A lot of it depends on your parenting choices.
If you have diapers, wipes, baby clothes, a few blankets, and a car seat, you’ve got enough to get started.
Alycia West
05 Sep 2010
I never used a change table/pad.
What you need is diapers, wipes, clothes blankets. I found my swing and vibrating chair awsome, it helped with colic a lot. You’ll need to crib or bassinet, car seat and stroller/snuggie some baby shampoo, infant tylenol and gripe water (you don’t want to be out if you need it!) at his age he/she dosen’t really need toys maybe just those little rattles for the hands but untill 2 1/2 my son could barly even hold anything.
Hope you get everything you need intime!
take care 
Kaylen and Aliya
05 Sep 2010
If your using disposible nappies you will need those or if you choose cloth you need pins, cloth nappies ETC. You’ll also need a baby changing mat, toiletries and a baby changing bag for out & about. A baby changing station for use at home means you won’t have to bend over so much saving you possible backache. That may sound silly but not when you think that a newborn baby could need 10 – 12 changes a day!
To breastfeed your baby, invest in some good nursing bras and some breast pads. If you want to express your breast milk you’ll also need a breast pump, storage containers, bottles and teats. To bottle feed you will need formula and around 6 bottles.
A baby’s skin is delicate and they can be slippery when wet so try some specific baby wash instead of soap and shampoo. You can buy a baby bath but a washing up bowl is equally fine!
Ask friends and family to see what you can borrow and go to nearly new sales. They’re great for picking up bargains. Look out for ‘value options’ in well known stores too. Just because something is cheaper doesn’t mean it hasn’t had to meet proper safety standards. However please remember that it is not recommended to buy a second-hand car seat.
LOUISE DEBORAH
05 Sep 2010
make sure you have alot of thermals as you will want to keep your newborn as warm as possible, a few packs of nappies, not too many though because some babies grow out of the newborn size pretty quick, you can never have enough bibs! my daughter lives in them as alot of babies constantly dribble or spit up and they get soaked pretty quick! she uses about 5 a day at times.lots of socks aswell, a baby bath, a bouncer chair or a rocking one, little hats, i dont have a change table i find it easyer to put down a blanket and change her on the floor so thats basicly up to u, a musical mobile is really good for the cot aswell, a sling or something is good aswell so you can just carry your baby in that to get things done around the house too, and some extra bedding aswell incase of nappy explosions or spews,
good luck!!! 
Megs
05 Sep 2010
These are the things I have and use just about every day. A crib with mattress, a changing pad, four fitted sheets, clothes, plenty of blankets, diapers and wipes, baby powder. Baby wash, a tub, bouncy chair, swing, car seat, stroller, high chair, 5 binkies, and 7 bottles. I also have a bedding set that he won’t use until he is a year old, and a mobil that he loves.
Ricky’s Mo
05 Sep 2010
It sounds like you have pretty much everything you need. Except the carseat.
My son LOVED his swing when he was smaller… it came in very handy. If you are going to bottle feed, you will need bottles… if you are breastfeeding, some nursing pads. My son takes pacifiers, so we got 6 of them… NUK brand (the only one he will take). I got one box of newborn diapers, and one box of size one to start out with, and only used the one box of newborn (it was a big box from Sam’s Club) and after that he moved up to size one.
If I were you, I would start stocking up on wipes… you will use them every day, several times a day, for numerous different things. We buy in bulk from Sam’s Club, and we get like 700 wipes for 15 dollars… The generic ones are even cheaper (700 for 10 dollars), and just as good… I just prefer Pampers or Huggies wipes. Those boxes last almost 2 months… so I think they are a great deal!
Congrats and good luck!
Jenn
05 Sep 2010
I was psycho and felt I had to have evrything for baby as soon as we brought him home. First, I never even used half the stuff (never used sleep positioner, monitor, etc).
For Baby:
-Diapers (I used cheap ones at first b/c u change them so much)
-Wipes
-Blankets
-Revieving blankets
-Onsies
Thermometer
-Aspirator
-Bassinet (I did not even use my sons crib until he was 6 months old)
-Bottles of formula feeding, I breastfed and invested in a breastpump, some hospitals provide them
-Lotion (my son got excema in winter time)
For you:
-Breast shield pads for leakage
-Pads
-Motrin
*No, you dont need wwaterproof crib pad. I did use changing pad covers, but they ar enot "essential". I would suggest also a bouncy seat or a swing which helped soothed my son SO MUCH. You can pick these up at yardsales and 2nd hand stores very cheap.
lesley **due 4/7
05 Sep 2010
get a waterproof mattress for the crib. and skip the changing table, just change him on your bed, the couch, etc.
Amanda
05 Sep 2010
you sound set hun!!
i have 2 children i planned to breastfeed both!! all went well at hospital until i came home!! i had no milk supply in the middle of the night twice!! and my husband had to drive around looking for formula which took ages and i had to try and soothe bubba at home and it wasnt easy!! so when someone asks what should i get i always suggest 2 bottles and a tin of formula because u never know even if you are against it what will you feed your baby at night if you get stuck in a situation like mine so that $20 on formula and $20 on bottles wouldnt hurt if you use the formula then u use it if you dont you could give it away and eventually you will use the bottles for like juice or milk when they are older!!
I use the changing pad because it was in my cot package but i dont think i would have bought one.. instead of an EXPENSIVE diaper bin i use nappy sacks which are little bags for like $2 and i put nappies in those each time i change to elimanate smell and my husband takes the rubbish out daily to keep the baby poop smell out.. i boil bottles in stead of sterilizing in an electric sterilizer it does the same job and also the bottles actually dry on a rack and dont get left with like steam drops inside them a pot for this only cost me $20 instead of $100 for a sterilizer..
i was against dummies but my little one got sick a few weeks ago and always woke so i would make a bottle and he would only just comfort suck to sleep so i ended up bitting my tounge and buying him a dummy which he doesnt suck on all night of course and he has had much better sleep and so have i..
Angel
05 Sep 2010
As far as clothes go, you need onsies. Colors don’ t matter. Whatever is cheap. You may want bibs so that you can keep the clothes clean. I do recommend some kind of cover for the crib mattress because infants have a tendency to make mess in the crib. You will absolutley need a car seat, can’t leave the hospital without one. I would suggest burp rags or at least washcloths for burping. Diapers, wipes, blankets, a stroller or something like this http://www.sleepywrap.com/?ppce=ZT1ZYWhvbyZuPVNsZWVweStXcmFwJmM9MC4y&ctt_id=3113988&ctt_adnw=Yahoo&ctt_kw=sleepy%20wrap&ctt_ch=ps&ctt_entity=tc&ctt_adid=4591575513&ctt_nwtype=standard&ctt_cli=8x11525x80270x723529&OVRAW=Sleepy%20Wrap&OVKEY=sleepy%20wrap&OVMTC=standard&OVADID=4591575513&OVKWID=45751812013&OVCAMPGID=219075513&OVADGRPID=1499687401&OVNDID=ND2.
My daughter is 2 and still loves getting in hers. A diaper bag or even just an old purse works (that’s what I’m using now because it has lots of pockets and fits everything I need and is smaller than the large diaper bag I have). You may need bottles. I breastfed but I also pumped for whenever I wasn’t home to feed her.
You may want a swing or at least a bouncer. Toys aren’t necessary. My husband and I bought a baby bathtub and we used it maybe 3 times. I found it easier to just take a bath with our baby. You may need a pacifier. The hospital I was at gave us 1 but babies have a tendency to spit them out on the floor and than you have to clean it. Sometimes it’s easier to just grab a spare pacifier.
When you’re considering a car seat please spend a few hours of research on it. I hope you’re never in a bad enough accident to hurt you or your baby- but it is better to be safe than sorry! If you’re going to get an infant carrier- I recommend the Graco Snugride- it has a high rear-facing weight limit- 32 or 35 pounds I think. If you go with a high weight limit infant seat, your baby will be ready for a front facing seat when he reaches the weight limit.
If you get a normal infant carrier with a 22 pound weight limit, you’ll have to buy a convertible as most babies outgrow their infant seat but still aren’t big enough to front face. In order to front face, your child must be AT LEAST 1 year AND 20 pounds. Most babies this size still aren’t strong enough to withstand a front-impact car crash. Their heads are so big compared to their little bodies that it is possible for their spinal cord to snap and for them to become paralyzed. I’m not trying to scare you- just inform you of what’s possible.
Another option you have is to buy a convertible seat to use from birth. The Graco My Ride 65 has a minimum weight of 5 pounds, and most babies are at least 5 pounds when they leave the hospital. It then rear-faces up to 40 pounds. You can then switch around and front-face until 65 pounds, when they will be ready for a booster seat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2DVfqFhseo This video will show you why rear-facing is important.