When it comes to buying baby things and preparing for the arrival of your new bub, it’s very easy to go overboard (particularly when you’re a first time parent!) so I thought I would share my list of the newborn must-haves that we found the most useful when our little Ruby was a newborn.

These are the “essentials” we used almost every single day for at least the first 3 months and that made our lives so much easier as we navigated the new world of parenthood and sleep deprivation (with all it’s amazing ups and downs!)

I’ve tried to keep this list to the basics (because some I’ve seen are quite overwhelming!) but have still included a few of those “extra” things that you could probably manage without, but that just make things a lot easier when you’re adjusting to life with a tiny little person!

If you’re pregnant and trying to figure out what you will actually need and use - I hope this list can help you out. Obviously every baby will be a bit different, but these are all items I would highly recommend to friends and that were totally worth it for us!

I was only intending for this to be in video form, but then realised that it’s often much easier to refer back to a blog post, so I’ve written it all out too (and also included a few extra tips!)

Clothing:

Must Haves:

1) Bonds Cozysuits

It is SO easy to go overboard with buying cute baby clothes for your little one, but trust me when I tell you this - when they are newborns you will only be wanting to put them in sleep suits!

You want them to be comfy and also as a new mum you are going to be pretty sleep deprived so something that is EASY is key! Save the cute outfits for when they’re a bit bigger!

Ruby lived almost exclusively in the Bonds Cozysuits for at least the first 8 weeks (and even longer) because they were just so easy. They have popper buttons down one side (so it’s really easy doing them up compared to other ones that cross over, or compared to separate pants and tops!) and the hands and feet fold over so you don’t have to worry about socks or mittens. We had 5 of them and just constantly had them on rotation!

Some people swear by the Bonds Wondersuits which have a zip. These are okay too if that’s your preference, but we liked the Cozysuits best! (They’re also best if your bubby is particularly small - even the smallest size of the Wondersuits was too big for Ruby!)

2) Bodysuits (singlets)

Having a bunch of bodysuits (baby singlets with buttons at the bottom) is handy too. When it was cooler Ruby would wear these under her Cozysuits. I’d recommend starting with 5 and you can always get more if needed! (Obviously depends how often you want to do laundry) Now that it’s summer she also wears these to sleep in everynight.

My favourites are these Marquis ones from Myer that come in a two pack.

3) Heaps of Bibs

Babies tend to spit up a lot and having lots of bibs came in very handy. I like to try and keep most things to a minimum, but when it comes to bibs you can never have too many, so go ahead a pick up a bunch of cute ones!

Kmart does great ones that are really absorbent and they have some cute designs! I loved these ones that say “I woke up this cute”!

Didn’t Use/Hardly Used:

Socks, Mittens and Beanies

We hardly use any of the socks, mittens or beanies that we bought/were given, mainly because the Cozysuits had the fold over hands and feet built in (and I found it really tricky getting her delicate little fingers into the mittens!)

Obviously it will depend on the season too, but I would recommend not buying too many to start off with. You can always get more later!

Sleeping

Must Haves:

4) Swaddle sleeping bags

We used the Swaddle Gro Bags everynight and they were so great as you can just zip them up nice and tight so you don’t have to worry about them escaping! They come in different sizes and also thicknesses for varying temperatures. They also unbutton at the arms so when they’re ready they can sleep with arms out. I found that there was enough room around her shoulders for her to sleep with her arms up too.

I have also heard great things about the Love To Dream swaddle bags if your baby prefers sleeping with their arms fully up. Obviously it’s hard to know before trying them out what your bub prefers so I’d recommend one of each to start with.

5) Muslin Wraps (lots of them)

We didn’t really use these for swaddling very often (except for cute photos and when it got super hot and our air-conditioning broke - they’re a bit more lightweight than the sleeping bags!) but they are so useful for other things! Covering the pram, something for them to lie down on, breastfeeding cover, blocking sun in the car, mopping up spilled milk etc etc!

My favourite brands are Aden and Anais, Snuggle Hunny Kids and The Young Company. It’s nice having some pretty wraps and these would make a perfect gift for any mumma-to-be!

6) Somewhere for them to sleep!

This one is pretty obvious and a personal preference. Some might start out in a bassinet, while others will go straight to using a cot. It really depends what is going to work for you.

We used a moses basket on a rocker stand from The Young Folk Collective. We loved it because we could have her right next to the bed and just reach out to rock it during the night (plus it’s super cute). We then transferred her into a cot when she got too big (around 4 months). This worked well for us.

Feeding

These ones apply if you’re breastfeeding :)

Must Haves:

7) Lansinoh Lanolin Nipple Cream

Bring it to the hospital and use it after every feed. It is a lifesaver!!!

8) Hydrogel Breast Discs

Another lifesaver! You can stick them in the fridge too and they really help, although if I had to choose between the lanolin or these I’d say the lanolin helped the most (I think it’s personal preference though really). I’d suggest getting one of each and see which you prefer!

9) Breastfeeding Pillow

I had the Boppy Pillow and used it every single time I fed Ruby for the first 3 months. It really helps lift bubby up into a more comfortable position so it’s not so hard on your back and shoulders, but is also particularly good at night if you’re exhausted and accidentally fall alseep! I know it’s bad but sometimes you are so exhausted you can’t help it, so I would always just make sure I could lean back in my chair and that she was well supported by pillows so if I did dose of she wouldn’t fall!

You can also use it to for tummy time!

10) Nursing Pads (Disposable and Re-usable Ones)

You tend to leak a lot of milk when you first start breastfeeding so having nursing pads on hand is a must. I preferred the disposable ones as you can stick them to your bra and also they kept things a bit more dry, but its good to have a few pairs of re-usable ones too in case you run out (plus its obviously more environmentally friendly!)

11) Super Comfy Nursing Bras

You can get some quite pretty nursing bras these days, but when you’re starting breastfeeding just make sure you have some super comfy ones that are stretchy around the rib-cage area and also easy to unclip. I loved the Bfree Australia ones and have also heard that the Bonds nursing crop tops are also great. The Bfree ones are quite pricey but they always seem to be having sales and sharing discount codes, so watch out for those!

12) A good drink bottle you can use with one hand!

When you’re breastfeeding you get super duper thirsty so a good drink bottle is a must! Obviously you’re hands tend to be quite full so you want one that you can drink from with one hand that you don’t need to unscrew the lid of and isn’t going to spill!

Tom bought me this Camelbak “Eddy 750ml” drink bottle the day we came home from hospital and it is one of my favourite things ever! (My friends laugh at me because I am always raving about how much I love this drink bottle, but it really was a game changer!)

13) Lots of cloth nappies (to use as burp cloths and for other purposes)

You can buy a big pack of cloth nappies at baby bunting and they are really handy to use as burp cloths. I also fold one into a square and pop it on the change mat so I don’t have to change the cover every time!

14) Some kind of breast pump

It is handy to have some kind of breast pump, whether it’s a manual one, electric or something like the Haakaa pump which attaches to the other boob by suction and collects any excess milk! Just something so you can express milk and let someone feed your baby (even if it is only every now and then!)

I have the Haakaa and found it worked pretty well. I also have a Tommee Tippee pump which is okay and for the price I paid (bought on discount at a baby expo) it’s been fine, but if you’re really planning on expressing frequently I’d probably spend a little extra money and just get a double pump, because when you’re a new mumma you don’t have heaps of time to be sitting around pumping! I wanted to build a bit of a freezer stash of milk so I spent about 30 mins each morning for the first few months pumping! This time would have been halved if I had a double pump!

I’ve also heard good things about the Medela Harmony Manual Breast Pump from one of the mum’s in my mother’s group. I think this would be really handy if you’re just wanting to give the occasional bottle and it’s something I’d potentially think about getting for the next bub one day!

Didn’t Use/Hardly Used

Bottles & Steam Steriliser

My tip would be to not buy too many bottles! I bought a whole bunch of bottle feeding things in a pack when I was at a baby expo and hardly ended up using them as I just found it so much easier to breastfeed the majority of the time and only give the occasional bottle!

I would recommend getting just a few bottles and seeing how your baby takes to them first and if it’s something you think you’ll do a lot. Once you find a bottle your baby likes you can always buy more!

I also found I used the microwave steriliser that came with my pump way more than the electric steam steriliser that I bought in a pack with the bottles - it was a big waste of money for me!!

Bath/Changing Nappies

Must Haves:

15) QV Bath Oil

There are tonnes of baby bath products out there but I like to keep things simple and not put too much on her skin. This is the one we’ve been using and it’s been working well for us. Ruby hasn’t had any skin issues so far thankfully, but I have eczema myself, and found it to be really gentle and effective.

16) Lots of small flannels (wash cloths)

Get a few packs of small flannels as they’re so handy for bathing/wiping up milk etc etc. You can never have too many!

17) Nappies (Obviously) & Baby Wipes

This doesn’t need any explanation! We’ve found we prefer the Huggies nappies as we’ve had a lot less leaks with them!

Huggies also do a refillable wipes container, so you can buy them in bulk and just refill it.

18) Some kind of barrier cream

Their little bottoms do tend to get a bit red so you need some kind of cream! We had a sample of Sudocrem from our hospital and it was really effective so that’s the one we ended up going with.

19) Changing Mat

Some people will use a changing table but we didn’t want to buy a whole new piece of furniture that we knew we wouldn’t keep forever. Instead we just got a changing pad and put it on top of a chest of drawers.

Also, this may sound silly, but before I had Ruby I thought it might be annoying having the changing mat sideways. I actually find it way easier changing her this way and also if there are any accidents while changing a nappy it doesn’t go all over you! haha!

20) A bin for nappies - but not the super fancy ones!!

Save your money and do not get one of those special nappy bins that wraps each individual nappy in plastic and that needs special refills!! It seems so silly and such a waste to me (of money and plastic!!!) and yet there are so many of them around!

We did actually buy a special nappy bin (the Ubbi Nappy Disposal Unit) but made sure it was one where you use just normal bin bags. We do really like it as it does a good job of sealing in any smells, but I don’t know that it’s actually any better than just a normal bin!

Somewhere to put bub!

21) Baby Bouncer

This was so so helpful for us. There are lots of different bouncers and I’m sure they’d all be pretty good.

We have the BabyBjorn bouncer, and while it’s pricey (I don’t know why it’s so expensive!) it has been so worth it for us! We bought it when Ruby was just a few days old and she’s still using it now. It’s a great place to put them if you want to have a shower/cook dinner/eat dinner etc!

I would sit down and eat while bouncing her with my foot, and that would usually give us a few minutes when we needed a break!

One of my mum friends told me she got one the other day and was like “I wish I’d had this from the start!”

22) Baby Carrier

I’d definitely recommend some kind of baby carrier as it’s so useful to put them in if you’re wanting to get just a few things done around the house, as well as if you’re out and about and they don’t want to be in the pram! It’s also just really nice having them snuggled up next to you and Ruby loved being in it!

I used the Wildbird Ring Sling and really loved it. They are perfect for newborns as they’re super soft and I think they look so beautiful too! It also make a great nursing cover as you can drape it over your shoulder and it doesn’t fall off!

There’s a bit of a learning curve, but Wildbird has heaps of video tutorials showing how to use it and after a bit of practice it becomes really easy! Shipping from the US is pricey so I waited until they had their really big sale (always a good idea to follow the brands on insta/email list and keep an eye out for their sales!)

On The Go

23) Backpack style nappy bag (you want to be hands free!)

All the mum’s in my mother’s group seem to agree on this one - backpacks are where it’s at when it comes to nappy bags.

When you’ve got your hands full with your baby you don’t want to be worrying about also having to hold onto a shoulder bag, so a backpack is so helpful!

Mine is the JJ Cole Papago backpack. I found it at Baby Bunting and love it! It has heaps of pockets so is really functional and looks pretty too :)

24) A Pram

When it comes to prams there are SO MANY CHOICES. Go and test out a few and see what you think will work best for you!

We have the Bugaboo Cameleon 3 Plus. We really love it and would highly recommend it! I might do a separate review on it at some point. The only downside I would say is that the basket underneath is a little small, but otherwise it’s been awesome!

25) Car Seat

Another essential with so many options to choose from. I’d recommend doing your research on this one to see what will be best for you, but we went for the Britax Safe-n-Sound Millenia and really like it. We chose this one because it’s easy to adjust the size as they grow without having to take the whole seat out of the car, (as well as it having a good safety rating etc!)

26) Baby Car Mirror

It is so handy having a mirror so you can see your baby when driving but also because I find it really distracts and keeps them a bit happier in the car. (Ruby loves looking at her reflection!) We have the Britax Mirror and really like it.

27) Huggies Refillable Baby Wipes for on-the-go

This is a little thing, but it’s handy having a pouch for wipes that you can just refill. As I mentioned above we buy the huggies wipes in bulk and just refill the containers when needed

Must-Haves recommended by other mums

I haven’t personally used these things but other mums swear by them and in the overwhelming world of baby things I always think it’s handy to have other brand recommendations in case you’re after something in these categories!

White Noise Machine - Hatch, My Baby Sound Spa

Black Out Curtains
SwaddleMe By Your Side Co-sleeper - while Co-sleeping isn’t something that’s recommended, and something I never understood before having a baby, I now really get it. There were times when I was just absolutely exhausted and desperate and pulling Ruby into bed with me was very tempting, but I was always so terrified I might squish her. This looks like it would be a much safer way to do it and also was apparently a game changer for their sleep! Something to keep in mind and up your sleeve if you need it!
Infant Optics DXR8 video baby monitor
Graco Simple Sway Swing
Moby Wrap