Top 5 Must Have Baby Items - Two Peas In The Pines

As I’m preparing for baby number 2 (due in April 2021), I began thinking back to baby number 1 in regards to what items made life easier with a newborn. What were my top 5 must have baby items?

Beyond essentials like diapers, clothing, a place for baby to sleep, carseat…what are some baby must haves to add to your registry. It can be overwhelming trying to decide what you actually do or don’t need. Marketers are very clever at making us think we won’t survive without certain baby items.

I spent a LOT of time researching and reading and looking at other registries for ideas. I didn’t want to forget anything, but my goodness how quickly our registry grew with baby number 1! I would go back through and purge the registry and kept trying to think about must have baby items.

So whether this is your first baby or not, I hope this is helpful. These are my top 5 must have baby items (beyond basic essentials) that made my life easier! The rest I honestly could have done without.

I linked the actual products used for your convenience, however we are not sponsored by any of these products. This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons.

1. Sleeper gowns with wearable blanket

Okay maybe that’s 2 items? But its one concept. I heard time and time again (and still hear) to buy zipper sleepers for middle of the night diaper changes. While zippers are definitely more convenient that a billion snaps while its dark and you are sleep deprived, I found they weren’t my favorite go to option. I discovered sleeper gowns (the ones with an open elastic bottom) and I never looked back. I couldn’t understand why I had never heard of these before!

My mom actually suggested them while browsing a consignment sale. (And I have learned that those classic baby tips you get from mom or grandma that have been passed down through generations…are something to listen to!!!) I was hesitant on using gowns initially, and once I had gone through all my zipper sleepers, I resorted to a gown.

My. Life. Changed. You don’t have to worry about unzipping/zipping or getting newborn legs in/out. You simply pull it up to change a diaper. Mind blowing and so easy! I always had socks on my baby and paired it with a wearable blanket for warmth. I like the layering and options for a light muslin or cotton wearable blanket, or a thicker fleece material.

2. Wrap for baby wearing

I heard a lot about baby wearing but didn’t understand just how wonderful and valuable it was until I actually had a baby. I liked the concept and thought I would like to have a wrap to maybe use sometimes. I watched a lot of videos on how to wrap it around me and baby. At first it was cumbersome, but after a few times, I could throw that wrap on and pop baby in so fast! I ended up using my wrap A LOT!

I loved having baby so close and baby loved it just as much. It could soothe a fussy baby in a heartbeat! And hello! I had two hands to use again!!! I could do all kinds of things around the house – chores, laundry, cooking, take our dog on a walk. After having a wrap for baby wearing, I can’t imagine life with a newborn without a wrap.

3. Haakaa

I didn’t jump on the Haakaa train until my newborn was over a month old. I had a breast pump and the milk catchers to save every last drop of precious milk with let down. And I used both and I loved both. However, I REALLY loved my Haakaa! I would use it on one side while baby nursed on the other. Then swapped sides when he swapped sides. I obviously got more with the first side, but still got milk on the second side too. I like that it catches let down and more!

I battled mastitis and overproduction from day one (I swear its genetic…it runs in our family). So I felt like the Haakaa was a happy medium between the pump and the milk catchers to help with my overproduction. It didn’t cause me to make excess like the pump could do, but relieved me more than the milk catchers did.

I was amazed at how much milk this simple little gadget would produce. I loved having extra milk stashed for mixing in baby’s oatmeal, homemade baby food and for after baby was weaned. The Haakaa comes in two different ml sizes and comes with or without a cap to prevent spills.

4. Baby Sense Bed Monitor

This must have baby item provided so much peace of mind for us! We were very satisfied with the Baby Sense Bed Monitor and can’t imagine bringing a newborn home without one. It was the original baby monitor with sensors for monitoring breathing. The Baby Sense Bed Monitor comes with 2 sensors to be placed under the mattress (only 1 is necessary for newborns/immobile babies and 2 for mobile babies to monitor a larger area). These sensors plug into a monitor on the side of the bed that has an on/off switch, a light to let you know its working and an alarm to sound if the sensors detect slowed or shallow breathing.

Our alarm sounded off several times with our newborn. It is scary and heart racing to wake up to this in the middle of the night, and each time, our baby was okay. We don’t know if they were false alarms or not, but I’d much rather be alarmed falsely than not know if baby was actually having a SIDS event.

The nursery is right across the hall from our bedroom, so we felt confident placing baby in his crib from day one with use of the Baby Sense Bed Monitor. It was close enough to race to when it alarmed, and easy enough to cross the hall for middle of the night feeds and diaper changes. Having baby in the crib instead of in our room also helped us to get more sleep, which is SO important when you have a newborn! Everyone is happier with more sleep!

5. Sound machine

Having background noise to help baby sleep and stay asleep was certainly essential! Everyone is happier with a rested baby that isn’t constantly waking up and crying. We could confidently go about business as usual around the house knowing we had a sound machine to help drown out some of the noise. We didn’t go for an expensive fancy one, just a simple one with a few noise options. Our favorites are the ocean waves and the white noise.

So there you have it! My Top 5 Must Have Baby Items I will definitely have ready to go for baby number 2. Have you tried any of these items? Do you think they are must haves also? What would you add to the list?