Giving birth is a challenging and fulfilling experience at the same time. So, you want to make sure that everything is going to run smoothly, and one way to make that happen is to prepare essential baby items before you give birth. However, with tons of baby products to choose from, buying must-have items can get overwhelming at times.
That’s why this article will be focusing on the essential baby items you should buy in advance to help you properly transition from pregnancy to delivery until you bring home and take good care of your newborn.
Newborn Diapers
Whether you prefer cloth or disposable diapers, it’s important to have some diapers ready at home. During the first few days of a newborn baby’s life, expect to deal with countless diaper changes. But, don’t purchase more than a small pack of the newborn-sized diapers at once unless you’re sure that your baby will be teeny-tiny. Your baby will just outgrow the newborn-sized diapers if their birth weight is close to 10 pounds.
Baby Changing Station
A changing table or changing station is a piece of stand-alone nursery furniture. It has the right changing size mat and is fully equipped with drawers or shelves underneath for storing baby wipes, nappies, and changing accessories. By doing this, your nappy-changing supplies are in one accessible place.
While you can always set your DIY changing table, the advantages of changing stations are worth the price. A changing station, like Koala baby changing station, brings utmost convenience when storing baby items.
Here are the advantages of having a baby changing station:
- Prevents Back And Knee Injuries: You might think that a changing station isn’t necessary, but without it, your back and knees may suffer from pain because of awkward positioning and movements while guarding your baby whenever you’re changing their diaper. With adjustable height, changing stations are convenient to use.
- Makes Bathing A Lot Easier: Bathing your baby will be a lot easier because you can place the baby bath on top of the changing table. You can buy one with wheels so that it’s easy to move the changing station from the nursery room to the bathroom.
- Great Storage: If you want to use cloth nappies, a changing table is essential. You can place a towel or mat under it. You can store all nappy-changing essentials in built-in shelves so you can easily grab them when needed.
- Baby Safety: Each year, about 3,000 babies are injured due to fall accidents while their diapers are being changed on a table. You’ll never know when your baby suddenly turns to their side or rolls over. Because you’ve got everything in one place with a changing station, you avoid leaving your baby alone even for just one second, which may cause fatal injuries.
Baby Car Seat
One thing you shouldn’t forget before giving birth is a baby car seat because you won’t be allowed to bring your newborn home from the hospital without it. If you have problems installing it, you can stop by your police station or local firehouse, and the people there will gladly help you out.
Baby Bottles And Breast Pump
Undoubtedly, breast milk is best for your newborn. So, it’s crucial to prepare a manual breast pump to extract breast milk, which is the most healthy food for your baby. A breast pump is an indispensable tool to help you stimulate milk production during the first days of postpartum, allowing you to rest while your partner feeds the newborn with a bottle of breastmilk.
Also, consider investing in a hands-free pump if you’ll be returning to work to decrease the time you’ll spend when expressing milk. For stay-at-home moms, a single, manual pump would suffice.
Baby Blankets
Most newborn babies take solace in swaddling. So, make your baby burrito by using the right size and shape of baby blankets. There are baby blankets that are specifically designed for swaddling. Also, you can choose lightweight, square-shaped blankets for your baby.
Baby Clothes
Surely, your baby will need to change clothes a lot. So, buy baby clothes early. Aim for five sleepers, sleep sacks, a couple of hats, three pairs of socks, five one-piece bodysuits, and outerwear for colder seasons.
Baby Burp Cloths
Newborn babies spit up nearly every meal because they drink milk every two hours. That’s why it makes sense buying burp cloths and having one over your shoulder for the next three months. There are a lot of different patterns and colors to choose from. Buy enough and stack one daily in every room for an easy grab, most especially next to the area where you’ll be feeding your baby.
Baby-Safe Cleaning Products
You’ll surely need cleaning products for baby bottles and other baby items. So, what are the essential things to look for in baby-safe cleaning products? When you’re shopping for baby-safe cleaning supplies, choose products that are labeled environmentally friendly and non-toxic.
Here are some of the baby-safe clean products you need to prepare beforehand:
- Baby bottle dishwashing liquid for safely cleaning milk bottles
- Bottlebrush that comes with stand and nipple cleaner to help get inside all nooks and crannies of baby bottles, nipples, and other baby items
- Toy and highchair cleaner for surfaces with which your baby’s mouth might come in contact
- Disinfecting multi-surface cleaner so rinsing or wiping surfaces is not necessary after using it
- Breast milk removal soap to get the nipple parts clean to avoid added taste or fragrance that might stay and discourage your baby from breastfeeding
- Hand sanitizer for cleaning up a messy baby or for quick hand disinfection before feeding
- Carpet spot remover to clean diaper explosions and baby’s spit-up
Conclusion
Before giving birth, you have to prepare a baby car seat and a changing station for easy movement and to avoid injuries while supervising and caring for your baby. Also, make sure to buy small packs of newborn diapers, baby clothes, burp cloths, and baby blankets to keep your baby comfortable and warm. Baby bottles, breast pumps, and baby-safe cleaning supplies are also important.
Being prepared with all the above-mentioned baby essentials is of the essence. By doing so, you’ll experience less hassle and stress when handling all the tasks involved in caring for a newborn baby.
Having all these baby items ready will make your parenting duties a lot more easy, memorable, and fun for you and your baby.
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