5 Newborn Necessities I Wish Someone Would’ve Told Me I Needed

Newborn necessities can make coming home from the hospital much easier. Be sure to get these 5 necessities before your baby arrives.

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After my first baby was born, I remember ~~getting ready~~ anxiously waiting to be dismissed from the hospital. The nurses and doctors kept coming in to tell us things that we needed to make sure we did when we got home. My husband started jotting down a list of things we needed to run to the store get ASAP, which meant that as soon as we all got home (and gave our new baby a tour of the house), he had to leave to run out to the store.

The entire time he was writing down this list all I could think was how come no one ever mentioned that we would need these things BEFORE?

I’ve had two babies and both times I came from the hospital, the only thing I wanted was to get cozy at home with my baby. I didn’t want to worry about planning meals or running out to the store, I simply wanted to wear sweatpants, shower, and to be honest… sleep (but that’s a problem in and of itself, one that didn’t resolve for a least a few months).

While you’re here, you should check out these posts (or at least pin them for later!)

So to save you (or your significant other) that annoying and dreaded trip to the store, here are the 5 newborn necessities I wish someone would’ve told me I needed when I brought my baby home:

1. Newborn Diapers

I received a diaper cake as a gift, made with size 1 diapers. I remember thinking that they would work and there was no need for newborn sized diapers. Trust me, unless you have a large baby, you’re going to need newborn diapers.

Buy them (and tape the receipt to the box if you think you’re going to have a big baby).

2. D-Vi-Sol

If you are planning to breastfeed (or even would like to try), you are going to need to supplement your baby with vitamin D in the form of D-Vi-Sol. Vitamin D is essential to helping newborns absorb calcium, which is important for proper bone and teeth development.

Infant formula is enriched with Vitamin D but breast milk is deficient in it. So pick up a couple of bottles from Target or Walmart before your baby arrives, or click here to order it from Amazon.

3. Formula

Even if you’re planning to breastfeed, I would strongly encourage you to get at least a small canister of formula. You never know how it will go and you don’t want to wish you had some if things aren’t going well.

4. Vitamin A & D ointment and gauze.

If you are having a baby boy and are planning to circumcise him, you will need to cover his wound with Vitamin A & D ointment and then lay a small piece of gauze over it during every diaper change for the first week or two. You can get the gauze and ointment here.

5. Humidifier

Both our kids were extremely congested the first few nights they were home. Apparently this is common after spending 9 months in an aqueous environment.

I spent most of those first few nights awake, making sure my baby was able to breath. The pediatrician recommended that we get a humidifier.

A few other suggestions:

Additionally, here are a few random things that would’ve been nice to have that we ended up purchasing later:

Nipples for the Medela pumping bottles so you don’t have to transfer milk to a different bottle for feeding
Breastfeeding supplements: like Fenugreek, Blessed Thistle, Brewer’s Yeast, and Flaxseed meal
Pumping bra: so you be more comfortable while pumping

Hopefully this list of newborn necessities will help you be more prepared than I was when you bring your new baby home from the hospital. Wishing you a very special and wonderful delivery and enjoy your new little squish!

What newborn necessities do you wish you’d gotten before your baby arrived?

Now get out there and rock your busy (soon-to-be) mom life!