About Us

Your New Baby Shopping List: The Stuff You Really Need

Nursery

Essential:
□   Crib (no more than 2 ¼ inches between slats)
□   Fitted crib sheets (2—between spit-up and leaky diapers, you’ll use both)
□   Waterproof crib mattress (tight enough so two fingers can’t fit between the mattress
and crib)
□   Storage for baby clothes and gear (closet, dresser, or armoire)
□   Receiving blankets (3 to 5, great for swaddling at first and then as blankies)
□   Baby monitor (not needed in small apartments where you can hear your baby
everywhere)

Nice-to-have:
□   Changing table (money-saving alternative: change your baby on your bed)
□   Cushy changing pad and cover (for your changing table or secured on top of a
  dresser)
□   Colorful mobile (the more engaging, the better)
□   Supportive rocker or chair for feedings

Clothes for Year One

Essential:
Items needed for each stage: 0 to 3 months, 3 to 6 months, 6 to 9 months, and 9 to 12
months

□   Pajamas/sleepers—ideally, footed pjs during cooler seasons to minimize wrestling
with baby socks that always pop off (3 to 6 per stage)
□   Onesies—to wear alone or layer for extra warmth, short-sleeved or long-sleeved
depending on the season (3 to 6 per stage)
□   Soft tops and bottoms for daytime (4 to 6 per stage after the first few months—
initially, pjs and/or onesies are fine all day)
□   Cotton hats (1 to 2 for stage one—birth to 3 months—and during cooler seasons)
□   Socks (3 to 6 pairs per stage)
□   Sleep sack—highly recommended once your infant outgrows swaddling, a sleeveless
zip-front “sack” that’s zipped over his pajamas or onesie to keep him cozy while
sleeping without putting him at risk for SIDS (only 1 needed)

For winter months, depending on your climate:
□   Sweaters (2 to 3)
□   Fleece bunting or snowsuit (a fleece, zip-up lining for the infant carrier is also
handy)
□   Warm hat

For summer months:
□   Bathing suit, baby sunglasses, and sun hat

Nice-to-have:
□   So-cute-you-could-die baby outfits (but keep in mind, dresses get seriously tangled
up in babies’ knees during the squirming and crawling stage—usually between 7
and 11 months)

Diapering

Essential:
□   Disposable diapers (50 to 60+ per week—no, I’m not kidding) or cloth diapers (24
to 36+ depending on your tolerance for washing them)
□   Diaper wipes
□   Petroleum jelly or A+D ointment (to apply during each diaper change)
□   Diaper rash cream with zinc oxide (to use if your child gets a rash)
□   For cloth diapering, diaper covers to prevent soaking through to clothes

Nice-to-have:
□   Odor-preventing diaper pail and refills

Health and General Care

Essential:
□   Thermometer
□   Infant pain reliever (don’t use before 2 months without consulting your pediatrician)
□   Bulb syringe (for suctioning out stuffy noses)
□   Brush or comb (even if you have a baby baldie, you’ll use these eventually)
□   Baby lotion (for dry skin after the first few months)
□   Prepackaged first-aid kit

Nice-to-have:
□   Humidifier (to help with decongestion during colds)

Bathing

Essential:
□   Plastic infant tub with supportive sling or baby-sized sponge to prevent slipping
(used until your baby can sit up)
□   Inflatable baby tub (provides support in the real tub when your baby first sits up)
□   Baby shampoo
□   Washcloths (2 to 4)

Nice-to-have:
□   Bath toys (from about 6 months on)
□   Hooded towel (otherwise a regular towel will work)
□   Soft cover for bathtub spout (once your baby is in the big tub at about 7 to 8
months)

Baby-on-the-Go

Essential:
□   Car seat (to be secured facing backwards until your child is 1 year and 20 pounds)
□   Stroller (either a travel system, which works for all ages, or a universal frame
stroller to use with your infant car seat and then a toddler stroller starting at
about 6 months)

Nice-to-have:
□   Front carrier, sling, or baby backpack (a carrier can be used when your infant is 8
pounds, and a backpack can be used at 6 months)
□   Portable crib (great for travel, and the removable bassinet is a perfect play space or
bedside sleeping option for your infant those first few months at home)

Nursing Moms

Essential:
□   Nursing pillow (to keep your baby in position and save your back)
□   Breast pads (to prevent leakage)
□   Lanolin cream (to prevent chaffing)
□   Cloth diapers or burp cloths (4 to 6 for catching baby spit-up while burping after
   feedings)
□   Breast pump (electric or manual, only essential if you want to continue
  breastfeeding after maternity leave)
□   Pump carrying case, plastic bags for storing milk in the freezer, and supplies
□   Bottles (2 to 3 for serving pumped milk)

Nice-to-have:
□   Bottle warmer (for warming refrigerated breast milk if your baby prefers the warm
stuff)

Bottle Feeding

Essential:
□   Bottles (5 to 8 in the 9-ounce size only)
□   Nipples of different sizes as baby ages (stage 1 for infants, moving up to stage 4)
□   Dishwasher caddy (to wash the plastic nipples)
□   Cloth diapers or burp cloths (4 to 6)
□   Formula (ask your pediatrician for a personalized recommendation)

Nice-to-have:
□   Bottle warmer

Feeding Solids

Essential:
□   Highchair or booster seat with an infant-appropriate seating position
□   Baby food (stage 1 at about 5 months, stage 2 at about 6 months, and stage 3
starting about 7 to 9 months—or you can make your own from the beginning)
□   Baby spoons (3 to 5)
□   Plastic baby bowls (4 to 6)
□   Sippy cups (starting at about 8 to 10 months, 4 to 6 needed)

Childproofing

Essential:
□   Safety gates (if you have stairs)
□   Toilet locks
□   Cabinet locks
□   Electric outlet plugs
□   Furniture fasteners (to secure bookshelves, dressers, and precarious items to the
wall)
□   Mini-blind cord pulls (to wind up long cords, preventing the risk of strangulation)
□   Soft pads (for coffee table edges and fireplace hearths)

Baby Playtime
No, you don’t need all these toys; pick your favorites.

Birth to 3 Months
□   Colorful mobile
□   Bouncy seat
□   Swing
□   Play mat with dangling objects hanging from above

4 to 6 Months
□   Discovery cubes
□   Teethers
□   Hand and foot rattles
□   Stuffed animals or soft dolls
□   Exersaucer
□   Board books (read daily from now on)

7 to 9 Months
□   Stacking, sorting, and nesting toys or simple interactive playthings
□   Basic musical instruments like shakers or small drums
□   Puppets
□   Balls
□   Soft blocks

10 to 12 Months
□   Activity table
□   Action-and-response toys like a jack-in-the-box
□   More complex interactive toys like doll houses and toddler-size basketball hoops
□   Pull-along toys
□   Wooden blocks

Preserving the Memories

Nice-to have:
□   Digital camera (to snap tons of baby shots without worrying about film, and e-
mailing family)
□   Video camera (the only way to really capture baby laughs, crawling, and early
steps)
□   Albums and scrapbooking materials

Diaper Bag Contents

Essential:
□   Diapers (2 to 3 in your bag at all times)
□   Diaper wipes (in small travel case)
□   Diaper rash ointment (travel size)
□   Thin, portable changing pad (just a little extra protection from the germfest in public
restrooms and other on-the-run diaper changing spots)
□   Cloth diaper (for burping or runny noses)
□   Snacks (appropriate to age)
□   Bottle or sippy cup (unless exclusively breastfeeding)

Nice-to-have:
□   Small toys (2 to 3, appropriate to age)
□   Board books
□   Change of clothes (in case of unexpected spit-up or leaky diaper)