The most minimal list of newborn baby essentials

I want to help you make your own version of your minimal list of newborn baby essentials.

Do you want to prepare for your baby so that the first moments with them are as enjoyable and as little stressful as possible?

There are a lot of ways you can prepare for a new family member, and one of them is making sure that you have all the material things you need to care for them.

If you are like me, you may want to add the minimum amount of stuff to your life. Minimalism has a lot of benefits, like being environmentally and budget-friendly, and making life easier in general.

Babies need to be fed, warm, clean, and loved. We need a few things to take care of them, but not that many. Here is a very minimal list of newborn baby essentials.

Feeding

Your baby will have to eat either breast milk or formula exclusively for the first six months before they start experimenting with other foods.

If you want to breastfeed on the breast exclusively you won’t need anything other than yourself.

If you would like to have someone else being able to feed your baby, you will need a bottle or two.

You may want a pump for expressing your milk but you can also hand express it.

Breastfeeding is immensely beneficial for the health of mother and baby, but it can be difficult for some people or you can just not want to do it. If you formula feed, then you will need formula and bottles.

Independently of how you feed your baby, they will get milk all over them so you will need burp cloths. If your baby is very special and doesn’t need them you can repurpose those in a lot of ways.

So here is what I think almost everyone needs for their newborn baby:

• breastmilk / formula
• bottles
• burpcloths

Of course, you may want to have a couple more items and still be very minimal. For instance, I would add this pump and a couple of breastfeeding tank-tops like these to my list.

Clothing

You may live in a very warm place and have your baby be naked all the time, but I am going to assume here that everyone wants to put clothes on their baby. Let’s include clothes in the list of newborn baby essentials.

I would dress my summer baby in a short-sleeved body and maybe socks to get some extra skin-to-skin when you hold them and have a couple of onesies for when they leave the house.

In winter, they would wear a long-sleeved onesie and socks inside. I would bundle them up to leave the house.

You can check if your baby is wearing appropriate clothing for the temperature by checking in the back of her neck, they should be warm but not sweaty, and they can have colder hands and feet, and that does not mean they are cold.

The recommended room temperature for sleep is between 16°C and 20°C in order to lower the risk of SIDS (consult your doctor). You can learn how to dress your baby here. For example, my room is 18°C at night all year round and my babies have slept in a long-sleeved body, long-sleeved fleece pajamas, and close to me for extra warmth.

Your needs will vary depending on the season your baby will be born on, but some things are common:

• 4-6 bodys
• 3-4 pajamas
• 2-4 pairs of socks
• 1 thin blanket

For the colder seasons, add

• wool dress
• snowsuit
• 1 hat
• 1 warm blanket

Again, you may want to add a few items that are going to be newborn baby essentials for you, like these swaddles. Maybe you need a dressier outfit too.

Sleeping

It is recommended that your baby sleeps in your room for at least the six first months of their life to reduce the risk of SIDS.

You can have them on a different sleeping surface than you or in your bed. It is perfectly normal in a lot of cultures and very common around the world to sleep with your baby in your bed, but you need to be careful to avoid suffocating them by following this set of rules for safe bed-sharing.

Regardless of your sleeping arrangement, you might want a place for your baby to sleep other than the bedroom, which is why I would recommend having a portable bed.

They can use it during the day and at night, You can move it around, use it sporadically when visiting family, traveling, or on an odd day when you just want them to sleep somewhere other than the bedroom. We have a bassinet like this one that we move around during the day and he sleeps in our bed at night.

For sleeping, you will need:

• portable bed
• 2 fitted sheets

diapering and bathing

Again, there are some cultures that don’t use diapers on their babies but I’m going to assume you will. Let’s include diapers in our list of newborn baby essentials.

You can use reusable or disposable diapers and wipes. A changing mat will allow you to change your baby anywhere and keep the baby away from germs and your space free of messes.

You can bathe them with you in the bathtub, having them lay on your lap over a towel. In Norway, we are advised to bathe babies about once a week and use baby oil instead of soap. Here is what you need to keep your baby clean:

• diapers (cloth or disposable)
• wipes
• changing mat
• baby oil

I have never had to use diaper cream on my babies, but add that if you think you will need it.

Health

Believe it or not, your perfect little baby will have nails that you will need to clip and boggers that you will need to remove. Seriously, it was a shock for me. Eventually, one night they are going to be congested or have a fever and you will be very grateful to have what you need to take care of them at hand:

• nail scissors
• snotsucker
• salt water
• thermometer
• fever medicine

Of course, when you think they are sick you should find medical care for them. Call your doctor and only give them medicine if they tell you to.

Gear

If you plan to drive with your baby, you will need a car seat, again I am assuming you will, but you really don’t have to.

Any other way you want to move from one place to another you can bring your baby in a carrier like this one and you can even make your own. You will appreciate a carrier especially if this is not your only child. Lastly, babies need to stretch on a flat surface to develop their spatial awareness. I am adding a floor mat to the list, and by floor mat, I mean any soft thing that you can easily keep clean, like a blanket. Or a more fancy mat that you’ll use for years indoors and outdoors.

• baby carrier
• car seat
• floor mat

What would you include in your newborn baby essentials list? Could you go with less? Did I leave something out?

If you have large breasts as I do, some baby carriers are going to fit your body better than others. Here is my list of the 3 best baby carriers for large breasts, and all of them are great for breastfeeding hands-free too.