Feeling overwhelmed by the world of baby gear? We’ve cut through the clutter to highlight the essential items you truly need for surviving the first week with your newborn. Discover what to prioritize for a smoother start to parenthood.
Learn from the endless listings of unopened gadgets and unused gimmicks on your local Facebook Buy & Sell: You. Don’t. Need. All. The. Things. That said, there are some things that you absolutely cannot do without and would be wise to purchase today in order to survive and thrive the first week with your new bundle of joy. Keep reading for the rundown.
Snacks and supplies
This one’s for whoever is doing the feeding: Besides building a nursing/feeding station, aptly named as you’ll indeed be stationed there for hours on end, stash a box or bucket of essentials. You’ll need bottles of water, a phone charger, your favourite book and snacks galore. Think one-handed finger foods that don’t need a fridge or any prep at all, like nuts, crackers, protein bars and (healthy) cookies, including Munchkin’s preservative-free Milkmakers New Mama Cookie Bites made with oats and flaxseed if you’re looking to boost milk supply.
A quality thermometer
When your newborn starts to cry and fuss, which they absolutely will because they’re a newborn, new parents are likely to worry and overreact, because they’re new parents. You’ll inevitably ask, What’s wrong? Are they sick? And for that imperative info you need a thermometer. Moreover, you need a good thermometer you can trust, and there’s no shortage these days of top-notch, high-tech digital options that can take an accurate forehead reading in a single second. The last thing you need is cheap tech and a reading you can’t trust that won’t calm those nerves anyways, so the peace of mind is worth every penny.
A snot sucker
They don’t tell you this in advance, but you will absolutely be sucking snot from your baby’s congested nose at some point. It’s unlikely they’ll catch a cold in the first week, but they may be a little sniffly as they adjust to life in the outside world. Most nasal aspirators are simple to use, but we love the Munchkin ClearNose Nasal Aspirator best, for its three different tips to find the perfect fit for your baby’s little nose.
A sound machine
While your number one goal is to feed the baby (did that? You win!), number two is to get that babe to bed. You’ll surely be rocking, walking and bouncing as necessary, but do yourself a favour and introduce white noise as an ambient, consistent sound in the background. It’ll both help to block outside racket and soothe your little one. Munchkin’s Shhh Portable Baby Sleep Soother has three sounds: white noise, heartbeat and shushing. The timer and nightlight are a bonus, and the whole thing’s portable for when these newborn days are behind you and you’re travelling to visit friends and family.
