Bringing Baby Home: 5 Absolute Essentials for Your First Week
The day you bring your baby home from the hospital is often described as a blur of immense love, extreme exhaustion, and a sudden realization that you are entirely responsible for a tiny human.
The internet will tell you that you need a wipe warmer, a wipe dispenser, a wipe holder, and forty other specialized items. You don't. After analyzing the data and consulting with thousands of parents, we've narrowed down the true essentials you need for those first critical days.
Here are the 5 absolute must-haves for bringing baby home.
1. A Guaranteed Safe Close-to-Bed Sleep Space
In the first few weeks, the only thing you will care about is getting your baby to sleep safely so you can sleep safely. The Halo Bassinest Swivel Sleeper allows your baby to sleep as close to you as possible while remaining in a separate, safe space.
The 360-degree swivel allows you to pull the bassinet over your mattress, making middle-of-the-night retrievals and feedings significantly easierโespecially if you are recovering from a C-section.
2. A Dedicated Changing Station That Doesn't Need Laundry
You will change up to 12 diapers a day. If you use a traditional fabric changing pad, you will be doing laundry every single day when (not if) a blowout occurs. The Keekaroo Peanut Changer is made of a solid, impermeable foam.
When a mess happens, you just wipe it down with a sanitizing wipe and you're done. It's aesthetically pleasing, slip-resistant, and entirely waterproof.
3. An Odor-Trapping Pail That Uses Regular Bags
Speaking of diapers, you need somewhere to put them. The Ubbi Diaper Pail is a favorite because it's made of steel, not plastic. Plastic absorbs odors over time; steel does not.
Ubbi Steel Diaper Pail
STAINLESS STEEL: The Ubbi Diaper Pail is made of stainless steel, which provides superior odor control. This stainless steel and rubber seal design ensures that unpleasant smells are contained within the pail, keeping your nursery smelling fresh and clean
Even better, the Ubbi doesn't require expensive, proprietary refill rings. You can use standard kitchen trash bags, which will save you hundreds of dollars over your child's diapering years.
4. An All-In-One Nursery Command Center
White noise is critical for newborns. The womb is as loud as a vacuum cleaner, so a quiet room is actually unsettling to them. The Hatch Rest+ is the gold standard for nursery sound and light.
Hatch Rest 2nd Gen Baby Sound Machine
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น: ๐ฑ๐พ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐พ ๐บ๐ ๐ -๐๐-๐๐๐พ ๐๐ ๐พ๐พ๐ ๐ฝ๐พ๐๐๐ผ๐พ ๐๐๐บ๐ ๐๐พ๐บ๐ผ๐๐พ๐ ๐๐พ๐บ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐พ๐พ๐ ๐๐บ๐ป๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐ฝ ๐ฝ๐พ๐๐พ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฝ๐พ๐๐พ๐๐ฝ๐พ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐พ๐พ๐ ๐บ๐ ๐พ๐๐พ๐๐ ๐บ๐๐พ ๐บ๐๐ฝ ๐๐๐บ๐๐พ. ๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐ฝ ๐๐๐๐๐ฝ ๐๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐บ๐ ๐ป๐๐๐ ๐ฝ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ป๐บ๐ป๐โ๐ ๐ฟ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐พ๐พ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐พ, ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ผ ๐บ๐๐ฝ ๐๐๐๐๐๐พ๐ ๐๐๐บ๐ ๐๐พ๐ ๐ ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฝ ๐ฝ๐๐๐ ๐บ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ฑ๐พ๐๐ ๐๐พ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐พ ๐๐๐๐ ๐พ ๐ฟ๐บ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐พ๐พ๐ ๐พ๐บ๐๐๐พ๐.
You can control everything from your phone without entering the room and risking waking the baby. It also has an internal battery, so if you lose power or need to move the baby to another room, the white noise comes right along with you.
5. A Bottle that Mimics Natural Feeding Flows
Even if you plan to exclusively breastfeed, having a few reliable bottles on hand is a critical backup plan. The Philips Avent Natural Baby Bottle is designed with a "Natural Response" nipple that requires the baby to actively suck and swallow to release milk, just like breastfeeding.
Philips Avent Natural Baby Bottles with Natural Response Nipples (Medium Flow, Flow 3), 9oz, 4-Pack, SCY903/04
Philips Avent Natural bottle supports your baby's natural drinking rhythm: baby controls the pace of the milk flow, just like breastfeeding Baby bottles designed with a unique opening and tip that only release milk when your baby actively drinks: when pausing to swallow and breathe, no milk flows Philips Avent baby bottles make it easy to combine breast and bottle feeding with a soft, wide breast-shaped nipple that mimics the shape and feel of a breast No-drip nipple design helps prevent lost milk from the tip, giving you peace of mind at home and on the go; the bottles come with medium flow nipples (Flow 3) Anti-colic valve for your and your baby's well-being: it keeps air away from your baby's tummy during feeding to reduce colic and discomfort The pack includes: 4x 9oz Natural bottles with medium flow nipples (Flow 3) Best Bottle for Newborns winner - Best of The Bump Award 2024.
Because milk only flows when the infant is actively feeding, it drastically reduces choking, spitting up, and the ingestion of air (colic). It gives parents peace of mind that their newborn is drinking at a safe, self-regulated pace.
The Bottom Line
You'll quickly find that babies actually need very little: warmth, food, a clean diaper, and you. But having these specific tools at your disposal will make your job significantly easier while you focus on the most important task of all: bonding with your new arrival.