Essential Newborn Baby Items that are Often Forgotten

Even the most organized parents can forget the little things. So if you’re first time parents, it’s a given that you’ll overlook items since for the most part, you don’t really even realize you’ll need them yet. For those excited new parents, here’s a helpful list of items you will want to have on hand so that you can get as close to that perfect preparation as possible. This is also a great list to give to a fretfully nesting mother.

9 Essential Newborn Baby Items that are Often Forgotten

1. Alcohol and Cotton Swabs – You will need a fresh bottle of alcohol around to dab on that umbilical cord until it falls off.
2. Bassinet or Crib Sheets – Already feel like you have plenty? Get a few more. You’re about to find out that however seemingly impossible it is, a newborn baby can soak the sheets and still have a dry diaper. You’ll change sheets a lot as the months go by, so the more you have, the less often you’ll need to launder.
3. Mylicon drops – They might be a bit expensive, but they are worth having around when you absolutely need them. Don’t wait until you do or you’ll for sure find yourself with a screaming, hurting infant hours before the drug store opens. Mylicon drops are for infant gas pains. It won’t take you long to recognize when your baby is having gas pains as opposed to any general crankiness. Other than a few methods for relieving the worst of the pain, or helping to force the gas out a bit, Mylicon drops are the only solution.
4. Baby Butt Cream – Boudreaux’s Butt Paste is a popular and effective brand of butt cream to have on hand. There are others but as with any ointment you apply to your newborn, you’ll want to consult your medical professional first.
5. Infant Tylenol (And general instructions on dosage from your pediatrician) – Always good to have this on hand but don’t use it until you get the appropriate dosage from your medical professional.
6. Newborn Mittens – Keep a couple pairs of these on hand for when your newborn’s nails are causing her or him to scratch themselves, but the nails aren’t quite yet long enough to trim.
7. Bottle and Nipple Brush – This is an absolute must have. Even if you plan to use a dishwasher cage to sterilize nipples and deep clean bottles, you may still need the bottle and nipple brush to rinse out any lingering chemicals before preparing bottles with formula or breast milk.
8. Burp Cloths – Like the bassinet or crib sheets, you can’t really have enough of these. Make sure to grab those that provide not only thicker padding for your burping baby to lay their head, but those thick enough to be absorbent enough to take 4 ounces of formula or breast milk regurgitation.
9. Booger Snatcher – You’ll need one of these long beyond the delivery room and on into the toddler years. Keep one handy in the house and one in the diaper bag.