Products You Need For The First 3 Months

There are a lot of products out there claiming to be “required”. Here is a list of products that we hope you find helpful for the first three months. These are items that you absolutely will need. It is a great idea to stock up on them before the baby comes. That way you’ll feel ready and prepared to bring the little one home.

You’ll find that the list begins with the most important items first. High priority items are completely necessary. Medium items are handy. Low priority level items are nice to have. I also included products we purchased with a few alternatives we tried and liked. There are also so many options to choose from, you can spend days scrolling through options trying to choose the right baby stuff. Hopefully this will save some of your time.

High Priority – Must Have

1. Diapers – You can go for Disposable or Cloth. We did disposable diapers for the first month (until he could fit in the small sizes of our cloth diapers properly). We also use them at night so that baby can sleep comfortably through the night, and we are still doing this at 6 months. We regularly use cloth unless we leave the house for a long time as disposables are generally better at wicking away moisture. You can save good money and the landfills with cloth, even factoring in the extra water usage. We use both gdiapers and flip for the cover and we like the alva inserts. You can see that a cloth diapering system can be pretty customizable, you don’t have to stick with the same brand family to make it work. We liked flip because they grow with baby, but they need to be washed if poop gets on the cover. The gdiapers have an extra layer that can be washed separately from the cover, at the same time it sometimes gets annoying taking them on and off. With both you can simply replace the insert for pee.
2. Water Wipes – Disposable is also an option. You need a lot of wipes and they last a long time so buying in bulk is best. We like these because they don’t contain any nasty chemicals. They are gentle on baby’s skin and we have never had an issue with them.
3. Diaper Cream – TIP: Use this as soon as you see redness and you can even use it as preventative. Especially at night. Having a crying baby from diaper rash isn’t very fun. You’ll have to keep in mind that some creams are not cloth diaper compatible. We use the first one when our baby is in disposables and earth mama angel baby when he is in cloth. Both have worked well for us.
4. Changing Pad or Mat – If you are on a budget then a mat on the ground is just fine. You will have to bend down a lot so that’s why I preferred the table and pad for everyday use. We also have a mat for on the go that came with our diaper bag.
5. Crib or Bassinet – Baby needs somewhere to sleep. Even if you cosleep, having a safe place to put them when you are not close by is the best option. My wife and I were so excited to purchase the crib and make the nursery feel complete. But once we got the baby home we realized that he wouldn’t be using it for quite some time. Instead we put him in a bassinet we borrowed from my sister-in-law. However, having a crib early on might encourage you to put the baby in so that you can slowly get them used to it and practice sleep training. We like this crib because the finish is non-toxic and safe for baby.
6. Baby Wash – Washing your baby once or twice a week is good (washing every day dries at their skin). Find something gentle.
7. Car Seat or Travel System– Having a properly installed car seat is required to take a baby home from the hospital. Travel systems are great because they allow you to take the baby easily from the car, put them right into the stroller and off you go.
8. Clothes – We got a decent amount second hand and in good condition. Second hand is great for saving money and good for the environment as well. You won’t need a lot to start out because you will want to be doing skin to skin with your baby, it is seriously such a sweet and amazing experience to forming a close bond with them.
9. Burp Cloths – We ended up getting quite a lot of these because you can go through them so fast. We have around 30 in total. If you are on a budget and already have a lot of hand towels or something similar you could use those, but ours were nowhere near as soft.
10. Swaddles – Our son loved to be swaddled when he wanted to sleep. They will sometimes protest at first but with some rocking and using a sound machine or shushing he would just pass out.  Our favorite type is the halo swaddle because the baby can have their arms out or in and you can change their diaper without having to take the whole thing off, which is a life saver especially during those late night changes early on.
11. Nursing Pads – My wife uses reusable ones. A good way to save money on something that is used every day and night. Assuming you are breastfeeding. She also preferred them to the disposable ones, which were scratchy and uncomfortable. My wife uses these nursing pads and likes them.
12. Breast pump – This depends if you are planning on breastfeeding. Having a pump allows mom to be away from baby for an extended period of time and also allows baby to be fed by another caregiver. Health insurance will typically cover this for you. Our hospital made the process super easy, so you might want to check with  My wife uses two, the Medela Pump In Style she keeps at home, the Spectra she purchased second hand on facebook marketplace (which is okay because it is a closed system). My wife hands down prefers the Spectra (I literally just asked her).
13. Diaper Bag – We opted for the backpack style. When we registered for baby items I advocated for a diaper bag that I wouldn’t be embarrassed to use. Being a male I didn’t want to walk around with one of those purse style ones. The best part about it is that it frees up your hands, so my wife loves it too. Four out of the nine mothers in her mother’s group have the same one. We use this Eddie Bauer backpack. 

Medium Priority – Handy

1. Vitamin D3 Drops – Usually given after 2 weeks of age as a precaution to the mother not getting enough Vitamin D3. Formula fed babies do not need this.
2. Sound Machine – We loved the portable sound machine, it was so handy because you could get up and walk around with it attached to your wrist. Also while out of the house, it is a great tool for blocking out sounds. It helped our son calm down in the car seat, which he did not like being put in. We also used it a lot to help soothe him when he was upset. Now we still use it as a cue for naps and bedtime.
3. Nursing bras and clothes – Not needed unless breastfeeding. Although not required, it does make breastfeeding easier (according to my wife).

Low priority – Nice to Have

1. Baby Bath – These are handy for either the sink or the bathtub. If you have one that would be fine for putting a towel down and putting the baby on, holding a baby in your arms. That is perfectly fine. We chose to get one because we felt it was safer and easier. We really liked the boon bathtub. We like that this helped baby feel secure and safe in the tub and it is also easy to clean. Boon has cool bathtub toys as well for when your baby is older.
2. Baby Towel – You can get cute towels for babies, but we decided that our towels were soft enough and a little more practical. You also don’t really need baby washcloths either, regular ones are just fine.
3. Nursing cover – This depends on if you are breastfeeding and how confident you are. Note that some countries/states protect you as a breastfeeding mother so you do not need this, check your laws before you breastfeed in public. Even if you are super confident you can still use a nursing cover to block out wind, light, and distractions. See my wife’s post of dealing with a distracted baby
4. Travel Crib – If you go see friends a lot this can be handy. We generally held our son when he was little because he could sleep through a lot (as newborns do) and slept better in someone’s arms. We do have the BABYBJORN travel crib and really like it, it is super easy to unpack and pack. It touches the ground which means it can be used longer as it doesn’t have a max weight (I could sleep in it if I wanted to).

There are probably things that I am missing, this will hopefully give you an idea. If I am missing something please feel free to comment below.

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