We welcomed our first baby, a sweet boy, in August of 2023. Here are some of our favorite and most-used items in his nursery. Keep in mind we are first-time parents and starting from scratch, with limited experience with babies prior to having our own. We also did not do a dedicated theme and tried to items that we could reuse with future kids. Everybody’s experience is different but here is what worked for us!
If you’re anything like me, you have lists upon lists of baby items and registry or nursery necessities to obtain. I was so overwhelmed by the amount of information out there, opinions, and possibilities in the baby-product market. It can be a very exciting time, but also very anxiety inducing for someone who likes to plan, plan, plan. There is very little planning that can truly prepare you for a new baby.
We spend the most time in those early days and weeks feeding, diapering, and holding our babies. It’s like an endless, timeless cycle of eat, poop, sleep for the little one. Everything will change, even how you least expect it. Then, before you know it, you’ll start to get the hang of it and anticipate baby’s next needs. Eventually, you get out of the mental fog, sleepless nights, and your body feels better. Becoming a parent is the most rewarding thing I have ever experienced. This is just a few of things that helped me get through it.
I’ve broken these items down into a few categories: Furniture, Diapering, Feeding, and Miscellaneous. I’ll be updating this list periodically so that it is the most accurate information and items to my experience. Parenting and motherhood are hard, this guide helps ease a little of that mental burden when preparing to welcome your first baby. Focus on getting the right items for your family and your needs. We started out without a dedicated nursery space, room sharing for the first six months, and our dresser and changing table lived in our guest bathroom for 10 weeks before we moved. That’s what worked for us, so find what works for you and be unapologetic.
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Nursery Furniture Necessities
A comfortable rocking chair is absolutely essential. You will spend so much time sitting, feeding, holding a sleepy baby, and more in it. Even though we room shared and didn’t have a formal nursery for months, we made it a priority to set up the rocking chair in an easily accesible place. Pick something that works for your needs, whether that means like style, features, or size. Here are some of my favorite options for each of those.
A dresser to organize all of the baby items in your nursery space will come in handy as you start finding what you need most and what your baby likes. You may want something with more or fewer drawers, depending on how much you choose to get for your baby and how much space you have. You may also want to get something dual-purpose with a changing table on top. We ultimately decided it was best for us to get an item for the nursery that can transition as our needs change. Here are some of my favorite options.
A bassinet or crib for baby to sleep in is an obvious necessity, but be mindful about your needs and longterm plan for this item. If it’s important for baby to be close, then get a slim bassinet to keep beside your bed. We chose to get a mini crib which we kept in our room comfortably those first six months and then transferred into baby’s nursery when we were ready. Our mini crib is below and our peace-of-mind giving mattress.
Diapering Necessities
A wipeable changing pad was a must for us. It doesn’t need to be fancy or stylish, or even the most expensive option. Just find a comfortable changing pad that cleans easily and fits on your changing surface. We chose the high-quality, spacious Skip Hop changing pad, linked below. We have it on top of our changing table / dresser in the nursery space.
Feeding Necessities
As a first-time mom, some type of breastfeeding pillow was a game changer. I breastfed our baby for four months before we transitioned to formula-only, and 10 weeks of that was exclusively breastfeeding. I personally preferred the My Brest-Friend pillow because of the added structure but also used the classic Boppy at times.
Burp cloths!! You will never regret having more burp cloths, it’s way better to get too many than to not have enough. You may want to try different styles and shapes to see what your family prefers. We really like the absorbent muslin ones, but also have some microfiber ones which work well too. Store them in the same place in the nursery and you will always know where to reach when the need arises (which is often in those early weeks).
Miscellaneous Non-Nursery Items
You are going to want some type of nursing bra if you plan to breastfeed your baby, for any amount of time. There are a lot out there, but I will tell you from my own experience that you’ll want comfort over style. The pack linked below comes in a variety of colors and sizes and is affordable. Let’s be honest too, in those early days nothing will matter more when getting dressed than comfortable and functional clothes so that you can focus on everything else going on.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of everything you will want, just the basic necessities. Some things take time to figure out what you like best, such as diapers, wipes, clothes, and ointments or soaps. Every baby and every parent is different, find what works for you!
If you want to see more of my favorites and recommendations, send me a message here and let me know what you’d like to hear more about.