Here are my 10 must have items for babies, besides the obvious clothes and diapers!
1. Burp Cloths - Baby will spit up a lot in the first few months and we were always running out of these! We ended up using blankets as backups a lot. You can find some cute unisex ones here.
2. Bouncer - This was a must have for the first 3 months when our baby wasn't much of a mover yet as it allowed us to not have to hold and carry her around all the time. She loved napping the bouncer as well!
3. Bassinet or Pack N' Play - We got this Bassinet off of Amazon because it had a cover to prevent the cats from getting in. We stopped using the cover after a couple months when it became obvious the cats had no interest. The downside is the Bassinet only can be used up to 10 lbs or up until baby starts rolling, whichever comes first. That's when a Pack N' Play comes in handy, but our room was not big enough for a Pack N' Play so we just moved her to the crib at that point. You can get netting for your Pack N' Play as well to prevent your pets from getting into baby's sleep area.
4. Receiving Blankets - Our baby was born in December, so these were a must as you are not supposed to use snowsuits with a car seat, so blankets are the best way to keep baby warm while traveling! They also are great for swaddling in the first month.
5. Pacifiers - Pacifiers are recommended to help prevent SIDs while the baby is sleeping, but they also save your sanity. If breastfeeding, it is usually recommended to wait a couple of weeks before introducing the pacifier. However, don't wait too long or your baby may reject them all together and you will end up as a human pacifier.
You should get different brands as baby can be picky. I remember someone telling me to get the same brand as the bottle, but our baby had no problem with the bottles, but she did not like the pacifiers. We ended up with Avent bottles and MAM pacifiers. I had tried some Munchkin Latch pacifiers as well, but she did not like those either.
6. Play Gym - Our baby loved tummy time and when she started rolling, this became our must have. It was goodbye bouncer, hello play gym!
7. Play Yard - We have 2 cats and a dog, so this was a must for us as we needed a way that would allow the baby to play on the ground, but keep the pets away. Our dog is super friendly, but she is a little dog trapped in a big dog body, so does not know that her size is an issue! She tramples the cats all the time and loves to jump in our laps (she's 50 lbs!)! Also, a lot of baby toys look like pet toys, so we didn't want the dog or cats running off with the baby's toys! This was the play yard we ended up getting and it's great!
8. Bottles & Bottle Brush - The same with pacifiers, you may want to to get a few different bottles as baby can be picky! If breastfeeding, you will probably want to look for something that resembles the breast as much as possible.
You will also need a bottle brush to clean your bottles. I love the Munchkin Latch bottle brush as it comes with a smaller brush which is perfect for cleaning the inside of bottle nipples where sometimes formula can get caked onto the sides!
9. Drying Rack - You will need a place to air dry bottles. I highly recommend this Munchkin drying rack as it is easy to clean (can be thrown in the dishwasher!), and can easily be taken apart and put back together.
10. Grooming Kit - You will need baby nail clippers (or scissors if you prefer), a brush, and a bulb syringe (to suction out boogers). We got a brush and syringe from the hospital but had to get our own clippers. You can get away with baby mittens in the beginning, but at some point, you will have to clip your baby's nails!
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