Today I am sharing my ’top 10 newborn essentials’ with you. I found real mommy recommendations like these to be very helpful when I was planning for Caleb's arrival.  For the first few months of life, we found these top 10 newborn essentials to be must-have’s:

Sleeping Gowns:  These are great for those middle of the night diaper changes.  Everything is super accessible and it's less disruption to the sleeping baby.  Most sleeping gowns even have the hand covers to keep your precious babe from scratching themselves.

Bath Tub:  You aren't going to be bathing your newborn every day but when you do, you want a tub that works for you and your baby!  I've tried several out there and I prefer the ones with a mesh sling inside.  Also, make sure the tub can sit on your counter top or in your kitchen sink.

Petroleum Jelly or Aquaphor:  You need this for everything and it works for everything!  That dry skin in the first months, yup, slather it on.  That diaper rash.  It works on that too.  It's even what you need to care for the umbilical cord once it comes off.

Baby Wearing Device:  I'll be honest that I don't use mine a TON but when I do it's a life saver.  It's great for trips to the store when I have my two toddler with me.  Baby wearing is even a great tool for around the house just to accomplish activities when you have a fussy newborn who just wants to be held by momma all day long.

Swaddlers: Whether you are using receiving or muslin blankets to swaddle or actual swaddlers (like these) swaddling is a must with a newborn.  Babies are not used to having a lot of room to stretch their arms and legs like we think.  They are much more comfortable and feel safer being bundled up nice and tight with a swaddle.

Swing: I prefer the swings but newer and newer versions are coming out as "rockers" or "soothers" (aka the "Mamaroo").  Babies are used to the movement from being inside your womb so a swing or something similar that provides that bit of motion can to wonders to ease them when they are seemingly non-consolable. 

White Onesies:  I haven't met a mom who hasn't used white onesies.  They go under sleepers.  They are great for just wearing around the house.  They work with those monthly stickers to watch your baby grow (see my post here).  You just can't go wrong with a ton of white onesies.

Baby Monitor:  Personally, I've never had the fancy video monitors.  I thought about getting one but it wasn't for my newborn.  It was to watch my toddlers at night with their antics.  A plain old-fashioned baby monitor is perfectly fine.  As long as you can hear baby crying, that's all you need.  Our house is small enough that I don't need a video feed to check on my kid.

Nursing Cover & Pillow:  I've talked previously about how my milk dries up naturally pretty quickly.  I am usually able to breast feed or exclusively pump for the first 3-4 weeks and then it's over.  But during that time I do use a nursing cover and pillow.  I have a Boppy but I've heard good things about the My Breast Friend as well.  Now we use our Boppy to help our toddlers hold their brother.  It helps to provide additional support when they want to be cuddly big sisters.

Bottles:  Whether you are breast or formula feeding, bottles are a must.  Even with breast feeding you might want the option for your partner or a family member to be able to help feed the baby with pumped milk. I'm partial to the Dr. Brown's bottles.  Mostly because that's all I've ever used.  I've never had to deal with Colic or much spit up so I'm a big Dr. B fan!

I’m hoping to do a follow-up post sometime in January or February to share what I used for the coming months!