The Most Essential Things a Newborn Baby Needs
By: Cherub Baby
Tags: Australia, Newborn, Baby, Parents, Parenting

As a new parent the things a newborn baby needs can seem quite daunting, especially if this is your firstborn. A newborn baby needs a safe place to sleep, a safe place to bath, clothing, nappies, feeding tools, plus what happens when you leave the house? Which pram, or car seat or even what bag to carry all the essentials should you buy? The list of stuff to collect can be endless.

In this article, we’ll try to keep it simple and focus on the most essential things a newborn baby needs for feeding.

Newborn Baby Tools for Feeding

Whether you are breastfeeding or formula feeding there are things a newborn baby will need. But with all the different lists and articles available it can be quite a challenge to know which items you really need. Here we’ll explore a few of the most essential things you and your newborn baby needs to make life comfortable and as easy as possible.

If you’re breastfeeding:

Breast pads — If you’re breastfeeding you will find that your breasts leak milk. Breast pads will be necessary to protect your clothes. You can use washable or disposable breast pads. However, if you are choosing disposable breast pads, go for a brand that has a sticky patch on the back to secure it to the inside of your maternity bra and stop the movement of the pad.

Feeding pillows — Are also known as nursing pillows. You can use an ordinary pillow off your bed, that will do the job. But special U or V-shaped feeding pillows are much more comfortable to use.

Breast pumps — If you need to maintain a constant milk supply a breast pump is a very useful tool for new mums. They are used to pump breastmilk to store when mum is not available at feeding times. Maybe you want dad to take a turn at feeding baby during the night, or you have to go back to work. Pumping and storing breastmilk ensures the supply if you don’t want to supplement with formula.

If I drink a glass of wine, do I have to ‘pump and dump’?

If you’re bottle feeding:

Breastmilk Bags — When it comes to storing your breastmilk, you don’t want to waste a drop! Breastmilk bags are an easy and safe way to store your precious breastmilk. Make sure you choose a brand that is pre-sterilised, strong and BPA free. Cherub Baby breast milk storage bags come pre-sterilised and are suitable for both the fridge and the freezer.

Bottles — There is so much choice of baby bottles on the market, where do you start? Consider using wide-necked glass bottles — they are easier to clean and to prepare formula in. See what Kidspot mums voted as the best baby bottles here!

Teats — You may have to try a few types of teats before finding the right ones for you baby — whatever you use, make sure you use an age-appropriate teat to ensure the correct milk flow. Cherub Baby has a range of BPA free teats with a flow to suit your baby.

Breast Milk — Benefits for Babies and mums

Formula — Check that the formula is age-appropriate for your baby. Try to stick to the same brand formula; if your baby develops a food allergy you may not be able to detect the cause if you are switching back and forth.

Steriliser — It’s very important to sterilise all your baby’s feeding tools up until they are at least 12 months old. Microwave steam sterilisers are a great option because they are fast and easy to use. As sterilising is such an important part of your routine why not invest in a baby steriliser? There are many different options on the market but the Cherub Baby Steamer Blender can be used to sterilize your baby’s bottles and teats now and used later to prepare your baby’s first solids!

IMPORTANT

This list of things a newborn baby needs is by no means exhaustive. There are other basics like bibs, towels, burp cloths, we can go on and on. Here we’ve tried to establish a list of the essentials that, as a first-time parent, you probably still need to go out and buy. You may feel like you have all the time in the world, but the more prepared you are the easier those first few months will be!

Read more about our Thermo Sensor Breast Milk Bags and find out how easy it is to store and warm you precious breast milk 🙂

Need some more info about introducing solids to bub? Download your free Guide here!

Find out more about all the features of our Thermo Sensor Breast Milk Bags