Newborn Shopping List

February 6, 2026

My Philosophy on Stuff

  1. Natural and organic materials, less plastic, fewer chemicals, where possible. Endocrine disruptors like BPA and phthalates, as well as PFAS, are known to be problematic for childhood development. Reduce exposure by looking for fragrance-free and irritant-free materials, especially those that contact the baby's skin directly. Choose cotton, glass, and silicone when possible. Use products that are EWG certified.
  2. Buy used or get from friends. Baby stuff is super available on Facebook Marketplace, especially for things that they grow out of rapidly. Get your carseat, bassinet, even bundles of clothing there. Friends will often offer their second-hand items.
  3. Minimize laundry frequency. Start with just the minimal amount of basics. In the first week, I found myself doing laundry every day. This showed me what items I need more of to have the appropriate amount of redundancy.

Shopping List

Big ticket items

Recommend getting these on Facebook Marketplace

  • Car seat and stroller: Doona is both. Make sure if used, you get it with the infant insert and a travel bag (if you want to bring it as a carry-on).
  • Bassinet: any will do. It’s mostly a size and aesthetic preference. Some people like the Snoo that jiggles the bed. Some like ones that attach to the side of your bed. I was gifted a used stand-alone bassinet, but ended up co-sleeping.
  • Changing station: technically not necessary as you can just put a waterproof changing mat on the bed or floor, but is nice to have a dedicated station above a dresser that’s more ergonomic.
  • Breast pump: you can get one through insurance or a friend who no longer needs theirs. I got a Spectra through a friend.
  • Baby clothes: look for bundles of baby clothes on Facebook Marketplace. Babies grow out of them super fast and having an assorted variety is helpful to get you started before buying more specialized outfits. I was super lucky and got over 60 outfits for $60 (all 100% cotton too!). I loved footies and ended up buying a few extra since you will go through outfits from spit-ups and blowouts.
  • Baby carrier: babies love contact naps and being bounced! Wearing them frees your hands around the house and outdoors. We were gifted the Moby wrap and a Momcozy (haven’t tried yet because baby is too small). Generally, I would suggest fabric wraps for infants to be less bulky. Once the baby is older, having more padding and back support might be helpful. Make sure their knees are above their hips to prevent hip dysplasia.

Smaller items

  • Diapers: the hospital will send you home with a few bags of diapers to last you the first week or so. It will likely be Pampers Swaddler. If you like these, I recommend getting the Pampers Pure, which has fewer chemicals. I switched to Dyper, which is one of the brands out there that uses a plant-based lining against the baby, claims to have no bad chemicals, and is compostable. My baby also stopped having diaper rashes. I also recommend Coterie, which is extremely absorbent where my baby can sleep through the whole night. See other brands here.
  • Wipes: most water-based wipes are very similar. I landed on Honest for being “clean” and hypoallergenic. They are also thicker compared to Pampers (which the hospital gave us).
  • Baby formula: buy some to have on hand in case your milk doesn’t come in as expected or is insufficient. There are tons of brands. I decided on a2 Platinum.
  • Bottles: I chose the Philips Avent Glass bottles to avoid plastic and are compatible with my Spectra breast pump. For storage and freezing, I use these mason bottles with silicon lids.
  • Bottle cleaner: this one is silicone.
  • Bottle warmer: I initially used hot water but found this way easier and consistent.
  • Pacifier: the hospital gave us one Philips Avent Soothie. We bought 4 more. These are great for newborns because their mouths are still small. We got other brands for when she is bigger. A pacifier holder is helpful for keeping it clean when going out.
  • Burp cloths: love these for wiping the baby’s face. Get at least a dozen.
  • Swaddle blankets and sleep sacs: it’s good to try swaddle blankets and outfits like Love to Dream, but they made no difference for my baby. She would get out of swaddles easily. We do use blankets to put over her without swaddling.
  • Bassinet covers: get a few for changing out.
  • White noise machine: I initially resisted buying one. There’s a Spotify playlist of shushing tracks that work super well, especially on car rides. I ended up getting the Hatch Go for convenience at home.
  • Nursing shawl: great for on the go.
  • Baby bath support: this is super useful for baths. We put this in our sink.
  • Bath towel and washcloths: have just 1-2 bath towels depending on how often you wash them. We wash our baby about once a week. I got these washcloths, but honestly could just use the burp clothes.
  • Baby-friendly soap: I use Dr. Bronner’s unscented. Other skincare recommendations here.
  • Waterproof changing mats: get a few because babies especially like to pee when they are out of their diaper. Have one for traveling too.
  • Vitamin D drops: your pediatrician will recommend 400 IU/day of vitamin D. I use this one.

First-Aid - good to have on hand

  • Infant Tylenol: in case of fever
  • 40% Zinc: for diaper rashes. Desitin is the main brand, but it has fragrances. I use Triple Paste brand.
  • Moisturizer: I use HealthyBaby and Aquaphor to help with dry, chapped, or irritated skin on the baby.
  • Nipple Cream: I use this one. Another alternative are Silverette nipple cups as a physical barrier from rubbing. However, when my breastmilk came in, preventing leaks became a higher priority, which was solved with nipple pads. The nipple cream is also great for milk blebs/blisters, which are blocked milk ducts, because it’s primarily olive oil. Regular cooking olive oil works great too.
  • Nursing bras: you will likely outgrow your normal bras and want something convenient for nursing. I like these simple cotton bralettes that also allow me to stick pads or milk collectors in easily. I had to get 2 sizes up (L).
  • Milk collector: when I first got these, I didn't know how to use them. What I found out is that you put this on the opposite breast from for one being nursed to collect the letdown. I get about half an ounce each time that I save into a bottle. After nursing, I would use a disposable nursing pad.
  • Disposable nursing pads: I started with reusable nursing pads but found that they were difficult to completely clean of yeast. They would smell and I was afraid of causing a Candida overgrowth in my baby's mouth. The disposable ones come in viscose or cotton lining and are actually softer than the reusable ones that tend to fray over time, causing irritation.
  • Manual breast pump: a quick and easy way to relieve engorgement (pain from too much breast milk). I have also used it to bath in Epsom salt when I had a milk blister.
  • Infant probiotics: for breastfed babies, this is not necessary. I got these in case I had to take antibiotics and needed to give my baby a boost. However, the Lactobacillus does cause diarrhea, so I would not recommend using it regularly. See reference.
  • Stain removal: you will get all kinds of stains. First, wash them with dish soap and cold water. I love this scrubber. Use sunlight, Dreft, or Oxyclean for tougher stains. Wash all clothing in cold water and tumble dry. Heat will denature proteins and set the stain.
  • Cradle cap removal: this is caused by Malassezia yeast and is common for babies under 1. Apply coconut oil on baby’s skull and let sit for 15 min. Then wash and gently comb or towel to dislodge the cradle cap. Then wash hair with soap to remove the coconut oil.
  • Baby ear muffs: for loud environments and overstimulation.

Nice-to-have

  • Play mat - great place to place them down on the floor. Hanging objects also captivate them. I have the Lovevery play gym, which you can find on Facebook Marketplace.
  • Bouncer - this is also a helpful place to leave the baby temporarily. I use this if my baby just ate and I don’t want to lay her flat. I also often rock her with my feet if I’m too tired to hold her. She doesn’t like being in this very long, so for me it’s been a temporary solution to give myself a break. This can also be found on Facebook Marketplace.
  • Heated changing pad and wipe warmer - I had an electric heated pad for period pain that was very useful as a heated changing pad. This was especially useful at night in the winter when my baby would cry due to the cold. However, as she developed more fat, she complained less about the cold. Similarly, we were gifted a wipe warmer which made changes more comfortable.
  • Bottle warmer: I use to warm bottles in a bath of hot water, but this became much more convenient and reliable.
  • Open ear headphones - I use bone conduction headphones to keep my ears open to hear the baby. This is especially nice for listening to books, podcasts, or articles (Chrome’s Reading Mode can read aloud any website) while breastfeeding or walking/bouncing the baby to sleep.
  • Voice-to-text app - I often use one hand to hold my baby’s head up in the carrier, so I’m left with only one free hand. Aqua Voice on Mac is super useful for dictation.
  • Wearable breast pump: After being away from my baby for 24 hours and having to pump with a hand pump every few hours, I got a wearable breast pump. After a lot of research on Youtube, Eufy S1 was most recommended. The Eufy S1 Pro version is $100 more for a charging case, which I decided was not worth it. I actually like the more compact carrying bag. Unfortunately all wearable pumps have collection chambers made of plastic, so it’s better as a secondary pump. The other downside is that there are a bunch of components to take apart to clean. The heating works pretty well.

Things you don’t need

  • Postpartum kits for vaginal delivery: the hospital will provide mesh panties, thick pads, cooling pads, witch hazel pads, and peri bottle - enough for you to take home.
  • Breastfeeding pillow: just use a normal pillow. The one I tried had a slight slant and I didn’t like how it positioned my baby’s head. A flat memory foam pillow with uniform thickness worked great.
  • Bottle sanitizers: I purposely don’t heat plastic due to microplastics or endocrine disruptors. I have a Zojirushi hot water heater and would rinse glass bottles before use to sanitize.
  • Diaper bag: just use a normal bag with some organizers and a wet bag.
  • Toys: not necessary for newborns. You will likely be gifted toys by others. Early on, the most interesting thing to a newborn is your face. Lovevery is a great brand of age-appropriate developmental toys.
  • Mittens: babies explore the world with their hands, so don’t limit them with mittens. Exceptions are if it’s cold outside or they excessively scratch their face due to eczema.

Resources

AI

AI has completely changed the experience of asking family or village elders for advice on child rearing. Several times a day, I would ask Claude if something was normal or safe for the baby. That said, I can only ask known unknowns, so there’s still immense value reading books, watching Youtube/Instagram, and chatting with friends to uncover the unknown unknowns.

Books

YouTube Channels

  • Bridget Teyler - San Francisco-based birth doula with a holistic approach to birth and newborn advice. She has practical videos about techniques for postpartum. I had purchased her birthing class and found it very helpful.
  • The Doctors Bjorkman - two doctors break down everything from birth to early childcare from a mainstream medical perspective through their own experiences.

Instagram

Instagram algorithms were designed for exactly this occasion to feed you ads and content. While previously I would be annoyed, during postpartum it has been extremely helpful both in learning but also sharing in the experience with other parents. It’s a place to commiserate in that this is a hard job, but also in celebrating the joys and wonders of bringing up a new life. However, beware of content that feeds anxiety.