Newborn Baby Must Haves (What You Need On The First Month)

When I was pregnant, one of my major dilemma is coming up with a list of what to buy for my first born. I tried to google but it only gave me long lists of this and that and things that I haven't heard of. I was lost.

Some people are telling me not to buy too much because babies grow so fast. Sayang daw. Some people are telling me to buy things once I reached the third trimester para alam na ang gender and para di ma-stock ang mga gamit ni baby. Some people are telling me to buy early naman. Nakakaloka talaga. And since I just survived the first month of my Skye, allow me to share with you my very own list of newborn must-haves.

BABY CLOTHES:

1. Receiving Blankets - You need at least 4 of these. But you can actually buy more coz they are indeed useful. You can use it as swaddle. You can use it as bath towel. It can also be used as unan, kumot and sapin. Very useful. And for sure, they can still use it until their toddler years. Invest in these.
2. Pajamas - I have 6 of these. Size 0-3 months. They are a bit big on Skye especially during her 1st 2 weeks of life but its okay. Newborns are ginawin so pajamas are necessary. The number of pajamas that you need to buy depends on how frequent you can do the laundry. We wash Skye's clothes every 3days so 6 pajamas are enough. But if you do the laundry once a week, then I guess you need to buy more.
3. Long-sleeved Tie-Sides - I have 5. Size is newborn. Actually I bought 3 and has 2 hand me downs. I use them during the night to make sure that Skye won't get cold. Actually, if your place is a bit hot or if you don't have AC, I suggest you get the short-sleeved tie sides para naman di pagpawisan si baby.
4. Sleeveless Tie-Sides - I have 3 of these. I use it on day time para medyo presko for baby. Again, you can get more of these based on how frequent you do the laundry.
5. Mittens - I have 10 pairs. Mittens are important to prevent your baby from scratching herself. Paglabas ni baby medyo mahaba na ang nails and hindi pantay ang pagtubo. You can't immediately cut her nails coz it's still too soft. Honestly mahirap. We were able to cut Skye's nails when she's 2weeks old. Even then, we were not able to cut it properly. You need more of these because I change it often. Sinusubo kasi ni baby so I have to ensure that it is clean.
6. Booties - I also have 10 pairs. I also change this one twice a day but since they are more prone to accidents (read: getting poops on it during nappy change) you also need more of these. You can also get a couple of infant socks if you want. You can use them during pedia visits para maarte si baby. All of my infant socks are hand me downs. Until now all of them are still big on Skye pero keri naman. I think she can use these until she's 3 months old.
7. Bonnets - Get only 3 of these. I have 10 and honestly sayang. 5 of them are gifts lang naman but sayang padin. Sana di nalang ako bumili. :( First, they are not really safe (read my Safe Sleep post here). Actually, I think it has everything to do with the fact that Skye is teeny tiny. All her bonnets are huge. During her first week, we put bonnet on her everyday. Para daw di lamigin. But after that incident, I ditched the bonnet. Anyway, Mila says we can just put alcamforado on her bunbunan. And make her use the bonnet nalang if we have to go outside.
8. Burp Cloths or Towels - Oh you need lots of these. I have 2 types of soft bimpo that I use. Small white ones that I also use as wash cloth and another bigger and thicker one which I also use in drying her after sponge bath. Make sure you get those soft bimpo coz newborn's skin are sensitive. Also, make sure you change them often.
9. Lampin - I have a dozen of these but its up to you if you think you need them. Initially, I was thinking of using lampin on Skye for her first month. I was thinking of just getting covers if I think I'll need them but I have a changing mat that I plan to use. Pero ate! When I realize how frequent a newborn poops the entire day, naku! Disposable diapers galore na to keep my sanity. Promise. They poop like every 2 hours. Minsan konti konti lang but still. And Skye HATES nappy changing time. So imagine if I'm using lampin. That'll be nappy change every 30min or so. Mababaliw kami mag ina. But my lampin are still useful coz I use them as burp cloths and we also have presko time. That's 2hours in the morning where I let her use lampin only. That's after her morning pupu session. :)
10. Newborn Onesies - Skye has some of these. Most are gifted. Though I bought her 2 plain white ones. She was able to use them on her 2nd week. Her Tita Irish gave her 2 super small ones na malapit ng mag retire kasi di na kasya. Imagine? 1 month nya lang nagamit yun. So I really suggest you buy the 0-3 months na onesies. Kasi they can wear them naman kahit medyo malaki. But, if you have loads of friends, better not to buy muna. Baka i-surprise baby shower ka nila. For sure may magreregalo ng onesie. Anyway, we use the onesies on her pedia visits.
11. Frogsuit - Skye has 1. Buti nalang. Not really needed. We use this sa gabi also instead of pajama plus long sleeves. This is also what we use nung umuwi sya from the hospital. But honestly, you can live without it. Cute lang sya but not needed.

Tips:

* You don't need bigkis. That's soooo yesterday. It is not advisable to use bigkis actually.

* I personally prefer whites for newborns. Mas malinis tingnan and its easier to spot if may insects or dumi.

* Rumors are true. Babies grow up so fast. So don't buy too much. Again, just buy based on how frequent you plan to do the laundry. But I suggest you do it frequently. Para di mababad ang dumi sa clothes ni baby.

* Use baby friendly detergents. We use Cycles! Please do not use the strong ones. Told you they tend to suck on their mittens and sometimes, pag abot nila, yung mga sleeves ng damit so they have to be clean and baby friendly. With that, make sure binabanlawan mabuti ang damit ni baby.

* I strongly recommend Halo Sleepsacks. But I think you need to delay buying one until your baby comes out. some babies love to be swaddled so you have to get the Halo Swaddle while some like my Skye hates it so just get the sleepsack.

OTHER BABY THINGS:

1. Disposable Diapers - Omg! You need, need, need these. And lots of it. But don't stock up. There are loads of brands out there. You need to atleast try it before buying in bulk. I'm lucky I was gifted with loads of DDs. So by the time Skye was born we have 5 huge packs (24pcs per pack) of 3 different brands - pampers, huggies and EQ. The hospital also gave us 1 huge pack of EQ. All in newborn sizes. And ubos na sila ngayon. All six packs are used in just more than 3 weeks. Imagine??? May presko time pa kami nyan.
2. Cotton Balls - Lots of it as well. Note that you can't do groceries immediately so if you don't have anybody helping you out, better stock up on these. I use them to clean the baby's face and tushies.
3. Infant Cotton Buds - You need them to clean the ears and the nose.
4. 70% Isoprophyl Alcohol (not moisturizing) - This is to clean her pusod. You can also use this before holding the baby or make people use it before allowing them to go near your child. Pero dahil maarte kami, we have the moisturizing alcohol para sa amin. Para this one is just for baby.
5. Baby Wipes - Alcohol free and unscented. We use this if we're out and she needs nappy change. But now I also use this at night if I'm too sleepy to get the cotton and warm water. BUT I strongly suggest you use cotton and warm water in washing her privates. Mas malinis. Minsan lang ang baby wipes.
6. Thermometer - I got a decent digital thermometer for Skye coz its really needed especially if you're paranoid like me. I always get her temperature to see if she's giniginaw or naiinitan. But better ask around, coz this is another common baby shower gift. And some hospitals give out themometers and they are pretty decent. I actually got 2 from the hospital and was gifted with another one. So I have 4! Haha.. I gave away the ones from the hospital and kept the other 2.
7. Baby Wash - I use Cetaphyl. It was gifted. You can give your baby her real bath once natanggal na yung pusod. But you can wash her hair as early as day 1. Skye's pusod is gone on week 2. I give her a bath 4 times a week. Babies dont need to bath everyday. And in her first week of life, just water and cotton are enough. Make sure you get the mildest baby wash for your baby because they are so sensitive.
8. Petroleum Jelly - Use it on your little one's tushies every nappy change. I had issues with rashes (wala pa naman actually, na-haggard lang ako nung namula ng onti pwet ni Skye) and was advised to use petroleum jelly. Effective naman sya. Another option is Drapolene cream. Alot of my mommy friends swear by it. I recently got one for Skye. Hihihihi.. It's for rash prevention and cure.
9. Baby Tabo or Small Basin - You use them during nappy change and sponge bath. Your baby need to have her own set of these to ensure that it's clean. Got ours at Baby Company.
10. Crib/Playpen - This one depends on you actually. Some people say it's useless coz you'll end up co-sleeping with your baby and the crib will be a tambakan. Well, I co-sleep with Skye because she refuse to sleep on her crib at night. But we make her sleep on her crib during day time. That way, its easier for us to move about and she could have uninterrupted sleep, so very useful ang crib. Also, we can convert it into a playpen which she could use pag malaki na sya. But I suggest you don't buy the expensive ones. Just the basic. You won't need those vibrators and music and toys and dancing lights. Believe me!
11. Crib Matress and Pillows - I got the hypoallergenic one. It's pricey but worth it. Washable too!! I wash Skye's pillows weekly. Sulit sa quality.
12. Nail Cutter - Told you we cut her nails on her 2nd week. Make sure you get the nail cutter designed for infants.
13. Cycles Laundry Detergent - We use this to wash baby clothes. Designed for babies so its safe and mild.
14. Changing Mat - For nappy changing session. I use a hand me down. Just a small plastic one. You can also use the one that goes with your baby bag kaso you have to remember to pack it evrytime lalabas.
15. Baby Bag - For your pedia visits or Nanay's OB visits. The baby bag must be roomy enough for all the esentials.

Tips:

* If you plan to breastfeed then you have less things to worry. Although I suggest you get breast pads and a nice manual breast pump. I use Farlin, cheap but very efficient. You need them if you are prone to breast engorgement like me.

* If you are not breastfeeding your little one then you need a little more like feeding bottles, bottle brush, formula dispenser, Cradle (bottle cleaner) and maybe a pacifier, because honestly, newborns use their mother's breast as pacifiers ALL THE TIME. You need them so you won't end up overfeeding them.

* You may also need a bath tub and bath mat for the little one but we prefer to use our old blankets as sapin while bathing Skye. Anyway, dalawang tabong tubig lang naman sakto na sa kanya. Hahahahaha… At sa lamesa lang sya pinapaliguan. :)

I can't believe that I only need this handful to survive my child's first month. I still have some stuff here that haven't used yet or regret I ever bought. I hope I was able to help you with this list. Coz honestly, masakit sya sa ulo!  I also suggest you buy things early. As early as possible. Coz delaying it means you have to shop with a huge belly. Ay promise! Hindi masaya. And I suggest you buy pag may sale! :)

Parenting Tip Pregnancy