Thanks to Target for sponsoring this post! But, as always, all opinions are mine, and I only write about products I already use and love.

Forget the crazy baby registry. Besides diapers and wipes, there are really only 5 things you need to have on-hand when caring for a newborn.

Not gonna lie.

As a newly-crowned mom of 3, I do kind of feel like an expert. Not that I’ve got it all figured out. But I’ve been down this road. Three times now.

And with a 1-month-old, let me just tell you that there are only 5 things that I’m using in frequent rotation these days. And it ain’t the wipes warmer and 17 different baby bath towels.

The Only 5 Things I'm Really Using For My Newborn SheJustGlows.com

1. Cotton burp rags

These things are like gold in my house right now. I love that they’re basic, cotton, white, comfy and easy to wash. Don’t be sidetracked by the cute burp rags with the characters on them. These ones are super-absorbent which is totally all you care about when you’re wearing your last clean black shirt and burping a warm little milk monster.

The Only 5 Things I'm Really Using For My Newborn SheJustGlows.com

2. Boobs

Duh. I mean, at this point, the child basically has a breast in his face at all hours of the day. He’s feeding every 3 hours or so, so the milk supply is key. I’ve lucked out in that my little duckling has been a great eater from the start, and judging from his 9-pound, 4-ounce birth weight, he’ll be needing to eat ’round the clock to keep up appearances. Which is fine with me because I can’t get enough of these delicious scrunched nursing toes!

The Only 5 Things I'm Really Using For My Newborn SheJustGlows.com

My milk supply just leveled out, so the days of totally and “udder” engorgement (bahaaa, I crack myself up) appear to be behind me. I took the opportunity to start pumping to start to build a freezer stockpile for date nights and solo trips to Target (say what???). I also have some organic premium infant formula on-hand from The Honest Company, just in case.

The Only 5 Things I'm Really Using For my Newborn SheJustGlows.com

I love this formula because it’s actually modeled after actual breast milk, and it’s also free of high-fructose corn syrup and gluten.

The Only 5 Things I'm Really Using For My Newborn SheJustGlows.com

3. Swaddling blankets

For real. There’s nothing I love photographing more than a swaddled newborn. I mean, can you blame me? With our first son, I had a super rough week when he was about a month old. My husband was traveling all week, and I was stuck at home with a baby who cried (ehhh, screamed) from 5 to 10pm every night. It was demoralizing, frustrating and totally defeating. I was at my wit’s end when someone recommended a baby sleep training book, and I promptly read it from cover to cover in about 48 hours. Ever since then, I have followed the mantra of that book, which suggests that shushing, rocking, sucking and swaddling babies in the first 3 months of life (also termed the fourth trimester) is the best way to satisfy their innate biological desire to really still be in your womb. In my house, a swaddled baby is a sleeping baby. Ain’t nobody who can argue with that!

The Only 5 Things I'm Really Using For My Newborn SheJustGlows.com

4. White noise

Another sleep trick I swear by is loud white noise. So, in our toddlers’ room, we have white noise from an all-static AM radio station blaring all night. The newborn is still in our room, so I downloaded a white noise app for my iPad for him. It sounds like a waterfall, and it goes in our room all night long. I’ve grown to love it, especially because it allows me to sleep through the baby’s grunting through the night, which means I only wake up when he’s crying and ready to eat.

The Only 5 Things I'm Really Using For my Newborn SheJustGlows.com

5. Baby DHA

Our pediatrician insists on a high-quality, all-natural DHA supplement for newborns, and I’ve just discovered The Honest Company’s version. It’s made from pure, premium fish oils and designed to help develop a newborn’s brain and eyes. I love that it has a light citrus flavor, so it doesn’t smell as fishy! He loves/tolerates it. (*wink*)

The Only 5 Things I'm Really Using For my Newborn SheJustGlows.com

What are your must-have items for your newborn? Share them in the comments section below.

 

The Only 5 Things I'm Really Using For My Newborn SheJustGlows.com