First-Time Parent Checklist: What You Need To Get Before The Baby Arrives

byDeria •15 August

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Having a baby is always a nerve-wracking experience, but it can be especially anxiety-inducing for first-time parents. It’s naturally the first time you would’ve been through the process, and you might be worried about quite a lot. Looking after a newborn is complicated, after all.

With a first-time parent checklist, you’ll have more than a few ways to make this much easier for yourself. Between you and your partner, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. It’s worth diving into what you need to pick up to make it all easier for yourself.

First-Time Parent Checklist: What To Pick Up

1. Bathing Basics

Cleaning your baby is natural and something you’ll have to do regularly. That doesn’t mean using the shower or bath to do it. You’ll have to get a baby bath and other basics to do it properly and safely, which means investing in a few bits and pieces. There’ll be more of these to pick up than you might think.

Baby nail clippers, baby shampoo, and similar newborn-appropriate items are all recommended. They’ll be gentle on your baby’s skin while making sure they’re properly cleaned and bathed. Not only will they be safe to use, but your baby should end up cleaner than you would’ve thought.

2. Nursery Essentials

You’ll start putting your nursery together not long after you find out you’re having a baby. When you are, make sure you pick up everything you’ll end up needing to use. Some of the more notable things you’ll have to include in this are:

A bassinet or baby mattress
A crib
Baby monitor
Diaper changing table

Once you have those, you’ll have a nursery that caters to your baby as well as possible. You can get these in various styles and sizes, so you’ll have plenty of options to choose from. While there’ll be quite a few things to pick up, they should be more affordable than you’d think.

3. Diaper Basics

You’ll already know you’ll have to pick up diapers before your baby’s born. They’ll be used quite often, and you’ll need to pick up more than you would’ve thought. That’s far from the only thing you’ll need to pick up when it comes to changing your baby’s nappies. Instead, you’ll need a few other things.

These all make changing your newborn’s diapers much easier than you would’ve thought. They’ll also make sure your baby is properly clean afterward, with some of the more notable diaper basics including baby wipes and rash cream.

With those, you shouldn’t have to worry about changing your baby’s nappies and cleaning your newborn.

4. Practical Clothes

You’ll already know you’ll need to get a lot of clothes for your newborn, but that doesn’t mean picking up all of the cutest things you find. You’ll need to be a little more practical when you’re doing this. Your baby grows much faster than you’d think, and they’ll outgrow quite a few of the clothes you get for them.

Avoid that by picking up clothes in different sizes, and you shouldn’t run out of clothes too quickly. Rompers, pull-on pants, onesies, and similar clothes are also worth investing in. They’ll keep your baby comfortable while making sure they look cute in them. They’ll also be easier to put on than other clothes.

Make sure these are comfy on hot days, too.

5. Soothing Equipment

Soothing and entertaining equipment is more important to looking after your newborn than you might’ve thought. You’ll need to calm them down and make them feel better, after all. While that can be done by being a parent to them, it’s much easier to do when you have a few things to help.

A pacifier is the most obvious of these, and it’ll have much more of an impact than you’d think. It’s worth investing a little more into it so you can keep your newborn entertained as they get older. It gives you a little bit of a break while making sure your child is taken care of.

A baby swing, infant bouncer, and similar items can be more than enough for this.

First-Time Parent Checklist: Wrapping Up

With a first-time parent checklist, you can make having a newborn a little easier for yourself. Between you and your partner, there shouldn’t be too much to worry about. While there’ll still be quite a lot to do, it’ll be more straightforward and manageable.

You’ll be in a much better position to actually look after your newborn, no matter how worried you might’ve been beforehand. You shouldn’t be too stressed or anxious once you’ve taken care of all the above.