Birth Affirmations

**I found these from Pinterest and printed them out so I could have them with me in the delivery room, I only compiled it here so I could link it for those of you who wanted to see them all.**

Necessary Items for Baby

My younger sister is getting ready to have her first baby and prompted me to write this post when she asked me what I think are actual necessary items for having a baby. I just had my second baby in August so this list is very fresh and slightly catered to the first 4 months of a baby's life. A lot of these are things that make parenting more convenient, but everything in bold is an absolute must. There are 7 siblings older than me who weighed in on this too, and together we have 25 children, so consider this list to be pretty accurate:

Clothing

• 8-12 newborn onesies long sleeve with mittens and short sleeve mixture 
• 10-15 onesies in 0-3 and 3-6 months
• 3-5 pairs of pants in newborn and 3-6 months
• 6-10 newborn pajamas with zippers and mittens
• 5-10 pajamas with zippers in 0-3 and 3-6 months
• Sleep sack newborn and 3-6 or 0-9 months (without arms for summer and with for winter)
• 3-5 pairs of socks (necessary only depending on the climate)
• Beanie
• 5-10 swaddles (I use them as burp rags, too. You can also use them as a cooling method if you live where it's hot or have a baby in the summer.)
• Burp rags (love the diaper cloth inserts and muslin swaddles)
• Bibs
• Blankets
• Crib sheet

Gear for the Home

• Pack n' Play (I have never used a crib and I have a 3 year old)
• Rock n' Play
• Bouncer/Swing
• Changing station area (I use my bed, a portable pad, and the diaper storage on the Pack n' Play)
• High chair (I love the one from Ikea with the inflatable and machine washable insert)
• Boppy pillow
• Gym (like the kind the baby can lay under and there are toys dangling/keyboard at the feet)
• Sound machine (you can use an app on an old phone, fan, or portable sound machine)
• Mam pacifiers
• Pacifier clips

Gear for Going Out

• Jogging stroller
• Diaper bag (I'm obsessed with my backpack one)
• Nursing cover/car seat cover
• Infant car seat
• Carrier (like this)
• Cordless breast pump
• Booties if you live in the cold
• Bundle Me (car seat insert if you live in the cold)
• Mini hand sanitizer

Gear for Mom

• Nursing bras WITHOUT a wire 
• Melaleuca oil (this is an everyday life necessity, too)
• Nursing pads (I tried reusable this time around and they just don't cut it, go with Lansinoh brand every time)
• Soothies breast pads
• Milk catchers (necessary if you leak like me, also good for sore nipples-buy them and return if you don't use)
• Nipple cream
• Nipple shield
• Nursing dress 

Diaper Gear

• Stock up on size 1-2 diapers if you need to, otherwise only buy them when you need them
• Get all the wipes you want, you will use every last one
• Hand sanitizer
• Vaseline for rashes and circumcisions
• Portable changing pad
• Stain remover

Bathtime Gear

• Puj bath
• Shampoo/body wash (yes as one item, not two)
• Wash cloths
• Hair brush (to avoid getting cradle cap)

Sickness Gear

• Nose Frida (saline is necessary, too)
• Humidifier
• Vapor rub
• Infant Tylenol and syringe
• Thermometer

SIDE NOTE:
As you can tell all the links are from Amazon, that was mostly out of convenience for me but they mainly do have the cheapest prices and definitely the quickest delivery. Another thing I would check (depending on the item) is the Wish app. The biggest downfall here is that shipping usually takes weeks. Happy shopping and congratulations on the baby!