Getting ready for your newborn’s arrival, ensuring you’ve got all the essential baby gear, is an exciting but sometimes overwhelming task. You might be wondering how many baby vests should I buy? Do I need a bassinet and a crib? Does my newborn need toys?

We’ve put together this newborn baby essentials checklist to help set you, and your pending bundle of joy, up for those first few months. This will leave you able to relax and focus on getting to know your new baby, enjoy the newborn bubble and settle into your new role as “mom”. To make things super-easy, we’ve even split everything you’ll need up into smaller checklists.

Newborn Sleeping Essentials

Making sure your baby has a safe and comfortable place to sleep is important. Here are the sleep essentials you will need:

• Moses basket / bassinet: Smaller than cribs, these are perfect for your newborn who will enjoy the smaller space to sleep in. These baby beds are often portable too, so they can be moved around the home with you.
• Blankets and sheets: Choose natural materials to help your baby regulate their temperature. Organic cottons are kind on newborn skin too. Ensure you have several fitted sheets for your newborn baby bed of choice. Having some spares in the closet will mean you’re always good to go no matter what. A waterproof mattress cover is handy too - for spit ups and diaper leaks.
• Swaddles and sleeping bags: Newborns often enjoy being swaddled in their first weeks and months of life. Then, for when they get bigger, a baby sleeping bag is a safe way to keep them warm whilst they snooze.
• Crib: Not essential for the newborn stage, but as your baby outgrows their bassinet or moses basket, they are likely to need to move into their own crib which will offer more space.
• Baby monitor: Your newborn is likely to be really close to you to start with, but as they get bigger and take naps in their bed alone, a baby monitor means you can hear or see if they’re ok even if you’re not in the room with them.

Shop ANB Baby cribs, blankets and swaddles and monitors for all your newborn’s sleep needs.

Newborn Feeding Essentials

Before your baby is born, sometimes knowing which newborn feeding essentials to get is tricky! To put your mind at ease, it can be a good idea to get the gear you need for both breastfeeding and bottle feeding.

• Nursing bras: A couple of soft nursing bras will be comfortable for those early postpartum days, even if you aren’t breastfeeding.
• Breast pads: These are good for protecting breastfeeding moms’ clothes from milk that leaks in between feedings.
• Nipple cream: Essential in those first few days! Look for creams that don’t need to be wiped away before your baby feeds so you’ve got one less thing to think about.
• Breast pump: You can choose from manual or electric pumps, and either are handy if you will be away from your baby for any bigger stretches of time.
• Bottles of choice: Aim to get around six, this will mean in those early days you don’t need to worry about cleaning and sterilizing your bottles after each feed.
• Sterilizing gear: Some bottles can be sterilized in the microwave without a sterilizer, but if this is not the case for your bottles you’ll need to invest in a sterilizer and sterilizing liquid or tablets.
• Bottle brush: You’ll need one of these for getting your baby’s bottles super clean. These will get in all the nooks and crannies of your bottle teats.
• Baby bibs: Good to have on standby for those sleepy feeds where milk is dribbling out of your newborn’s mouth.
• Muslins / burping cloths: These are super handy for placing over your shoulder or lap when burping your newborn, wiping milky mouths or even runny noses.

The ANB Baby feeding collection includes bottles, breastfeeding gear and more for all your baby feeding needs.

Newborn Travel Essentials

You are likely to want to get out and about with your newborn so you'll need these travel essentials:

• Car seat: Your newborn will need a car seat for that first ride home. Before your baby arrives you can practice getting the seat in and out of the car so by the time your little one is here, you will know exactly what you’re doing. Shop ANB Baby’s infant car seats.
• Stroller / travel systems: Perfect for walks with your newborn, a stroller or pram will make it easy to get out and about with your baby. Explore our baby strollers.
• Baby carrier: Your newborn will want to be as close to you as possible and a baby carrier means they can be with you, but you can still have your arms free for other children, laundry or just coffee! Here are some beautiful baby carriers and wraps.
• Diaper bag: Leaving the house with your baby means you’ll need a diaper bag for their nappies, spare clothes and everything else! Look for bags with handy compartments and a travel charging mat too. Explore our range of diaper bags.

Newborn Clothing Essentials

With so many adorable baby clothes out there it will be easy to pick cute outfits for your little one. You may well find though, that multiple changes of clothes are needed every day, and the ones happening in the middle of the night are the hardest. Sleepsuits and baby leggings will make light work of changing, and are still adorable, and choosing the clothes size after “newborn’’ will see the clothes last longer on your fast growing newborn. Here are the clothing essentials your newborn will need:

• Diapers: Get plenty of these! Your newborn may need changing 10 times in a day!
• Baby bodysuits and baby sleepsuits: Aim to get around 10 of each of these. It may sound a lot, but your baby may have some “explosions” or spit ups that mean they need changing very regularly! The last thing you want to worry about in the early days is doing laundry.
• Cardigans / sweaters: Get a couple of these to layer on top of sleep suits for added warmth.
• Hats: Babies struggle to keep themselves warm, so hats are essential. Summer babies will need sun hats, or thin cotton hats, whereas winter babies need something warmer that will cover their ears.
• Snowsuit: Babies who are born in the fall or winter may need a snowsuit if you are planning to get them outside a lot.

Nursery Essentials

Creating the perfect nursery for your little one is so special! Here are the essentials; it's good to have:

• Changing table: A changing table will make changing and dressing your baby so much easier. They typically feature handy storage underneath too for wipes, diapers and all the other changing essentials.
• Storage: All of this baby gear needs to go somewhere, so storage like wardrobes and drawers are a must. Small storage baskets can be handy for other things like diapers, blankets or toys too.
• Blackout blinds: Essential for keeping the nursery lighting just right for your sleeping baby, a blackout blind can help keep out light that might otherwise wake your little one.
• Crib: Not needed right away, but eventually a crib will provide a safe space for your baby to sleep and enjoy their nursery in.

Explore the ANB Baby range of nursery furniture and essentials.

Other Useful Newborn Accessories

• Diaper caddy: These are so useful for carrying your diaper changing essentials around the home. You can just restock it every couple of days, then if you don’t feel like moving to your baby’s changing table every time they need a diaper change, you don't have to.
• Baby bath: A small baby bath can be easier to bath your little one in compared to a big tub or shower, so these are a must have. When your baby is bigger they can also be taken outside to be used as a teeny baby pool or for water play.
• Baby bouncers: Perfect as a safe place to pop your newborn whilst you take a shower or make a coffee. Many bouncers are suitable from birth and come complete with toys too, for when your baby is older.

The ANB Baby range of baby gear includes diaper caddys, bouncers and more.

Baby Learning, Play and Development Essentials

When your tiny newborn is first here, toys and play seem a long way off, but from around 6 to 8 weeks they may enjoy looking at certain objects. Here are some learning and development essentials to get you started:

• Mobiles: Ideal for hanging over a crib, these can provide entertainment for your baby, and you can leave your baby to grab a drink or quick shower knowing they are safe and occupied.
• Board books: Tiny fingers (and teething gums) will enjoy this type of book from a young age. Even when your baby is a newborn they will enjoy and benefit from being read to.
• Baby gyms: These will be enjoyed by your baby from as little as six weeks old. With interesting mats for your baby to enjoy during tummy time, and toys hanging overhead to encourage them to reach, grab and roll, these are perfect from a developmental perspective too.
• Activity center: As your baby gets bigger these provide fantastic entertainment for them. Your little one will enjoy (and benefit) from the standing position! You can also switch up the toys used to keep this toy exciting for your baby.

Explore a wide collection of baby toys, activity centers and baby gyms, mobiles and more from ANB Baby.