Comments on: The Only 5 Things You Need For A Newborn

By: Linda Lee

Linda Lee — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 23:40:27 +0000

Great simple list. How about adding this baby monitor for your safety reasons?

By: Wojo

Wojo — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:53:22 +0000

@Dannielle: I think I would have to second the diaper Genie, though. True, not a necessity, but very handy. Most of it depends on your housing situation.

My trash is a good 3-minute walk from my front door, and I would have to tag the baby along. If I threw it in the trash basket, the house would smell like doo-doo (which it already does, unfortunately, when I “drop” diapers into the genie).

For those of you with homes and a trash bin right outside, the Genie is indeed expendable.

By: Dannielle

Dannielle — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 04:21:53 +0000

A diaper Genie? Take the diaper out to the trash. Done. Though nice to have around, I would hardly call that a necessity.

By: Tim

Tim — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 20:51:54 +0000

No one put down a daiper Genie to hide the smell of dirty diapers?

By: Lida

Lida — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 04:22:52 +0000

I would delete bottles, with breast milk, the list gets even smaller. Milk is always ready and no cleaning bottles or buying milk needed. I would add diapers instead.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 20:52:30 +0000

Hmmmmm….I have 3 children and here is my list for the first 6 months:
1. A carseat
2. Mommy’s Breasts (full of milk from eating a healthy diet and lots of H2O)
3. Diapers (or you could look into EC – “elimination communication”)
4. Clothing and/or a blanket
5. A sling for carrying your baby hands free (I prefer a basic ring sling)

Other advice:
Get your baby stuff 2nd hand! While you may have the “only the best for my baby” attitude, after your 2nd and 3rd children you’ll say “what was I thinking!?” You’ll obviously need to be informed of safety and recalls when you purchase 2nd hand.

Hold your baby often. They are only that little once

By: t in hd

t in hd — Tue, 18 May 2010 21:10:29 +0000

The only thing I would agree with on that list is the carseat. As a mom of four, the only things that are truly needs for my newborns are a supply of cloth dipes (I prefer flat folds, since they can be used on newborns right up through toddlers and they line dry quickly), a good baby carrier such as a wrap or sling or any soft carrier that supports the baby in the proper position, burp clothes (cloth dipes work well for this) and some basic baby clothes. We never used bottles or cribs or buggies for our newborns (or even our older babies). Babies are happy with surprisingly little. They just want a full tummy, a dry diaper and loving arms.

An aside with respect to using a carseat with stroller frame–babies should spend as little time in their carseats as possible. The position in which they sit in the carseat is not good for their development. Strollers that allow the parent to snap the carseat on are a huge convenience for parents but are bad news for babies.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Tue, 18 May 2010 13:32:20 +0000

Our little girl is 10 months old and her favorite toys are non-traditional toys. She loves things with buttons and lights, so an old remote control and calculator are among her favorites. She also loves kitchen utensils, boxes, and other every day items. You can save a ton of money by avoiding the expensive toys and gadgets that light up and require batteries.

As for the list above, we needed the crib, car seat, and stroller, though we don’t use the stroller often (we often use a wrap or Ergo baby carrier). She never took to a bottle or a pacifier, and we had a bouncy chair, but could have done without.

My suggestion would be to start as minimalist as possible and add as needed. You will be surprised at how many “recommended” items you can do without.

By: Amy

Amy — Sun, 16 May 2010 05:17:31 +0000

I was hoping to see a truly minimalist list, but I have a 6 month old and only have the car seat from this list.

CRIB: we will be co-sleeping until he’s comfortable in his own bed. he slept in a 2nd hand Snuggie Nest as a newborn to keep him safe, but I don’t think it’s necessary
STROLLER: I use a 40 dollar Moby Wrap for walks, shopping, housework and cooking
BOUNCY SEAT: see Moby wrap
BOTTLES: only breast. new studies are finding bottles can lead to childhood obesity

my list:
CAR SEAT: agreed
CLOTH DIAPERS: since birth we’ve been doing Elimination Communication, he only wets a handful of cloths a day. It’s not cutting edge or weird, just something most of the world practices since disposables or washing machines are not available.
CLOTHES: hand me downs, gifts and thrift shops are this the cheapest of the list
WRAP OR CARRIER: (not an unsafe sling) cheaper than a stroller and more mama/baby contact than a swing or bouncy chair
RED WINE: 1 glass for mama after baby goes to sleep in the evening

By: Gholmes

Gholmes — Thu, 13 May 2010 20:39:29 +0000

Our baby is 18 months now, When he was newborn he could only be changed on the changing table using the pre warmed baby wipes. Ah to have this list back then.

At age 18 months, forget the changing table or blanket on the floor when changing him, keeping a leg over him long enough to get the diaper on is what is needed.