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In addition to being a musician and blogger, I’m also a relatively new mom–my son, Little M, is a one-year-old. And so I wanted to share with you all some of the newborn items I consider completely essential, especially ones you may have forgotten to add to your baby registry. These are all items I use or have used every day that I absolutely couldn’t live without as a new mom.

1. Skip Hop Pronto Signature Portable Changing Station

Forget the diaper bag and get this Skip Hop portable changing station instead. It’s incredibly easy to carry around and you can clip it to your stroller or pack it in a suitcase or bag. You can even clip it around your wrist if you’re carrying your baby to a diaper change location.

This changing station helps protect your baby and keep him or her comfortable on public changing tables because it folds out into a cushioned changing mat! It also holds quite a lot of diaper-changing supplies: wipes, tissues, a few small bottles (like a small diaper cream and anti-bac), a change of clothes, and about eight diapers. The inside and outside can both be easily wiped down with disinfecting wipes for further germ reduction.

Best of all, this portable changing station means one less bag to carry around and keep track of. This is especially important if you’re flying anywhere. It means fewer items to carry around and can even save you the money of paying for an extra bag just by popping it in your suitcase!

While it is super portable, you should know that it’s not super tiny. When it’s stuffed full with wipes and diapers (it holds about eight diapers) it can be rather thick. It would still fit in a backpack that’s not too full and most any suitcase, however.

2. My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow

If you’re planning to breastfeed, this item is an absolute must. Being a mom on a budget, I thought I could just use pillows and cushions to support my baby while breastfeeding. But I was so totally wrong and ordered the My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow on Amazon within a few days of my son’s birth! Learn from my mistake!

A bunch of moms totally love the Boppy Nursing Pillow. I’ve tried both the Boppy and the My Brest Friend and I personally believe that the My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow is 10 times better!

In my opinion, the My Brest Friend offers much better support for your baby. It also has back support for mom. It clips around your waist so that it’s easy to move around while it’s on (though don’t walk around while nursing your baby on it!). Another plus is that it comes with a handy snack pocket for those times when you might not want to move your snoozing baby but really need something to eat.

There are only two cons: the pillow itself isn’t washable (though the cover is) and it might be a tight fit for heavier mothers. I solve the non-washable issue by placing a hand towel on top of the cover for extra protection. This puts an extra layer of (absorbent) material between my baby and the pillow. The poor fit issue was one I had right after giving birth, but after losing some of my pregnancy water weight gain during the first week postpartum I’ve had no problems even though I’m still over 200 lbs.

With the sheer number of hours you’re going to spend nursing or bottle-feeding your baby you want something that’s comfortable for both of you. The My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow is definitely that item! It’s also durable enough that you won’t have to replace it.

3. An extra cover for your nursing pillow

Whether you have the My Brest Friend or the Bobby, definitely buy a second (or even a third) pillow cover. (Here’s a link for the My Brest Friend. And here’s one for the Bobby.)

Babies spit-up. A lot. And have diaper blowouts. You get the picture. You definitely don’t want to be stuck with a hungry baby and no clean nursing pillow cover!

If you want, you can get a waterproof cover. But as I mentioned above, I just place a hand towel over my nursing pillow cover and didn’t spend the extra money on a waterproof one.

4. Kindred Bravely Organic Reusable Nursing Pads

These washable nursing pads by Kindred Bravely are a breastfeeding momma’s dream come true! They’re organic–so no questionable chemicals against your skin!–soft, and hold a lot of milk spillage, which you’re likely to have early on, especially at night.

They also come with a beautiful storage bag that doubles as a wet bag for when you’re out and about and need to change them. They’re machine washable (yay!). They are also healthier for you than disposable nursing pads since they’re made of a breathable material, which helps prevent infections.

I love these Kindred Bravely nursing pads and I ended up buying two sets (since they’re not that expensive!) after deciding I wanted to do laundry less frequently.

5. Milk Bands Breastfeeding Reminder

One more breastfeeding item and then on to other topics. This Milk Band is something else I absolutely couldn’t live without, however, and I had no idea I would need it until I started breastfeeding.

In the early days you’re going to be feeding your baby all the time (and I mean ALL. THE. TIME.) and if you’re breastfeeding this is going to be a lifesaver. It helps to remind you what breast you started your last feed on. This may not sound like a big deal but it’s super important for helping to avoid painful plugged ducts and dangerous mastitis.

If you’re breastfeeding, you’ll be making a lot of milk in the first few months since your baby will be nursing a lot. In order for your breasts to stay healthy you need to empty out their milk consistently. The best way to do this is to start each feed on the opposite side from the last feed. This is where the Milk Band comes in.

The Milk Band is super simple to use. You wear it as a bracelet (on either wrist) and one side says “LEFT” while the other says “RIGHT.” You can use it however works best for you, but I turn it over at the beginning of a feed to show which side that session was started on.

It also comes with small plastic trackers to measure how many hours each day you’ve nursed so far. Those tend to break, however, and I didn’t need them (and you don’t need them to use the band), so I just took them off right away and have always used mine without them.

The Milk Band comes in a bunch of different colors–each color has a separate listing on Amazon–so pick your favorite and consider it your new piece of stylish mamma jewelry!

6. Large 6-Quart Crock-Pot

Okay, this one’s kind of weird, but I promise you’ll thank me later! If you don’t have a slow cooker, or even if you do but don’t have a big one, you should totally buy this 6-Quart Crock-Pot.

As a new mom it’s hard to find the time to cook–finding even an extra 15 minutes in the day can sometimes be difficult. It’s also difficult to always know when you’re going to have free time, so getting a meal off the stove or out of the oven before it burns can sometimes be a challenge.

This is why a Crock-Pot is an essential item. For many meals you can just dump all your ingredients into the slow cooker (can you say “15-minute total prep time”?!) and then just set it and forget it.

You can easily find recipes that take 8, 4, or 2 hours (depending on whether you use the “low” or “high” temperature setting). And if you can’t get your food right when it’s supposed to be done–because your baby’s crying or you’re taking a shower (or you simply forgot about it in your exhausted state)–it’s no big deal! As long as you get to it within the next 30-60 minutes your food should still be fine!

I love this 6-Quart Crock-Pot because it’s big enough that my husband or I can cook two meals at a time. We’re able to feed all three members of our family for both a dinner and the next day’s lunch with only cooking once, saving even more money and time.

7. NorthShore Disposable Changing Pads and Summer Infant Waterproof Changing Pad Liners

You probably have a changing pad a cover on your registry, but I highly recommend getting both these items as well. I’ll never change another diaper again without both of these liners used together unless I absolutely have to!

It’s great if you have your changing station set up with a waterproof changing pad and a good-looking pad cover (or you can just use a receiving blanket like we do). But one of the first things your baby is going to do to that perfect setup is pee and poop and possibly even spit up all over it! Those are all the things newborn babies are great at!

I’m all about doing laundry as infrequently as possible, however. So my changing station is set up with a Summer Infant Waterproof Changing Pad Liner on top of the changing pad cover (or receiving blanket) and a NorthShore Disposable Changing Pad on top of that.

Ninety percent of the time messes only affect the disposable changing pad (which is also waterproof) and I can throw it out. Sometimes, though, the mess is more intense and gets on the changing pad liners, but those are completely machine washable and can even go in the dryer. Almost always the cover on the changing pad stays clean and the changing pad itself very rarely needs wiping down.

If you only get one of these items I’d definitely recommend the disposable changing pads, but I think both work very well together.

8. Fisher-Price Infant-to-Toddler Rocker

A chair like this is probably not on most baby registries, but I found it to be absolutely indispensable. Whenever I was on our couch–and it felt like I *LIVED* on our couch for the first few months with all the breastfeeding and baby naps–it was essential to have someplace safe to set down my baby when I needed a break or needed to go get something.

The Fisher-Price Infant-to-Toddler Rocker has a wide, stable base and a three-point harness for keeping babies safe who can’t yet sit up on their own (which usually happens around 5-7 months old). It was life-changing to be able to set my newborn down right next to me for a few moments instead of having to constantly hold him or take him to another room to put him down somewhere safe. It also has a “calming” mode where the chair vibrates, but we haven’t used that much.

Now that my son can sit up on his own we’ve put the chair away because he can tip it over. The beauty of the Fisher-Price Infant-to-Toddler Rocker, however, is that once he’s a little older we can get it out again and he can use it as a toddler.

I love this chair so much (and its pretty cheap price tag!) that I bought two more–one for each set of grandparents–in addition to the one we have a home!

9. BAURAS Shatterproof Backseat Car Mirror

I’m sure your baby registry has a car seat, but you may have forgotten your backseat baby mirror.

I’m always am checking in on my baby when we’re in the car and the only safe way for me to do that when I’m driving is by having a backseat baby car mirror. I love the Backseat Car Mirror by BAURAS because it’s large, stays put most of the time (it only needs occasional readjusting every few months), and, most importantly, it’s shatterproof so I know it won’t break if we get in an accident.

You’ll need to have a vehicle with headrests in the backseat, though anywhere in the backseat is fine since you can swivel the mirror quite far left and right. Your baby or child will also need to still be in a rear-facing car seat (which they should be until at least age 2 anyway) in order to see them in the mirror.

10. HALO SleepSack

This item is pretty popular so you may already have it on your baby registry. Our baby doesn’t sleep a single night without it, however, and I think the HALO brand makes absolutely the best version of the sleepsack, so I’ve decided to include it here.

Baby sleep safety is essential in helping to prevent SIDS. The HALO SleepSack is a sleeveless wearable blanket. It helps your baby stay as safe as possible while sleeping by keeping your little one warm and cozy without the suffocation hazards of a regular blanket. The fact that it’s sleeveless also helps keep your baby from overheating.

The HALO SleepSack has a lot of extra features for comfort and convenience. The newborn version comes with a swaddle option to reduce nighttime wakings caused by the startle reflex. It also zips up from the bottom to make diaper changes easier and keep the zipper out of baby’s face.

It comes in five sizes–preemie through extra large–and the swaddle option is offered on preemie, newborn, and small. Footless versions are also offered for older children.

The cotton version is the most standard and lightest-weight one, but it also comes in micro-fleece and plush for those cold winter nights. There is even a heavy, quilted version (starting at size small) in case you live somewhere with very cold winters (though be careful not to dress your baby too warmly at night because that’s also a SIDS hazard).

Our baby has used these in all seasons and sizes. He has at least one cotton and one plush in every size and other types in other sizes based on the time of year he was a certain height and weight. I totally love this brand and I sleep well at night knowing that he’s as safe as possible in his HALO SleepSack!

In Conclusion: Check Out the Rest of Our Blog–It’s About Music for Babies and Kids!

Baby product recommendations are not the main focus of Baby Loves Baroque–we’re actually all about exploring classical music with your kids! So go check out the rest of our blog–you might be surprised by what you find!