My Top 10 Newborn Must-Haves for Mama + Baby

The early days with a newborn are no joke! Lack of sleep, sore nipples, a screaming baby… for Mike and I, navigating those first few weeks were challenging to say the least.

Our little Cole is now almost 12 weeks old and while we are still learning so much each day, there were a few items that helped us in the beginning when we literally had no idea what we were doing.

Here are my top 10 newborn must-haves for mama + baby:

Snuggle Me Organic Infant Lounger: Cole absolutely loves this thing! He takes all of his daytime supervised naps in it. It’s just so cozy for him and he is very happy nestled inside. We don’t swaddle him but the shape of the Snuggle Me Lounger allows us to tuck in a receiving blanket all around him and that seems to work well.

Haakaa Breast Pump: A must if you are breastfeeding. This little gem attaches to your other breast while you are nursing your little one and catches the letdown. It’s a great (and cheap!) way to start storing breastmilk for when you can finally get out of the house for a date night :)

Earth Mama Organic Nipple Butter: I was shocked at how much my nipples hurt in the very beginning. Both Cole and I had no idea what we were doing — breastfeeding is a serious learning process! But thankfully using a good nipple cream helps to ease the pain and get you through those brutal first few weeks before your nipples toughen up.

Knix Leakproof Nursing Pads: Unless you like the look of breastmilk stained shirts, nursing pads are a must. In the beginning I was using disposable nursing pads but I wasn’t a big fan so I decided to invest in a few pairs of washable nursing pads and the ones by knix are fantastic. They are a bit of an investment if you want to buy a few pairs like I did so you don’t have to wash them everyday, but they are well worth it.

Joyous Health Body Butter: Cole loves to be massaged, especially after bath time, and the only thing I use on his skin is this body butter by Joyous Health. I love it because it’s free from harmful chemicals and toxins and leaves Cole’s skin super soft and smooth afterwards.

Solly Baby Wrap: Having a good baby wrap is so necessary if you want to get lots of skin-to-skin with your little one while still getting things done around the house. It also helps calm Cole down when he is fussy and he sleeps longer when he is in it. Any baby wrap will work but I personally love the one by Solly Baby. The fabric is lightweight, breathable and buttery soft.

The Sustainable Baby Co. MoonWomb Nursing Pillow: A good nursing pillow is a must for breastfeeding mamas but also mamas who bottle feed their babies too! Whichever way you choose to feed your baby, holding a baby to feed can really wreak havoc on your back if you don’t have proper support. I really love the MoonWomb pillow because not only does it provide the much needed support to prevent me from hunching over while feeding Cole but it also includes an aromatherapy pocket with a removal sachet of organic lavender and chamomile flowers that helps to calm both you and your baby.

Earth Mama Organics Diaper Balm: This diaper balm is hands down the best one I’ve tried, and I’ve tried a lot! It’s super gentle on Cole’s dimpled little bottom and has kept his bum diaper rash-free from the moment we started using it. It is seriously miraculous. I even used it on an oven burn on my hand and it healed it up in no time. It’s also free from petroleum, parabens, artificial fragrances and is EWG verified with the lowest hazard rating possible.

Scrunchie: Because babies pull your hair and you are also going to be sweating like a champ thanks to all those hormones so a killer top knot is going to be your go-to. My favourite scrunchies are the ones made by Onderbroeks because they make them using leftover materials from the beautiful robes they make. I also love that the company is female-founded and the products are Canadian-made.

Mama Natural Baby Care Course: My go-to resource during my pregnancy was Genevieve Howland’s (aka Mama Natural) Week-By-Week Guide to Pregnancy & Childbirth (highly recommend btw!) so when she released her Mama Natural Baby Care Online Course I jumped on it right away, and boy was I glad I did! Her online baby course is phenomenal for any new mama or papa and it helped give me so much confidence by arming me with the knowledge I needed to help navigate my new life with a newborn.

(I’m not endorsed by any of these companies, I just genuinely love the products.)