12 Household Essentials to Stock Up On Before Baby Arrives
Preparing for your first baby can feel overwhelming, especially when it comes to making sure your home is ready for your little one’s arrival. As a first-time mom, you’re probably searching for must-have household essentials for newborns, things to buy before baby arrives, or how to prepare your home for a baby — I’ve got you covered. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the 12 household essentials every new mom needs, from baby-safe cleaning supplies to must-have convenience items that make life easier in those early postpartum weeks. Whether you’re setting up your nursery, organizing your space to prepare for baby, or stocking up on postpartum necessities, these essentials will help you feel more prepared and confident as you welcome your baby home. Stocking up on household essentials is a must add to your pregnancy to-do list!
If you’re just starting to nest and looking for what to prioritize in getting prepped for baby, make sure to grab a seat in my free training, Baby Prep Bootcamp: Preparing for Baby and Navigating Postpartum with Clarity and Confidence. Here we’ll be diving into first time mom need to knows like how to truly prepare for life with a newborn, not just childbirth, how to approach breastfeeding and pumping with confidence, and how to create a stress-free, functional environment that supports you in the early weeks postpartum. You won’t want to miss it!
Household essentials to stock up on before baby
Dishwashing soap: Buy and extra bottle of liquid dish soap as well as dishwasher pods, which are a dream for the easiest one hand start when you’re holding a baby.
Cleaning supplies for bottles and breast pump parts: Wash bottles and pump parts in a separate bowl or bin with a bottle brush to help eliminate the risk of bacteria and contamination. Dapple bottle soap is my favorite soap to use for bottles and pump parts, along with the Dr. Brown’s bottle brush and this Munchkin bottle drying rack.
Ziploc bags and plastic containers: Check your container storage supply and make sure to get freezer bags and cling wrap to save leftovers from meals. I also recommend getting a couple boxes of gallon size Ziploc bags. I used these to store my breast pump parts between pump sessions and to store various baby items such as the manuals for all of my baby products.
Paper towels: There will be lots of little messes and these make clean up easy.
Toilet paper: Need to say no more.
Hand soap: It makes me happy to make a special trip to Bath & Body Works to stock up on my favorite seasonal scents. Whatever kind of hand soap use, make sure you have enough on hand to get you through the first few months postpartum.
Laundry soap and stain remover: Baby spit ups and blowouts make for a lot of laundry during those early newborn days. Go ahead and stock up on all of your laundry supplies such as laundry soap, stain remover, fabric softener, dryer sheets, etc.
Sanitizing wipes: I prefer a gentle sanitizing wipe for surfaces used around the baby.
Trash bags: Get trash bags for the kitchen, bathrooms, and diaper pail if you have one.
Tylenol or Ibuprofen: This goes for any other medication you might need for both you and your baby. You will be glad to have these already on hand whenever the time comes that you need them. Infant Tylenol is a great item to put on your baby registry. For a list of other baby medications you will want to have on hand, check out my baby registry checklist.
Toiletries and beauty items: This includes anything under self care. Think soap, lotion, makeup, and skincare. Check your supply of the items you use on a regular basis and stock up on anything you might run out of in the first couple of months after baby arrives.
Coffee: This one is obvious, right??
