The Most Important Items You Need for Diapering a Newborn Baby

Having all your baby essentials set up and ready when you bring baby home from the hospital can save you (and your fella) a lot of hassle running out to the store when you have a newborn at home.  As a first-time mom to boy/girl twins, not only will I tell you what items you need for diapering a newborn, but I will also tell you what products I love and why.  

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link.

1.  Diapers

Obviously! There is a mind-boggling selection of diapers out there, but like so many other parents, I LOVE Pampers and here’s why:

• The Pampers Swaddlers size “N” have a notch in the front to allow for proper umbilical cord healing.  
• We especially loved the wetness indicator (a yellow strip that turns blue when it gets wet).  It took a lot of the guess-work out of knowing when to change diapers.  
• We were amazed that our babies’ bottoms were still completely dry every time we took off a wet diaper!  We had absolutely NO issues with diaper rash, not once, ever (until later when we tried using cheaper ones.)

One box of pampers swaddlers diapers newborn with 120 diapers is the perfect start!  You want quite a few but not too many, as your baby will grow faster than you can imagine and you’ll be moving up to the next size before you know it.  

We thought we’d save a little money and tried other brands – even the generic ones from Aldi, but we always kept coming back to Pampers – there’s nothing like them.  

TIP:  Use the Amazon Family diaper subscription and get 20% off!

2.  Baby Wipes

Just like diapers, there are way too many different kinds of baby wipes to choose from.  But again…I LOVE Pampers.  Pampers Sensitive Baby Wipes fulfill 3 very important criteria:

• They come out of the box ONE…AT…A…TIME!  You only have one hand to open the box and remove a wipe and if you’re like me, there’s nothing that ticks you off more than pulling out a wipe with 5 others clinging to it!
• They are able to remove a lot of heavy mess in one wipe.  Pampers has found the sweet spot when it comes to texture:  they’re soft on baby’s bottom but tough enough to remove a heavy mess quickly.
• To put it bluntly:  they don’t stink like toilet bowl cleaner infused with grandma’s favorite eau de toilette!

3.  Baby Wipes Warmer

Also on my list of important newborn items is a wipes warmer. Our twins cried continuously every time we changed their diaper in the beginning – it was heartbreaking!  But our wipes warmer changed everything!

Once we started using warmed wipes, our baby boy would only fuss a little and our little girl was totally fine.

I would buy this one all over again as it really helped us keep our sanity during the first few weeks.

4.  Changing Pad

Now, everyone has their own criteria when it comes to changing pads.  I’ve been using mine for almost a year-and-a-half and I’m happy to report that I still love it!  My personal criteria were:

• It’s narrow and highly contoured on the sides so that baby can’t roll out.  Even now that my twins are walking and running (and spinning…and jumping…) they still have difficulties squirming off this pad.
• It’s portable:  we always take it with us when we go on trips with our camper.
• It doesn’t have any silly designs on it.
• A water-resistant, washable cover can be bought separately  It’s really easy to remove and put back on.

We use disposable changing pads on top of our changing pad so that we’re not constantly washing the cover.  It can be pretty messy in the beginning.  Our newborn Sven peed almost every time we took off his diaper, so disposable pads come in really handy!

When diapering a newborn, disposable changing pads really are a game changer.  They’ve saved our carpets, sofas, and bed plenty of times, are just the right size, and don’t have any silly designs on them – Perfect!  

5.  Diaper Pail

Actually, I should have put this item at the very top of my list because having the right diaper pail can make your life so much easier!  We experimented with 3 different diaper pails this first year.  Now I am happy to report that we’ve finally found the right one.  Our criteria are (in this order)

• it must completely eliminate odor
• it shouldn’t have to be emptied more than once or twice a week (keep in mind – we have twins)
• we should be able to open it with no hands
• it should be easy to empty – no hassling with garbage bags!
• it should be aesthetically pleasing and easy to clean

We love our Diaper Pail as it totally fulfills all of our criteria.

We have no odor issues.  It makes a twisting motion when you close the lid so that odor can’t escape.  The Arm & Hammer pucks in the lid are sold separately and really do their job!  The bags also feature odor control with baking soda in the plastic – they are simply awesome!

We change up to 6 diapers per baby per day and we only have to empty it twice a week!  Emptying is also a breeze.  Just take the pail out to the trash can and dump it in.  No more fighting with plastic garbage bags that don’t fit properly or even break.

It has the perfect height – no bending down to open it.  The foot pedal is a huge plus when your hands are busy with the dirty diaper.  You do close it manually – pressing down a little to make sure it’s closed tight.

The design is clean and functional – who needs anything more?

6.  Diaper Cream, Baby Oil + Co.

When you come home from the hospital, you’re going to want some kind of diaper cream on hand.  There are so many different choices, but all I ever needed was the Burt’s Bees baby oil. 

Their baby oil truly is amazing.  It made the tiny red bumps my son’s face (which he routinely had until he turned 1) go away within 24 hours.  I also used it as a lotion – even applying it to their bums if the skin felt a little dry.  

Aquaphor baby healing ointment is also very effective if you need something more heavy-duty.

Related:
Free Baby Stuff for New and Expecting Moms 
5 Awesome Baby Products You Don’t Really Need!