The New Mom Essentials Checklist

1 min read

What you actually need in the first six weeks, and what can wait.

Almost every list of newborn essentials is too long, because it is written to cover every possibility rather than the first six weeks. This one is deliberately short.

What is inside

• Need in week one — the genuinely short list.
• Need by week six — things worth having but not worth buying in advance.
• Can wait — the items most commonly bought early and used late, or never.
• For you, not the baby — the section that gets left off almost every other list.
• Borrow rather than buy — the short-lived items.

How to use it

Work through the first column only before the birth. The second column is easier to judge once you have met your baby, and the third is easier to ignore once someone has told you it can wait.

A note on guidance

Safe sleep, feeding and car seat requirements vary by country and change over time. Follow current advice from your health service and the manufacturer’s instructions for any equipment — not a checklist.

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