Must-Have Gender Neutral Baby Supplies Every New Parent Needs

This spring has been a wild and crazy time for our family! My sister, my sister in law, and my cousin's wife all had newborn babies. What a blessing these little ones are! 

Since my kids are no longer babies, I miss the baby gear - cute outfits, sweet little toys, and the super-soft blankets. Fortunately, with the arrival of these new bundles of joy, I get to do a little shopping for some cute baby gifts. None of the moms found out what they were having, so when I was looking for a gift, I had to keep it gender neutral. 

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Advice for New Parents

As a new parent, sometimes you can become overwhelmed by all the options available for a new baby. So you might be asking "What do I really need for a newborn baby?" I remember asking myself this during moments of feeling overwhelmed. After having my first baby and then, preparing for my second (and third and fourth), my list of "Must Haves" became much more simplified and practical. I approached the newborn stage with a mindset focused on survival and the "less as more" mantra. 

Here are my recommendations for what a newborn (and rookie parents) will need as they welcome their bundle of joy home.

"Must-Haves" for Newborn Baby

1. Diapers (lots and lots of diapers) 

In the early days, you are supposed to track wet and dirty diapers to make sure baby is getting enough nourishment. Newborn babies go through a LOT of diapers. Also, some brands of diapers worked better for my girls and not my boys and vice versa. The best diapers for my girls were Pampers and I used Huggies for my boys.

2. Onesies / Bodysuit 

My babies wore onesies all the time! They wore a onesie under everything from jammies to jumpers. My pediatrician always recommended dressing newborns in one more layer than what you are comfortable wearing. 

My daughter was born in the summer and wore a onesie by itself on hot days and seemed quite comfortable. A new mom needs a collection of these since babies tend to go through them quickly! I didn't go through their onesies quite as fast as diapers, but still be prepared to change your baby's onesie 3-8 times per day. 

Here are some cute gender neutral bodysuit (onesies) I recommend from Burt's Bees:

3. Infant Car Seat 

Obviously, safety is your number one concern when bringing baby home from the hospital. The right car seat that is installed correctly is so important. If you have never installed a car seat I recommend checking with your local fire or police department to see if they have a certified car seat education program. Many times you can just stop into the police or fire department, and they will check to make sure your infant car seat is installed correctly at no charge to you. 

We used Graco brand car seats with all four of our kids because they had good safety ratings, were easy to lug around, and worked with our stroller. We also bought additional car seat bases so we could use the same car seat in multiple cars or give one to grandparents to install in their car. 

4. Sleep sack or layette 

Newborn babies don't need a lot of clothing at first since they spend a lot of time tucked into mom's arms, eating or sleeping. I found that having a good supply of sleep sacks or layettes handy was what my babies wore for the first few months outside the womb. 

The advantage of the sleep sack is that you can change the baby's diaper without disturbing them too much.

Hopefully, these suggestions will help reduce your anxiety and help prepare you for a new baby! Remember that becoming a new parent is a process that you will learn to grow and adjust to. Enjoy your new baby and all the cuddles, snuggles, and time you get to spend with him or her! 

Big Collection of Adorable Easter Baskets

Tradition was a big deal in my family growing up, especially holiday traditions. Easter was no exception!

Being the oldest child in my family, my mom gave me her wooden Easter basket she used as a child. I'm not a very sentimental person but this basket is just precious to me! It even has her name written on the bottom of the basket in crayon - something I'm sure she did to make sure her other 5 siblings knew whose basket this belonged to!

The basket has a solid wood bottom with rows of weaved basket fibers in tan and dark purple around it. The handles are wooden and attached with bent nails to the basket frame (I'm sure this is a "fix" my grandpa made to the basket years ago!)

I used this basket every year and my parents had a tradition of hiding our baskets somewhere in the house for us kids to find on Easter morning. They kept up this tradition well into my college years!

Now that I have my own kids we have tweaked our Easter tradition but we still love including the baskets in our celebration. Instead of hiding their baskets I hide plastic eggs throughout our house - in Michigan you can never be to sure if the weather will allow for an outside Easter egg hunt.

Each hidden egg has a Bible verse reference inside. Once all the eggs are found we gather together as a family and the kids begin looking up each verse in their Bible and reading it out loud.

Once we are done reading I fill their baskets with candy and small gifts to remind them of the gift Jesus gave to us by dying on the cross to pay for our sin and His resurrection. I love this tradition and so do my kids!

I found a wonderful collection of beautiful and unique Easter baskets I just had to share with you. There is a variety of baskets appropriate a variety of ages as well as some great table scape baskets!

I'd love to hear what your Easter traditions are and if you have a special Easter basket - share below in the comments!!!

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