Newborn Baby Checklist (Printable PDF Shopping List for New Moms)

Diapering

There are actually two options for diapering your baby – disposable diapers or cloth diapers. 

I’ll cover disposable diapering basics before giving you a brief introduction to cloth diapering 🙂

Diapering Option 1: Disposable 

1. Diapers

If you’re wondering how many newborn diapers to buy, take it from me – buy one box (104 per package) at a time. 

My second baby was 8 pounds at birth and wore size 1 diapers immediately – at 6 weeks old, she’s now wearing size 2!

My firstborn was 7 pounds at birth and wore newborn-sized diapers for over 2 months. 

Every child is a bit different but on average, new parents will often require the following quantities:

• Newborn size (up to 10 pounds) – 1 or 2 boxes of 104
• Size 1 (8 to 14 pounds) – 2 to 4 boxes of 174
• Size 2 (12 to 18 pounds) – 4 boxes of 180

If you want to stock up on diapers in advance, I recommend buying the lower volume – you’re going to be way too busy with a new baby to do returns!

Plus, Amazon Prime makes it super easy for busy moms to have things delivered when we’re running low, haha.

I went these diapers for my second baby – they’re nice and soft compared to other similar diapers at the same price point. 

My first baby had extremely sensitive skin so, she wore Bambo Nature diapers before we switched to cloth. 

2. Baby Wipes

I am a HUGE fan of Water Wipes and used these for both of my babies!

They’re made of 99.9% water and a drop of fruit extract because yucky things like:

• alcohol
• perfume
• chlorine
• formaldehyde
• parabens
• phenols
• phthalates
• quaternary ammonium compounds
• sls and sles
• lanolin

don’t belong in any products we use nevermind wipes that’ll touch baby’s skin 10 or more times a day!

You will use A LOT of baby wipes in your first three months with a newborn – they’re known as the Swiss Army knife of parenting for a reason.

I stocked up and bought three boxes of twelve 60-packs to start.

3. Changing Pad

We made a mistake and bought a crib with a built-in changing pad to start. 

So, every time baby had a messy diaper, I’d have to leave our room and go to the nursery to give her nappy a change – not fun when you’re completely exhausted and sleep-deprived.

I wish we would have had this changing pad to start.

It’s a portable heavy-duty changing pad that wipes clean and works on any surface! 

Since our second baby sleeps in the world’s greatest bassinet beside our bed, I keep the Leander changing pad on top of my bed for convenience.

At 6 weeks old, she wakes up two times a night to feed and normally requires one change.

So, when she wakes up, I pick her up, feed her, give her a change, and pop her back into the bassinet – all within about half to one hour.

Less work for you means more sleep!

4. Diaper Caddy

Having your diapers, wipes, and rash cream conveniently organized makes a world of a difference!

Diaper changes are a breeze and done in moments when everything is neatly organized and available to you.

I used this JJ Cole diaper caddy with my first but since I overloaded the small drawer at the front, it would get stuck often and broke recently. 

I got this cute rope caddy as a replacement and like the three storage slots and how much bigger it is.

I keep Probiotic drops, Vitamin D, colic relief medication, nipple balm, nasal drops, a nasal aspirator, and baby nail files in there too – all of these tools are super handy to have readily available while you’re nursing!

5. Diaper Balm

I swear by Earth Mama’s organic bottom balm and used it for both of my babies! 

This stuff is natural, organic, and doesn’t contain any yucky ingredients or preservatives you wouldn’t want to come into contact with your baby.

6. Diaper Bag

Choose a diaper bag that will help you stay organized. 

I bought a Fawn Design diaper bag and love the shape and size of it – 10 diapers, a bag of wipes, two spare outfits, a nursing cover, diaper balm, and my wallet all fit comfortably inside with room to spare.

7. Diaper Pail

Keep stinky diapers contained with a diaper pail – we have a Dekor diaper pail and are really happy with it.

Compared to the pails our friends and family members use, the Dekor pail and its corresponding liners do a much better job of containing odors.

These scented nursey fresheners are also amazing until you’re ready to take out the trash.

8. Diaper Pain Liners

Liners are specially designed garbage bags made to fit your diaper pail of choice.

Simply pop one in, pull it through, and cut to size.

And when you’re ready to empty out the pail, you just need to pull down again to create another bag.

Diapering Option 2: Cloth 

As a mom who cloth diapered her first baby from 3 months onward, I’m excited to share both methods of diapering your babies!

Cloth diapering is a bit more involved than disposable diapers are but it can save you a ton of money in the long run – there is also a bit of a learning curve. 

1. Cloth Diapers

If you plan on cloth diapering your baby full-time, you’ll want to pick up AT LEAST 30 cloth diapers to avoid doing cloth diaper laundry every single day!

You might also consider cloth diapering part-time – using cloth diapers at home and relying on disposable diapers when you’re on the go. 

I found cloth diapering easiest with diapers that had: 

• snaps
• removable inserts

While traditional cloth diapering means using a square sheet and pinning it closed, snaps are as easy as putting a button-up onesie on your baby – it’s done in seconds. 

I prefer pocket style cloth diapers with removable inserts because, at night time, this lets you use any cloth diaper cover you want (the cute colorful part that resembles a disposable diaper) with an overnight liner of your choice!

Pro Mom Tip: Start small! Invest in 12 cloth diapers and a few overnight inserts to give cloth diapering a try for a couple of days. 

Then, if you feel this is managable for your lifestyle, purchase more.

2. Liners

Cloth diaper liners look like pads and get inserted into cloth diaper covers to absorb your baby’s business!

You’ll need both regular liners, which usually come with cloth diaper covers, and overnight liners to ensure your baby is covered 24/7. 

As babies sleep for longer periods of time, overnight liners ensure that your child won’t leak through their diaper in the evening – they’re thicker and absorb more liquid than regular liners alone.

Note: since cloth diapers don’t have a wetness indicator like some disposable brands offer, you’ll want to change your baby’s diaper once an hour unless he or she is having a nap. 

This will prevent your baby from leaking through or developing a rash from sitting in a wet nappy for too long.

3. Baby Wipes or Cloth Wipes

I used a combination of disposable and cloth wipes.

4. Cloth Diaper Safe Balm

You CANNOT use petroleum based creams with pocket cloth diapers – it will NOT wash out and your diapers will no longer be able to hold moisture. 

Earth Mama’s organic diaper balm is a perfect choice.

5. Wet Bag

If you plan on cloth diapering your child on the go, you’ll need a wet bag to store your little one’s used nappy’s until you can return home to wash them.

6. Cloth Diaper Pail Liner

I loved these cloth pail liners for our Dekor diapear pail.

They come as a set of two so you can flip the bag of dirty diapers inside out and throw it in the wash with everything else and sthen imply put on the clean cloth diaper pail liner after!

7. Cloth Diaper Safe Laundry Detergent

You CANNOT use liquid detergent on cloth diapers as it will damage them just like petroleum based creams.

Cloth diapers MUST be wash with a powder laundry detergent so, choose one that has minimal ingredients and is baby safe. 

I swear by Nellie’s laundry soda and use it to wash all of our new baby’s clothes as well my nursing clothes (anything that comes into contact with her). 

The following items are repeated from Disposable Diapering.

8. Changing Pad

9. Diaper Caddy

10. Diaper Bag

11. Diaper Pail