Diaper Bag Essentials -What you need to pack for a Newborn / 1 month old

So we have been brave, and we have taken our newborn old quite a few places. I am not one to be stuck inside, so getting out of the house is a must. Now I am not saying that I brought my newborn out in public, but we have been out visiting grandparents and out for walks in the park where we have been gone for an extended period of time. We found out real quick exactly what we needed to put in our diaper bag to survive the outing with ease through trial and error.

(THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS AT NO EXTRA CHARGE TO YOU. OUR FULL DISCLOSURE IS REALLY BORING, BUT YOU CAN READ IT BY CLICKING HERE).

1. 7-10 Diapers & a Pack of Wipes

The first time we left the house to visit grandma, I had only packed 5 diapers in my bag thinking that would be plenty for the few hours we would be gone. But boy was I wrong. There have been times when I have had to change our little girl 3 times in a matter of minutes. That was three diapers gone very quickly, leaving you with only 3 left (because of the one she was wearing). We ended up having to come home early because we got down to 1. We were only gone for less than 4 hours. If you have a newborn, you know how often you can need to change their diapers, I would error on the side of caution and pack way more than you think you’ll need in your diaper bag.

So far, my favorite diapers are Huggies. They seem to be the softest, and easy to get on baby. We have not had any blowouts in them or leaks from wet diapers.

2. Changing Pad

You will want a changing pad that you can easily wipe down, it should also be able to be folded up small enough to be able to fit in the diaper bag, and not take up too much space. It should also be comfortable for your baby to law on. The changing pad we use came with the diaper bag we bought.

3. Bottle

Even if you breastfeed, you will want to have a bottle in case you are put in a situation where you can’t easily feed your baby via boob.

We have been stuck in gridlock traffic, and our newborn baby decided that she needed to eat. I did not have any milk in our diaper bag, but I did have a manual breast pump. I was able to pump quickly and put it in a bottle for our girl to eat.

We received a bottle box off our registry that comes with multiple different bottles. Our baby’s favorite bottle is the Comotomo bottle. It is nice because the nipple is similar to a breast, and the base is silicone so that you can give it a little squeeze to remind your baby to keep sucking when they get sidetracked.

4. A Manual Breast Pump/Milk/Formula

Like I mentioned above, you never know if you are going to be able to breastfeed. Also, if you have a newborn who is not quite on a schedule, you may not know when your baby is going to need to eat. Having the ability to get them food quickly is key.

The manual breast pump works for us because then I don’t have to worry about warming the milk up for her. I use the Haakka Breat Pump. I would recommend getting the one with a lid and a suction cup base because I have spilled milk before.

5. Burp Rag

Make sure you have at least one burp rag in your diaper bag. This is great not only for burping your baby, but it can help you out in a pinch if something crazy happens with a diaper change and you need to clean yourself or something else up.

6. Bottle Warmer

We have a Tommee Tippee that we have used once when we went to the park. It worked great. I had boiled water at 3 pm, put it in the Tommee Tippee, and it was still piping hot when we got home at 7 when I dumped it out. We are also looking for an electric bottle warmer that we can take in the car for long car trips. I haven’t found one yet.

7. Swaddle

Newborns like to be swaddled. We have found that sometimes when our baby is crying and we can’t figure out what’s wrong. If we just swaddle her up, she’ll calm down and fall right asleep. This is helpful in case you get caught out in public with a screamin babe and you can’t figure out what’s wrong.

8. Hand Sanitizer

I also use hand sanitizer after changing a diaper. But you’ll also want to hand sanitizer before touching your baby while out in public. I use this Babyganics alcohol-free hand sanitizer, which is specially made for baby’s and they are

9. Something to put the dirty diapers in

There have been a few times where we didn’t have somewhere to throw our baby’s diaper away, and we had to hang on to it until we found a trash. Now, we have something that looks like the dog bag’s you use to pick up your dogs poop. We found it at target. We did not think of this item initially, but this is definitely an essential for your newborn diaper bag.

10. Pacifier

Another diaper bag essential is a pacifier. Our baby loves her pacifier. It is needed for a peaceful car ride. We use the Philips Avent Soothies. She seems to like those the best. If you get these pacifiers, I will say that the firmness of the pacifier depends on the color. The purple and pink ones are a little softer and easier for the baby so keep in her mouth. The green and blue ones are a little stiffer.

11. Portable Sound Machine

I highly recommend getting a portable sound machine. My husband, baby, and I were on our way home from the park the other day, and our baby was screaming. I tried the pacifier, I tried a bottle, and nothing worked. I finally decided to try out the sound machine. As soon as I turned this on, she instantly started to calm down. We made it the rest of the way home with a happy sleeping baby.