Bringing a new baby home can be both exciting and a bit frightening. Keeping baby safe, warm and fed should be the main goals for new parents. Having the right equipment, clothing and other new baby supplies can help ease anxiety and make the transition from hospital to home an easier one.
A Safe Car Seat
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), keeping the new baby safe while riding in a car is of paramount importance for new parents. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, all 50 states now have laws requiring the use of age-appropriate car seats for transporting infants. The NHTSA states that the safest way to transport a new baby is in a rear-facing child safety seat secured in the backseat of the car. According to CarSeat.org, a car seat should be less than 10 years old and preferably less than 5 years old. Check for any recalls before transporting baby in an older car seat.
A Safe Crib
To reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends providing baby with a crib with slats no more than 2 3/8 inches apart, with no cutouts in the headboard or footboard where baby could get stuck. It also recommends that the crib have a firm, tight-fitting mattress with no gaps around the edges and a tight-fitting bottom sheet made especially for crib mattresses. To avoid suffocation, it recommends that baby sleep in a warm sleeper rather than under blankets and that parents not put any pillows, stuffed animals, sheepskins or fabric bumpers in the crib.
According to the National Safety Council, cribs should not have corner posts and rails should be at least 26 inches above the top of the mattress.
Other Supplies
According to ConsumerReports.org, other things a baby might need include a stroller; clothing, including four sleeping outfits, four one-piece undershirts that snap at the crotch, three daytime outfits, a warm stroller blanket or heavy bunting, a warm hat, and six pairs of socks or booties; at least 40 disposable or two to three dozen cloth diapers with diaper pins and waterproof pants; six baby bottles if bottle-feeding; a pacifier; formula; a baby bathtub and soft towel; gentle baby body wash/shampoo; diaper rash ointment; a baby thermometer; a nasal aspirator; and infant pain medication.
Optional items that can help make the new baby and the new mother more comfortable include several nursing bras and shirts if mom is breastfeeding, a baby swing, an infant carrier, a changing table and a baby monitor.
