Bringing a newborn baby home can be both exciting and terrifying. It’s crazy how much stuff they need! Before you know it, you have no idea where the diaper wipes are, what time they ate last, or when they had a bath. With my first daughter, I was trying to figure everything out as I went along. Now, with my second who is only 4 months old, I knew right away the things that would help me day in and day out. I want to show you a few organizational ideas that have helped me tremendously these first few months. Bonus! There’s a FREE printable involved! 🙂
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Pack n' Play Organization
To start, I purchased these 4 bins from Target. I like them because they hold a lot of items and are also very easy to clean, if needed!
We have a two story home with the bedrooms upstairs. If you’re like me, then you probably spend most of your time in the common living spaces throughout the day. It didn’t make sense to walk up and down the stairs 100 times just to change our newborn. A safer alternative was to place a Pack ‘n Play in the living room. This also helped out tremendously when family and friends would come over to visit and help out. Make sure to get one with a changing station on top! With the mattress insert in place, the bins fit perfectly inside.
I organized the bins into four different categories: Sleepers/bodysuits, burp cloths/swaddle blankets, baby washcloths and diapers/wipes. In the small pink bin I have a few smaller items: Socks, slippers, portable sound machine and baby brush. These items are all of the essentials needed throughout the day all in one place! I keep her dressy outfits in her room. Lets be honest, normally newborns stay in sleepers or bodysuits; however, it never hurts to add a bow! 😉
I like to keep a minky dot changing pad cover over the changing table for added comfort. It also helps to have waterproof changing pad liners for added protection as well. These are also really great! I like to put the larger ones on furniture and the small ones in her swing, and any place I’m going to lay her. Babies tend to spit up a lot when they’re little and you never know when a blowout may happen! It’s always good to be on the safe side and keep things protected! Having a hamper next to your changing station is great also. Newborns typically go through a few outfit changes in a day, having a hamper nearby has been very helpful with soiled sleepers, rags and liners!
Newborn Feeding Schedule - FREE Printable!
Routine is very important for a newborn, so is tracking all of their information! Questions your Pediatrician will ask you at each appointment are how many ounces your baby consumes in a day and how many wet and dirty diapers they have. These things can be hard to keep track of in our mind. This template helps to keep up with feeding times, how many ounces, and how many wet and dirty diapers your baby has. It also helps other caregivers for your baby to know if/when they need to eat again, etc. I used this with my first daughter and she started sleeping through the night at 3 months old. My youngest daughter, who is now 4 months old, started sleeping through the night at 2 months! I feel this is partly due to us keeping them on a good feeding schedule and routine! 🙂
I keep everything in this storage bin from Target. I leave it on the kitchen counter near the bottles for it to be easily accessible by everyone. I also like to keep Publix hand and face wipes (best price I have found), Boogie Wipes and a forehead thermometer in there as well. I recommend a rectal thermometer for newborns though, as they are more accurate. I keep one in the Pack n’ Play changing station.
Newborn Feeding Schedule - FREE Printable - 4 Colors!
I also like to use these printables to compare my youngest daughter’s development with my oldest when she was her age. This helps me to see if she’s on track and how they compare. I will also write their monthly stats from the Pediatrician in the “Notes” section to keep everything in one documented spot as well. I hope this helps! 🙂
