My Must-Must Haves as a First-Time Mumma

My Must-Must Haves as a First-Time Mumma

Because if this helps even one JK girly, my job here is done.

Becoming a mum for the first time felt like jumping into the deep end of a pool I’d never even seen before — thrilling, overwhelming, beautiful, and terrifying all at once. I was so uncertain about, well… everything.

In those final weeks of pregnancy (and definitely during those 3am feeds in the early days), I was in every rabbit hole-  TikToks, blogs, and forums, trying to figure out what I actually needed, what everyone was buying, what worked and what was just clever marketing. I wanted honest, no-BS advice from someone who had just been through it.

Now that I’m on the other side of that newborn world, I wanted to pay it forward.

I know every mumma and bubba are beautifully different, and what worked for us might not suit everyone — but if something on this list brings even one new mum a moment of ease or joy, that’s enough for me.

So here it is — my must-must haves as a first-time mumma. The real MVPs of my personal experience of early motherhood.

Cocoona Baby.

I honestly don’t know what people do without one. By far our most used purchase.

Nappy Caddy.

It holds everything and goes anywhere.

My vision was perfect changes by her change table - reality was changing her on our bed and having the caddy at arms reach.

Black & White contrast toys from Temu.

We hung them from wherever we were. Newborns obviously can’t do too much however she loved having a starring competition with it.

https://share.temu.com/cC0ktOx8YoA

4moms Mamaroo Bassinet.

It has inbuilt white noise sounds, has all these different motions. Which I have no doubt helped a tonne with all those naps.

The biggest steriliser. Pop everything in and push a button- worth the extra $$

The Pram caddy- LOVE IT! 

A backpack nappy bag, just one less thing to hold & wear instead. Mine is Dagne and Dover.

This toy, by far has been her favourite and we have clipped it on everything- car seat, bouncer, pram etc!

https://www.babybunting.com.au/product/tiny-love-pack-go-mobile-princess-94031

These booties! They stayed on, other brands were selling them for $80 and on aliexpress they are all under $4!

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mPriwY

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mPv9dXz

Speaking of Aliexpress I also got all her headbands, beanies etc from there. Honestly so much cheaper and all were fabulous! These ones were my favourite

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mLnXtgP

Bodysuits, also as everyone carries on about how they grow out of them so quickly- we did a couple of bonds ones and a couple from Temu that were cute and fun. (Soo much cheaper- also fyi bonds outlet stores always have 40% off sale prices on baby clothes)

For her nursery - Etsy wall prints were amazing. Cost a couple of dollars and went to officeworks, printed them off and put them in fun frames.

The mental health walk, going for a walk each morning- just me, her and nature. It re-energised me, refreshed me and the proper coffee was a bonus. 

No such thing as too many cloths. For the bath, vom cloths etc. Kmart had a 20 pack and it really came in handy.

The sleep sacks- the swaddles were cute but the sleep sacks just worked better for us.

More for prenatal, I personally loved doing prenatal chiro/physio. To ensure my hips were staying balanced, I’m not equipped for all the knowledge but my instincts know it helped!

 

Most importantly, back yourself. Everyone says “trust your instincts” — and it’s true. You know your bubba better than anyone; the connection you share is like no other. You’ll feel little nudges, quiet whispers of “try this,” and somehow, you just know. That’s the magic of a mother’s intuition. Tune out the noise,and all the comments, trust the bond, trust yourself and you’ll find your way.

It’s such a precious experience ❤️