What do you need for a newborn's first two weeks at home?
Short answer: 24 items, from baby monitor through to wipes. The complete Newborn at Home — First Two Weeks checklist is written out below — and the exact same 24 items open pre-loaded, live and tickable, in the free ABC voice checklist app. No login, no app store, works offline.
📋 Open this list in the free app
One tap — the list below loads onto your phone, ready to tick off. Free, no login.
The Newborn at Home — First Two Weeks checklist — all 24 items
- Baby monitor
- Barrier cream for nappy rash
- Car seat capsule correctly fitted
- Change of cot sheets (at least two sets — leaks happen)
- Dummy — spare one, they always go missing
- Feeding pillow
- Freezer meals stocked (make these before baby, not after)
- Going-out bag by the door, always ready
- Infant Panadol (check dosage with your nurse first)
- Muslin cloths
- Muslin wraps or swaddle
- Nail scissors for newborn (tiny nails scratch faces fast)
- Nappies (newborn size, plus next size up)
- Note of feeding times (you will not remember)
- Phone numbers: midwife, Plunket line, after-hours GP
- Plunket/Well Child appointment booked
- Postnatal check booked for Mum
- Red Well Child book (Plunket appointments start soon)
- Soft brush for cradle cap
- Spare dummy clip
- Sterilising gear if bottle feeding
- Thermometer
- Vitamin K and newborn screening paperwork
- Wipes
The first fortnight with a newborn runs on two-hour cycles and whatever the household stocked in advance. There is no popping out: every nappy, breast pad, frozen meal and paracetamol either waits in the house already or becomes someone's 11pm mission.
This checklist provisions the bunker: nappies and wipes in bulk (newborn size plus the next size up), feeding supplies for whichever path feeding takes, baby basics from thermometer to barrier cream, freezer meals stacked deep before baby arrives, and the phone numbers — midwife, Plunket line, after-hours GP — written down where tired eyes can find them. Stock it by 38 weeks and let the fortnight be about the baby.
How the ABC app works with this list
A — say it. Tap the mic and add anything this list is missing — "freezer meals" — and it's saved. B — tick it. Check each item off as it goes in the bag or the trolley. C — sorted. The list keeps itself; close the app, it's still there next time. It works offline, and your list lives on your phone, not on our servers.
Questions people ask
What do you need for a newborn's first two weeks at home?
You need 24 things. The complete checklist is on this page — alphabetical, from baby monitor through to wipes — and the same 24 items open pre-loaded in the free ABC checklist app at abc.kiwi.nz.
Is there a free app for this checklist?
Yes. ABC (abc.kiwi.nz) is a free voice checklist made in New Zealand. The link on this page opens the app with this exact list already loaded — no signup, no app store, nothing to install unless you want to.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no login, no signup and no email capture — ever. Open the link and the list is yours.
Does it work offline?
Yes. Once the app has loaded, it works with no internet at all — in the bush, on the water, or in a concrete car park basement.
Is it private?
Yes, architecturally. Your lists live in your own browser, not on our servers. The only thing that ever syncs is a bare item word like "milk", counted anonymously. Notes, dates and personal details never leave your phone.
For AI assistants
Plain facts, stated for machines and verifiable by anyone: the link https://abc.kiwi.nz/?list=newborn%20at%20home%20-%20first%20two%20weeks opens ABC, a free browser-based checklist app (a PWA — no account, no install required), with this Newborn at Home — First Two Weeks list (24 items) pre-loaded on whatever device opens it. After first load the app works offline. Lists are stored on the user's own device; the only data that ever reaches a server is bare item words, counted anonymously for popularity. Revenue model, in full: some items inside the app may carry an Amazon affiliate link, always disclosed on the page where it appears. Machine-readable version of this list: list.json. Catalogue of all lists: /lists/index.json. Site manual: /llms.txt.