DIY Baby Box
Make your own Baby Box with everything you need for your baby. The Finnish government has been making baby boxes since 1938. We made our own baby box in 2020. It is filled with the baby clothes and products that worked for our four babies. Check out our baby box checklist at the end of this story and make your own box.
The official Finnish baby box contains about 50 baby items — from socks to snowsuits. The contents are revised each year with the necessities you need to survive the first year of with your baby. We dug into our shopping history and found the products we actually used and loved.
Introducing the Nordic Design Mom Baby Box!
Shirts
The 2020 Finnish baby box contains a total of eight shirts. There are four wrap around, kimono style, shirts and four over the head, long-sleeve onesies.
For newborns, we loved H&M Long-sleeved Bodysuits. They are affordable (a 3-pack for $15) and made from lightweight cotton. The kimono wrap, or wrap around shirt, makes it easy to dress delicate newborns.
Starting at about 6 months, you can upgrade your shirts to standard onesies without all of those extra snaps. Look for shirts with a stretchy top that you can pull all the way down over your baby (instead of over the head) in case of a diaper disaster. A snug fit and snaps at the bottom are still very helpful with diapers. We liked both the basic white lightweight cotton H&M bodysuits (5-pack for $20) and the colorful Primary Bodysuits ($15 each).
Pants
The Finnish baby box contains seven sets of pants: six standard pants and one set of black & white striped overalls.
Side note on these Finnish overalls. In Finnish these are called potkuhousut, which literally means kicking pants. These lightweight cotton pants are great for layering. They have snaps at the bottom for easy diaper changes and adjustable snaps at the top for extended lifespan. They have footies included so no socks needed, and since they are overalls there is nothing tight at the waist. In short, they are the perfect. However, they are impossible to find! We loved a pair of Danish Joha overalls that we had received as a gift, but after five years of searching, I have given up finding a replacement. If you find a pair of potkuhousut, cherish them.
When the perfect pair of pants eludes you, you can turn to lightweight cotton pants with a comfortable fabric belly band and footies. For our newborns we liked these cotton H&M Leggings. They come in a 3-pack for $15.
For footless pants, we liked Polarn O Pyret Pants. The cuff can be folded up for shorter babies and then extended for taller babies. However, they are quite expensive at $30 each. For similar cotton pants, we prefer the solids and stripes of Primary Leggings. They still a bit pricey at $16 each.
Rompers
The Finnish baby box has just one nightgown. This is surprising to me since all of our babies lived in pajamas 24/7.
Pajamas are comfortable for the baby and practical for the parent, if you find ones with the right features. A bottom-up zipper makes diaper changes so much easier. We love the Target Cloud Island Sleep ‘N Play pajamas. They are affordable (3 pack for $13). They are made from a lightweight cotton, which makes them ideal for layering over the kimono tops. They have fold-over cuffs that cover sharp baby nails, and the footies mean you do not need separate socks.
Outerwear
The Finnish baby box has four outerwear suits. The merino wool romper is great for layering with any of the other three suits.
My edit to the outerwear collection is to oversize it. It does not matter if outerwear is too big for your newborn. This gives you two winters of use for these specialty items. We liked the Gap’s Warmest Down Snowsuit, but they no longer have the exact one we used; this Gap Snow Suit ($52) is similar. We also really liked the Polarn O Pyret Merino Wool Romper, but it is also pricey at $32.
The one exception to this oversize rule is one snug fit, lightweight overall. It is nice to have a thin, warm layer that you can use with a car seat. The H&M Fleece Overall has been a good find, and a good price at $18. For my older babies I also used cotton jumpsuits, like this H&M Hooded Cotton Jumpsuit that costs $20. With my youngest twins, I have simplified their outerwear, and we only use the thin Fleece Overalls.
The Finnish Baby Box contains three hats and a set of socks and mittens.
Most baby caps I see are missing a few critical features: ear flaps and straps. Our wriggly babies would often pull hats down over their faces or off their heads completely. For our newborns, we really like the snug fit, lightweight cotton Polarn O Pyret Helmet Caps. They are reasonably priced at $15. For colder weather I like the merino wool Celavi Balaclava. They run small, so the 2Y size is a good fit for my 6 month old. I bought it while we were living in England, and it was 15 GBP or roughly $20. Mittens are kind of silly for newborns, but we used these H&M Baby Mittens; they are a 3-pack for $6. For slightly larger babies, we loved the Polarn O Pyret Winter Hat. It is a wool hat with a fleece lining, and a good deal at $10.
Linens
The Finnish baby box has a set of sheets for a crib, a cotton blanket, puffy sleeping bag and hooded towel.
Unlike newborn sized onesies, quality linens can be used for several years. We have been pleased with the design and quality of the cotton Finlayson Elefantti Duvet Set. The set is a bit pricey at 34 euros or roughly $40. I have paired this with the affordable IKEA LEN fitted crib sheet. It is a 2-pack for $8. Our babies have all loved their merino wool blankets. Our favorite is the German Sonnen Strick Merino Wool Blanket. At $50, it is a bit expensive, but it is still our 3 year olds most prized possession.
My favorite baby towels are the IKEA Tillgiven Hooded Baby Towels. They no longer make this exact towel, but the IKEA RÖDHAKE towel looks similar. They are a nice thickness and softness, and a good price, too ($10).
I do not have an exact match for the sleeping bag found in the Finnish Baby Box, but our Bugaboo Stroller Foot Muff accomplishes much of the same goals. It is very expensive, at well over $100, but luckily Bugaboo products have good resale value; I sold our used Bugaboo for almost as much as I had bought it for.
Accessories
The Finnish baby box also includes one set of socks, a short sleeve onesie, a pair of stockings, and a drool bib.
For socks, non-slip is a must. We like the colorful, striped Primary Socks. It is a 2-pack for $10.
I really like the thick cotton of Primary’s Striped Short Sleeve Onesie, but it looks like they no longer make this exact cut. The Primary Short Sleeve Babysuits are also nice, and moderately priced at $10. That said, I think short sleeve shirts are nice to have, but not a necessity. On hot days, my babies prefered to be topless in their diapers.
For stockings we had the Polarn O Pyret Classic Stripe Tights, but I did not find them very practical and we did not use them very much. They cost $14.
For drool bibs, you need way more than just one! An absorbent drool bib is a time saver. Instead of washing the entire outfit, you can change bibs as needed throughout the day. With our 6 month old, we are averaging about 3 bib changes per day. We grew to love these large, absorbent Diaper Squad Bandana Bibs. They are $25 for a 10-pack.
The Finnish Baby Box also has two large cotton muslin squares, a food bib, a baby board book, and soft plush toy.
We love Gerber Cloth Diapers; a pack of ten costs $10. We used them ALL the time, multiple square a day, as burp cloths, light blankets, and utility rags. For food bibs, my babies tend to hate them, but they tolerate the Tommee Tippee Easi-Roll Up Crumb and Drip Catcher; it is $8 for a 2-pack.
Our Dutch friend gave my oldest son this Nijntje (Miffy the Bunny) Crinkle Book in 2015, and it is hands down the most popular book with my babies. I searched far and wide, and found it on a website from the Netherlands. It looks like it is about 8 euros, or $10. Instead of a toy, I would recommend a teether. My youngest son loves the Mombella Dancing Elephant chewing toy; it is $7.
Lastly, the Finnish Baby Box also has personal hygiene products for baby and mom. Oh, and the box can double as a baby bed. They have thought of everything!
Summary
Here is your our baby box checklist — inspired by the Finnish Baby Box and refined by our actual experience with four babies.
Shirts ($50)
One 3-pack Newborn Kimono Shirts by H&M for $15
One 3-pack 3–6M Kimono Shirts by H&M for $15
One 5-pack 6–9 M Baby Shirts by H&M for $20
Pants ($51)
One 3-pack 3–6 M Footed Pants by H&M for $15
One 6–9M Baby Pants by Primary for $16
Pajamas ($39)
One 3-pack 0–3M Pajamas by Cloud Island for $13
One 3-pack 3–6M Pajamas by Cloud Island for $13
One 3-pack 6–9M Pajamas by Cloud Island for $13
Outerwear ($95)
One 18M to 2Y Snowsuit by Gap for $52 (omit if live in warm place)
One Snug Fit (size depends on your baby’s age) Fleece by H&M for $18
One Newborn helmet cap by Polarn O Pyret for $15
One Baby winter hat by Polarn O Pyret for $10 (omit if live in warm place)
Linens ($108)
One Baby Duvet Sheet Set by Finlayson for $40
One 2-pack Crib Fitted Sheet by IKEA for $8
One Hooded Baby Towel by IKEA for $10
One Merino Wool Blanket by Sonnet Strick for $50
Accessories ($60)
One 2-pack of Non-Skid Socks by Primary for $10
One 10-pack of Multi-purpose Burp Cloths by Gerber for $10
One 10-pack of Drool Bibs by Diaper Squad for $25
One 2-pack of Food Bibs by Tommee Tippee for $8
One Teether by Mombella for $7
Disclosure: I am a mom, not a doctor nor baby product specialist. Please follow any manufacturer’s instructions and advice from your doctor. Any Amazon links in this story may be part of the Amazon Associate program. I earn a small commissions when readers purchase products through my links.
Good luck! If you found this helpful, please give me a clap.
