While I was pregnant, I kept seeing Pinterest links to lists of "must have" items for baby. It was always interesting to see what one mom consider an absolute essential and another mom said she never used. Clearly all moms are different and all babies are different so there can't be one definitive list. : ) However I still decided to share some of our favorite things that we use all the time and that have made the first three months easier.
We waited a couple months to begin cloth diapering to allow ourselves time to adjust to having a baby. Now we use them fulltime unless we are traveling or have company here. Before Hadden came I did tons and tons of research into all the diaper brands and kinds and we ended up picking BumGenius Freetime All in One Diapers. They work great for us! It was definitely an investment to buy these diapers (and we are grateful that a few people gave them to us as baby gifts), but we'll be able to use them with other children and in the long run, we will be saving money and helping the environment. It took us a little while to get the hang of it and to get on a washing schedule, but it works great for us now. Plus how cute is Hadden in that diaper?!
It took me until this week to buy this, but I should have invested in these SwaddleMe wraps a long time ago. They are wonderful!! Hadden sleeps swaddled up and we tried so many different blankets, but he could kick his way out of all of them and then wake up crying. And I was always a terrible swaddler - Caleb had to do it each night because mine would come undone in about five seconds. These wraps are super easy to use. Now he is snuggled up happily and he is sleeping for longer periods, which means we are too (a-mazing!). They come in three different sizes so you can get one that fits your baby snugly.
Evidently some people suggest waiting a few weeks before giving a baby a pacifier to ensure that they learn to latch correctly. Some people feel very strongly about this, which is understandable if your baby had problems eating and the pacifier was making it worse. However, Hadden (from the moment he was born) wanted something in his mouth. We actually started using these in the hospital (at the suggestion of a nurse) and have used them ever since. They keep us all happy. : ) We tried switching him to the "normal" pacifiers and he doesn't like them, so, for now, we're sticking with the Philips Soothie Pacifiers. If you took in the other pictures on this post, you'll see that it makes an appearance in a lot of them as well. That's because we ALWAYS have one with us!
Ahh. I love our sling. It was probably the thing that I was most excited about getting from our baby registry (thanks grandma mays!). And it has proven to be just as wonderful as I thought it would be. Again, I did lots of research into the safety, durability and wearability of different slings and decided that the Sakura Bloom would be the best fit for us. It's lovely. And comfortable. We get lots of compliments when we use it and people often ask where they can buy one. Hadden loves to be in it and I love to wear it. Sometimes Caleb uses it too. : ) I cannot recommend this highly enough.
The cute little newborn hats are sometime hard to get on and off quickly and I'm pretty picky about having his head covered. So we were looking for a winter hat that would be easy to put on in a hurry and was still cute and we found the perfect on a The Children's Place (I can't find this hat on the website, but there are other cute ones like the giraffe one!). You can tell from the picture that he's still growing into it, but it should fit him all winter and it definitely keeps him warm.
We debated a long, long time on getting a baby bath. I did a ton of research into different kinds. Some people thought it was a waste of money because you only use them for a few months. Plus then you have to store this bulky thing somewhere. Other people swear by them. We didn't own one for the first month or so, but I did NOT like bathing him without one. He was too little and slippery for me and it made me nervous. And he cried the whole time, which didn't help. We ended up just going to Target to look at different kinds and buying the Munchkin Bath Cradle. It was less than $10 which why we picked it. I'm going to be honest. It's not perfect. It's a sponge, so after bath time is done it has to dry somewhere. But it has been SO great! Now Hadden loves to take baths! It doesn't take up very much room either. He's three months old and we'll probably still be using it for another month or so. We have already gotten our moneys worth (many times over) and we'd recommend this to anyone who was looking for a cheap solution for baby baths.
And there you have it! Six things that we recommend to make life with a newborn a little easier. : )
**Want more reviews? See a follow up post here
I LOVE reading reviews on anything, oddly, especially baby stuff:) Are there items that you feel like you totally could have lived without?
ReplyDeleteSteph,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree!! I absolutely love reading reviews and researching products - perhaps this is part of being a psych major and having to write one too many research papers?? Caleb thinks I'm crazy. : )
We thought very carefully about each item we bought because we were trying to avoid unnecessary things, but (of course) there are still a few things that 'slipped through'. The two main things I can think of are the Boppy pillow and the swing. Perhaps when Hadden is bigger we'll get more use out of them. And I know other people who LOVE both products. But we just don't feel that way about them.
The Boppy is supposed to help position the baby correctly while nursing, but I barely ever used it. We do use it sometimes to help Hadden sit up and it's nice for that, but I feel that we could easily go without it.
As for the swing, I know that there are babies who love the swing so in that case it would be a great buy. We waited to buy it until he was about six weeks in because we thought we could go without it, but then reconsidered because he really liked movement. We use it once or maybe twice a day, but he doesn't love it so he isn't in it for very long before he is unhappy. It's nice to have, but I don't think it has been worth the money so far. In all fairness I will add that I think he might be liking it more as he gets older, so perhaps the swing will win me over in the end.
thanks for asking!
Thanks so much for this, Callie! I'm starting to think about a registry now, and I'm quickly realizing that there are SO many decisions to make. It definitely helps to have a good recommendation from someone you trust!
ReplyDeleteJoanna,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it could be helpful! : ) Making a registry is really fun, but like you said, there are many decision to make and sometimes it's hard to tell ahead of time what you will want/need!