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| you can find this picture on polyvore here to find links for these items, they are also all linked in the list below |
1. Fisher-Price Rock 'n' Play - while i was pregnant, i asked a friend of mine what her favorite baby items were. she (and her husband) both GUSHED about "this rocking thing that folds like a camp chair and can go right by your bed" (followed by several other descriptions of it). turns out this rock n play thing is what she was talking about. so a few weeks before the baby was born, brad and i picked one up, and the night she came home we opened it, burritoed her up, plopped her in it, and she slept almost all night! she only woke up once! she now sleeps in it every night, and she's been sleeping through the night since she was 3 weeks old. i'm not saying it's all because of the rock n play, but i will say that she tried her crib a few times and did not sleep as soundly in it and woke up twice instead of once. this is also especially great for B because she is a spitter, and this is inclined, so it reduces her spit-up-y-ness. this thing is so awesome, it sets up in 5 seconds, weighs like 5 pounds, and it rocks so you can rock baby to sleep while they're camped out right next to your bed! or couch! or wherever you are because you can put it anywhere! i love this thing. buy one. they are only 60 bucks.
2. aden + anais Swaddle Blankets - i inherited 2 of these blankets and received 4 more as a gift from a friend and man oh man am i grateful. i am a big fan of the swaddle. babies startle themselves a lot the first couple of months, and it can really interrupt their sleep. if you get them in a good, tight swaddle, their limbs aren't flailing about and startling them, and they sleep longer. these blankets get the best, tightest swaddle than any other blanket in the land! plus they are super duper cute and incredibly soft and breathable. an indulgence at 50 bucks for a set of 4, but i still think they are a necessity.
3. Hospital Issue Bulb Syringe (aka le boogersucker)- STEAL SOME EXTRA ONES FROM THE HOSPITAL! they only give you one, and the hospital ones are the best. if you lose it, you are just S.O.L. B had a really stuffy nose when she was about 4 weeks old, and this thingy was the only thing that got her breathing enough to get any sleep.
4. Snuza Hero SIDS Monitor - my dad bought this for me out of the blue when B was a couple weeks old. as a first time parent, i was super freaked out about SIDS. i fell asleep at night listening for B's breaths, and woke up CONSTANTLY to check to see if she was still breathing. she was such a great sleeper and i wasn't reaping any of the benefits because i kept waking up to see if she was breathing! enter the snuza: you clip it on her diaper, turn it on, and chill out. it tracks her body's micro-movements. if it doesn't sense any breaths for 15 seconds, it will vibrate a bit to rouse her so she will take a breath. if 5 more seconds pass with no movement, it triggers a very loud alarm (like smoke detector loud) to rouse mom and dad. we haven't had any vibrates or alarms yet, so all is well, but man oh man do i sleep better knowing something will wake me up in time to save her if she stops breathing! hooray! if peace of mind is a necessity to you, i would say splurge and get one of these. it's reallllllly cool, and the only thing of its kind really. all other SIDS monitors are these big old pads you put baby on top of inside their crib which a) aren't as accurate because they aren't touching baby's skin and b) can only be used in a crib! she can use this anywhere! it's about 125 dollars i believe.
5. The Blooming Bath - this thing is so cool. it's a waterproof plushy pillow/bath that goes in the sink and surrounds baby snugly while you bathe her! it's soft so if she's a flail-er you don't have to worry about her hurting herself constantly, and it's cute to boot!
6. Crane Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier - when B got really congested, we realized we didn't have a humidifier! so i did some quick research and went out and bought this one. not only is it painfully adorable, but it actually works really well! it's very quiet, and it doesn't make the room super hot and jungle-y. it's perfect.
7. Fisher-Price Cradle n' Swing - this thing saves my LIFE (and takes up most of my living room) but it is so worth it! if i could do it again, i would probably get a less frou-frou looking one (they make a billion different patterns of this swing) so it didn't stick out so much....but all the same, this thing is great. she takes all of her daytime naps in it. i just swaddle her and place her in it and turn it on and even if she isn't sleeping, she is quiet and happy. OR if she is already sleeping in my arms and i have to put her down, i can just slide her into it without turning it on and she'll stay asleep. it can swing front to back or side to side, it has a mobile that you can turn on or leave off with a big mirror in its center for her to gawk at, and it has a noisemaker in it with several different settings. and when she gets bigger, i can tilt it so it's more of a sit-up swing rather than a cradle looking thing. it is so cool. love it. i wouldn't get anything done without it
8. Graco Snugride 30 Carseat- i mostly like this one because the base is very easy to click in and out of, and it works with my stroller. i wasn't sure of what the numbers after "snugride" meant until a few months ago. (they make a 30, 35, and 40). it means the maximum weight capacity. once B hits 30 pounds, she won't legally be allowed to use this seat anymore. however, if we haven't already put her in a forward facing seat before then, we have bigger issues than just switching carseats. (a 30 pound infant?! does that happen?!)
9. Britax B-Agile Stroller (and baby-seat adapter) - I LOVE MY STROLLER! i was scared of getting a stroller because i always look like a class A moron setting them up and trying to fold them back down. i usually just give up and try to finagle it back into the car without folding it. like an idiot. but not this baby! one button, and it folds in half. one trigger and it pops back into use. i love it. with the adapter, it can fit virtually any brand of carseat and when baby is big enough to just sit in the stroller, it has a recliner and a great visor and blahblahblah. it's big enough that she will be able to fit in it until she's like 5. or 10. it's big. but not clunky. not to mention, it has a verrry smooth ride ;) it also has several accessories you can buy for it (cup holders, etc). 5 stars. are we doing that? no? well 5 stars anyway.
10. BIBS! and burp-cloths - someone got us a couple bibs and i was all "we won't need to use these for a while, she's just going to breastfeed!" hahaha how silly am i. if i could patronizingly pat my old self on the head right now, i would. not only am i supplementing with formula now, i even use these when i nurse her. i don't know why i only thought a baby needed a bib when eating real food. stupid. like i said earlier, B spits up a LOT so these babies protect all of her little outfits from her barf, plus they are a great dribble-blocker for her neck for when she is drinking from a bottle. and you can use them as little makeshift napkins. and you always need more burp cloths than you think. a good way to get a lot of cheap ones is just to use cloth diapers as burp cloths.
11. Tommee Tippee Bottles - one thing i was super clueless about was bottles. i had no idea what kind of bottles newborns drank out of! (why would i?!) these bottles are great. they are shaped like real-live boobies and have a very slow flow, so nipple-confusion is reduced and baby can easily go back and forth from bottle-feeding to nursing. you can buy faster nipples for the bottles as your baby gets older.
12. Hospital Issue "Soothie" Pacifier - see #3. STEAL THEM! i thought i was so smart. i bought several binkies, assuming that if a baby takes one binky, she'll take em all. silly, silly me. i even got some that looked almost exactly like this one. not the same. the only binky she'll take, still at 6 weeks, is the one we came home from the hospital with. luckily a friend of mine's son won't take a pacifier and she had several unopened ones from when she had him, so i have a stash now. you can get them on amazon now, too, which is great.
13. Ikea "POÄNG" Chair, Non-Rocking Version - we already had this chair, and i almost bought the rocker one when we found out we were pregnant. soooo glad i stuck with this one. it bounces instead of rocking and babies actually like bouncing and jiggling more than swaying and rocking (SCIENCE! it's true.) plus, I like bouncing better than rocking. so it's a win-win. this chair is comfy, easy to get in and out of with a baby, cheap, stylish, and B loves it. it's perfect for early morning feedings (:
14. Graco Pack 'n' Play - i'm pretty sure every human with children has one of these. that said, we haven't even opened ours yet, because we don't have space for it, B sleeps in her rock n play, and grandma already has 2 at her house.
SO! there you have it. my can't-live-without-it newborn items. i hope that orients some of you mommies-to-be and gets things going!!!
also, here is B at 6 weeks. she is so adorable! i die!
Just finished playing catch up on your blog. Glad to see all things baby are going well!
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