Newborn Baby Essentials

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I have been getting alot of questions on my most used items in these first precious newborn weeks. So wanted to round up what I have found the most useful day in and day out. These are my holy grail products that I can’t live without and I found I was using the most. Hope this can help you soon to be mamas prepare for those early weeks. Weeks 1-4 were incredibly challenging for us with learning how to care for a little one while you are also dealing with postpartum healing etc. Yesterday I headed to my 6 week postpartum doctors appointment and I am really feeling like myself again and got the ok for a clear bill of health. It’s true what they say that one day you just wake up and you really start to feel more “normal.” Working hard to get all these posts up for you as I balance newborn and work life together. Motherhood is such an adventure and I am so thankful to be able to share it with you all. These photos were taken when Otis was 1.5 weeks old. I treasure them so much and still have some more to share with you. Scroll down for my favorite newborn products.

Fisher Price Auto Rock n’ Play: This is one of our most used items. Otis LOVES it. We use it mostly during the day for day time naps but have also used it for sleep at night when we are desperate. What I love so much about it is that it rocks as well as has sound but I can still use it with no movement. It easily folds and is pretty lightweight so this piece is easy to move from room to room for when I need to take a shower and have him in the room with me or when we sit down to eat dinner and we want to bring him right next to us. If there was one thing I would hands down say to try, this is it! This one is also easy to fold up and store in the car to bring to a friends house.

SNOO: This has been a game changer for us. This smart bassinet has a unique swaddle that attaches to the side so baby is held on his back and can’t roll over. It gives me so much peace of mind knowing that he is tucked in safely here so I don’t have to worry while he is sleeping. It’s also amazing because when baby cries/fusses it compensates with more white noise and movement to rock him to sleep. I shared our initial experience on instagram in my stories and in a post. We did have a rocky start to getting used to putting him to sleep in it but now we have found our rhythm. Otis loves to self soothe with a pacifier so we try to put him in drowsy so we don’t have to replace his pacifier too many times before he falls asleep. We actually put him in the ollie swaddle and then put him inside the snoo sack. This calms him before we put him in and it’s made getting him to sleep much easier.

Favorite Swaddles SwaddleMe, Ollie Swaddle, + SleePea Swaddle Happiest Baby: If you follow along on instagram, swaddling has been a challenge. Otis has STRONG arms and seems to break out of a lot of swaddles. So our swaddles of choice have had some kind of combination with velcro and zippers. They come with different price tags. I will say the tightest of the swaddles would be the Ollie World. It’s the most expensive of all my favorites but I will say we are able to get this one the tightest. We do use all three of these. Currently our favorite has been the Ollie swaddle.  

DockAtot + Pineapple Cover: This comes with a high price tag as well but I have to say, it’s been very useful. We are able to move this easily from room to room since it’s pretty lightweight. It fits into our bassinet and we plan to use it to transition him from into this crib from the bassinet. We have have also used this for the last morning nap if we need some extra sleep after night time because we can put this between us in bed. I also use it to put him to enjoy some awake time and attach the toy arch for him to look at while I am pumping my breast milk or when I am just sitting on my laptop. We also bring it to friends houses when we want a safe place for baby to lounge and nap. It’s also adorable because you can customize what cover you put on it which is pretty fun.

Wubbanub soothie: I was so afraid to use a pacifier the first week because I heard all the stories that it causes nipple confusion and you are not supposed to do it. Little did I know that literally every single mom I talked to had used a pacifier right away. This pacifier has been a lifesaver and what is great is that because it has a little stuffed animal attached it’s less likely to fall very far. I have 3 of these at all times. 1 in the stroller, 1 that we use during the day and night and an extra one on our coffee table. I am serious about this pacifier. HA!

Hushh travel sound machine: We love this so much we have 2. We originally got it for our carseat. Since we use white noise for all nighttime sleeping, we decided to also use white noise for all daytime naps. Since we use the rock n play for all the day time naps, we ordered a second one so we can leave one dedicated to the car seat and will always have one charged. It easily charges with a mini usb cable and we use both of them daily.

Hatch Nightlight: We love this so much we have 2. I know I said this about the last item but it’s true. I had added this night light/sound machine combo on our registry and we set it up early next to my bed on my nightstand for when I was breastfeeding at night and for when baby is in bassinet next to me. It’s both a night light that you can change the brightness and the color as well as a sound machine. Blake and I have kind of fallen in love with the sound machine and decided that when Otis moves to his nursery, we would still want our own sound machine for sleeping. So we ordered a second one and have it on my dresser in our bedroom for next to our changing table for those late night diaper changes and will move this to his nursery when he transitions to his crib.

Hatch Changing Pad: When you bring your newborn home, they often end up losing some weight and then gaining it back again. This can be pretty stressful at home when you literally have no idea if your baby is getting enough food since my boob isn’t calculating this info for me. HA! So when we registered, I added this because I thought this would be SO helpful and I was right. It’s a smart changing pad that syncs up to a phone app and allows you to weigh baby and track their weight. GENIUS. We have been using this to make sure little man is continuing to grow and it gives us peace of mind between our pediatrician appointments. It is also very easy to wipe down. You know Otis has already peed on it more times than we can count.

Buzz B Electic Nail Trimmer: Otis has had the longest nails since he was born and it’s such a scary thing to even think about cutting them. I am so glad I got a ton of recommendations on this baby nail file that makes filing down his nails so easy and I don’t have to be scared to hurt him.

Nuna Bassinet attachment for stroller: So our stroller is the Nuna Demi Grow Stroller and we use the Nuna Pipa Lite LX car seat but I as far as stroller accessories go, it’s been SO amazing to have a bassinet attachment. I am sure this is not for everyone depending on where you live and your lifestyle and the weather but for me, it’s been amazing to place our swaddled little man in the bassinet attachment for walks around the neighborhood and to our local walkable coffee shop. It’s great because we don’t have to wake baby up and strap him in his car seat. I didn’t realize how much we would use this and I would absolutely recommend for anyone on the fence about spending the money. It’s also helped me to leave the house in those early days at home when I just needed a little fresh air without committing to really getting everything ready to leave the house with baby.

My Brest Friend nursing pillow: Hands down this pillow is magic. I thought initially that I would not really use this and thought I would not like it because of its structure but that is exactly what I love about it. This nursing pillow gives you a great solid surface to position baby for breastfeeding. It’s also the pillow that my lactation consultant had me use during out appointment. It’s been a game changer to work on my latch and be confident and know that baby is on a safe surface. I am obsessed and this one has such a soft cover. I am so glad I registered for this.

Medela Pumping Bra: Since I have been using a breast pump at home, this bra has been amazing so I can pump hands free and multi task. It’s really thin and light weight and I can easily massage my breasts (tmi I know) during pumping to keep everything flowing.

Boob Nursing Bra: This has been a favorite to wear out or as a sleeping bra. It’s super soft and the elastic band around my torso is not too constricting.

Bravado Nursing Bra: Love this nursing bra to wear out. It is lined with a soft cotton on the inside and this one has a more sturdy bottom band around the torso.

Belebaum Nursing Gown: This nursing bra has been great for sleeping in. It’s so soft and love to lounge in this one.

Eberjey pajama set: This has been an amazing pajama set to nurse in late nights. It’s easy to unbutton and nurse so it’s been a great set to wear at home also for lounging. Also I have been SO hot when I sleep so the shorts set has been my favorite instead of pants. Thanks hormones.

Ingrid and Isabel Nursing Top: I love to wear this nursing top with my normal pajama bottoms. It’s so soft and holds everything in but is gentle and not constricting at all. Sometimes I just want some really lightweight support to give everything a little room to breath and love how soft the material is.

Sunflower Lecithin Supplement: If you follow me on instagram stories, you know I experienced a clogged milk duct and let me tell you, I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy. The pain was excruciating. What I learned was that to work it out, intense breast massage and heating the area is really the only methods you can use to get rid of it. But! A lactation consultant suggested sunflower lecithin supplement which apparently keeps milk thin and flowing to help prevent clogs. Fingers crossed but since I have been using it I have not suffered any more clogs so I will continue to take it. 

Babytracker App: I put Blake in charge of picking a baby app to track our dirty diapers and feedings since day one in the hospital. He picked Babytracker and I have actually really enjoyed the app. We aren’t tracking diapers anymore but I use this app to track my breastfeeding and pumping.

Lactation consultant: If you plan to plan to breastfeed, I can’t tell you how amazing it was to meet with a lactation consultant. I am very lucky that the hospital I delivered at is a very breastfeeding friendly hospital and all the nurses were very knowledgeable and able to give me advice and tips. After I was home for a week, I noticed my nipples were beginning to bleed a little bit and I FREAKED out and immediately scheduled an appointment with a lactation consultant. The appointment was amazing. She observed me feeding and gave me tips on getting a better deeper latch so my latch was not painful. She also weighed him to make sure he was getting the proper amount of food. All in all, I can’t recommend a lactation consultant enough. It was SO helpful to really work one on one with someone and we went through our hospital so it was basically just paying for a copay. I have also been following @legendairymilk on instagram and it’s been an amazing community resource for anything and everything breastfeeding. Love all the tips I learn here. Highly suggest checking it out.

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