Our little Judah man is three months old today. Having a child is one of the most unbelievable experiences. Truly…I still can hardly believe we are parents!
Now that we have the wisdom of over 12 weeks of caring for a newborn (ha!), I wanted to share the items that we couldn’t live without! We have used a lot more than these 15 things of course, but these are the things I would most recommend in the first few months of life.
None of these products are sponsored…just things we LOVE!
1. A great lactation consultant.
This is a little outside the box of the rest of my suggestions, but I just couldn’t address these first few months of motherhood without mentioning the struggle and victory that is breastfeeding! If you decide breastfeeding is the route you want to take, please don’t go it alone. We had some serious difficulties in the first few weeks of our breastfeeding journey that I couldn’t have figured out without the help of our amazing lactation consultant. It made me so passionate about moms finding the help they need.
Our IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) made a home visit after our pediatrician expressed concern over one-week-old Judah’s weight loss. The lactation consultant diagnosed him with a lip and tongue tie and helped me come up with a plan to get it corrected and learn to feed my baby. She offered me unlimited email support for weeks following our visit and walked me through every tearful, newbie mom question that I had.
If you’re struggling with breastfeeding at all (and it’s something you want to do), then please find a good IBCLC in your area. It’s worth every penny.
And if you’re in Nashville, call Leah Brown at Nashville Birth & Babies.
2. Marpac Rohm portable sound machine.
We have a Lectrofan sound machine for the nursery (which we also love), but I underestimated how much I would use a portable version! We keep it in the living room in his Rock n’ Play, and we can take it on the go with us. It helps in creating an optimal nap environment!
3. Solly Baby Wrap.
I was so intimidated by this wrap for the first week or so because I wasn’t sure how to tie it! Now that I’ve figured it out, I love it! It’s light weight, and I love the way it hugs my baby in during this newborn season.
4. Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit
Judah is a wiggle worm, and he had such a hard time settling down in his crib in the halo sleepsack swaddles we used for the first few weeks of his life. He would happily kick and kick and kick his legs for HOURS. In a desperate move, I ordered the Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit from Amazon. At $40, it wasn’t a small investment, but it was maybe the best $40 we have spent on him! This funny little marshmallow man getup helps settle him down and keep him settled for night time sleep. Thanks to intentional scheduling and this magical Michelin man suit, he started sleeping through the night at 7.5 weeks! Go little man, go!
5. Honest Diapers
Honest diapers are not the cheapest on the market, but they do the trick in a big way for us! They’re adorable, non-toxic, and the best for holding lots of stuff without leaking! He wears them 12 hours at night, and we have never had a leak! There have been one or two poop blowouts, but overall the honest diapers do great work! We’ve also had ZERO diaper rash—which I attribute to the fact that these are chemical free.
6. Uppababy Vista stroller and car seat.
This thing is the Rolls-Royce of strollers. I’ve gotten more questions about this stroller set than any other baby item. The price tag is hefty, so it’s easy to wonder, “Is it worth it?” For me, the answer is YES. It is seamless to use, fantastic quality, sharp to look at, and will easily convert to a double stroller when we add another kiddo someday. Every time I use this stroller, I find myself saying out loud, “Wow, I love this thing.”
7. TinyBeans iPhone App
A fellow mama told me about this app when Judah was brand new, and we absolutely love it! It’s basically a digital photo album of your baby that can be shared with friends and family. Rather than post daily photos of Judah publicly for everyone on Instagram or Facebook or remember to text family members photos every day, we can create a more private digital picture overload for those closest to us. With all of our extended families out-of-state, this has been amazing! Judah’s grandparents and great-grandparents love their daily Judah update, and I love that I have an easy-to-use chronological timeline of his little life.
8. Milkmaid Goods Robe
If you’re looking for a gift that will spoil a new mama, get her one of these robes! And if you are a new mama, get yourself one! My mother-in-law gifted me this robe before Judah was born, and I have used it almost daily! It was great at the tail end of pregnancy, it made me feel a little more put together in the hospital, and I’ve loved it for wearing around the house in these early newborn days.
9. Wubbanub Pacifiers
Judah loves the simple Soothie pacifiers, and having a cute stuffed animal attached to them helps it stay in his mouth, helps me find it easily, and just looks so darn cute! Pro: we love them! Con: so does our dog, Todd. We have already replaced the pacifier part on several Wubbanubs because Todd chewed up the silicone. Worth it!
10. LOTS of swaddle blankets
I got so many swaddle blankets as gifts, and I wasn’t sure how I could possibly use them all. Let me tell you, I use them CONSTANTLY. Burp cloth, blanket over the car seat, easy swaddle for rock n’ play naps. Those things are so versatile! This cute puppy dog swaddle from Little Unicorn is my favorite! I also love these bamboo swaddles from Bunny Palm.
11. Haaka Silocone Breast Pump
If you are a breastfeeding mama, get one of these! Due to some latch/breastfeeding issues with our little man, I had to exclusively pump for a few weeks, and I will definitely say that a Haakaa doesn’t replace an electric pump (I love the Spectra), but as a supplemental tool for building a stash of milk with hardly any work on your part, this thing ROCKS. In the early breastfeeding days when you have an oversupply, take advantage of it with the Haakaa. I’ll spare you all the details of how to use it, but there is a lot of great info on the internet and some YouTube videos that will help!
12. Fisher Price Bouncer
Before we had Judah, I was determined to be as minimal as possible with our baby items. I still try to keep things pared down to the basics so that things can easily be tidied and put away when Judah is sleeping. But, one thing I swore I didn’t need was a bouncer, and I was wrong! Once Judah hit about 6 weeks old, I realized I needed a place for him to sit that wasn’t his Rock n’ Play (since that signaled nap time for him). I ordered this bouncer for less than $20, and we use it CONSTANTLY. In fact, I loved it so much that my mother-in-law bought one for them to keep at their house. It’s simple, lightweight, and easily moved around the house.
13. IKEA Leka Play Gym
Now that Judah is awake for longer periods, we basically rotate him from our arms to the bouncer to tummy time and then to this play gym. There are lots of baby gyms on the market, but I love this one because the wood and primary colors are so classic and classy! Judah started loving this at around 6 weeks old, and he is still going strong with it at 13 weeks. I think we will use it for many many weeks to come. He loves his time “at the gym.” 🙂 BONUS: It’s less than $35. Such a win!
14. Amazon Echo
This, obviously, isn’t a baby specific product, but having a hands free device like the Amazon Echo in these early days of motherhood has made me so grateful for modern technology. For setting timers, checking the weather, playing music, etc…all while using both hands to hold, feed, burp, and carry a baby. Alexa is basically the fourth member of our family these days.
I hope this list is helpful…whether you have a little one, are expecting one soon, or are looking for gifts for someone else’s baby! We have been really intentional about buying baby things that will get a lot of use and skipping everything else. And, so far, we use pretty much everything we have on a daily basis!
Here is one more cute Judah pic for the road 🙂
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