My Newborn Favorites

Ted is four months old! How did that happen?! We are well passed the newborn phase...

thank goodness! 

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the cuddles, the sweet newborn smell, sweet little newborn gowns. Seriously, adorable, but...the first three months were tough to say the least. We had a lot of nights like this one. 

The first few months are somewhat of a blur...sleepless nights, sleepless days, adjusting to nursing (ouch!), gassy baby which leads to screaming baby, overtired baby which also leads to screaming baby. 

Not sure what's wrong with baby, which also leads to screaming baby...and crying mother.

I love my son with all my heart and there is nothing that brings me more joy than being a mom, but it was a rough start for sure. 

Now we have found our stride! Nursing is awesome. I really love it. To any new moms or moms-to-be reading this, don't give up! The first few weeks are pretty awful, but it will get better! There are definitely times I wish my husband could help with the feeding more (usually around 2am), but I love the time with Ted. It's just us and I love that no one else has this relationship with him but me. 

He's getting on a pretty good schedule, both day and night. (Of course, now he probably won't sleep tonight!) 

He laughs, he babbles, he rolls all over the place. He absolutely melts my heart a million times a day. Those first three months are completely worth it and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat!

I did find a few items that were lifesavers for us...

Newborn Must Haves:

1. Sleep Sacks We had several different sleep sacks, but my two favorite are the Halo Sleep Sack Swaddle and the Original Woombie. I loved the Halo because you can swaddle their arms in or leave them out, but it still feels snug around their chest. We used this the first 4 weeks until his legs were too long. Then I discovered the Woombie. I love this product. We had some very difficult nights once he was strong enough to bust out of the swaddles, until I discovered this. He is swaddled, but can still move his arms as much as he wants. This will be a must have for all of our kids.

2. Sound Machine I'm not sure who likes this more, Jason or Ted. :) There are several different settings...white noise, heartbeat, nature, ocean, etc. When we first transitioned him to the crib, we set it on heartbeat. Now it's on nature...Jason says it's Ted's "favorite". We can hear it through the monitor :)

3. Sleep Books I've mentioned before that I read so much about childbirth, I forgot to read about when the baby is actually here! We had some rough days and nights until I read these two books. This book talks about baby only having a 90 minute wake time (at the most) from birth until about 3 months. It tells you cues to look for and to start soothing baby for nap time. Combine that with what Baby Wise teaches about getting baby on a schedule and the Woombie and we were ALL sleeping better!

4. Video Monitor We transitioned Ted to the crib around 5 weeks. I wanted him in with us longer, but none of us were getting any sleep. Any little sound or movement from Ted meant I was up and then Jason was up too. I love this video monitor. I love that we can still see him. It helps to "see" what kind of cry it is and whether it's just sleepy cry...eyes closed, or a real hungry/wet/get me up cry.

5. Aden + Anais Swaddle Blankets I pretty much LOVE every product from this company. These blankets are lightweight, get softer with every wash and are nice and big - perfect for swaddles! They are come in really cute prints! I have my eye on their Dream Blanket and Organic Easy Swaddles for the next babe.

6. Gripe Water Ted was pretty gassy the first few months and would get some pretty bad belly aches. Gripe water was the only thing that helped. A good friend recommended it and gave it to me at my baby shower. So happy because I had never heard of it! It would work within minutes...relieve his gas and calm him down. A definite must have!

7. Snot Sucker I have to admit, this really grossed me out when I first saw it, but my cousin swore by it, so we gave it a go. It works so much better than the bulb syringe! Plus, there is a filter, so you will not be swallowing any baby snot. ;-)

8. Snap & Go Stroller We have a jogger, but we use this the most. It is so easy to use and takes up minimal space. I use it for shopping and traveling the most.

9. Fisher Price Kick & Play Ted wasn't sold on the baby swing or the baby bouncer. He wanted to be held all the time. I love this babe so much, but sometimes you want to set them down for a few minutes. My friend had one of these and Ted loved it! He loves kicking his feet and when he kicks this it makes music. 

10. Boppy Nursing Pillow I used this more as a lounger to lay Ted on. When he was gassy or spitting up a lot I would prop him up on this for naps.

11. WubbaNub I think I want Ted to love this more than he actually does. He is not the biggest fan of the pacifier, he uses it every once in awhile if he is really tired and fussy, but once he's in his crib, he spits it out. He probably uses it more for teething now. But I am still hopeful he will love his Wubbanub!

12. Mother Love Nipple Cream&Nursing Pads There is quite a learning curve to nursing and A LOT to get used to. Long gone are the days of dresses and tanks with built in bras. Every outfit I have to ask, will I be able to nurse in this? On top of that, the first few weeks are brutal to say the least. Ted wanted to nurse all the time and it was very painful. It took several weeks to get used to it. These two products were a HUGE help. FYI, beware of any type of nursing cream ruining your tops! I learned the hard way. :-/
There are lots of great baby items out there, these just happen to be some of my favorites.

What are some of your newborn must haves?