I don’t know if it’s just the fact that I have been chasing a very active toddler around the entire time, or if it’s just because it’s the second time around, but this pregnancy seems to have flown by!
(Not that I’m really complaining because being 32 weeks pregnant, in the south, in the SUMMER, is really starting to take its toll.)
But over the past few weeks we have really started to prepare for our newest family member’s arrival, getting all of the old baby stuff out of storage and getting it cleaned and ready (it’s hard to remember my baby boy ever being that small!) and making sure that we have all of the essential newborn items ready for whenever she decides to make her debut.
As I was going through a lot of Nicholas’ baby items however, it donned on me that we never even used half of that stuff. Why? Because newborns don’t really need a whole lot, go figure!
I guess you could say that we were your typical first time parents that thought we needed to buy every single adorable baby item that the stores stocked. Oh well, live and learn right?
This time though, I know a little better and I know there are certain items that I will probably never pull out of the closet while others may save my sanity.
So, as we continue prepping our house for the little miss’ arrival, I thought I’d share with you our absolute favorites.
Our top 5 must have newborn items!
1) Fisher-Price My Little Snugabunny Cradle Swing
This thing was seriously a lifesaver when Nicholas was a newborn! He refused to be laid down, at all! He had a pretty severe case of reflux and so every time you tried to lay him down he would scream, throw up, and scream some more. Finally, at the point where we were just ready to start ripping our hair out, we found this swing and it literally made all the difference. You can easily adjust it to swing from side to side or from front to back and you can also angle the swing itself to have your baby lay flat or up at an angle (which is great for reflux babies!).
2) Fisher-Price Newborn Rock ‘n Play Sleeper
Again, a lifesaver! As I said before, you could not lay Nicholas down flat. That pretty much eliminated the Pack ‘n Play and the crib right off the bat. If you wanted 10 seconds to use the bathroom or just a minute to let your arms rest after carrying around a screaming, fussy, colicky baby all day long, Rock n’ Play to the resuce!
3) The Boppy
I mean, really? Do I have to say anything about the Boppy other than it is amazing! At the time, I was not able to continue breast feeding Nicholas and we had to switch him over to a special formula but breast or bottle, the Boppy just makes feeding time SO much easier!
4) Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow Bottles
Speaking of bottles, we tried a lot! And by that, I mean tons…
Every type and style of bottle you can think of, we probably bought it and tried it at one point or another. Dr. Brown’s were the first and only bottles that seemed to help Nicholas with his feeding, reflux, and colic issues. I don’t think I could possibly rave on these things enough. They are a little bit of a pain to clean but with as quickly as they settled little man’s tummy and made a good portion of the constant screaming stop, I’ll spend a few extra minutes at the sink 🙂
At this point, we still plan on breast feeding little miss as soon as she arrives but if for some reason it doesn’t work out or if at any point she needs a bottle for pumped milk, these will be our go tos, no question.
5) SwaddleMe Swaddling Blankets (with Velcro)
The person that invented these little masterpieces? They deserve a medal. I’m just sayin’. The hubs used to constantly refer to Nicholas as his little Houdini. That kid could et out of any swaddle and would either scratch himself all up or just start screaming. With the Velcro swaddler, not so much. Worked like a charm and Nicholas just seemed so much more relaxed and calm when he was in them.
Hopefully little sister takes after him and likes these as well!
Any of you mamas out there have anything you would add to the list? What were some of your essentials?
