This is my list of our most used baby items thus far. For all you soon to be mommas I highly recommend adding them to your registry. All items are linked so you can find them for purchase. :)
We use this for daytime naps and to sit him in when I do things that require two hands like putting on clothes and washing my face must happen. He is super cozy in it and the fact that it's super light weight allows us to carry it from room to room easily. It also folds up for storage and travel with the touch of two buttons and washes well in the laundry, which is a must for everything. :)
Choosing a swing is totally personal preference. We like this one because it swings side to side or front to back, has multiple sounds including the most realistic "womb heartbeat" I've heard, has an iPod adapter, and the seat detaches and vibrates on it's own. We carry it outside or use it as our secret sleep weapon when he doesn't wanna sleep at night, vibrating knocks him out.
These are great for catching spit up or leaky diaper problems. I suggest having at least three especially for those first few weeks. We laid him lenthwise as seen above till about 4 weeks and now we place his head on them in case he spits up in the middle of the night. We lay these on top of our Ultimate Crib Sheet. (see below) and change them out every couple nights.
You may be saying over kill on the bed linens we are using but I say life saver! The Ultimate Crib sheet goes over top of the actual sheets and just lays in the crib. You fasten it in using 8 elastic snaps that wrap around the crib rails. It is organic and soft on the side where baby lays but has multiple thick layers of waterproof material. Changing sheets in a crib isn't easy, and not something you want to do at 3am. All big messes happen in the wee hours of the morning ya know, blowouts, projectile spit up, diapers that get peed out of, all the fun stuff. So when that happens you just take this off put it in the hamper and you still have a sheet on your crib to lay your sweet little one until morning. :)
Yes your changing pad has a cover but it's probably made of fabric, which will absorb all that pee that missed your face and landed somewhere else. :) So I highly recommend having these plastic backed liners to keep the big messes from spreading.
We use ours for feeding and tummy time and I don't know what to do when I have to feed him with out it, I like having the extra support for my arms. Call me lazy. :)
You see Henry wrapped up in these a lot. They are large, stretchy and very breathable. They kept him warm as a newborn and can be folded multiple ways to swaddle him. We use them to cover up his car seat or stroller to to keep the sun off of him because they still allow some air to flow through when draped. Love these! I recommend at least two packs.
We are so happy we decided to do a big comfy chair for the nursery. This chair and ottoman glide with easy as well as swivel. At 3am I may or may not nod off in this thing while feeding. :) We ordered ours from BuyBuyBaby and had a huge book of fabrics to choose from. This one we picked is white links.
Newborn onesies with mitten covers we had purchased the little mittens for their hands but they wouldn't ever stay on him. In the hospital they had these long sleeved onesies with the mitten covers and we loved them. So we ended up purchasing a pack when we got home. I still like using sleepers with built in mitten covers at night because little man always wants to grab at his oh so edible cheeks.
Give you two hands. Nuff' said.
Burts Bees Baby We opted for all Burts Bees lotions and washes for Henry. We appreciate the fact that they are Paraben free, Phthalate Free, and is ooober good smelling. :) We use the Baby Bee shampoo and wash and the Baby Bee Buttermilk Lotion during bath time. The Baby Bee Lavender lotion is also equally yummy! :)
Whenever we are headed to church, dinner, or a place where I'll be away from Henry I pump to fill a bottle for him to use. When the bottle and pumping pieces are used we wash, sanitize, and then place on this drying rack. I love the way all pieces fit onto this rack, especially when you use the tree too. We now have a permanent patch of grass growing on our countertop it seems, but luckily their is no need to mow.
Hooded towels are a must for baby bath time. They are so cold and miserable when you take them out and having the hood to place on their head really helps. We have several brands, Gerber, JJCole but these pottery barn towels are our faves. They are as plush as a normal towel and really soak up the water but keep them nice and warm. :) Plus how cute is it to hold a baby elephant?
These are our most used and favorite baby items thus far. He is 8 weeks old and I'm sure we will have another "must haves" list over the next 8 weeks. All babies and mommas are different and I'm sure there are items out there that others find helpful that maybe I don't know about. It's always helpful to get advice though.
What is on your must have list?
