Miniature humans require a LOT of stuff. But I’m finding that when they’re newborns, a lot of that stuff is just in case (I’m looking at you, Nose Frida) or more likely to be used when they’re a bit older — like, the ENTIRE NURSERY. If I’d known how little time he’d spend in there in the early weeks, I could have majorly relaxed about getting it “finished” in time for his arrival. It’s basically just a really, really cute place to change his thousands of dirty diapers at the moment. But, eventually.
So on the topic of stuff that we DO use, I thought I’d create a little round-up of the things we’ve found invaluable in the last 6 weeks. Some for baby, and some for mama.
Summer Infant Swaddle Me Sleep Sacks
Bless. These. Things. If you’re not familiar, swaddling is the process of securely wrapping a baby in a blanket to mimic the tight quarters of the womb, and to prevent their startle reflexes from whacking them awake every 15 minutes. The nurses in the hospital were wizards with wrapping up our wiggly little guy with blankets and rendering him blissfully immobile. Jason and I consider ourselves reasonably intelligent, resourceful individuals, but we quickly discovered there was no chance that we were ever going to be able to recreate their mastery with a 24” flannel blanket.
Enter the Summer Infant sleep sacks: we were gifted a set of 3 (only $25 on Amazon!) at our shower and pulled these out a few days after returning home from the hospital. They’re super easy to use with velcro attachment tabs to make sure you get a snug fit, and also come in cute prints like this rocketship look our little guy is rocking here. He’s still able to wiggle a hand out once in a while, but they’re by far the best solution we’ve found and I credit many a successful nap to the sleep sack.
Aden and Anais Swaddle Blankets
So, these are what I thought I’d be wrapping Hudson up in to sleep. While I haven’t done that (successfully, anyway) even once, these blankets have about three thousand uses and they’re great to have on hand. We keep them at different stations throughout our place so they’re always on hand: the couch, bed, his nursery, and in the stroller. They’re great to drape over your shoulder for adorable baby burps, as a nursing cover, as a sun shade cover on walks, or for the cutest photo backdrops. They’re not inexpensive, but they’re high quality, and they hold up well to washing.
Wubbanub
I thought pacifiers were totally verboten, and was shocked to hear our doctor recommend using a pacifier to soothe Huds before naps or when he gets fussy. Turns out that like many parenting trends, pacifiers have returned from the blacklist to be officially OK’d — no lifelong social anxiety over paci separation or major dental issues to see here, folks! As our doctor put it, “you can take away a pacifier eventually, but not a thumb.” Fair point.
The Wubbanub variety is attached to a small stuffed animal that helps keep the pacifier in place in baby’s mouth since they can’t use their hands to put it back in yet. Which is critical, because otherwise pacifiers fall out every 2-3 minutes — which for us, resulted in meltdowns until the pacifier was reinserted and a terrible, self-perpetuating cycle. The Wubbanub gives us more like 10 minutes of pacifier time before falling out, (my sister suggested a pacifier headstrap, which is not unappealing) which is often just enough for Hudson to settle himself down or get drowsy. We try to take it out before he falls asleep so it’s less likely to become a sleep prop, but I’ll have to report back on how that’s going in a later update.
Rock and Play
I registered for a Rock and Play after seeing nearly hundreds of comments from mamas in a Facebook group name it as their top “must have” for baby. I was thinking it would be a once in a while, just in case, special treat for Hudson when he wouldn’t settle down. A few nights into being home with him, he woke up a little bit — like most newborns, he was soooo sleepy the first few days, he would have slept anywhere. But with his newfound alertness, he was NOT digging the flat, relatively spacious bassinet he’d been sleeping in. After hours of trying to get him to sleep, we dug out the Rock and Play… and he’s been sleeping in it ever since.
It’s much cozier for him without any dangerous blankets or pillows, and the 45 degree angle helps both with his digestion and to keep his little legs and feet tucked up next to his belly, similar to his positioning in utero. It’s also really light, so I can easily carry it from our room where he sleeps at night, to the nursery where he naps during the day.
I’m not looking forward to transitioning him to the crib eventually, but I’m glad we found a solution that’s helped him sleep well in the early months. On that note, we have an adorable, twice-used bassinet if anyone would like to give it a shot.
Vanicreme
Babies’ brand new skin is sensitive, and Hudson’s seems particularly so. His skin was nearly perfect when he came out, but within a week he’d developed baby acne across his forehead, and a little rash across his cheeks. Our doctor (and Google) assured us this was normal and would fade on its own, but as a new, hormonal mama, it is heartbreaking to see your baby’s perfect little face looking anything but. Our doctor gave us a sample of Vanicreme, a super moisturizing lotion and within 12 hours his chubby cheeks looked significantly better.
We’ve started doing nightly baths as part of his bedtime routine, so we bought a big tub of it and now use it all over his little body as well as his face to prevent his sensitive skin from drying out.
Sadly, this means I have not used any of the great smelling baby products that I was excited about, but I’d obviously rather him be in good shape. And also, his own little baby scent is better than anything in a bottle… not biased at all.
Nice PJ’s
Good pajamas are not something I have traditionally — meaning ever — invested in. However, I read a tip on another blog that full button-down pajamas were the perfect thing to wear around the house for early days of nursing. That sounded like a much cuter option than nursing nightgowns, so I purchased a nice pair of comfy, loose button down pajamas from Nordstrom and thought it would be a good treat once in a while.
“Once in a while” turned out to be pretty much every day. You cannot overstate the value of feeling semi-cute in the first weeks home, when you’re tired, recovering, and probably have at least a little bit of spit up in your hair. They’re super soft and forgiving, and the button front makes nursing so easy without lifting things up, off, or being totally exposed. And, like many of the other things in this list, the good-quality pair I went with meets my new criteria: standing up well to near-daily washes.
Pull-Over Nursing Bras
On the opposite end of the investing-in-nursing-gear spectrum lie these pull-over nursing sleep bras. I have purchased many things on Amazon with the only rationale being that I perceived it to be a good deal, and it would show up at my door the next day for free, so I’m happy to report these (unlike a few other Amazon impulse buys) were a great decision. They’re way, way easier than the clip-down style, which yes, I wear when leaving the house… but since that’s not all that often, these have become my go-to.
A friendly tip: don’t even bother with any of the cute colors. All black everything.
Collagen
In my third trimester my belly was growing at an alarming rate (hello, 9lb baby!) and I was really worried about stretch marks. I read about dissolvable gelatin as a form of collagen, a protein in our bodies that’s responsible for the health of our skin, nails and hair. I turned to my trusty Amazon and ordered a tub of it to add to my morning coffee. It’s odorless and tasteless, and if you purchase a version that’s called hydrolysate, there’s no clumping like other gelatins do. In the end, zero stretch marks.
I’ve kept it up religiously since then for a few reasons:
- Stretch marks are very possible when shrinks down.
- 11G of protein in 2 tablespoons! If you’re nursing, you lose a ton of muscle mass and protein can combat that.
- My hair is growing like a weed, and my nails are longer and stronger than they ever have been. Again: can’t place a price on the value of feeling cute in the early days of motherhood!
- I’m drinking a LOT of coffee these days, so it’s easy to get it in.
So, there you have it: the eight things that have kept us sane around here.
I’ll also note that basically everyone has an opinion on what you HAVE to have for baby. My husband and I found this incredibly annoying. Babies are miniature individuals, and what works for one does not work for all. Do your research and get what makes sense for your new family — the only real must-haves are baby snuggles and coffee.