These past 3 months with my baby boy Oliver just FLEW by. It was truly a whirlwind of postpartum emotions and exhaustion. I wanted to start off this blog post by telling anyone with a newborn right now; that you’re doing great mama! ❤️
It has certainly not been easy with everything we’ve had to face… Covid, the isolation of restrictions, the loneliness that comes with a baby. For me, giving birth in 2021 I had no resources - no hospital tours were offered, only had access to all the same 3 baby “classes” (CPR, Breastfeeding, and Baby Basics); plus they were all offered virtually only. No access to a community or “mommy and me” groups. The constant fear of if I’m “doing this right” as a first time mom while balancing a whole new adjustment to my life, while having to go back to work, INSANE inflation, the cost of day care being the same as my paycheck… This list goes on and on.
I feel like I’m rambling here but the bottom line is motherhood is HARD and LONELY. I get it. And that’s why I wanted to reflect on these past few months and share what worked for us during the newborn phase. (I totally get how stressed I was putting things on my registry.) These might not work for you and your babe because every baby is different, but any help I could be to share in some of my very limited expertise just know I’m here for you and you got this MAMA!
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Feeding / Pumping:
👶 - Baby Brezza Bottle Sterilizer - This came in handy when we sterilize all our bottle in batches and the cycle has options to take either 60, 45, or 30 minutes to sterilize.
👶 - Bottle Brush - A must to keep separate for cleaning just the baby bottles vs your regular dishes.
👶 - Babylist - Bottle Box - This box was super helpful during the first week or two when we had no idea what our bottles our baby would like… Ultimately his favorite was:
👶 - Dr. Brown’s Bottles (His #1 Preferred Bottle)
👶 - Larger Nipple Size 2 for 3+ months - This was a life saver when it finally clicked when my baby was taking SOOO long to finish a bottle and getting gassier, around 2 months. As soon as we switched to a larger bottle nipple size he ate so much better and had less discomfort.
👶 - Nose Frida & Saline Spray: Speaking of discomfort, I had also noticed that with the winter/dryer weather, every morning Ollie would be nasally and congested so every morning I started to use the Nose Frida sucker and Saline spray. Because his nose was a little clogged he had trouble feeding and get burps/gas stuck. Both these products are super helpful to have on hand.
👶 - Gas Drops & Gripe Water - I used both and they both seem to help with his colic/digestion, especially getting gas out. I love the Little Remedies brand.
Diaper Bag:
👶 - Diaper Bag - Freshly Picked
👶 - Munchkin Formula Dispenser - Perfect for on the go formula/feeding and Grandma’s house.
At Home:
👶 - Swing - Perfect for grabbing a moment of peace to put him down. I will say I keep hearing that babies either like the swing or rocker or both or may just prefer contact napping on you. Again every baby is different and Ollie really loved the swing. I will say it has been a bit difficult to ween him off naps in the swing; so just something to keep in mind!
As for our Swing we have this Fisher Price Swing. I will say it’s “OKAY”, the plug never worked for it so we had to solely use batteries. I did get rechargeable batteries for this… which in hindsight rechargeable batteries will be a long term better option for toys down the road.
👶 - Bassinet - Halo Bassinet
👶 - Contrast Cards - High contrast images are easier for babies to interpret, especially with their limited newborn vision. They are the best way for your baby to lengthen their attention span, improve their memory and develop their nervous system.
👶 - Nail File- Trying to clip a newborns nails was terrifying. This nail file works wonders on a newborn, no fussing either!
👶 - Soft Blanket - Never underestimate a soft warm blanket especially for a winter baby like my bub. His favorite is a Lila & Jack Blanket we got as a gift at our baby shower.
👶 - Swaddle Me Swaddles - My dad had picked these swaddles up at Target during our first week at home. Oliver loved being swaddled in the hospital with the hospital blankets so we decided to grab some more swaddles and these worked out so well for us.
👶 - Swaddles for Hip Dysplasia - Our son was diagnosed with a hip click when he was born. After seeing many doctors (long story), he was diagnosed with hip dysplasia and had to wear a brace for a few weeks. It was hard to transition the swaddles but we did find and like the Halo swaddles for the wider leg room for the brace.
👶 - Burp Cloths - An underestimated registry gift to have on hand. We love these ones off Amazon and registered for two sets. Between spit ups and feedings you truly can’t have enough of these on hand.
I’d say the same goes having EXTRA towels, wash clothes, extra bassinet and crib sheet too!
For Baby Boys:
👶 - Teepee Pee Pee - To catch stray pee.
👶 - Vaseline for Baby / Curad Singles for on the go - This is for if your son will be circumsised. You’ll have to apply this to the diapers for a very long time. Or also used for sensitive skin/eczema.
👶 - Bumco Bum Brush - So you don’t get all the Vaseline on your hands.
On the Go:
👶 - Britax Car Seat and Stroller - Love this carseat and stroller!
👶 - Car Mirror
Tummy Time:
👶 - Bobby Pillow - Great for nursing and tummy time.
👶 - Contrast Cards & Water Mat
Bath Time:
*Bonus - I’ll tell you all our bath routine that finally clicked in getting our baby to like baths:
Heat pad - For bassinet to warm it up.
Humidifier - Fill or clean before bed.
Prep Bath Tub - Using a Baby Bath Thermometer at exactly 101/102 degrees F. I honestly thought these thermometer things were silly until we realized “playing it be elbow” was leading to cold winter baths and he would constantly scream. Trust me you’ll need this for bath time.
Lavender Hello Bello Bubble Bath, run shower steam at the same time, and throw the towel in the dryer to warm up.
Post Bath - Diaper, apply Hello Bello Lavender Lotion, Jammies, Feed, Book, Vacuum White Noise, Bed.
You’ll also need a lighter hooded towel to wrap baby in when putting in the tub, washcloths, and a heavier towel when taking them out to dry.
Books & Memories:
👶 - 100 Word Books - Ollie LOVES the 100 First Word Books & these “STEM” inspired 100 (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math books. They also come in Art, Weather, Space, Animals, and more.
These 3 are some of Ollie’s favorite books.
👶 - Grumpy Monkey
👶 - Find Fergus
Memory Books:
👶 - Lucy Darling’s Baby’s First Year Books - I LOVE this memory book. Cute illustrations and love writing down memories for each milestone.
👶 - One Line a Day (For 5 Years) - Recently I bought this book. I always strive to be better at journaling but I always fall short, especially with a newborn. This book just always a few sentences so it feels very manageable. So many little things happen like Ollie’s first smile, first time he grabbed my finger, ect. It feels like a great way to document these little moments.
👶 - Milestone Baby Blanket - It’s so much fun to see your baby’s growth each month with a milestone blanket.
EXTRAS:
Resources that helped a TON:
The 5 S’s to calm a fussy baby - swaddle, side or stomach position, shush, swing, and suck.- Watch this video and trust me these worked for us. It makes so much sense of natural things your baby is used to in the womb.
Wonder Weeks - This is a book and an app. Honestly, I didn’t read the book or get the app. I just mostly Googled “Leaps”. It mostly had helped to understand both growth spurts and developmental leaps and weeks your baby might be fussier.