Newborn "must-haves"

Those first few days/weeks can be a real blur. I say these items are our newborn “must-haves” with quotes around the must-haves part because your baby may not need what our baby needs and these are not true NEEDS. Remember, as I’m sure you have heard/read before, all your baby truly needs is a safe place to sleep, some milk to drink (breastmilk or formula, but we aren’t here to discuss that), and lots of love (and diapers. Lots of diapers).

Okay here we go. I’m adding links to as many items as I can, but I have also added most of, if not all, these items to my amazon storefront so you can check them out there too. (These links do give me a teeny tiny commission if you use them)

• Swaddles (blanket and velcro)

We used both a typical blanket swaddle and velcro swaddle each night. Hazel is a strong girl and would break free when we used just the blanket swaddle, but was too small for the velcro swaddles on their own when we first brought her home. We swaddle her in the blanket and then the velcro one. This gave her some extra comfort and helped the second swaddle fit better.

• Stroller fan

We like to go on walks and our vehicles do not have air vents in the back, so this fan has gotten a lot of use. Now that football season is starting up, it is being used even more. The best part is that it can be wrapped around anything. The charge lasts a long time also!

• Bobby lounger ****

There are so many different types of loungers, but this is the only one we have used. We used it for just about every single nap she took the first several weeks. If she was in her lounger, she was asleep. We also had a cover on it that was super soft.

• Wrap carrier

This is another thing that has come in so handy for walks and even getting things done around the house when she wants to be held. There are lots of different brands and I have tried a few and haven’t noticed that one brand is superior to another.

• Travel sound machine

Babies love white noise. They are used to it and it helps them sleep. We have one that stays in her room and then a cheap travel one. If she is napping in her lounger in the livingroom we can have it running without having to unplug the bedroom one. It’s also great for the car and walks.

• Haaka

This isn’t necessarily for the baby, but it is worth mentioning. Now I did not nurse long at all, but the haaka was great even while I was pumping in instances where I had to go longer between session to get some relief.

I will add that as she has gotten older (nearly two months now) there are more things we are using regularly, but these are some of the things that got us through those first few weeks that aren’t typically the “must-haves” you think of first (bottles, pacifiers, etc.). A few of these items were ones that I did not know if they would be as necessary as the internet made them appear, but boy were they helpful!

Good luck mama. Remember, you are just what your baby needs.

Here is the link to my amazon storefront. I have a few small lists on their, one for newborn things (what we have been using and loving so far) and one for things that I used for myself after baby was born.

****since this blog was posted, there has been a recall on this item. I would like to add this information to the post. We do not use the boppy unsupervised. It was used in the living room while we were within eyesight. Do research on your own and decide what is best and safest for your family.

& a few of our newborn photos because who doesn't want to see tiny baby pictures. If possible I highly recommend doing newborn photos at your home. Less stress and just feels more special.

Paul Bross (https://paulbross.com/) did ours & if you are in the Hannibal MO area, we definitely recommend him!