Guide for new moms
I got this idea from another blogger to post products that as a mom you can't live without.. I mean, why spend tons of money on things that won't work. Granted, every baby is different and some things that work for me won't work for you.. But if you just go to the store and try to pick from all they have to offer, it can be intimidating. These products I haven't just used with Canaan, but with other kiddos as well. Before becoming a mom, I was quite the nanny.. Keeping all the new babies from our circle of friends at church.. And what did they all have in common.. These products all worked for them. In fact, a lot of these things get passed around when a new baby comes.. Here they are..
Boppy- This is a lifesaver while nursing, and is also wonderful even if you aren't. I use this during tummy time if baby is having a hard time being on his/her belly.
Boppy lounger- This is basically a boppy without the middle taken out.. This is wonderful especially in the first few months when baby isn't able to sit up.. it's comfy for them to sleep in or to just lounge in.. I can't explain it but every baby I've been around loves it!
Summer infant swaddle blankets- These are different than just regular swaddle blankets because there are velcro sections to easily swaddle baby. You can swaddle a baby for a long time and it allows them to sleep better.. however, if you just wrap them up in a regular blanket without velcro strips, it's much easier for them to wiggle out of the swaddle and then you're getting up in the middle of the night to fix it.. been there
done that.. trust me, get these blankets!
Halo Sleep sack- This was a God-send for the first two months of Canaan's life! The last baby I watched before having C would wear this at night over a Velcro swaddle.. TWO swaddles at once! I thought it was insane.. until I had Canaan.. Your Pediatrician should give you the whole SIDS talk.. you know, don't co-sleep, don't put blankets in the crib with baby.. Well, we had a problem.. it was winter and we were worried about him staying warm. I buckled and finally tried this double swaddle thing.. and it was AMAZING! He instantly slept so much better. He was sleeping through the night before most babies normally do. Basically the thickness of the Halo sleep sack is like having a blanket over baby. (We only double swaddle at night.)
Aden and Anais muslin blankets- these blankets are wonderful.. they're light weight and can be used in lots of different ways. They were the first blankets we used to swaddle C in as a newborn because there is a lot of fabric and they feel good..Once he was wiggling out of them and we went to the velcro swaddles, we would use them to put over him at nap time because the Pediatrician said they were light enough to put in the crib. Now, we use them underneath the velcro swaddle.. yep, another double swaddle.. He is snug as a bug and sleeps sound all night!
Dr. Brown's bottles- these were a given when we were registering because every baby I've watched for the past 3 years has used them and I've found them to be great.. They are designed to help prevent gas and colic.. I don't know what else to say other than they work well for us!
bottle warmer- It is so convenient to have a bottle warmer for the first few months. You should NEVER microwave a bottle (hot spots) and boiling water takes too much time, where as a bottle warmer works within a few minutes. Think, middle of the night, you already have a bottle in the fridge.. pop it in the warmer and just a few minutes and it's ready.. seriously, it's great. We bought an inexpensive one and it lasted until 3 1/2 months before it gave out.. however, we have friends with the same one and it's working after 8 months.. Bottle warmers warm more than just bottles.. you can also warm baby food jars in them. (Also, you should never microwave baby food jars because of hot spots.)
gowns- You cannot have too many gowns for baby.. He/She will go through 10+ diapers in the first several weeks and will probably be waking up every 3 or so hours at night so it's really convenient to not have to unzip or unsnap outfits.
Pampers Swaddlers- This was another given for us.. I'm used to squishing the diaper to see if it's wet, but these are great because you just look for the blue line and you know! They've been wonderful for us because he hasn't had a leak or diaper rash! I haven't heard good things about Pampers Drymax.. but only wonderful things about Swaddlers. Target usually has really good deals on Pampers where you buy two boxes and you get a gift card.
Also, I subscribed on Amazon.com and get one box delivered with free shipping for way cheaper than anywhere else.
Play yard- don't bother with bassinets.. I mean, they only sleep in them for a little bit and then you have a useless piece of furniture.. Get the play yard, or pack in play that has a bassinet function and then you have something you'll use for a long time. We set this up in our room where he slept for 2 months and it rolled so it was easy to move from room to room. Also, we just pack it up to take it on the road when we would go anywhere so he had a familiar place to sleep.
Video monitor- I will never go back to just audio monitors now. We have a handheld monitor with a small screen as well as a 7" screen that sits on my nightstand. it stays on all night (it isn't too bright) and at all times, I can hear and see what's going on. It's way better than hearing something and going in to check and possibly waking baby up. I recommend Summer Infant products.
Medela Pump in Style Advanced breast pump- definitely do electric instead of manual.
Simple Wishes hands free breast pump bra- instead of buying a handsfree Breast Pump which is usually $100+ more than the other electric pump, just get a handsfree bra.. it works wonders! (Amazon.com)
Babywise- do yourself a favor and buy this book.. It's a wonderful tool for nighttime sleep for both baby and mom/dad. This was one of those things where Baby needs to sleep well and they teach you the tools to great sleep! Some of their tips may seem radical, but they work. Instead of demand feeding and hyper scheduling, it teaches about a parent assessment method.. Canaan took to it immediately and it's been amazing!
Sound machine- we got the First Years Sounds for Silence Nursery Machine at Target.. it has several different options for noise. It's great because it allows us to make whatever noise we want while C is asleep and it won't wake him. In fact, if it isn't on and there's too much silence, he will wake.
Baby Einstein Sea Dreams Lullaby Soother- instead of a mobile, we opted for one of these.. it hooks onto the side of the crib and comes with a remote. That way, we can turn it back on from the door instead of going to the crib and risking making things worse by cranking a mobile. It either plays music or nature sounds w/or w/out light.
Sure hope this helps! Thankfully we had tons of friends with babies and I got to research quite a bit of these things without buying unnecessaries, however that isn't always the case.
All of the items above, unless specified, were purchased at Target.
Credentials:
Before becoming a mom I was a mom-in-training.. I started studying about babies and all things parenting in high school. I knew I wanted to study parenting in college and even teach about it, so I started taking classes in high school. I even started buying books.. I wanted to be a professional mom :).. I went on to study Family and Consumer Science with an emphasis on Child Development and Parenting at UCA and my first year of teaching was spent on these two classes.. I got to buy these products and test them out and say it was for "work".. So I've done a lot of research, so what.. That was all basically to say I'm passionate about it..
I started eating rice cereal.. not quite sure what I think about it
