First and Second Month Essentials

Wrap/Sling/Carrier

Baby wearing is a trend these days, but an amazing and ingenious trend that’s really been around since the beginning of time.  Why wouldn’t you want to keep your baby as close to you as possible and free up your hands to do other things?  Baby likes it, I love it, and lots of days it’s the only way I have been able to get anything done.  I have a Sakura Bloom sling and a Solly baby wrap and both are great, but the wrap better supports a newborn’s head and is easier on my shoulders.  These are both fashionable, easy to use, can be used while breastfeeding, and I can easily throw them into our diaper bag unlike some other baby carriers.

4Moms Mamaroo

As much as I love wearing my baby around the house, some things are hard to do while wearing a newborn since you have to be extra careful that their head is supported, and other things are always hard to do while baby wearing, such as showering.  The 4Moms Mamaroo is pretty much the only way I’ve been able to shower.  Maddie Grace can be very fussy sometimes, but movement and the Pandora Mozart station, which I played for her a lot when I was pregnant, seem to calm her down.  The Mamaroo is great because it doesn’t just swing back and forth but does side to side motions that are more like how a mom actually rocks her baby.  Maddie Grace loves riding in the car (when it’s moving), so I set the Mamaroo to the carseat setting which does a figure 8 motion and plug my phone in so the speakers play her classical music and she dozes off (usually, not always).

4Moms Infant Tub

Giving your newborn baby their first bath is absolutely terrifying.  Tom and I had no clue what we were doing. However, with the 4Moms Infant Tub at least we didn’t have to guess whether the water was the correct temperature.  The tub tells you when the water is in a comfortable temperature range, and warns you as soon as the water gets too hot or too cold.  Plus the tub is designed so that the water flows through the tub allowing clean water to come in and dirty water to flow out, which I think is much more sanitary than other infant tubs.  It fits perfectly in our kitchen sink so no need to bend down and hurt my knees and elbows!

Wubbanub

A friend recommended purchasing one of these when Maddie Grace was fussy one day and I thought it sounded ridiculous.  I mean, it’s just a pacifier with a stuffed animal attached and costs a lot more than a regular pacifier.  But after a very fussy day I caved and bought one and guess what? It works wonders.  The WubbaNub is easily Maddie Grace’s favorite pacifier, for reasons I have yet to discover.  Plus they don’t get lost as easily as other pacifiers because of the animal.  We have nicknamed MG’s wub, wubs and wubbie.  I have a feeling we will be buying a few more of these.

Onesies that cover hands

And a lot of them.  These are the best invention ever for newborns who love to both gauge their eyes out and fling gloves off.  I wish I had stocked up on more of these before Maddie Grace’s arrival! Most places sell them in both newborn and 3 month size and if I could go back in time I would buy at least 6-10 of each size.  Newborns pee, poop, and spit up on themselves constantly so it would be nice to have extra on hand.  I particularly like one of these I grabbed at Baby Gap.  It is oh so soft and adorable.

I can’t believe how much bigger she is now than in these pictures!

Swaddling Blankets

We love swaddling blankets… while they stay on.  Maddie Grace is a little houdini and seems to be able to wiggle her way out of any swaddle – whether the traditional blankets or the ones with velcro.  But when she is swaddled she sleeps better and longer than when not, and we love that our little girl has been sleeping 8 hours at night since around 4 weeks old.  Our favorites as of now are the Aden and Anais Muslin Cloth Swaddle Blankets.  They are lightweight which is essential because it has been so hot here (and our A/C is broken eek), soft to touch, and easy to wrap Maddie Grace up in.  We find that she stays put in these better than the other swaddling blankets we have.

I love my baby burrito!

Boppy (if breastfeeding)

I’m still working on figuring out how to breastfeed without the Boppy.  It makes it so much easier.  And the boppy must be pretty comfortable since my baby always falls asleep on it… and one time I even caught my husband using it as a pillow.

Aden and Anais Mum and Bub Soothing Ointment

Newborns have really dry skin, especially on their hands and feet, so it is nice to have something extra moisturizing to put on them.  Plus babies are prone to sensitive skin, like mine has, and different diapers and wipes can cause irritation on their bottoms.  The Aden + Anais Mum and Bub Soothing Ointment works to clear up both dry skin and irritated skin.  Mom can also use it for dry skin (although it is a little bit sticky), and I love using it on my dry lips.  It also says it can be used on cuts, scrapes, and insect bites, and I feel like it could probably also be used as a nipple balm, but I haven’t tried it for any of those yet.

Aden and Anais Mum and Bub Hair and Body Wash

We love bath time over here.  Seriously, MG loves it, I love it, I think even Tom likes baby bath time.  It’s just fun, who knows why.  But one of the things that makes bath time even better is this Aden + Anais Mum and Bub Hair and Body Wash that both mom and baby can use (you’re going to need body wash for the baby so you might as well get one that you can use as well).  I love that the formula is naturally deprived and that it is free of parabens.  Plus it smells divine. I even use this to give the reusable wipes we started using a nice scent.  It cleans great as well but clearly the smell is more important.