One of my oldest friends gave birth to her son 3 months after I had Carter. How special is that?! Anyways, she asked me if I had any baby products that stood out in my mind that she should look into getting. I thought about it for a week or two and make little notes of things that made my mommy life a little easier. I gave her my list and thought, why not add it here too! So here is my list of baby products that makes a difference during the days and nights for me and Carter!
(this list are more of the less obvious items, you won't see a crib or changing table on here because I thought that those were too obvious)
Swaddling Blankets
Carter always manages to get at least one arm free by the end of a nap or night's sleep
These are awesome! We were using these daily from the first day home with Carter. They're light and thin, which is great for Southern California so Carter never gets too hot in them, and swaddling for babies is a life saver! Carter sleeps the best when swaddled, like sleeping through the night at 7 weeks old, sleep (praise God!). I use the Aden + Anais swaddling blankets, and they are wonderful!
Solly Wrap
Carter and I love our solly wrap! He falls asleep within minutes of me placing him in it, and I'm able to have the freedom of carrying him hands free to do things around the house or doing some work from home!
I can't talk enough about my solly wrap, it's wonderful! I was given a moby wrap by a girlfriend, she had two and never had a chance to return one so she gave me a brand new one! But... moby wraps are thick, and after about 20-30 minutes of wearing Carter in it we were both a little sweaty. But solly wraps are awesome! They're much thinner and softer which makes for a much more comfortable baby wearing session! Plus, solly wraps are from a small business out of San Diego, and I love supporting small businesses with awesome products! I tagged them in this photo I posted on insta and it made it to one of their Friday postings!
Pacifiers
(I don't really have pictures of Carter using a pacifier! He usually falls asleep within 10-20 minutes of me giving him one then pushes it out of his mouth when he falls asleep.)
Pacifiers are a touchy subject for some moms, but I'm a fan of Dr. Karp's "5 S's". And one of them is sucking. Sucking is a soothing element for babies from birth, and it's one reason why baby's will fall asleep at the end of a nursing session (or at least Carter does!). So I give Carter a pacifier when he's tired and fighting falling asleep, or when he's fussy and I can't figure out why (after I've ruled out if he's hungry). I always have at least two on hand with me and it works great for us! On a side note, I didn't introduce a pacifier to Carter until he was 3 weeks old, and breastfeeding was well established. I also always make sure he isn't hungry before giving him one. Sometimes baby's are eager to suck on a pacifier because they are hungry and that can lead to weight loss.
Video Monitor
(watching Carter in his swing while in the kitchen doing dishes)
Rocking Chair
My mother-in-law bought me a gliding rocking chair and gliding footstool for one of my baby showers and I can't imagine life without it! I rock Carter to sleep in it every single night! It's beautiful, comfortable, and glides so smoothly and gently that both Carter and I are completely relaxed and so comfortable while using it. It also provides a nice calm down time that we share just looking into each other's eyes and bonding. While, you don't really need a rocking chair, I love mine and would recommend one to all mommies out there!
Rock n Play or Bouncer Seat
(Carter and daddy. Carter couldn't keep his eyes off me and Chris his first few weeks)
(Happy boy in his rock n play!)
Bassinet
(My little cutie 1 week old sleeping in his bassinet)
While, we transitioned from Carter's bassinet to crib kinda early compared to most babies, having a bassinet was really great! I did a TON of research on bassinets and I landed on the Halo Bassinet, and I picked it for one major reason-the walls of their bassinets are mesh. The mesh pretty much eliminates any chance that the baby will having his breathing obstructed if he gets too close to the sides... which ended up being smart on our part because Carter loved to smoosh his face up against the side of his bassinet!
What a weird kid! But apparently pretty normal for infants. Having a bassinet made it so easy to pick Carter up in the middle of the night for feedings or diaper changes because he slept right next to us in his bassinet. Or if he just needed his pacifier put back in his mouth, we didn't have to leave the bed, we just reach over and helped it back into his mouth. Also, it was super easy to move around the house, so it got a ton of use around the clock. We love our bassinet, Carter loved it, one happy family!
Ergo Carrier
(a terrible picture of me, but I'm wore Carter in my ergo for Chris's graduation ceremony from seminary. It was a perfect choice! Carter was about 6 weeks old, and a ton of co-workers and friends came to cheer Chris on and that this was most of them first time meeting Carter, so my ergo provided a safe and non-offensive barrier between the baby and everyone.)
I love baby wearing! And an ergo is another way of carrying Carter hands free! An ergo provides a bit more support than the solly, so I use my ergo for long walks or social occasions where I don't want friendly strangers trying to touch Carter. The ergo provides more coverage and more privacy. The ergo also gives you the option of wearing the baby on your back when they get a little older.
Notepad and Pen
Simple, cheap, and a lifesaver. I kept a notepad and pen close by for the first 6-8 weeks of Carter's life. As a first time mommy I kept track of everything! Feedings, diaper changes, naps, and to list off any questions or concerns that came to mind regarding the baby so I could ask the doctor later. While, in the beginning I noted EVERYTHING it was nice peace of mind, and going to doctor's appointments I would have all the answers! How many wet and dirty diapers a day? I have that answer! How often is he eating? I know that! How many naps is he taking? I'll tell ya! Do you have any questions? Oh yes!
Breast Pump
(I'll spare you all a picture of me using a breast pump...)
Another luxury that I'm so glad I have! I started using my pump at around 4 weeks, to stock up on milk in our freezer. Pumping allows for mother's who are exclusively breastfeeding to have a life! We introduced a bottle to Carter at 4 weeks (I unfortunately came down with mastitis that sent me to the ER with 104 fever) Chris and I wanted to avoid bringing Carter to a germ infested ER so we called Grandma to come over and watch him while we were gone. I was gone for about 4 hours so I was so thankful for the milk I had started storing up. I felt bad leaving Carter's first real bottle experience to grandma, but Carter had no issues going from bottle to nursing, and actually preferred nursing to a bottle (which made this nursing momma so happy!) I was able to take little trips here and there to go out and do things for myself. SO important for new moms, but the guilt is hard to get pass. Having a pump allowed me the peace of mind that I could leave for a walk or go to the grocery store or Target and Carter would still have that important and nutritious breast milk.
(If you think that a breast pump is too obvious for those of you planning on breastfeeding, don't! I know a few moms that exclusively nursed their babies for 12 months! No bottles, no pumps, nothing!)
Netflix Account
(Chris and I use to have cable, but when we bought our home we realized 6 months after we moved in that we never set up our cable box or renewed our cable subscription. We decided that if we didn't miss it for 6 months we could probably live without it. Now we watch netflix and hulu and save a ton of money!)
When Chris returned back to work after his paternity leave was over I felt really lonely at home with the baby. Carter was 2 1/2 weeks old and spent most the days sleeping. (newborns sleep 18-20 hours a day). I usually held Carter during the day while he was sleeping so I was kinda stranded to where ever I was where he fell asleep. My brother-in-law sent me a text one morning telling me about a show I had to watch (he and I travel a ton for work so we send each other tv or movie recommendations constantly to pass the time while in airports or hotels). Never even occurred to me to turn the tv on! My days started flying by once I had the tv on, even as background noise it was nice having something on that I could watch while Carter was napping on me, or rewind or go back and re-watch when I left the room. Simple and easy, and made a big difference during the day! Some of my favorite shows or movies to watch while on my maternity leave were: Scandal (LOVE!), Gilmore Girls (old favorite), Greys Anatomy, how to get away with murder, and documentaries (to mix things up).
Those are it for now! As Carter gets older I add new things to the list, so I'll probably update or make a new list in a couple of weeks!
Those are it for now! As Carter gets older I add new things to the list, so I'll probably update or make a new list in a couple of weeks!
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