My Newborn Essentials: Top 10 Must Haves
After lots of research and lots of use,these are the items I found indispensable to start this crazy journey of parenthood. They will make your life easier and will give you some sweet time back as you figure things out in your new normal.
1 – Baby Swing, is a Must Have Must Try
I am starting with this item since it has been very helpful for us since baby was 1 week old. Baby will literally fall asleep as soon as she touched that thing! I understand that some babies will not like it as all babies are different but mine just loved it until now that she is almost 5 months old. It does help us to be able to do things around the house while she swings. I do want to mention that she is always on our sight and for no longer than 30 min to avoid any risk for SIDS. Baby Swings rages from $90 to over $200 Dollars depending on your needs and taste. I personally bought it used for $50 dollars since I didn’t know if my daughter was going to like it and that money would go to waste. Plus they will outgrow it so soon, that going expensive was not a choice. Well, turns out that I was wrong! lol she loved it and still using it. If you want to know more how I found it for $50.
2 – Formula Mixer Pitcher
I am currently using the Dr. Brown’s Formula Mixing Pitcher. If you decide to bottle feed along with breastfeed as I did, then you should invest on this pitcher. When I started getting use to preparing powder formula and as a FTM I read the instructions on the back where it says “shake well” so I did, well, little did I know and didn’t payed attention at all the foam that my baby was drinking, for later on, poor thing was on pain crying her lungs out due to the colic and constipation. I was as upset as she was! and I couldn’t figure it out.
Thank God I came across this marvel lol, not only mixes the formula extremely well, but you can mix in large portions so the formula is ready to go when you need it, especially at night.
For more precision, you can also weight in the powder on a kitchen graded weight scale, using the measurement in grams on the back of the label, this way you have formula mixed to perfection!
3 – Fridababy Windi Gaspasser
This is literally a game changer! As my Mom would state: I can’t believe baby technology has advanced so much. As the label states it is an instant Gas + Colic Relief.
As I said on my item above, there was a time where we were trying to figure out which baby formula we were going to use and how to use it. In the mean time, my baby was suffering from gas and colic since she was use to breast milk. This for sure was of so much help to give her some relief.
It will also help her pass stools if constipated. Try not to use it very often as also babies need to learn how to control their pelvic floor muscles in order to release gas and stool. However, if you ever find yourself in an emergency situation where the baby is super yelling, red face etc this will do the trick.
4 – Gripe Water Is a Must
Must Have People! All babies will have gas and be colicky at some point or another, especially newborns. I literally swear by this, it also works within the next 15 min of using it. My baby will always calm down with this thing.
The way I gave it to her was using a bottle nipple, pour the gripe water in it and she would suck it right in to her little colicky tummy. As I said, this thing makes wonders, so it is a must on your list.
Another benefit of this brand in particular, is that it doesn’t contain Sodium Bicarbonate as it is no bueno for babies. Little Remedies has all gentle natural dietary ingredients. You can click on the picture so that you can review other parents reviews as well as the product itself. You can buy this product at almost any brick and mortar store as well as online, it’s about $6 dollars for 1 4FL OZ.
5 – Same Color Baby Mittens and Socks
There is nothing more frustrating than trying to find a mitten or sock pair! I know I love to combine my babies outfits and I want everything to match. When I was pregnant I had purchased very cute baby gloves but all with cute different patterns, well, I was wrong! I was not able to find any pair at all, or would spend valuable time putting them together.
I highly recommend you to buy all same color baby gloves and Mittens, I bought these 12 pairs online for only $9.99. You can find them all white or white and blue as well. I will add the link on the picture in case you want to take a peak.
This made a big difference on saving time not only at laundry time but when needing gloves in general. I put all of them all mixed in a little basket like this and was wonderful! Same I did with socks.
6 – Cloth Diaper Sprayer
If you are considering and are serious about cloth diapering this is a must have product and seriously a game changer when it comes to dealing with poop. Click here to see my Top 5 cloth diapers essentials.
A cloth diaper sprayer is no more than a hose attached to your toilet, that will allow water come out with some pressure. This facilitates washing and taking off poop effectibly from your cloth diaper to re-use. This brand in particular, comes with a graber and clips for you to touch the pooped diaper as less as possible! It is a little pricey but the’s worth 100 times the money.
Other advantages about this product, is that you can also use the sprayer as a toilet bidet. This is particularly useful during your post-partum recovery. Click on the picture for more info.
So! do yourselves a favor and make your life easier. You deserve it 🙂
7 – Baby Nail File
Before my baby girl was born, one of the things I was terrified of doing was trimming her tiny finger nails. So I researched through a lot of blogs and videos and found this Nail File. I bought it and so far has been one of the best purchases I’ve ever done for my baby.
Basically, you just switch the tips as you see need, put two double AA batteries and it will file/trim your baby’s nails effectivly and with no harm at all to your baby’s skin. I tested this first on myself to see how hard could I go on my skin and what could happen. When you press it hard enough against your finger skin, the little motor of this thing will littelary stop. So seriously, I can’t think of any other baby trimmer safer out there than this one. But please guys, by all means! let me know if there’s another one that I could be missing.
So far I highly recommend it and you can also click the image for more info.
8 – Sterile Saline Mist
Awesome product and will for sure take those little buggers out of your little one’s nose. I tried the bugger sucker by Fridababy and it was ok, not sure if it will be more useful later on, but the way I do it is I will spray into my baby’s nose and just with one of those burping cloths, I will drag them out carefully. Usually she will sneeze 2 minutes after this is applied. Then you just wipe out.
I have to say, that I don’t think babies like the experience, at least not mine, of feeling all that water coming in to their little noses, but if you try to make it as fun as possible it should be alright.
One more thing to add into your little one’s medicine cabinet/box before he/she is born.
9 – Baby Bouncer, For Sure
You will absolutely find this item in almost everyone’s must have lists throughout the internet and there is a reason why.
I have to say that for the first 2 months of life of my baby, she just didn’t like it, as she just preferred to lay on her back all day and night. I almost returned it back! But let me tell you; when she hit her 3 month old mark, till this day, she’s been loving it!
The benefits of this Fisher Price one in particular is that it’s very light weight, so you can carry it anywhere through out the house, obviously the recommendation is without the baby on it of course, but you can take it to the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, like, everywhere it can fit. It also comes with a newborn insert in case your newborn likes to be in it.
If only I were to add something to this bouncer, is for it to be automatic (which there are in the market) lol cause your leg can get tired at times when trying to chill the baby. But, that’s what makes this product so affordable, so, one things for others my friends. Overall I think it is indeed a Must have!
10 – Baby Carrier Should Definitely be #10
I was debating whether to put baby carrier or baby burping cloths lol but I think burping cloths are very obvious, so I decided for the baby carrier!
When I was pregnant I purchased the baby wrap, but I just did’t like it. It was to tight for my baby and just all that extra fabric drove me nuts when trying to take out a hysterical crying baby, so no good for me. I did some research, and lot of them seemed to be very expensive until I found this brand: Infantino Flip 4-in-1 convertible carrier .
For me the most important thing was for it to be ergonomically design to wear the baby on a W shape. My baby was born with hip-dysplasia, which I will talk about later on this blog, so it was very important to have her in a good position. This one gave me both: ergonomic and good price. Check it out by clicking on the picture.
