After 10 weeks of motherhood I’m realizing that I bought waaay to much shit.  Seriously, we own half of Buy Buy Baby, its borderline ridiculous.  But as a crazy hormonal pregnant woman I felt like I needed everything and I wanted to have everything bought and organized before the baby showed up (hello nesting instinct).  Friends told me not to buy too many pacifiers, bottles, swaddlers, or things of that nature because my baby might not like them and I might have to try a different brand/style/etc.  Did I listen? Nope, in my head I had this perfect little baby that would like all the things that I had predetermined that she would need.  And if she didn’t like something she would learn to like it because I am the mom and she is the baby which means I am the boss.

HA!

Babies are the boss and the sooner you figure that out the easier your life will be.  As a new mom I got waaaay to tired to fight my kid into one type of swaddler when she was preferred a different type of swaddler.  And if one type of bottle makes them spit up less than a different type I assure you that you won’t learn to live with the spit up bottle, you will drive your ass to Buy Buy Baby at an ungodly hour through a snow storm to stock up on the bottles she likes because dammit you don’t want to be puked on one more time.

Yea babies are the boss.  And all babies are different, what works for one mama, might not work for you, but sometimes you just need some ideas of what could work for your baby.  So because of that I have compiled a list of Piper’s Top 10 Newborn Items that she, Tyler, and I couldn’t live without.  Check them out, do some research, and see if they might work for you.

Without Further Ado….

1. The Baby Shusher

A life saver!

Let’s try and experiment.  Take a deep breath and then make a shhhhh sound for 10 seconds straight.  Now take another breath and do it again.  How about 1 more time.  Annoyed yet? Babies like the shhhhh sound.  Apparently in utero the sound of blood moving through mom’s veins sounds like shhhhhh so when they come out into this big scary world the sound of shhhhh calms them down.  I personally was skeptical as shit about this product.  While shopping at a local boutique an employee demo’d it for me and all I could think was damn that thing is soooo annoying, but Tyler was fascinated so we bought it.  Not long after our little nugget was born we turned this thing on to see if it would calm her and I was shocked at the result.  It was like I slipped a Xanex into the kids boob milk.  She relaxed instantly.  Now whenever she is worked up or we are trying to get her down for a nap we just click this thing on and she is good to go.  Bonus: There is an iPhone app as well.  Its cheaper, however you have to deal with not having your phone.  We have both the device and the app because you just never know when you might have a shhhhh emergency!

2. Rock N Play Sleeper

Great for naps and for when the baby sleeps in your room

All my mom friends recommended this sleeper and I was lucky enough to get it as a shower gift.  As it turns out this one of the things that I could not live without.  Piper sleeps in it nightly in our room, but we also move it throughout the house during the day for naps.  Its super light weight and it folds really easy.  Bonus points, no tools to assemble.  I put this bad boy together all by myself AND the baby hasn’t fallen out of it yet so I’d say that I did I good job.

3. The Swaddle Strap

Makes nap times so much easier

We put Piper in a Woombie for night time sleeping (More about that later), but the swaddle strap is perfect for daytime naps.  My babe tends to get hot when you swaddle her while fully dressed.  When she would wake up from a nap she’d be a sweaty mess and ain’t no baby got time for that.  Solution, the swaddle strap.  It goes on right over her clothes and you can get it on her in seconds.  This kid fights ALL swaddle options except this one, I don’t have to fight her little ninja arms to get it on so for that reason, it made the must have list.

4. The Woombie

Looks like a bug but sleeps like a dream

The Woombie is the product that almost got away.  I had purchased one when I was pregnant and Piper wore it a couple times when she was first born but then I forgot about it (I told you we had too much crap).  One morning after a sleepless evening I was reading up about the best swaddlers to make help your baby sleep and people kept saying the Woombie was the thing to have.  I remembered I had one and that evening squeezed my plump little nugget inside of it.  That baby slept 10.5 hours that night.  10.5 hours! We had to stand over here repeatedly to make sure she was still breathing.  Now I will say that she doesn’t sleep like that every night, but most nights I can bank on a solid 6 hours straight of sleep if she has the woombie on.  No woombie, maybe 3 hours, maybe.

5. Zoli Nail Trimmer

Much easier than clipping

Babies fingernails are TINY and yet they are long.  Since new babies flail their arms around like crazy they inevitably scratch the shit out of their face until you get their nails under control.  I don’t know about you but cutting my kids finger is not something I’m interested in doing.  The Zoli nail trimmer was recommended to me by the same gal that recommended the Baby Shusher (smart lady).  This thing is super easy to use and has different pads based on the age of the baby.  If you miss their fingernail and nick their skin it doesn’t hurt them at all.  Ever since Piper has been a tiny baby we have used this thing and she actually kind of loves it when its time for her manicure.

6. A Baby Sling

Mama looks TIRED!

Newborns crave being close to their mama’s.  Skin to skin contact is so soothing for them and it is good for moms too.  But the thing is that sometimes you can’t just sit around and hold a baby all day.  There are dishes to do and things to clean up.  A baby sling is the best compromise, you can keep them close to you, yet have your hands free to do stuff.  The walking motion relaxes the baby and generally they fall asleep.  Piper tends to get over stimulated by about 5 o’clock and from 5-8pm she can be a bit testy.  Times like this are perfect for throwing her in the sling and continuing on with my day.  I personally have the Baby K’tan and I really like it.  Its soft and easy to get on and off, no crazy tying like some of the other slings on the market.  The downside is though that you purchase it based on your size so it isn’t something that your husband can also wear (unless you guys are the same size).  You’ll have to consider who will be carrying the baby more and make the decision as to what sling is right for you.  I also just purchased the hot sling, but its still on its way so I will have to get back to you to let you know how I like it.  To see all the slings I like, click here.

7. Aden & Anais Bamboo Swaddle Blankets

See, she looks happy right?

I didn’t buy ANYTHING for the baby for quite awhile after I found out I was pregnant.  But then after I reach the 12 week mark I was just itching to buy something to make this whole experience seem just a little more real.  The Aden & Anais swaddle blankets were my first purchase.  Boy or Girl didn’t matter, I was going to be needing them regardless.  My favorite Boutique, Lincoln & Lexi, offerred the super soft swaddle blankets and I was hooked immediately.  After having the babe I will say that paying a little extra for the bamboo ones is totally worth it.  Piper likes it quite a bit and they are just SO MUCH SOFTER than the cotton alternatives.  We swaddled her a lot in the beginning with these and now we also have one in every room, one in the stroller, one in the diaper bag, I just use them all the time.  I’d recommend having at least 6 in the house (they come in 3 packs!).

8. Tweekaboo Baby App

Keep track of pregnancy and baby milestones

I only recently discovered the Tweekaboo app and I’m obsessed.  You can upload photos and videos of your kid, organize them by milestones, firsts, birthdays, even pregnancy.  You can use it for multiple kids and there is even sharing functionality so your friends and family (only the ones you specify) can see what you upload.  I’m keeping a journal for Piper for all her firsts but I don’t have time to write in that everyday, I like this app because when she does something cool (like talks for the first time) I can grab my phone quick, take a video of it, and save it.  The date of the milestone is recorded and all the info is there if you want to transfer it to a baby book later.  Plus you can take all of your memories and make a book directly from the app (I haven’t done this yet, but it looks cool).

9. Happiest Baby on the Block

Crash course in how to soothe a baby. Yes please!

This was one of like 2 books I read while I was pregnant and I loved it! The cover said it would help your baby get 1-3 more hours of sleep and I was like ummm Yes please! The book teaches the concept of the 4th trimester, essentially that you need to recreate the womb like environment for the first few months of life.  Additionally it teaches the 5 S’s, swaddle, shushing (hence the shusher app), side, swing, and suck.  The 5 S’s are your parenting ninja tricks to calm your infant and I will say they worked flawlessly for us.  Had we not known about these things I think we would view Piper as much more of a difficult baby than she is.  We were able to put these tricks into play immediately after she was born and we were able to calm her down so quickly.  For Tyler, who had zero experience with babies, this taught him a set of skills he had never been exposed to and made him feel much more confidant in his dad abilities.  Anyone who has met my kid can attest to the fact that she almost never cries and she is just a super chill baby, Tyler and I attribute most of that to this idea.  I will recommend though to SKIP the book and go straight to the DVD.  Its 30 minutes, you can watch it together, plus you get to see the techniques in real life versus just reading about them in a book.

10. Total Baby App

The must have app for new moms

After you have a kid your mind goes to mush.  Seriously.  4 days post Piper I said this to Tyler, “Babe I have 3 goals for the day 1. Fold the towels 2. Pick up my medicine and 3. Shit I forgot the 3rd.” This forgetfulness went on for quite a long time (I’m still not real great).  During those first few weeks of having a baby it’s super important to track how often they are peeing, pooping, and eating.  A lack of wet or dirty diapers is a sign that feeding isn’t going as well as it should and if you are breastfeeding the last thing you want to do is go too long in between feedings (your boobs will literally turn to rocks and leak all over).  I started out by writing everything down and after about 2 hours of that I realized I needed a better system.  Tyler found me this super handy app and I used it RELIGIOUSLY for the first 6 weeks.  I could track her diapers, feedings, baths, and how long she was sleeping.  I only used it for feedings and diapers, but it really helped keep me on track.  Plus when I got around to subscribing to Amazon Mom for my diaper delivery I knew exactly how many diapers she was going though in a month.  Easy Peasy.  This app can sync between you and your spouse, your caregiver can even use it too.

So there you have it, my favorite products for a newborn.  Research away!

Now I want to hear from you! What is the one thing you couldn’t have lived without when you had a baby, let me know in the comments below!