A few friends who are pregnant with their first babies have asked me what my top must-haves for baby are.
I thought I'd write about my picks here, and I'm obviously qualified to, because I have one four month old baby and therefore I'm an expert on motherhood and all babies, especially yours. (Ha.)
(Also, I'm not including basic necessities, such as diapers, blankets, and car seats on this list, because...duh, you need those. I always hated when I clicked on Pinterest links proclaiming "best things for baby" or "top picks for baby" and the first one was a car seat. If you don't know you need a car seat, hey, you're in trouble. Also, I realize ten would have been a nicer, more even number than eight, but oh well!)
8. Video Monitor - I like being able to see Jeffrey and know whether he's sleeping or awake, so I love having a video monitor. He sleeps with us at night, but during naps when I'm downstairs and he's upstairs, the video monitor gives me peace of mind. This is ours, and it was the number one pick for video monitors under $100 on several lists, and got decent Amazon reviews, which is why I chose it. We thought about getting a monitor that would use wifi and connect to our iPhones, but after doing a little reading about people hacking those, we opted against a wifi based monitor.
7. Sound machine - i don't know what we'd do without ours. Originally I thought about just relying on a sound machine app on my iPhone, but the reality is that you won't want to leave your phone in the room with baby. So, get a cheap sound machine. Cheap ones do the the job well.
6. K'Tan and Ergo - I love both of these, and I have used them more and more as Jeffrey has grown. He hated being confined when he was a newborn, (he would literally kick and kick and fight until he woke himself up if I put him in bed swaddled,) and so we didn't actually use the carriers as much as I thought we would. But now he likes being carried close to mama and daddy, and I like being hands free so I can actually do stuff! The ergo is a good choice if you want something you and your husband can both wear, because it adjusts. Lots of wraps, including the K'Tan, aren't one size fits all. I didn't get the Ergo until after Jeffrey was born, because Tyler decided he wanted to be able to carry him too, (so sweet!) and my K'Tan was a size small.
8. Video Monitor - I like being able to see Jeffrey and know whether he's sleeping or awake, so I love having a video monitor. He sleeps with us at night, but during naps when I'm downstairs and he's upstairs, the video monitor gives me peace of mind. This is ours, and it was the number one pick for video monitors under $100 on several lists, and got decent Amazon reviews, which is why I chose it. We thought about getting a monitor that would use wifi and connect to our iPhones, but after doing a little reading about people hacking those, we opted against a wifi based monitor.
7. Sound machine - i don't know what we'd do without ours. Originally I thought about just relying on a sound machine app on my iPhone, but the reality is that you won't want to leave your phone in the room with baby. So, get a cheap sound machine. Cheap ones do the the job well.
6. K'Tan and Ergo - I love both of these, and I have used them more and more as Jeffrey has grown. He hated being confined when he was a newborn, (he would literally kick and kick and fight until he woke himself up if I put him in bed swaddled,) and so we didn't actually use the carriers as much as I thought we would. But now he likes being carried close to mama and daddy, and I like being hands free so I can actually do stuff! The ergo is a good choice if you want something you and your husband can both wear, because it adjusts. Lots of wraps, including the K'Tan, aren't one size fits all. I didn't get the Ergo until after Jeffrey was born, because Tyler decided he wanted to be able to carry him too, (so sweet!) and my K'Tan was a size small.
5. Stroller - I was actually iffy about registering for a stroller, because I thought I would use it occasionally, but probably not often, and was it really worth the money? Y'all, I'm here to tell you it is. Carting that stroller around in the trunk of my car, and tugging it out every time I need it is a small inconvenience when the other option is lugging around the infant carrier in a store or going through the laborious process of unbuckling Jeffrey out of his car seat and strapping him into a carrier. Ugh. I got this kind of stroller, and our Graco car seat just clicks into the stroller part. No transferring of baby, no waking up baby if he's sleeping. It's the best.
4. Medela Electric Breast Pump - if you're pregnant and reading this, then I sincerely hope you never have a need for one of these. But Jeffrey had a really weak latch when he was born, and so I relied on one of these to bring in my milk and keep up my supply for a few weeks. There are manual pumps out there, and if you're just pumping enough for a bottle or two along the way, I'm sure a manual one is perfectly sufficient. I definitely wouldn't want to use one as much as I had to unless it was an electric model. Also, per Obamacare, every insurance company is required by law to provide a breast pump to its pregnant clients. Some don't provide really nice ones, but some do. (Mine did!) All you have to do is call your insurance company to find out which models are available to you.
3. A backpack diaper bag - I actually have this diaper bag, and I really like the way it looks and the amount of storage it has. I get compliments on it all the time. BUT I can't begin to count how many times I've wished for a backpack instead of a bag when I have to tote it around along with the baby, groceries, library books, etc. I think a backpack would be way easier to just throw on and go. Hands free is always a good option, because guess what isn't hands free? That's right...a baby.
2. Rock 'N' Play Sleeper - I didn't have this when Jeffrey was born. But he was a terrible...and I do mean terrible...sleeper. He absolutely refused to sleep in his crib for more than twenty minutes at a time, and since I was really uncomfortable with the idea of co-sleeping with a newborn, and didn't intend to do the cry it out method with a two week old, I ended up sleeping on a pallet in the floor in his room with him. This was so healthy for my marriage and good for my back! Not.
My sweet mother in law bought this bed for us to try, and although it wasn't the magic solution to all our sleeping problems, it did mean that Jeffrey would sleep for an hour or two at a time during the night, and that was a big deal. He also struggled with reflux, and since this bed is inclined, it was helpful with that too! He still starts out the night in his little bed, and naps in it during the day. This definitely falls into the category of "not a basic necessity" and I wouldn't get one unless your baby has a hard time sleeping. (More than a typical newborn, that is, because news flash! most babies are
horrible sleepers.)
horrible sleepers.)
1. Swing - one day, a few days after we brought Jeffrey home, Tyler looked at me and said "you know what I would do if I could go back in time? I would buy a swing the minute we found out you were pregnant! Because can you imagine not having one?!" (Spoken with a look of pure terror on his face.) I have talked to some people whose babies didn't like swings, but I have a hard time imagining that, because mine loved his. It was the only time I could put him down during the day without him fussing, and he did most of his newborn napping in the swing. These last couple of weeks he's enjoyed it a lot less, but only because he's in "stand up, roll around, be constantly stimulated" mode. For three and a half months, it was a lifesaver. Tyler's sweet middle school students gave us ours, and it was one of the absolute best presents we got, and one of the things I *know* I would buy for myself if we had another baby and ours stopped working.
So, there you have it! Mind blowing, right? I know it's not, but I hope it was helpful. Before Jeffrey was born, I read tons of these types of posts, (thank you, Pinterest links!) and they did help me solidify in my mind the things I thought would work for us, and we were so blessed by the sweet generosity of our family and friends who truly went above and beyond to help us prepare for J's arrival. Above all, it's important to keep in mind that our babies need our love and attention more than they "need" all the extras we're blessed to have access to here in America.
So, there you have it! Mind blowing, right? I know it's not, but I hope it was helpful. Before Jeffrey was born, I read tons of these types of posts, (thank you, Pinterest links!) and they did help me solidify in my mind the things I thought would work for us, and we were so blessed by the sweet generosity of our family and friends who truly went above and beyond to help us prepare for J's arrival. Above all, it's important to keep in mind that our babies need our love and attention more than they "need" all the extras we're blessed to have access to here in America.
