 |
| Gratuitous baby G photo in his Rock N Play |
This is a post about my favorite things for a new baby. As you remember I already did my favorite things for breastfeeding. This list is for newborn-3 months.
I read RAVE reviews about this puppy (bunny in our case) on every mommy blog I read before having G. To give you a little background, our bedroom is actually on the lower level of our house and G's room is upstairs. I was sure that I would want G down in our room with us for those late night feedings. I thought this would be perfect for our room because it is much smaller than a pack n play that would take up the whole floor of our room. You can also see that it is level with the bed which makes it easy to rock your LO to sleep without having to get out of bed. That's a nice feature.
Well it turns out I was partially right. What I didn't know was that newborns make a TON of noise while they sleep. Seriously, they make gurgling sounds, whimpers and snorts and hiccup-type noises, you can see the problem with this. Perhaps some moms get used to it but I certainly couldn't so G went to his room on night 3. It would've been earlier but my parents were staying with us and I didn't want to go up and down the stairs and wake up them and our dogs. I brought it down to our room a few other times too when we had guests. It is nice to reach over to rock them a little and it was really nice at the beginning because G broke my tailbone on his way out and that has been a real pain in the butt, seriously, lots of pain in my butt. That's for another post.
This wasn't a bad product though. G still slept in his rock n play (RNP) every night until about 2 and a half months. It was just in his room. I liked having him in the RNP over his crib which looked huge and flat and scary for his little newborn body. The RNP kind of snuggles them in and makes them happy. I noticed that when G moved to his crib that he didn't sleep as well and would get startled easily. I think that could be a downside of the RNP too just because they're used to that feeling of being safe, but I would use it again for baby 2 because it is nice. They advertise that it can also be used for play time but I never did. In my opinion baby needs to know that cribs/RNP (or wherever they sleep) is for sleeping and they better get down to business. No monkey stuff in there, just sleep. It has worked for us so far. I realize that may not work for everyone. We are also lucky enough to have room in our house for a swing/bouncer, etc. Some people aren't as fortunate.
We are also still using it for when we travel instead of lugging around the pack n play (which is huge) this folds in half for easy storage and travel! Plus it is easy to wash, just throw it in the machine and walk away.
Bottom line, definitely worth your $50!
Grady started using this toy around 2.5-3 months. He loved it. Those new baby legs want to move and you will never grow tired of watching them get excited when they discover they have a purpose! The toy bar can go down on the floor for tummy time or be put up like in the picture. (other dangly toys not shown)
Now at 10.5 months we have moved the piano so that it sits parallel to the floor and he sits and plays it all the time. Certainly a baby must have in my book. A lot of value out of one toy!
G really liked to look at this "book" in the car. It was great for sitting down and reading at home too!
These were wonderful for a swaddle novice like me. I don't know if G hated to be swaddled because I didn't do it right or just because he didn't like to be swaddled but he really liked these. However I must say that most babies do like to be swaddled so if you go for sleep sacks you will want to stick with the ones that have the velcro straighjacket looking things on them. G would fight and scream until his arms got out but I still liked them because they would bring the sleep sack in tighter to his body.
This next one is more for mom than baby if you are using the the sleep sacks but these are an absolute MUST have for every new mama. You should note you can get these in a minky, fleece or cotton. You will need to use your judgment on what time of year you're buying for. Winter you'll want warmer than summer obviously.
These are so handy to have. Around 6 months when G started having trouble sleeping we tried a blanket in the crib with him. He didn't ever like a paci and soon grew tired of sucking his hands. I liked these because they are VERY breathable. Make sure you don't cheap out and get the target packs, you want the expensive boutique sized swaddles (47x47). They're worth it. I used them to snuggle G when he was an infant, cover up while breast feeding when company was over, cover his car seat, clean up spit up when I didn't have a burp rag handy, you name it and I used it for it probably. If you want to spend a little bit more per blanket I suggest the bamboo version. They're SOOO soft. Just don't wash them with the sleep sacks or bibs, I promise you even though you just KNOW you closed up all that velcro, it will find your super soft bamboo blanket and they'll get caught up together and you will find snags on that blanket that make your heart (and pocketbook) cry. You should note that the solid bamboos are best. The design on the bamboo prints are a little crunchy so I don't think they would be baby's favorite.
You will note that their dream and cozy blankets are also wonderful, great for walks in the stroller and for covering up in the car or on the way inside when it is -20.
I am planning to do a "diapering" post soon but I wanted to add that G had some funky diapering issues right away when his little body was getting used to diapers so I would let him lay out naked for awhile each day. He bawled and peed and bawled and peed when we did this. No matter how high I cranked the thermostat. So I would also suggest you grab one of these babies right away too. I think even if you aren't having diapering issues it is nice to let their little bodies have some diaper free time each day to air out. These are handy to have when you're preggo too. You never know when you'll be like me and your water will break while you're in bed.
This was G's second toy love after the piano toy! This was a lifesaver in the car. G generally didn't mind the car seat but when he didn't want to go in all you had to do was push the nose on the tiger and all was right in G's world. Best $10 ever spent! (yes I do have a picture of him playing with this too but I will spare you, can you say first child?!)
Everyone knows these are great! Kids chew on books and rip those fragile pages right out unless they're cardboard and chunky. They also have big toddler sized lap books which are great if you can find some! I got a couple, one from target and one from Sam's club. The Sandra Boynton books are my favorite. I also love Nancy Tillman books. They're poetic and make my heart ache they're so sweet.
 |
| This one is my favorite |
I love these water proof books. I almost never use them in the tub either! All babies put everything in their mouth. It is a fact of life. That's how they learn to explore their world. It's cute (when it is a toy) and horrifying (when it is a dog toy, or dog food, or the dog bowl) every day. They love to chew on those board books I mentioned above so these waterproof books are a genius way to let them chew and explore but also save the book! So we have one in the car, at the changing table, I have one anywhere I think I need him to be distracted for a minute while I wrestle him into something.
Honorable Mentions for must haves -
A baby swing. This was a must for G, he loved to swing. We borrowed a swing which was super nice! If I were to look to buy a swing I would get one that could swing side to side or back and forth (which this one did) and had the option to plug it into the wall or use batteries (which this one did not). It seems like most of them have both options now, and I was actually surprised how long the batteries lasted for how much we used it!
G preferred the swing but some babies love the bouncer chair too! I had the snug-a-bunny bouncer. G SCREAMED whenever I tried to put him in it though. I think it just depends on the kid.
I would say that is about all your baby really wants or needs right away. I will post more about diapering, strollers and car seats soon!
