I decided to write this review because many friends have asked me what I used and liked for my baby. We had a lot of extra stuff that we didn't end up using. While I am so grateful that we had the means to have that stuff in case we needed it, I was surprised by what actually got used in the first few months Harrison was born. This list assumes you know a baby needs clothes, a bed, and a carseat. ;)
Water Bottle
I was so incredibly thirsty ALL THE TIME after giving birth. In fact, I still am! Having a GIANT water bottle, or two, or three around the house filled with water is a must for the breast feeding mama. Get a bottle that doesn't make a lot of noise when you open it. That way you can still quench your thirst and not worry about waking baby.
Rocker/Swing
I highly recommend not just one rocker or swing but at least two! Why? Baby may hate the super expensive one that you bought. If you go on craigslist or any of your local area Buy/Sell/Trade sites you can get them for SUPER cheap. We have a two story house and have two different rockers. It has been so nice having one upstairs and one downstairs. We bought the mamaroo and the babybjorn rockers. I love having one that is electric! Harrison loves both but lately has not liked me rocking him to sleep. Instead, he prefers to be rocked by the mamaroo. His tastes may change in a few weeks but for now my back thanks him!
Swaddles
We have gone through about every iteration of a swaddle there is! My favorite? The aden & anais muslin swaddles. BUT Kurt HATES them! We still have not found something that works perfectly but are currently jerry-rigging a zipadee-zip for him.
Breast Pump, Bottles, and Milk Bags
I was dead set on exclusively breast feeding and I am happy to say that my stubbornness has paid off. That said, when I developed a plugged duct during the first six weeks it was so incredibly painful. Nursing offered the most relief but when Harrison fell asleep and my boobs still felt like they were going to explode I hooked up the pump and let that machine go to town!
We also started bottle feeding Harrison about once a week once he turned six weeks. This was so that he could still be fed if anything ever happened to me. I started building a supply in the freezer for him so that he would always have food. Of course, little man has developed a food sensitivity so I will probably donate all that milk! Oh well...
Breast Friend
I cannot tell you how important this thing was to me for the first six weeks! The Breast Friend is the number one thing I would recommend first time mom's have. It is the BEST nursing pillow in the entire world. I had the boppy pillow and it did not work for me for many reasons. While we were in the NICU the lactation consultant had one of these puppies for me to use. I sent my Mother-In-Law to babiesrus to buy one the same day. I did not care how much it cost or how far away that store was, I needed it in my life!!! I struggled with breast feeding for about the first two months and this was the only thing that made it somewhat bearable. Get it. Now.
Lanolin
Harrison's latch was quite terrible for his first 7 weeks of life which meant that my nipples always felt like they were going to fall off. This was the only cream I could use safely and that I liked. I tried another brand but it had additives and smelled strange. I think I went through about two tubes of this stuff! I now no longer need it and do not use it. Remember that this stuff stains your clothes! I had to throw out about five shirts because I was so sleep deprived and kept wearing my clothes like a normal person. You are not normal, you just had a baby.
Cloth Diapers
I am just going to write this assuming that you are going to cloth diaper. If not, skip to the next paragraph! We loved using a service for his newborn phase! We used the newborn sized diapers for about the first seven weeks of his life. If you chose to buy the newborns instead, our favorite were the Grovia Newborn All-In-Ones. They fit so incredibly well and the material was of such high quality!
Once he grew out of the new born diapers we bought a couple of different brands to see what we liked. We settled on Blueberry Simplex All-in-One diapers. I LOVE them so much for their ease of use and adorable colors and prints. I have actually developed a bit of an addiction.
Baby Monitor
Harrison was in the NICU for the first week of his life. When we brought him home I was terrified that he would silently die. For that reason, we had him in his crib with the Angelcare Monitor and Sensor almost immediately. The only thing I would do differently? Have the crib and sensor in our room so that Mommy could get a good night sleep too!
Lifecake App
This app is for your smart phone and is amazing! I was originally texting my close family a picture of Harrison every day. They would respond with their comments and I started to get a little sad that these comments wouldn't be saved in some way for him to read in the future. My friend told me about Lifecake which is an app that allows you to upload the pictures you take on your smartphone and organizes them by the baby's birthday. You can also invite folks to be members and they can then comment on the pictures. On their website you can order photo books as well. It seems like this branch of Canon is still getting off the ground, they don't have very many options available to you for printing pictures, but I still like it as it is more secure and organized than facebook.
Lillebaby carrier
I love this carrier because you don't need an extra insert to carry when baby is really little. We got the airflow model which is made out of all mesh, no hot cotton in Hawaii! I tried several other brands but liked the versatility of this one the most.
Nosefrida
I actually bought a cheaper knock off version of this on Amazon. Harrison has only been sick once but this was a lifesaver and much more sanitary than the bulbs. Highly recommend!
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