It seems every time I turn around a new friend or family member is pregnant.
Like this one...
or this one...
The whole "It's in the water." mantra couldn't be more true these days. I think we have about a dozen close friends or family members who are currently planning to add another little dude or dudette to their personal entourage.
Who knew that 2011 was the year of the baby?
In light of all this baby fever I thought I'd share what I think are 5 Newborn Essentials. Read it and then rush out and buy all these super fab things for the pregnant women in your life.
She'll thank you for it!
5 Newborn Essentials
When my husband and I first signed up for our baby registry at a giant baby goods box retailer we had to leave shortly after the second aisle when my husband had a near panic attack in the nail clipper aisle due to the endless variety of choices. I think his rant shortly before our exit went a little something along the lines of, "How am I supposed to know if I need a micro flashlight or a magnifying glass or who knows what else affixed to infant nail clippers?!?!?!!!!"
Psst...you probably don't, but they'd sell less if they told you that ahead of time.
Our son is 3 years old and as we reflect back on the massive lists of "MUST HAVES" from every website, parenting magazine, and in-store circular ...we realize they duped us with massive overkill. We have since decided that everything you really need for your baby starts with the letter "B".
1) Bjorn: We loved this! There are lots of baby carriers on the market, and we had purchased several varieties on the advice of the aforementioned "lists". But all three of us loved using the Bjorn the best. We purchased the "active" style with extra back support (spend the money, it's totally worth it).
We wore our little dude everywhere. We danced around the house with him (okay, maybe that was just me), took him on long walks around the neighborhood to break the monotony of being home all day, to festivals--everywhere we could "wear" him we did.
It's one of the things I miss most about him babyhood.
2) Boppy: Single-handedly the item that garnered us the most bang for our buck. Initially we used it for its intended purpose, breastfeeding support pillow. As our son grew up and stopped breastfeeding we put him on our lap (facing outward), wrapped it around both of us and used it for reading at nap time/bed time. This allowed us plenty of support for our arms for our reading marathons and a place for him to set his lovey, pacifiers, blanket, etc. while we were reading.
And, in the last four months as we have transitioned him to his big boy bed he has chosen to use it as his favorite pillow. He places it on his bed in the "upside down c" position and nestles himself in the middle, letting it cradle him with comfort as he drifts off to dreamland.
3) Bundle Me: This wonderful wool lined sack fits safely and snugly in an infant car seat and allows the baby to stay safe and warm without the rigamarole of trying to corral the extremities of a limp newborn's arms into a jacket. Also, since it has zip sides you can partially unzip them if you feel like your baby is getting too warm. These things get super toasty. Alternately if you live in an exceptionally cold climate this would easily provide an additional layer.
4) Bubby (aka pacifier): Our little guy has taken to calling his pacifier his "Bubby" which is my affectionate name for him. We were very anti-pacifier before we had him. However, due to a long hospital stay where they nurses gave him a pacifier round the clock, it didn't really end up being our decision to make. I do think that we would have come around to it anyway since it provides him with such comfort. Growing up I was a strong loyalist to the thumb-sucking movement, so maybe he comes by it genetically.
My suggestion is to have a few packages from different brands on hand for when your little one arrives. Keep the receipts and if you don't end up using them, take them back. However, if your little bundle of joy is like ours and would really benefit from the comfort that they can provide then you'll be equipped. I suggest a few different brands as babies have their own preferences about these kinds of things too.
5) Baby Monitor (video): Admittedly, these little pieces of technology are pricey, but well worth it in our humble opinion. Ours has brought us so much joy, peace of mind and SLEEP.
You can't argue with that!
The joy of watching our guy is awesome and comforting. Every time my mom comes to visit she watches him and narrates his entire sleep cycle to us. We also get/got great peace of mind, especially in those early days where we could check on him any time we felt like it to see that he was breathing okay, comfortable, and sleeping like a champ. It also helped us be able to spot his "Bubby" before we went in when he needed a little help relocating it. It was also awesome and comforting to see what all the little noises coming from his room were, be they a hiccup, a cough, sneeze or something else. We could always take a peek without opening his door to see that all was well.
What are the things you absolutely couldn't have lived without when you were first home with a newborn?
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