My Baby Essentials

I have a few pregnant friends who have asked for my baby must-haves, so these are the top things that have helped us get by the past few months with a newborn.

Bouncy Seat - Pretty much since birth, E has insisted that she must be bounced up-and-down 90% of the time. The bouncy seat isn't always the answer, but it has definitely saved our backs many a time. There are even occasions when the only thing that will calm her down is to stick her in her bouncy seat and give it some major bounces. It's also been really fun now that she's interacting a lot more to have her facing us while we act like total fools trying to get smiles out of her :) The one we have was a hand-me-down and it's one of the cheapest, but other than getting squeaky over time it's served us well.

Soothies - I don't know how I would have survived the first few weeks of breastfeeding without soothies gel pads. Coping with the blisters - yes, gentlemen, blisters - was incredibly painful and being able to have the cooling relief between feedings was a lifesaver. (Everyone who was breastfed as a child, go thank your moms now!) :-p

Swaddles - The nurses at the hospital made swaddling E up with a blanket look like the easiest thing in the world, but J and I were never able to master it. These velcro swaddles (basically a baby straightjacket - for the crazy babies ;-) ) have made our nights so much easier. Without being able to put her hands in her face, she sleeps for sooo much longer. Recently she's been a little Houdini and I'll occasionally wake up to an escaped arm, but they still help out a lot.

Teethers - With an early teether, it's essential to have a few of these around. Recently E has preferred this guy, who J lovingly coined the Boob Monster. It's the perfect shape for her to grab onto and shove into her mouth, and as an added bonus he makes a squeaky sound every time she bites down.

8,000 receiving blankets - I have a pile of these handy in every major room around the house. Our little girl loves to eat about twice as much as she needs and kindly gives the rest back to us, so having these around for quick cleanup, burping, etc. has been super handy.

The Baby Buzzer - We sold this toy when I worked at Learning Express and I had several moms tell me it was a lifesaver. I was hesitant at first because I tend to avoid noisy toys, but the music is surprisingly quiet. When E is on the brink of losing it, her bee can often help her keep it together with it's combination of vibration, lights and noise.

CoSleeper - We have been borrowing my cousin Erin's CoSleeper and it's been sooo nice. It's basically just a crib-sized bed that attaches to your bed so E is right there next to me, but has her own space. Being able to just pull her over and nurse her in the middle of the night has made it much easier for me to fall back asleep and be well rested. I'm super excited that Erin is due in just a few weeks with baby number 3, but a little sad that we will have to figure out something else for the nights. A fun new baby in the family totally makes up for it though :-)

BOB stroller - I was a little hesitant to register for this stroller as it's pricier than some, but we've loved it. Living in an older neighborhood, the sidewalks are very uneven and bumpy and the offroading capabilities have been sooo nice.

Rocky Mountain Cloth Diapers - We were using a cloth diaper service for awhile, but I recently took the plunge and cancelled the service so we could start doing it all ourselves. I've been really happy with the switch. If anyone's interested in the details, let me know - that could be a whole blog post on it's own!

Of course we have tons of other stuff that we love, but if I was stranded on an island with the baby, these are the things I would insist on :-p

I can hardly believe it, but E is going to be four months next Wednesday. We take her in for her checkup on Tuesday and I can't wait to see how much she weighs - it's been two months since she's been weighed. Sadly, she has to get more pokes this appointment, but hopefully these are the last for awhile. I'll keep everyone posted!