Must-Have Baby Gear for Newborns
Besides a car seat, it's hard to know what you definitely need when you bring home a baby. These are the things that made (or would have made) our first few weeks easier.
Must-Haves for Your Newborn
- Swaddles: Babies love to be swaddled, and these make it simple and easy.
- Fisher-Price Newborn Rock 'n Play Sleeper: This is what we use as a bassinet so Rooney can sleep in our room. It keeps her upright, she can't roll over and it's super portable. We move ours from our bedroom to the living room daily.
- Pumping bra: Worth every penny on the first use. It allows Kels to spend her pumping time online shopping, blogging or catching up on Twitter.
- Wipe warmer: I was skeptical about this. Do we really need it? Well, no, but Rooney does appreciate it. She told us herself.
- Boon Lawn drying rack: We've done more dishes in the past three weeks than we have in our entire lives (bottles, pumping equipment, nipples, etc.). And the lawn is perfect for drying the little bits and pieces that we have to feed Rooney.
- Night light: Duh. Can't believe we didn't have one, but we keep it by where Rooney sleeps so we can see what's going on in the middle of the night when she is fussing.
- Burp cloths: Our favorites are the ones my mom made for us (we picked out the fabric). The shape is perfect for putting under her chin, and for throwing over your shoulder. We have 12 and go through them pretty quick. She is thinking of opening up her own Etsy shop with all her grandma craftiness. (Ours are similar to those pictured, taken from here.)
- Car seat cover: Babies don't really like wind in their face. So when you have to go out and about to doctor appointments or run errands, it's nice to have a little extra protection around the car seat. You can use a blanket, but when it's windy in the spring, it can be difficult to keep it from blowing off. (Ours is not the exact one shown, but it is similar.)
The Happiest Baby on the Block DVD: I seriously wish we would have watched this before Rooney was born. It gave us some tools for soothing. It's all about understanding the 4th Trimester. We put this last because we didn't watch it until she was 3 weeks old. We highly recommend it for all parents. You might just rent it at your local library.
We'd love to hear from other parents on what they found most helpful in the first few weeks. We know that every baby is different, so circumstances call for different products. Leave a comment with your favorite products.
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