A Baby Carrier
The months after a baby is born is nicknamed the fourth trimester for a good reason. Your tiny human has just spent her entire life hearing your heartbeat and being carried around. It's no surprise then that many newborns don't enjoy being set down, even for naps. Within the first week of Emmy's life, I realized that holding her on my chest for the entire day wasn't going to work if I wanted to clean the house, do dishes, or even eat a meal. Luckily I had fallen in love with the Modern Wrap long before Emmy was born, and so I was able to tie the wrap on and then pop Emmy into it as soon as she fell asleep. You'd be amazed at how good you get at squatting super low to avoid leaning forward when you're doing tasks around the house.
After about a month, Emmy began to get too heavy for me to carry her for long periods in the wrap, so we upgraded to the Lillebaby All Seasons carrier. This carrier is perfect for when your baby is ready to have her arms and legs free. I know there are a ton of carriers out there, but we went with the Lillebaby because it works from birth to toddler age without any additional inserts. I love how easy that is! Lately I've been eyeing Wildbird.co Ring Slings, so maybe I'll be adding one of those to my carrier collection soon. Use around the house is wonderful, but I also enjoying wearing Emmy when we go out. For some reason, people have no personal space when it comes to babies. When you have your baby against your chest, people would have to get uncomfortably close to you to get in your baby's face, so it's great for keeping germy strangers away. No matter what type of carrier you choose, I have found it to be an absolutely must-have for a newborn.
The NoseFrida
Although this item is pretty widely known for it's effectiveness, I refused to buy a snot sucker. I know there's a filter, but the idea of sucking snot out of my baby's nose disgusted me. That is, until one night when I woke up to hear Emmy breathing loudly through a very stuffy nose. Bulb aspirators did nothing, and eventually I caved and combined a steam in the bathroom with a NoseFrida. I placed one side in my mouth and lined the other up with Emmy's tiny nostril, and like magic, the gunk came out and she was able to breathe. I would think a baby would hate this feeling, but I think Emmy knows I'm trying to help her because she stays very still and then grins after. No matter how gross sucking snot sounds to you, buy the NoseFrida before you actually need it.
The Windi
Along that same line, and by that same company, you should have the Windi on hand. Without going into too much detail, this product seems pretty gross but is an absolute miracle at helping your baby pass gas. Babies tend to get pretty gassy in the first few months because their muscles aren't strong enough to handle the job all the time. Emmy is a pretty happy baby, but one day this week she was miserable. I tried feeding, changing, rocking, walking around, bicycle kicks, gripe water, and basically anything else I could think of, and yet Emmy continued to fuss with a pained look on her face. One look at her tummy and the cause was clear. By the afternoon, she had been awake and fussy for hours and I was also in tears from spilling 4 oz of fresh milk when trying to hold her and get her a bottle. I finally broke down, called Dan, and asked him to come home early and to buy the Windi on his way. In mere seconds with the use of the Windi, Emmy went from miserable to her normal happy self. Once again, no matter how gross it sounds, buy the Windi.
A Wipe Warmer
If you're like me and interested in saving money, you'll commonly find a wipe warmer on a list of things you don't actually need for a baby. I beg to differ. For the first few days, we didn't use a wipe warmer, and Emmy would let out a cry out of shock every diaper change. She wouldn't stay upset for long and has generally always liked changing time, but when you want to change a diaper without fully waking up your baby, undressing them and then touching them with something ice cold isn't a great idea. Our first solution was to simply hold the wipe between our hands for a minute before using it, but that minute seems like an awfully long time when you're hoping your baby will wait until a new diaper is on before making a mess. When my mom ran to Babies R Us to pick up all the other things I didn't think I'd need (bottles, a bottle rack, steaming bags for said bottles) I also asked her to get a wipe warmer. I wasn't sure how a warmer would work with cloth wipes, but it's perfect, and this warmer also has a nightlight, ideal for midnight changes. We got ours for about $10 with a combination of coupons, so it's really not a huge investment. Save money somewhere else and buy your baby a wipe warmer.
A Baby Monitor
This is another item that many people will argue is unnecessary, especially if you live in a single story home. If anyone could do without a monitor, it's us. We live in a house that's about 1,000 square feet so we can get from one end to the other in five seconds flat. The reason I love having a monitor so much that it made this list is that I don't want to wait until Emmy is crying to pick her up. It must be pretty scary to wake up all alone when you fell asleep in someone's arms, so as soon as she starts to wiggle and doesn't settle back down within 10 seconds, I know it's time to peek in on her. If her eyes are open and she's starting to bop around, I like to pick her up and snuggle her as she fully wakes up and then have a bottle ready before she's wailing. If you're okay with either constantly checking in on your baby while she naps or letting her cry to signal it's time to pick her up, then you can cross this off your list. For me, a good video monitor is essential.
I'd love to hear your newborn must-haves, so leave me a comment with your thoughts.
No comments:
Post a Comment