Before Henry was born, I did lots of research when I was registering for my baby shower. My primary source of information was blog posts from new moms on their favorite baby items because I found it super helpful to read their thoughts on which items they truly loved once the baby was actually born. Now that I’m a mom, I felt that it’s only fair to add my two cents to the conversation. I’ve compiled a list of my most-used baby things from these first three months in hopes that it might be helpful to those of you moms-to-be/fellow new moms out there! (Just FYI: I didn’t include any nursing or travel-related items on this list as I’m planning on addressing those items in their own separate posts soon!)
Here is a quick rundown of what I’ve included, as well as why we love it!
You realize pretty quickly when you have a newborn that you need a place to safely set them down when you can’t hold them and so a swing or bouncy seat is a real lifesaver. We love this one because it’s actually both! The seat detaches from the swing to be a little rocker which really helps to save space, plus the swing is more gender neutral and less “baby” looking than some others on the market. (I originally wanted to get either the mamaRoo or the rockaRoo from 4Moms but was concerned about the fact that they were lower to the ground and didn’t want Lola licking the baby in the face, and so that’s part of the reason we went with a more traditional swing instead) Henry goes in the swing while we eat dinner most nights and then I love detaching the seat to bring in the bathroom with me when I take a shower 🙂
Halo Bassinest
So I thought this was going to be on the list of products that I would not recommend because Henry basically refused to sleep in here the first two months of his life. Before he was born, we were really debating about what to get for him to sleep in before we transition him to the crib because our bedroom is pretty small. We were considering a Rock N Play, but just didn’t know how it would be with him sleeping in there all night. (Plus, the dog sleeps in our room and because the Rock N Play is lower to the ground, I was concerned about waking up to Lola licking my newborn’s face!) We decided to go with the Bassinest due to the small footprint and how well designed it is…but Henry would not sleep here for more than 15 minutes for the first two months! But then one night, we tried it and he slept! Now, he’ll sleep a six hour stretch there each night and he really seems to love it! I really like that it has a night light, a vibration feature, and a heartbeat sound that seems to put him to sleep right away.
Graco Pack ‘n Play with changing station
We have this set up in our office downstairs and it’s where we change almost all of Henry’s diapers during the day vs. going upstairs to his nursery. I also lay him in here for naps sometimes during the day and he seems to like it!
Chicco Car Seat Adapter for the BOB Stroller
I think deciding on a stroller/car seat combo is probably one of the hardest parts of choosing baby gear. In my opinion, so much of it really depends on your lifestyle, along with the season your baby is born in, as to how you go about making your decision. I personally knew that I definitely wanted a BOB jogging stroller, and so I decided to just get the adapter for my car seat to use that while Henry was small. Since he was born in the winter, I figured we wouldn’t be using our stroller all that much and that this would be fine. However, with the nice weather in Oregon, I’ve ended up using my BOB stroller a ton! Thankfully, Henry doesn’t mind being in his carseat, and so using that with the adapter when we take walks has worked out just fine for us! (I was going to put the BOB stroller on this list, but then figured I’d wait to see how he likes the actual seat on the stroller itself!)
Chicco KeyFit 30 Infant Car Seat
We chose this one mainly because of the reasonable price point, the good reviews, and the fact that it was compatible with the BOB. Granted I don’t have much to compare it to, but so far I really like this car seat! Henry seems extremely secure, it’s easy to buckle and get in and out of our car, and he almost always falls asleep in it when we’re driving. No complaints here!
Chicco KeyFit Caddy Stroller Frame
This was something that I registered for because I read about it on a blog, but wasn’t sure if we needed it or not. However, once I started to use my BOB stroller I realized that as much as I love it for walks, it’s pretty heavy and kind of a pain to fold and use when on the go. The KeyFit Caddy is the perfect solution – it’s literally just a cart for your car seat. It’s super light and easy to fold, and so it’s great to just keep in the car all the time and use it when you’re out and about. This way if Henry is sleeping in his car seat, I can just pop it on here when I arrive at my destination and quickly run errands without having to lug the BOB around. It’s awesome for traveling and has a large basket that’s super convenient. Eventually we are going to have to get an actual lightweight stroller for traveling, but having this KeyFit Caddy is really perfect for these first months when you’re using the infant car seat.
A Wrap
Babywearing is such a huge help during these first three months because not only do you get to keep your baby close to you, but it gives you a way to actually get things done which is amazing! There are tons of different carriers out there but I feel like it can be a little confusing to figure out before the baby arrives. That’s why I’d highly recommend a wrap-style carrier to any expectant mom to use at first! They are just so snuggly and perfect for when baby is small, but my biggest suggestion is to start using it right away after your baby is born. I think it’s so much easier to get the hang of it when your baby is brand new vs. waiting until they are more wriggly. I absolutely love my Solly Baby Wrap and my Modern Wrap and have enjoyed wearing Henry in both! (I do have a 15% off discount code for Modern Wrap – just enter ‘JANE15’ at checkout!)
Aden & Anais Swaddle Blankets
It seems like these are on every baby gear recommendation list, and for good reason! They are perfect for so many things and I love how lightweight they are. We don’t actually use them for swaddling Henry, but we use them for a ton of other things. (I also love my swaddle blanket from Modern Burlap!)
Amazon Fire TV Stick
When you have a newborn, you are going to spend a lot of time at home initially. We don’t have cable and so this is a perfect way to be able to watch Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime on our TV!
Honest Company Diapers
I’ve tried a few different brands including Pampers, Earth’s Best, and Seventh Generation and the Honest dipes are definitely the ones that fit Henry the best. I’ve been buying them at Target, but I think we may start ordering them and having them delivered!
Water Wipes
So far, these are my favorite wipes I’ve tried! It looked like Henry was getting a little diaper rash and so I tried these after a recommendation from another mom and it cleared it up immediately. They are so gentle! (I do like the Seventh Generation wipes too though and usually have those on hand as well)
WubbaNub Pacifier
I registered for these pacifiers because I knew they were popular, but I didn’t realize the green Soothie pacifier that’s attached to the stuffed animal is actually the same type they give you in the hospital and the one that’s recommended by lactation consultants! So if you’re breastfeeding, this is definitely a good one to go with. Honestly Henry isn’t really a huge fan of the pacifier, but he’ll take it sometimes. What he really loves about these is to hold on to the little animal, which is so cute!
Ulubulu Pacifier Leash
If you are going to use a paci, these clips are great to keep them from falling on the ground! They come in a bunch of really cute patterns/colors too.
Jittery Lion Toy
We have this hanging from Henry’s car seat and he’s seriously obsessed with it. It’s so fun when your baby starts noticing the world around them and this little lion completely captures his attention.
Tiny Love Mobile
With the 2-in-1 Swing/Seat we have, when you unclip the seat portion there is nothing for the baby to look at because the mobile it comes with remains on the swing. We decided to buy this little mobile to clip on and Henry loves staring at it, so it was money well spent!
Summer Infant SwaddleMe Swaddles
Henry wasn’t a huge fan of being swaddled initially, but one day I decided to try these and he absolutely loved it! We are still using them now and I like how you can get a really secure swaddle easily, yet they’re also really stretchy so the baby can move their legs.
Zutano Booties
I love these things! They are sort of a shoe/sock hybrid that’s perfect for a newborn. They are so easy to get on and they don’t fall off like baby socks do. If Henry isn’t wearing a footed sleeper, then he’s got these little booties on his feet pretty much everywhere we go!
Zip-up footed sleepers
As cute as Henry looks when he is all dressed up, most of the time I have him in PJs. I love the zip-up ones because they are just so much faster when it comes to diaper changes!
SkipHop Play Mat
Henry absolutely loves his playmat and it’s perfect for keeping him entertained during the day! He loves staring at the animals and the mat itself is great for tummy time. Plus, I love that it comes with a cute little head pillow that comes in handy on our wood floor.
The only other item I didn’t include above but would highly recommend for the first few months are burp cloths! Henry doesn’t spit up too much, but it’s always nice to have lots of them on hand! (We have a bunch that someone made for us and gave to us as a gift…but there are tons of options out there!)
This is not a sponsored post, these are just my honest thoughts on what’s worked well for us over the past three months. I know that every baby is different though, so what works for your baby may be totally different 🙂 However, hopefully this info may be helpful to those of you trying to weed through the maze of baby stuff out there, but please feel free to email me if you have more specific questions. I look forward to sharing more of Henry’s favorite things as he continues to grow!
And finally, it’s time to announce the winner of last week’s Cute as a Button Baby Boutique giveaway…click back to the original post to see if it was you! Thanks again for all your entries and be sure to check out Cute as a Button Baby Boutique for all sorts of innovative and unique baby items!
