We are first time parents, I’m a first-time mama, and we are far from perfect.
Our baby girl is SO picky and stubborn thus far in her life, and I imagine a lot of parents say this about their babies so maybe this isn’t new. We have had many a sleepless night staring into the abyss wondering what we were doing wrong, and why our little girl wouldn’t stop crying. We’ve had to learn her language, the baby language if you will, and we’ve learned a lot in so little time.
RELATED POST: The sleep schedule that helped our baby sleep through the night at eight weeks old!
So maybe you’re reading this article cause you need to try something new for your baby, or maybe your reading because you’re about to have your first baby and want to be prepared for anything, or you are at your wits end with your newborn and need a myriad of things to help.
Whatever the reason, you’ve come to the right place. And to be honest, if you are looking to buy any of these items (or all), get an Amazon Prime membership. It’s worth the cost for faster shipping and the discounts you get along the way, a great investment for all the things you will need right away as new parents. We use ours religiously.
QUICK NOTE: Another plug for Amazon we did our baby registry with them from the comfort of our home and it was the best thing. They have divided up sections like “sleep, bathtime, clothing, diapers, etc” for you to know all that you need to register for to get started with baby! It was such a great resource for us, saved us time and money, and they give a free welcome box just for signing up!
Ok, now buckle up for some information overload on these products and why they have become essential in our first five months of our first baby’s life. For her health and our sanity, these have been tried and are true to us.
#1 Kid-E-Col for their tummy.
What takes the cake with this product is that it’s simple and organic. Catnip and Fennel. No fillers. A natural herbal formula that helps, protects and calms.
First and foremost, I’d like to make sure to say, our little girl was never diagnosed professionally with colic. And she hadn’t started teething when I started using this. Ok, so why do I recommend colic treatment drops if I didn’t use it for its intended purpose? Great question.
Our baby girl had an intolerance to dairy when she was born.
And she still gets an upset tummy now and then when I eat something new in my diet (we are exclusively breastfeeding). Like I said before, she is picky. She already had a hard time sleeping before, so when something isn’t settling well in her tummy, and I didn’t know it wouldn’t when I ate it earlier (who else has wished they could turn back time in this moment? anybody?), I’ll give her a few drops of this Kid-E-Col, and within 15 MINUTES, she will be calmed down and ready for a nap or bedtime. It makes life very simple and saves your arms from rocking baby all night long to help their tummy.
#2 Golden Salve for their bum.
We were given a small sample tin of this salve from our amazing midwife and told that it was a miracle worker for bum rashes and dry skin on baby’s new bum. And she was right! Midwives always are…
Whenever we use this salve on our little girl’s bum, the rash is almost instantly gone. And a tiny bit goes a long way, so getting the one-ounce bottle will last for months.
#3 Muslin Swaddle Blankets for sleep and snuggles
The muslin fabric blankets have been our lifesavers during the sleepless days and nights trying to get our baby girl on a schedule. They wrap tightly, but the fabric is still slightly flexible so it’s not too restricting, and it’s also light and breathes easily so baby doesn’t get too hot (during the hot summer season). Swaddle these blankets to go to sleep, unswaddle to wake and play.
#4 A bedside bassinet that sways.
I chose this bassinet for a specific reason. We had our first baby at my bedside in the beginning months of her life because she would wake up SO frequently and start to cry during the night. Like every 20 minutes. I was getting no sleep. (hard times here, people)
I kept thinking that she was hungry so I’d try to feed her but she wouldn’t take it. She was still tired, just didn’t know how to sleep longer. So, instead of picking her up every 20 minutes to help her get back to sleep, I would roll over in bed when she would start to fuss and rock her gently in this rocking bassinet. She would pass out almost immediately helping her get her much-needed sleep to grow. (After a while I was able to replace my rocking with a noisemaker machine that soothed her to sleep instead of the movement. This might help you transition out of baby needing you to rock them back to sleep.)
So, we got this rocking bassinet that also has legs that rotate to become stable when you’ve gotten past the rocking stage and you can just set the baby down and they sleep fine. Win-win in our parenting book.
#5 K’tan or babywearing carrier for peaceful outings
(I have two, one for each car, and because I wanted to know which worked better, they both worked awesomely!)
I don’t know if there are other babies out there like ours, but our little girl loves to fight sleep while in her car seat. Even though we love our Chico car seat! She just can’t miss a thing that might be going on around her. She wants to see it all! I have to admit, I kind of love this about her, but hate it when she is on her last straw of sleep and starts her scream cry.
So one time on a trip to get groceries I decided to strap the little one to me with a baby carrier I got from one of my baby showers. She fell asleep almost instantly… It looked rather uncomfortable, but it didn’t stop her from zonking out.
I’ve used a few different carriers before when I didn’t have my K’tan carrier, and getting our little girl into any other carrier isn’t as easy as the K’tan. Wraps are always so complicated, and I’m super impatient to go through the whole wrapping process in a hot parking lot when I’m just going to the store to grab something real quick. It’s cozy like a wrap just more quick and convenient.
#6 A Rocking Chair and Exercise Ball to soothe.
Save yourself the backache of walking and rocking your baby to sleep when they are needing those extra snuggles to nap. I don’t think my posture would be what it is today if I didn’t have my glider/rocker or my exercise ball to help during the many times my little girl needed to sway to sleep.
The exercise ball is especially vital, seeing as it is very easy to transport from one place to another. We usually have the rocking chair stay in our bedroom (cause that’s where she still sleeps in her bassinet til about six months) and the exercise ball anywhere else in the house that she may nap during the day. Simple as that.
If you’re expecting your daily pattern during your first few months with a baby to be more than eating and sleeping you may be in for a bit of a disappointment. It’s my theory (as the “seasoned” mom that I am *rolls eyes*) that babies just love to be homebodies during this time.
RELATED: Why Is a Birth Plan Important to Have?
And there are a few days where I’m frustrated that she doesn’t cooperate when I’m running errands, but I keep reminding myself to enjoy this downtime and snuggles. Before long, our little baby girl will be a nonstop hurricane (if she is anything like her mom or her dad), and that will bring a whole other list of essentials, until then, happy parenting!
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