Must Haves for Baby (birth to 3 months)

So, I scoured blogs and websites trying to get an idea of what we HAD TO HAVE before Ellery arrived.

I thought we had a very reasonable registy at both Giggle.com & amazon.com but I now realize that there were items that we didn’t need and items that we were missing. So, here is a list of MUST HAVES (at least based on what our little babe loves) for the first 3 months!

1. Forget every aden and anais swaddle-use those lovely colorful blankets to cover the stroller or to put down while changing the baby (I use them during mommy and me yoga)! But for swaddling- get this:The Miracle Swaddle. There’s no velcro, no zippers and no stressing out trying to remember how the heck Dr. Karp wrapped those babies (DUDU?!?!) in the happiest baby on the block DVD.

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2. Burp cloths are one of those things that you aren’t even sure you are going to need…but trust me…you do! And you need a LOT of them! I’d registered for tons of cute burp cloths but turns out the best ones are the most simple option! They are old cloth diapers that our Moms used to use. They make the softest, easiest to throw around burp cloths.

3. We had to supplement with formula from the beginning so the thought that I didn’t have to worry about bottles for awhile was a mistake. I got the best recommendation from a friend for bottles. Tommee Tippee makes bottles that are the closest to the breast. We’ve been using them since the beginning and I swear its the reason Elle is still able to switch from bottle to breast without an issue.

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4. One of the best recommendations we got was from another friend who suggested getting a bunch of those “potty pads” you use on your dogs when they are puppies. You can get them anywhere and you pop them onto your changing table to prevent accidents from happening on the nice, expensive changing table cover. They’ve saved us many a trips down to the laundry room when Elle has decided to have an “open air accident.”

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5. Sleep Sheep has been just as great as everyone says it is. We didn’t really know how to use it at first, mostly because our issue wasn’t getting her to sleep but instead trying to wake her up! Once she decided she wanted to be awake more and we needed to work on naps and nighttime sleeping, we brought out sleep sheep. We find the best use is for keeping her asleep long enough to either get her into a deep sleep for nighttime or help keep the external noises out during the day time naps.

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6. It’s amazing how much “gear” we’ve already gone through. Ellery is only 3 months old yet there are things that she used and loved in the beginning but has already outgrown. When she was first born she loved sleeping in her Fisher Price Rock n’ Play. It wasn’t encouraged by the doctor for long term but she absolutely loved it and slept perfectly, so we weren’t about to tear it away from her. She continued to nap in this for the first two months at least but we did switch her over to her bassinet around 2 months for nighttime sleeping. It should be noted that this rocker is on an incline and therefore babies breathing can slow down. I wish I’d known this prior to using it for overnight sleep.

fisher-price-snugabunny-deluxe-rock-n-play-sleeper-93041-199455672899996Once she got closer to her 3 month mark we noticed her trying to do more sitting up in it and decided that she was ready to have her “hang out” out time in something that was a bit more upright. G&G Watts bought her the Baby Bjorn Babysitter Balance, which is now the go to when I need to cook dinner, take a shower, etc…

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We went back and forth on which stroller to get-there are a gazillion out there. Unlike a lot of Moms who are able to put their babies in cars and drive to places, I rely on my stroller and baby bjorn carrier to get us from point a. to point b. We ultimately decided the best stroller for our lifestyle in the city at the moment was the new Bugaboo Cameleon 3. I couldn’t be happier with our choice. Not only does it handle wonderfully (especially on all the cobblestone in our neighborhood) but it it pretty darn good looking! We are currently using the bassinet but around 5 or 6 months will transition out to the next stage.

59883870014672965_qPRP7V5b_bThe other maybe not so “necessary” item for new moms are these AMAZING gloves for the stroller. Right now in NYC it’s currently FREEZING! These mittens allow for me to stay warm while also avoiding the hassle of pulling gloves on and off to tend to the baby. They stay attached to the stroller so you never have to worry about attaching or detaching them. I highly recommend them for any Mom who spends a lot of time using the stroller outside.

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I also mentioned that I used to use the Baby Bjorn carrier. So, for the first few months we used the Bjorn until I was reading about when we could switch her facing out and realized there are a lot of scary stories about the way a babies legs hang in the Baby Bjorn. I know the Ergo was a bit more hip friendly, but I had no idea the Baby Bjorn could actually cause hip dysplasia! I’ve since switched the carriers and we are now using the Ergo carrier exclusively. There is no option to face out when front wearing the Ergo, but everything I’ve read says it’s not a great idea to be wearing the baby facing out anyways because it can cause over stimulation.

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There are SO many clothing brands out there for babies and at first I was trying really hard to find organic brands for Ellery’s first clothes. I soon realized that it’s really hard to have every item of clothing be organic. So, I do the best I can and otherwise I find brands of clothing I feel are the best possible in terms of comfort, material and how easily I can take them on/off and do diaper changes!

Here is a list of the stores I get most of her clothes from:

Nature Baby

Giggle

Under the Nile Organics

Ralph Lauren

Tane Organics

Baby Gap

Kissy Kissy

Baby Boden

There are a ton of things I haven’t listed here but these are the more random items I never would have thought of ahead of time! I hope to do another post about must haves further down the road as Elle grows!

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