1st Month Favorites

Some must-have items that made life much easier for the first month:

Miracle Blanket – this was a huge lifesaver for us for swaddling at night. It has extra flaps that keep his arms nice and tight next to his body so he can’t bust them out with all the wiggling he does.

Pack N’ Play – we keep this on the main level in our townhouse so we don’t have to go upstairs to the nursery to do daytime diaper changes or naps. This Chicco one has a pretty sturdy changing table that easily comes on and off. I found that the playard sheets from Target fit the mattress perfectly.

Ergo Baby Carrier and Infant Insert – love love love this carrier! I’ve had no back pain while using this and one day he was being carried for a good 90 minutes while I was vacuuming and cleaning the house. He falls asleep pretty quickly after we put him in the carrier as I think he likes being close and snuggly. It was necessary for us to buy the infant insert, as well, because he’s still so tiny.

Playtex Nurser Bottles with Drop-In Liners – I started pumping during the second week and his first bottle was one of the Medela bottles that came with my pump.  The nipple was definitely not a slow-flow one and he spit up a lot because he drank so fast. We switched to the Playtex slow-flow nipples and his spit-up has been much better as long as we make him take a few breaks and burp him after each ounce he drinks. These bottles are also so easy to clean because of the drop-in liners.

Video Monitor – we have this Motorola version with the wide-screen. Definitely would recommend to get one with a video screen – Toby makes a lot of noises in his sleep and will start to stir but a lot of times doesn’t wake up completely, so I can check him out without going in his room to see if he’s really waking up.

aden & Alis Swaddle Wraps – I saw so many other mommy bloggers recommend these blankets, so I put them on our registry and I’m very happy I did. They are perfect for summer since they’re lightweight – we will put these over his legs while we’re in the car or if we go shopping and we know we’ll be in air conditioning for awhile. We swaddle him in these during the day for naps and if he’s being extra fussy.

The First Years Spin and Store Drying Rack – I’ve been washing my pump parts, accessories and the bottles non-stop, so this has been perfect to throw everything on for drying. You can fit a ton of bottles on here and it doesn’t take up too much room on our countertop.

Disposable Diaper Bags – we didn’t buy a diaper genie and decided to do a regular trash can instead. For poopy diapers we put them in these little disposable bags. They have a slight flowery scent. I haven’t noticed an odor coming from the trash can at all and we have been changing the big bag about once every 5 days or so. However, I know breastfeed poop doesn’t usually smell as bad as formula/solid foods poop so we’ll see how this goes when he’s older.  Anyways these little bags are also nice to carry in my diaper bag - if we’re at a friend’s house I feel better about putting a dirty diaper in one of these.

Hooded Bath Towels – we’re still working on the bath routine and he’s slowly getting used to being fully wet, but he loves cuddling in the bath towels after he’s done. And he looks so damn cute in them!

Boppy – I think I’ve only nursed him a few times without using the Boppy – it gives us the perfect amount of support.  We went with the “naked” Boppy, the protective cover to go over it, and then switch back and forth between two slipcovers which makes it very easy for washing.  I love the jersey knit covers – they’re so soft and they’re fairly cheap at Target.