I’ve been wanting to share with you our favorite registry items. I remember how overwhelming it was when I first started the registry process. I stalked forums, read books + blogs and chatted with online friends who had just given birth to get their recommendations. I finally felt I got a handle on it all and hunkered down to start our wish list. I learned a ton along the way and even more once Em was born. So, I thought I’d highlight my favorites things. I’ll do a series of these starting with the newborn stage.
Today’s favorites are all inexpensive items we found essential when Em was a newborn.
1] Puj Tub – Fantastic because you can place it in the sink. No bending over a tub postpartum. Lots of great features including drain holes. This means the baby stays warmer because you can keep the water flowing while giving them a bath. The water stays at a constant level as the excess drains.
2] Aden + Anais Swaddlers – These are the large 47″ swaddle blankets. Made of muslin so they are breathable. Super soft. There are lots of swaddle blankets out there, and we tried a bunch. We could get these tight so that she wouldn’t break through. Their large size allowed us to use them until she was three/four months old when we transitioned her out of the swaddle. I also used these as nursing covers thanks to their large size + breathability.
3] Gerber 6-ply Cloth Diapers – Love these as burp cloths. Generously sized, thick + absorbent. We had twelve of these, and I always had one with me. One also stayed in my diaper bag. Plus, we had one that we laid flat behind her head in her swing and one behind her head in her bed to catch spit-up. That way, we only had to wash the burp cloths instead of striping the sheets or washing the swing cover constantly.
4] Gerber Kimonos – Before the baby came, I was clueless about newborn clothes. I thought that she would need pants. However, at the hospital, they just used a long sleeve kimono and a diaper. Then, they swaddled her up in a blanket and put a little hat on her. This made changing her a breeze. No pants to fuss with. The sleeves on the long sleeve kimonos have fold-over mitts so that she didn’t scratch herself. Plus, kimonos are so much easier to put on a baby since it doesn’t have to go over a wobbly head. Super awesome. As a newborn, she stayed in these all day and all night.
5] Bath Sponge – I used this instead of a washcloth. Since it’s a sponge, it holds water and you can squeeze it out to rinse the baby. Also, very gentle. I still use this at bathtime.
6] Lap Pads – Perfect for changing her all over the house. One stays in my diaper bag for changes on the go.
7] Itzbeen – Wasn’t sure how this would work prior to her being born, but I love it and still use it everyday. It has 4 buttons – one for diaper, feeding, sleeping and a miscellaneous button. When you diaper the baby, you push the diaper icon. That starts the timer. That way, when you go to change the baby again, you can see how long it’s been since you last did a diaper change. Same with feeding. I used the feeding button for one side of the breast and the sleep button for the other. That way, when she was a newborn, I could time how long she nursed on each side. I use the misc. button to time my medicine. Every 4 hours I needed to take medicine. So when I did, I pushed the misc. button and it started the timer. There is also a clock, and you can set an alarm on each icon. Plus, it has a nightlight button and a button you can push for the display to be back lit for night feedings. Love this thing. Today, I use it to time how long it’s been between feedings and to time her naps.
8] White Noise App – This was magic. I used it to help her to sleep. Also, for us, a must have for roadtrips. As a newborn, she’d fuss + cry before falling asleep. I’d put on the white noise and she’s drift off to sleep. Convenient + always handy.
Oh I love when people do these posts- thank you! We have registered for most of those things but I’m off to check out the kimonos
I am going to share this with my friends – I love the simplicity & how practical everything is.
[...] nursing at night because I didn’t have to get out of bed. At all. I stashed diapers, wipes, changing pad, burp cloth + a change of clothes in the side pocket so that I could also change her in the middle [...]
[...] - Aden + Anais Swaddlers - I’ve blogged about these before. We love the big 47″ square ones. In the early days, we used them as [...]