1. The Boppy. My oh my, I seriously could not have survived without this. While figuring out the whole nursing thing, it made it SO MUCH EASIER for both Abe and I! I still use this on a daily basis, several times a day. I picked this one up at a garage sale and bought a couple new covers for it.
2. A super-duper-deluxe Glider. If you're pregnant and contemplating whether or not to get a nice glider or settle for a cheaper one, go for the deluxe, it's totally worth the money. You will spend hours and hours in it, might as well make it as comfy as possible! Oh, and make sure it reclines and has padded arms. After testing out all the options at Babies R Us and Buy Buy Baby, we went with one at Babies R US, they are WAY cheaper for the exact same thing.
4. Rocking Cradle. We borrowed this from a neighbor and we are so thankful to have it! Abe has slept in this every night so far. Because he spits up so much, we didn't want to put him in the flat crib right away. Although now he's so used to sleeping semi-upright he doesn't like sleeping in his crib at all...hmmm....
5. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. A good friend of mine bought us this book after we had been discussing our sleep issues with Abraham. She used it with both of her boys, and said it was her "bible" when trying to figure out how to get her kids to sleep better. It has been extremely helpful for us, and it's broken down into easy to read chapters with bullet points at the end for parents who are exhausted and don't have time to read an entire book. Genius.
6. Aden and Anais Swaddle Blankets. We LOVE these and have bought them for all our friends with new babies. They are perfect for swaddling, cuddling, throwing over the car seat - we love the lightweight fabric and the large size, Abe loves them as well :)
7. Nuk Pacifiers. We tried a few different brands of passies, and the original NUK passie is the only one Abe will take now. Oh, and I try to stash passies around the house for emergency situations - next to the glider, on the changing table, near the couch, and have a designated "pacifier" bowl, so we always know where we can find at least one. Also, make sure you have a pacifier attacher to hook to your car seat. It will make your car ride a lot more peaceful if you can reach back to find the passie and plug it in baby's mouth.
8. Swing. Abe loves his swing and it gives me some time to get things done like take a shower, make food, relax, facebook, write this blog, whatever! Ours is a hand-me-down from a friend. Don't forget to ask your friends and family for baby items they don't want, most people have lots they're willing to part with.
9. Pampers Swaddlers. I'm sure everyone has their favorite diapers, but we prefer the Pampers Swaddlers brand for a couple of reasons. They have the wet signifier line on the outside, the tabs don't fall off like other brands we've tried, and they just fit nicely!
10. A semi-organized changing station. It's REALLY nice to have everything within an arm's reach, especially when the baby starts wiggling, move'n and groove'n. My top items to have stashed underneath are diapers, wipes, butt cream, a couple passies, zip onesies, burp clothes, Burt's Bee's Calming body lotion, and a toy for distraction. Oh, and I'm in love with baskets if you can't already tell, we have TONS of them in the nursery, they are awesome for storing things in a semi-organized way :)
11. Big, Soft, over the head Bibs. If you have a big time spitter-upper like we do, you can't have enough of these bibs, they are AWESOME! A friend of mine made these for us, but I'm sure you can buy something similar at baby stores, or try making your own!
There you have it! I'd love to hear what your favorite things are/were, too! The next post I'll be sharing my thoughts/ideas/photos on a post-partum wardrobe...fun stuff :)
Lots of Love,
Amy
