My Top 5 Baby Essentials (0-3 months)
Julia just recently turned 4 months old and I have been thinking of some of the things that have really helped us get through these first few months (besides the obvious diapers, wipes, etc.). So I thought I would share 5 essential products that I would recommend to a new mom.
Velcro Swaddle
First on the list is a velcro swaddle. These have been a LIFE SAVER for us, and Julia is only just now starting to transition out of using one.
Not all babies like to be swaddled, so see if your baby likes swaddling before investing in one. I personally am awful at swaddling with a blanket. My husband was the pro in our house, but even so, the last thing you want to do when baby is waking up at night to eat/diaper change is spend the extra time swaddling them in the dark. And then if you don’t do a good enough job, they break through and you have to do it again!
The velcro swaddle ended up being a great solution for us. It is super simple to use and, as long as the baby is in the correct size, they shouldn’t be able to break out of it. Julia loves her swaddle! Since she is starting to roll, we are starting the process of transitioning her into a sleep sack at night for safety reasons, but I would definitely recommend the velcro swaddle to any mom of a newborn!
The velcro swaddle we used is by the brand SwaddleMe. We originally got a two pack in size small at Target for about $25 but when we changed her into size large we were able to get it for a steal on amazon for only about $8.
Zipper PJs
When it comes to baby clothes, there are so many endless options of cuteness to choose from! However, when it comes to functionality, I think zipper pajamas are the best in most cases. Buttoned PJs are fine for the daytime but, at night, they can be difficult to correctly snap back in the dark. The convenience of just being able to zip the PJs back up quickly can’t be beat.
Burp Clothes & Bibs (lots of them!)
If your baby ends up having reflux, you’re going to need a whole lot of bibs and burp cloths. Reflux is actually quite common, so its good to be prepared with extra of these.
Between drooling and spitting up, there are days that Julia legitimately soaks through 3 or 4 bibs a day. Burp cloths have been a lifesaver for those unexpected projectile disasters. I never start a feeding without one nearby! The burp clothes pictured were actually both hand made by friends of ours! We also got some at Walmart.
A “before the crib” Sleep Solution
It is recommended that babies sleep in the same room as their parents until they are about one year of age to help prevent SIDs. Whether you do this or not is, of course, a personal decision, however, if you do decide to have your baby sleep in the same room as you then you will need a place for them to sleep.
If you have room for the baby’s crib in your room then that is great! But that is not the solution for most of us. We have tried a few different things, but what seemed to be the best value and works best for our family is a mini crib or travel crib.
We used a bassinet for a while, but Julia grew so much in length that she didn’t really fit comfortably in it after three months. If we had known this, we probably would’ve just gotten the travel crib to begin with.
We got ours on Amazon. It is bigger than a bassinet but still compact enough to comfortably fit next to our bed and Julia has plenty of room to grow in it. When she does grow out of it, the particular one we got is super simple to take apart and put away, unlike our bassinet which is now taking up space in our spare room. (I will mention though that after reading some reviews we also purchased a mini crib mattress to go with it since the one the crib comes with isn’t that great.)
Bouncer and/or Swing
During the day time, we don’t ever swaddle Julia for naps. Instead, she is in either her bouncer or swing. They are both super convenient options for day time sleep because they can be picked up and set wherever you want so you can still get things done (say, take a shower or cook dinner) with the baby nearby.
When I was registering for products for my baby shower, I remember thinking I wanted only a bouncer OR a swing because, well, living in an apartment we are working with limited space and, as she grows out of these things, there is also the issue of storing them and we don’t have much extra space.
So for my shower, I decided on a bouncer. Well, about two months into Julia’s life, I caved and got a swing. Initially she didn’t like napping in her bouncer so I needed some sort of option. Some swings are so big and take up a ton of room, not to mention they can also be pretty expensive. We ended up going with one that is marketed for being not only compact but easy to store and it was also pretty affordable! The only downside is it takes 4 D batteries and we’ve had to replace them a few times, but it isn’t the biggest deal.
Recently Julia hasn’t been too into her swing but will take excellent naps in her bouncer, so I’m glad I ended up having both options!
And that’s it! There are a few other products I could surely recommend but for the first few months these five things have been the most essential to us!