Persnickety Baby: Baby Must-Haves (0-3 months)

Some links in this post are affiliate links meaning if you buy from them, Amazon will throw me a few pennies. 

1. Fisher Price Rock ‘n Play
The internet said I would love this & they were right. In the first couple days (weeks?) home from the hospital we kept this in the living room next to the couch (I had a c-section and it was easier to sleep on the couch than the bed). We then moved the Rock ‘n Play into her room and at 3 months, that’s still where she sleeps at night. I love that it’s slightly on an incline to help with reflux.

2. Dr. Brown’s Formula Mixing Pitcher
We had to formula feed due to my Crohn’s medications and this mixing pitcher has been awesome. First, we were just measuring the water and powder and shaking up the bottles. That quickly got old and it would leave chunks of powder. Next, I tried using a salad dressing shaker and while it worked pretty well, the top broke quickly & there were still some chunks. Finally, I did some researching on Amazon and came across this pitcher and I love it. I make up a day’s worth of bottles at a time now and it mixes really thoroughly, really easily. Seriously, this is one of my favorite things.

3. White Noise Baby app
When we got our newborn pictures done the photographer had a white noise app on her phone that she used to calm the babies down. I considered buying a white noise machine but then I got smart (cheap) and decided to download this free app on my Kindle and just let it play overnight. We use the “conch shell” noise.

4. aden + anais Muslin Swaddle Blankets
Swaddle blankets are great. They’re huge and I use them for everything – to hang over the carseat if it’s raining or super sunny, lay on the floor to play, line the Rock ‘n Play, and actually swaddling. My mom found a set of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom brand swaddle blankets at TJ Maxx for like $6. They’re slightly smaller but I like them just as well so lookout for those. Also, I ordered some of these Hudson brand ones and they’re great, too.

5. Summer SwaddleMe swaddle blanket
While I love using the muslin blankets to swaddle, I’m not great at getting them super tight and Baby Girl has crazy un-swaddling skills. In the middle of the night, after a feeding/changing, it’s so much easier to use these velcro swaddles. I’ve tried them all – Zen Swaddle, Miracle Blanket, and aden + anasis Swaddle Blanket – but I keep coming back to the much cheaper SwaddleMe. The one that has the zippered bottom is even better because you don’t have to un-swaddle to change their diaper. I recently picked up a 2-pack at TJ Maxx for $8.

6. Sassy Crib & Floor Mirror
This one isn’t really a “must-have” but it’s fun. Baby Girl loves to look at herself, especially these past few weeks. This mirror is really cute and helps keep her busy.

7. aden + anais Burpy Bib
Since about 4 weeks, Baby Girl has been drooling like no other. I have lots of different burp rags (Carter’s, plain Gerber, Burt’s Bees) but these Burpy Bibs are the most absorbent and softest. I only have 2 but I find myself skipping all the others and reaching for these.

I could keep going but these are our top favorites. Any suggestions for the next few months for me?

Update: I can’t believe I forgot this one! Feed Baby app. It tracks feedings, diapers, meds, whatever you want to, really. It’s awesome and you can sync it between phones so my husband has it too. It’s great for middle of the night feedings when you’re groggy & can’t remember if it’s been 5 minutes or an hour since you last fed the baby.

Another honorable mention, that I forgot, our video monitor. We have the Morotola MBP33 and I have a love/hate relationship with it. 98% of the time I love it. But, I find that the battery dies really quickly. When it’s dying, it makes a terrible beeping sound that drives me nuts. To avoid that, I just keep it plugged in all night on my nightstand. Otherwise, it’s great. You can tilt the camera all over and it generally has a clear picture. I do wish it was wireless, but that’s something I didn’t think about when we picked it. Overall, it was a great buy.