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Health & Fitness

10 Must-Have Products for a New Baby

Are you or someone you know expecting soon? Check out my list of first-time-mommy must haves to add to your registry or give as a gift!

Here is a list of my first-time-mommy must haves for newborns. Are there things that your baby needs that aren’t on this list? Yes, but I assume you already know your baby needs diapers and a bed! Here goes:

1. "The Happiest Baby on the Block" - My daughter had colic and I didn’t read this book until she was two months old. Big. Mistake. Had I read it two months earlier, both my daughter and I would have spent a lot less nights crying ourselves to sleep. This is something that I buy for every new mom that I know. After I started using the techniques from the book, we knew exactly what we needed to do to get her to stop crying.

2. The Miracle Blanket - This is the ONLY swaddling blanket that actually works. Regular blankets unwrap easily and the velcro kind (a.k.a. SwaddleMe) always ended up wriggling up over my daughter’s face. At first you will feel like you are putting your child in a straight jacket and torturing them, but once you realize it helps them stay asleep for like four or five hours at a time you won’t care.

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3. The Boppy - This pillow is great because you can use it to prop the baby up for nursing and as a support for tummy time. Although for a nursing pillow, I have a friend who absolutely swears by the ‘My Brest Friend.’

4. Baby Sense Infant Movement Monitor - This monitor sounds an alarm if it doesn’t detect movement (breathing) for 20 seconds. It sounds ridiculous, but when you bring your baby home, I can almost guarantee that you will have an overwhelming urge to get up in the middle of the night to check if your baby is still breathing at least 10 times each night. With this, I still would check for breathing, but only like two or three times instead of 20. We had one real alarm and only two or three false alarms over the course of six months.

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5. Rock ‘n Play Sleeper - Both my sister-in law and husband’s cousin have these and use them everywhere. Think of it as a portable bassinet. Some people even used this in place of a bassinet AND a pack-and-play. I love that it is elevated a little bit. My daughter had reflux, so keeping her propped up after feedings was important. Can’t wait to use it!

6. The Bumbo - We started using this seat when my daughter was about three months old and still use it today. When they’re little, it helps them develop muscles to sit up and support their head. When they’re older, it keeps them in one spot for brushing teeth or braiding hair.

7. White Noise Machine - While babies are in the womb, the sounds that they hear are equivalent to that of a vacuum running. Having some background noise helps lull them to sleep. It also covers up any other noises going on in the house so you don’t have to tiptoe around as much. We just used a radio we had and put it on a static station.

8. Baby Carrier – It took me a little while to discover the beauty of this baby, but once I did I wished I had started using it sooner. Because my daughter cried all the time (and you’re not supposed to just let an infant cry), I ended up holding her all day and not getting anything done around the house. The carrier allowed me to do both at the same time.

9. Stationary Entertainer - My MIL brought one of these over without asking one day. I was irritated because it was huge in our small living room and I wanted to hate it. But, my daughter loved it and we actually ended up using it a lot – although I would never admit it to my MIL.

10. Bottle Warmer - Even if you are going to breastfeed, more than likely your baby will still drink from a bottle occasionally. When you are trying to feed a screaming baby and the milk you have to heat up has been sitting in the refrigerator but you can’t use the microwave, anything that can speed the process along is super helpful. We got great use out of ours.

If you need a second (or third) opinion here are some other mom blogs with lists of their favorite products for first time moms. Notice how many of the same products are on all the lists!

Mrs. Weber’s Neighborhood: Fab5: Best Products for New Moms

Motley Mama: Top Ten Products for Newborns

Soft and Steel: Must Have Products for a New Baby

Good luck mamas! Anything you would add?

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