baby stuff... 1st 3 months...

I shared a while back, before BD was born, that there is too much baby stuff!

 

Recently I have had friends ask... what do you really need?  Being that I only have a 3 month old I can only speak to the first 3 months of life.  And really, even that is hard because your baby changes SO much in the first 3 months!  There are some things that I thought were necessary, but only used for a very short period of time.  Some that I have listed below are truly just
"nice to have," but I would not want to do without them! Below is my list, organized by categories, of things I loved having.

Sleeping Babies need to sleep!  

Pack n'Play

For us Bailey Drew has slept in a pack n'play since day one in our room.  This is partially because we have been in such a transient state with the move!  Personally, I do like the pack n' play and would recommend it.  It is so convenient for the early days and for travel.   I hope BD goes to the crib soon, I can still see us using the pack n'play as a play area as she gets older.  While I recommend a pack n'play, you don't need one with all the bells and whistles.  We went over board here and got the Graco Elephanta with Infant Napper.  It came with so many attachments that we NEVER used.  We liked having the changing table on there at first, but it is probably not worth the extra money unless you can get one that only has that.  This is the simple inexpensive pack n'play we use when we are at Andrew's parents.

Swaddled blankets
 Aden and Anais blankets are so clutch. They are light and breathable and can be used for everything from swaddling to covering the car seat to burp cloth.

Miracle Blanket-

 aka baby straight jacket- when my mom saw us putting on BD she asked "this is actually recommended???" My response- "yes and it is a lifesaver!"
At first we did not use this... We just swaddled BD in the Aden and Anias blankets and they worked fine. Then she got strong... Really strong. Then we thought she did not like to be swaddled... But realized she did not sleep as well unswaddled. We started using the miracle blanket and have been using it ever since. Full night of sleep? Yes please! Seriously BD slept 12 hours last night!

 Feeding

 Babies gotta eat! My suggestions are based on an exclusively breast fed (ebf) baby... Which I highly recommend- if you want my reasoning message me some time :)

Nursing cover

Unless you want to be constrained to the house for the next year or constantly pumping and bottle feeding (meaning double time) you will need one of these. I suggest one with boning at the top... Makes things much easier!

Nursing bras and tanks

Okay, many moms say they are not necessary, which I guess is true. But for me... They make things soooo much easier and I have been wearing them everyday!

 Burp cloths

 Around our house, we call them spit cloths because BD spits up so much. They do not have to be nice, they do not have to be new, but we have found we need a whole lot of them!

Boppy

Probably not completely necessary, but we love our Boppy! I did not think it was that important to bring to the hospital, but definitely had someone go back and get it as we were learning to breast feed. It is also great for tummy time. We got ours used from a friend.

 A note on bottles and pumps

 Not necessary if you are staying home with your little chunk... But nice to have the option. We got the Medela Pump in Style- great investment! When it comes to bottles this is where we should have waited! BD did not take the bottles we registered for so they ended up being a waste. I would recommend buying one bottle to see if your baby takes it. Then buying the set when you know what your baby likes.

 Diapering

I cloth diaper... So I don't have much to say about disposables... But a lot to say about cloth!  Here is what I use!
*20 cloth diapers- we use bum genius

 *cloth wipes- you can buy these of just cut up old burp cloths or receiving blankets

 *two squirt bottles with wipe solution (homemade or bought offline) one for home and one for the diaper bag

 *two diaper bag sized wet bags and one large wet bag to keep dirty diapers in at home.

* a nice diaper bag like this one.

Seriously, when I saw the prices on these I about died... I DON'T spend that kind of money on bags. But this is not just a bag, it will most likely be attached to you for the next few years of your life! I don't even carry a purse anymore.
Side note: luckily, we got ours as a gift. But I have heard if you sign up for Petunia Pickle Bottom email, they go 50% off from time to time! 

 Bath Time

 A tub like this one.

 

When I told my mom I wanted a tub she laughed and said, "why don't you just wash her in the sink?" She is probably right, but we just find using the infant tub so much easier, and since BD loves bath time so much she feels stable and can play! Not all tubs are created equal though. Make sure you get one with a bench all the way across! We bought a toys r us brand tub to keep at my parent's house and is is not as secure... We don't like it so much.

*nice to have- pouring cup, squirters and other toys, hooded towels and wash cloths

 

Play time

 inexpensive play mat with extra rings to attach toys

 I cannot stress enough how important tummy time is! And having the extra rings helps us to attach toys at different levels where she can reach them. We bought ours super cheap on Black Friday, but I am sure there is a way you can make one cheap if you are crafty:)!

 a couple of stroller toys are nice.

 Books, books, books!

 If you have a shower I would recommend having the hosts request children's books with notes in them instead of cards! Much better keepsake and it builds your child's library.

 swing/vibrating chair and the like

 I struggle with this one because for us BD changed all the time and went in and out of liking them. I have heard of parents spending $200 on swings there babies don't even end up liking. For us BD liked the swing for a while... But became a chunk so quickly that the swing seriously looked like it was in slow motion on the highest setting. We borrowed a bouncy chair from a friend and have used it more. This really ends up being a personal/baby preference.

 Travel

baby wearers!

 We LOVE these! We currently have the Baby Ka'tan and the Ergo. They are so great for running errands and doing stuff around the house! The baby Ka'tan is like an easier version of the Moby wrap. She loved the baby Ka'tan kangaroo, but got to long very quick! Even though she is 16 pounds she does not like to spread her legs out, so we have taken a break from the Ka'tan. At that point we started to use the Ergo... Amazing! She still only likes to frog her legs and since she is so long we don't even use an infant insert. She is actually getting so big that she will have to learn to spread her legs because she won't be able to be frogged much longer!

Travel System 

We recommend a travel system like this one for the first few months! The basket carrier is heavy but it is convinient to bring her in if she is sleeping or to snap in the stroller! But because BD is so big we are already talking about the next carrier! She is only a few inches from the height limit!

Cloths
 We did not register for any cloths and did tried not to buy any. People re going to buy and give you cloths no matter what, especially if you have a girl! Also, personally we don't recommend keeping a lot of newborn cloths... Many babies outgrown them quick and some never wear them!

What did you find you needed???