Before James was born I put together a list of some of my “must have’s” for him. These were things that I felt like I had to have before he was born in order to be prepared and have everything as organized as I could. But I found some other things that I really had to have in the first month that I thought I’d share.
Even though we had a cool snap the week James was born it’s still pretty hot in September in Alabama. So having these lightweight muslin blankets were fantastic for James. They are HUGE so we were able to swaddle him really well in them. And we could wrap him tighter to give him more layers to keep him warmer or wrap him looser to let his little body breathe. I love the cute patterns (the picture shows the patterns we have but they have tons of patterns) and the feel of the blanket. These are so nice to have!
We had a swing for Charlotte but when we pulled it out of the attic for James we found that it wouldn’t swing, even with new batteries. This was the weekend before his birth so we were in a hurry to find a new swing and get it put together before we left for the hospital. We went to Target and this was one of a few swings in the store and we liked the look of it and so got it. We are so thankful that we did! We LOVE this swing! It swings in a cradle motion (side to side) and also in a front to back motion which is so nice. Also, the seat lays in two positions and one of them is almost like a cozy little bucket so there is no fear that James is going to fall out, even when the swing is swinging. This swing has been a lifesaver for us! We’re big believers that in the beginning you do what you have to do to get them to sleep and what we do is put them in the swing. I would highly recommend this swing to anyway looking for one! Another great feature is that it plugs in but also runs on batteries so you can save money on batteries but simply unplug it and run on batteries if you want to move it to another room for a short period of time!
Alice has become such a lifesaver for me. We have been trying to cut back on our grocery budget and after doing some research before James was born I found that prices on Alice were consistently lower than in the store and also for the most part lower than elsewhere online. So we started buying as much as we can from here and it has made grocery shopping so much easier for me! No more having to lug heavy items like detergent and bulky items like toilet paper around the store or into and out of the car and the shipping is always free so it doesn’t matter how heavy the items that I buy are. It does take a little bit of planning but I’ve found if I think ahead and buy once a week or every other week it’s pretty easy to stay on top of what we need. Alice also has a referral system (my link is my referral link just for full disclosure) where you can get a percentage of your referees purchase amounts back in your account!
I included the Baby Tracker in my original post and I didn’t even know how right I was! It has been invaluable to us to have in James’ first month of birth. And having Charlotte’s has been pure gold to us! It’s amazing how stressful making new parenting decisions can be even when it’s your second child and having the tracker with what Charlotte ate/slept/etc when she was his age helped ease the anxiety this time around (ok, not all but some of it!). It does require some dedication and OCDness in order to keep up with it but if you are one of those people this is definitely a great way to go to help keep you sane in those first few weeks. For some reason just being able to write down what’s going on helps me feel a little more in control about all of the uncontrolableness of it all so maybe it will help you too!
A Sling
With a two year old we’re out of the house about 100% more than we were when Charlotte was born. And after having a c-section I couldn’t carry James in his car seat for a few weeks so if we went somewhere I had to hold him in my arms or use a sling. I, honestly, only used it when we went to the pumpkin patch because the type of sling that we had is pretty difficult for me to get him in and out by myself, but I would definitely recommend a sling that you can get your baby in and out of easily for the first month or two. It’s a great way to keep them shielded from the elements and also to keep prying hands from strangers that you don’t want touching your newborn away from them!
Bottles and Passy’s
While I go by the advice not to introduce them until they get the hang of nursing, we introduce a bottle to our babies in week two and they both took them great. And after you introduce a bottle, passy’s are great to help get through crying jags. Although you should be warned if you haven’t had a baby before that they won’t get the hang of keeping the passy in their mouth for a while so you will spend some time putting it back in once it falls out. I’ve heard that some babies don’t care when theirs falls out but both of mine cared a great deal and vocalized their displeasure until we could get it back in. I personally like NUK bottles and passy’s but bottles are really a personal preference so there’s no right or wrong answer.
Eventually I got to a point when nursing Charlotte that I could nurse when traveling without a Boppy. But I forgot how nice and essential the Boppy is when you first have a baby! Nursing without one is really hard, especially when they’re really tiny and squirmy and you’re just getting the hang of it. I know there are lots of nursing aids out there but I love my Boppy!
