BABY ESSENTIALS

by Bree Poort

OKAY BABE,

I am here to tell you what I loved and used the most during our first three months with our little Lottie. So when I say baby essentials, they were just our essentials. What works for you might be different, and that’s okay! You find out quickly that baby is in charge and you just roll with the punches!

Now, before I go into detail on some of my favorite products, HERE is my amazon storefront where I have links of some favorite baby items, what I used during pregnancy and what I use now (like my postnatals). So give those a look incase I don’t mention it below!

  • Let me start off by saying this: your baby doesn’t NEED all the gadgets, just your love and snuggles. Especially the first three months, baby just wants to eat, sleep and be held by their parents. Below I will categorize the items we used by SLEEP, PLAY, FEED, WEAR, & TRANSPORT.

  • This blog post will be LONG so skip to the categories you are most interested in and I’ll be linking the items we use everyday. & remember! buy secondhand! People are selling their baby stuff all the time and its better for the environment and your wallet!

SLEEP

  • We bought the newborn course of Taking Cara Babies because there were nights when she would just scream and cry and nothing was working to get her to sleep. So this class really came in handy with tips and we just didn’t understand a baby’s wake window is so small so she was getting overtired form being awake for too long! So this class can help you if you need some troubleshooting and some sleep for yourself.

  • Night light & sound machine: I like this one cause Bobby usually rocks here to sleep in her nursery (we put her in her own room at 2 weeks old & everyone sleeps way better), so I can control her white noise and night light from my phone while Bobby has his hands full. And I would set it to a pink or orange light in the middle of the night for dream feeds.

  • Monitor: If I were to choose one item only for our baby, it would be this. As a first time parent and high anxiety about SIDs, this sock monitor and camera really gives Bobby and I peace of mind. It also like her to wear the sock overnight because it helps me know when she’s in a deep sleep according to her heart rate. When I see her heart rate is between 120-135 bpm, I KNOW I can put her in her bassinet and she will stay asleep.

  • Snoo Bassinet: Okay, this one is expensive, but I will say this: it has been worth it, you can find them cheaper on Facebook marketplace, and you can resell it for more than 50% of what you bought it for! We might just have a baby that sleeps well, (she has been mostly sleeping through the night since 3 weeks old) OR its because of the Snoo that she sleeps so well. I can connect it to my phone and turn up the rocking if she starts to stir. She will stop using it at 6 months old.

  • Swaddles! Okay no link, but any velcro swaddle because your newborn has a startle reflex that wakes them up, so swaddle them to get a longer sleep. There are kinds that velcro or zip up for easy swaddling.

  • Moses basket: for when we are at the beach so she can nap. (ill set an app on my phone to play white noise and put a swaddle blanket above her head to block out light)

  • Exercise ball: like the kind you use for labor or later in pregnancy? We bounce on that to rock Lottie to sleep.

  • This Swing: She takes naps in this in our room while we watch her and its awesome when we are too tired to rock her to sleep since this does it for us. You can find these types of swings all over Facebook marketplace secondhand!

**** now what we don’t have that I wish we did….a rocking chair but our nursery is small so not happening…and pacifiers, but Lottie only

PLAY

  • Baby books: they are so cute to watch your little one pay attention! And good to implement during bedtime routine! And contrast (black and white) are even better!

  • MontiKids: I love the Montessori method of learning for kids, and this is a great box that has all the toys including a guide to show you what toys to introduce when! And if you use BREE at checkout you get 60$ off!

  • Bath: (I can’t find the one we use but this link is the general idea) this is a great way to allow your baby to love the water. We usually fill the tub a bit so her bum can stay warm and then pour warm water over her. Newborns only need a bath once a week but we will do it more often just for fun and use less soap!

  • Beach Tent: great for when you want to be outdoors but don’t want too much sun on your baby. We use this almost everyday.

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