Now that Dominick is past the new baby stage I thought I would write a post about things that we used a lot with him and things that we didn't find quite as useful. Maybe these will be the same when and if we have any more littles.
1.
Fisher Price Cradle N Swing: My Little Lamb
We used this swing SO much. I think we would go through batteries every 3-4 weeks for the first three months. Dominick LOVED his swing and it would also give us time to be hands free and make/eat dinner and do things around the house. He would sit in it just to hang out or nap.
2.
Boppy
I never really used the boppy to help with breastfeeding, but I did use it to prop Dominick in. He loved being able to be a little more elevated so he could see. We still use this and I am so glad that we ended up putting it on our registry
3.
Baby Einstein Neptune Ocean Adventure Gym
Dominick LOVED this. I started him on the mat on his back at a few weeks old and on his belly around a month. He liked that there was so much to look at and he especially loved the mirror.
4.
Medela Pump In Style
Since I knew I was going to be heading back to work, I started pumping early on. I wanted around a months supply when I went back to work. It was my least favorite thing to do, but I knew I had to if I wanted to keep my supply up and continue breastfeeding as a working mom. I really couldn't imagine having a manual or even a single pump.
I didn't really do much research on strollers. My parents said that my brother and sister in law had this stroller and it was easy to push. I liked that it came apart and would be easy for traveling. They bought it for us and I have no regrets. It was really easy to travel with and pushes really good. Dominick was WAY too small for it, but hated being in his carseat so he's been in this since around 3 weeks old.
6.
Chicco Keyfit 30
I really loved this carseat. It was easy to install and even easier to use. It already had the infant inserts that could easily be removed. We bought it in this color as well since it was pretty gender neutral. Two things I didn't like about this carseat was that Dominick would get VERY hot in it, but remember we live in the desert and temps get to be 110+ and that when he got heavier it became TOO heavy!
We use the Born Free Eco Deco bottles. Dominick didn't take a bottle until he was around 5 or 6 weeks old. He would only have 1 every couple of weeks until I went back to work at 10 weeks. When I did go back to work he didn't have any problem taking them. I love that they have a venting system to reduce gas, etc and they're super easy to clean.These are a great basic bottle in our opinion. Born Free also has glass bottles.
8.
Lillebaby Nordic Carrier
I wasn't really sure on the whole babywearing concept before having Dominick so I didn't want to spend a lot of money on one. I read lots of reviews and I found this one. It was reasonably priced and it seemed to have everything I wanted. It also said I would be able to put my newborn in it without having to buy any other pieces. SCORE! So I bought it. Unfortunately, it was too wide for Dominick when he was a brand new, but it worked great at around 1 month plus. We still use this occassionally, but he doesn't really care for it becuase he likes to be able to look around. It's really not good for babies to be carried forward facing (regardless of the carrier) so I choose to not use it much anymore. This was the biggest lifesaver for me when I wanted to get things done while he was sleeping or when we were out and about.
We put Dominick in the bassinet part right away. At first he hated it (we soon realized he hated the canopy thing being up), but quickly learned to like it. He grew out of the bassinet part around 2 months and then he slept with us until recently when we started using just the pack 'n play part. I love that he is able to be in our room and close. We didn't really use the changer portion, but it was nice when he was itty bitty.
Ever since Dominick was a newborn he's LOVED his bathtime. The sling worked great and then at about 2 months when his head was a little more stable we got rid of the sling and just used the tub. Both were great for when he was a baby. He would hang one of his feet out of the side when he would layin the sling.
Some other things we use were pampers diapers, huggies natural care wipes, mam and avent pacifiers (both of he will take with no problem), aveeno baby wash and lotion, desitin, diaper genie and bottle drying rack (for breastfeeding parts and for bottles).
Some things that we didn't use or that Dominick just didn't care for were:
1.
Snuza
After too many false alarms we just stopped using it. I thought this would be great and give me a little peace of mind, but it just drove me nuts. I was constantly on edge that it was going to go off, etc. We really could have done without this.
2.
Avent Bottle Warmer
I had to have this and I can honestly say I've used it less than 5 times. To be fair, Dominick never really has a bottle if he's with me AND it's just easier to warm some water and put the bottle/bag in it.
3.
Bouncer Seat
We didn't have this exact one, but I can't find the one that we had. Dominick used it for a very short period of time, but we could have definitely done without this.
We didn't even buy a sound machine, night light or anything like that. We've never been quiet when Dominick is sleeping, aware, but we still make noise, talk at a normal tone, etc. We didn't want him to become reliant on these things. We also didn't buy a wipe warmer (Mom, if you're reading this you're probably cringing) because once again I didn't want him to be used to having a nice warm wipe at home and then when we were out and about him hating having his pants changed due to a cold wipe.
So there you have it, my list of new baby essentials! I think a lot of it was trial and error and personal preference. These worked for us and for Dominick, but may not work for anyone else or even our next baby.
