So I thought I'd write a little post about the items we've been using the most to get us through these first three weeks with baby. Things would be extra crazy around here without these things.
The single most useful thing is this
Graco Pack n Play. We have it set up between our living and dining room area and use it all the time! It isn't one of those fancy ones though, it just has the bassinet level and a simple overhead bar with stars. However, we use half of it as a changing table and the other half as a bassinet for when we need to put Elsie down for a few minutes to get things done or just to let her play a little bit by herself. I've also been using it for tummy time because, with the dogs, I can't do tummy time on the floor with her unless we go in a bedroom. She will also sometimes sleep in it but most of the time she'll wake up if we put her in there.
We are also pretty fond of
these and
these Avent bottles. We have both. They both do the job. She seems to like them and they are pretty simple to throw together at 3am.
The
Rock n Play is our go to item for sleeping at night. It works most of the time. Sometime she'll get a little fussy when I set her down but she normally can be rocked or vibrated to sleep. The only thing I wish it did was rock itself. But it's still really nice. It also sits up close to the height of our bed so it's easy to get to her without getting all the way up if I just need to slip the paci back in her mouth or something.
More recently, I have started using the
Baby K'tan carrier. Elsie has been a little bit fussy lately and doesn't want to be put down to sleep. Sooo I've started using this for those times when I need to get stuff done but she won't cooperate. So far it's working well for us. I have some other carriers to also use when she gets a little bigger.
Some other more general things that we've been using:
-
sleepers or footed pajamas (whatever you choose to call them)- they are way easier than anything else to put on and to get off to change a diaper. Especially since it can be scary for first time parents to put on any clothing that goes over the baby's head... hehe
-
newborn diapers- Elsie was under 6 pounds when we first brought her home and they fit her really well. We had to wait until about 2.5 weeks or so to start using our cloth diapers on her. This is simply because she's so little. We do have some newborn and size small cloth diapers that we tried out first but now she's fitting into the one size on the smallest setting. We are also using disposables at night just because they absorb more and it's easier.
-
the car seat- we have
this one (in a different color) but any car seat would work. for obvious things like...going places, but also because she loves to nap in this. It's one of the only places that we can set her down to sleep and
most of the time she won't wake up.
-
soothies- We have some individual ones and
this one. They sometimes work to calm her down. Seems to be working more and more lately than it did the first two weeks.
I think that's pretty much the essentials, for now. Excited to see what changes as she grows.
