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This list I will be talking about is what I believe are the top 10 newborn must haves. At least, for my newborn Luca, this is what we have used a lot from newborn to currently 4 months of age. I have waited until him being 4 months old to do this post because I wanted to be able to give y'all an actual good list. Not items we used for a couple weeks, and then he hated or didn't use them anymore. For example: a paci. Luca no longer uses a paci, and if a paci is in his mouth he just bites or chews on it since he is teething. The doctor actually recommends for babies to quit using a paci around this age anyway. So I guess I won't have trouble weaning him off of it. But anyway on to the Top Ten Newborn Must Haves.
1. Travel System
In my opinion, a travel system for a newborn is necessary. Newborns like to sleep a lot and who would want to wake a sleeping baby if you have to get out of the car and run errands. Not me! The infant car seat attaches to the stroller, and it is just easy as one click. The one that we have is the maxi cosi travel system. It comes with the infant car seat, base for car seat, stroller, and regular stroller attachment. I am not aware of the other travel systems out there, but the maxi cosi is functional, comes in many colors, and the regular stroller seat detaches from the stroller so you can put the infant car seat on in it's place. Maxi cosi is also one of the lightest car seats on the market, which is what I needed since I don't have the greatest back due to scoliosis.
2. Mamaroo (or some sort of swing)
Luca at first was kind of iffy about the 4moms mamaroo, but still to this day he still loves it. Almost 90% of the time if he is screaming and won't calm down, we put him in the mamaroo and he instantly calms down. Now a mamaroo is a little bit on the pricer side for swings but it is so worth the price. The swing has 5 unique motions & speeds, bluetooth enabled to control the motion and speed (this is nice when you don't feel like getting off the couch haha!), 4 built in sounds, mp3 plug in, machine washable with fabric, AC adapter, adjustable seat recline, and you can use it birth to 25 pounds. But most likely won't use when your baby can sit up unassisted because they will most likely be wanting to do other things at that point. Luca is not quite there yet so I am sure we still use it for another month.
3. Swaddles
We honestly have tried so many different swaddles, and Luca actually hated being swaddled. While I was pregnant, I took a newborn class and the teacher said people think their babies hate swaddles but they actually don't, they are usually doing it wrong. And I was like okay I guess that was true until I had a child that hated being swaddled. Luca always seemed to get his arms free, and wanted them by his head or in the air at all times. And if he couldn't break his arms free he would cry until we got his arms out. For the longest time we only swaddled his lower half of his body, and he loved that. But with muslin swaddles, you can use them for so much more than just swaddling your baby.. So that is why I think swaddles are a definite must haves. We use the Little Unicorn swaddles in our household. I will list all of the swaddles we use or did try out though. Because even though Luca may have not liked them, I know a lot of people who babies did.
Love to Dream Swaddle (zip swaddle that allows their arms to be up but still swaddles)
Swaddle-Me (Velcro swaddle)
Swaddle-Me (Zip swaddle)
4. Dockatot
I can't tell y'all enough how much Luca loved his dockatot. We just recently a couple weeks ago transitioned him out of the dockatot because he outgrew it. So now he is using Baby Merlin's Magic Sleep suit. But the smallest size they have for these sleep suits are 3-6 months, so it will not be on this list. But I will be talking about it in the near future because like the name, it is magic. But back to the dockatot.... Luca was a couple days old, and was only sleeping 35 minutes at a time, and this mama was so exhausted. I had to something about it. So I initially bought the dockatot to help transition him from bassinet to crib, but I needed to use it way sooner (also didn't realize he would grow out of it before I put him in his crib.. so glad I started using it sooner). But anyway, I decided to test it out and see if he sleeps better since the dockatot prevents him from rolling/moving from side to side, which is what he was doing before. He instantly started sleeping 3hr increments at a time, and that made this mama shout for joy because I finally started getting a little bit more sleep. We put the docktot in his bassinet, but some people use it for co sleeping. They have many different colors and designs so if we ever have a girl in the future, all I have to buy next time is a different slip cover for it which is great. There is also a bigger size, so if you want to keep having your baby sleep in the dockatot there is that option too.
5. Pack 'n Play
Okay so from our experience, a bassinet is pointless. Luca now sleeps in the pack 'n play next to our bed, and we have it raised to the highest setting. A bassinet they can only stay in for a very short amount of time before they grow out of it. So whenever they grow out of it, you can't easily fold it down to store away for next baby. Or at least the one we had. So with a pack 'n play you can easily fold it down to nearly nothing, and easily store it away until you need it again. Also with the pack 'n play it can be used whenever they get really mobile, and need them to stay in a certain area to play. We also take the pack 'n play with us when you travel which is so convenient, and it barely takes up any room in the car. We have the Graco one. It has an attachment for a changing station as well. I used it a bunch when he was a newborn because I didn't want the dogs to get to him whenever I was changing him or being around the dirty diapers. (Now I just change him wherever since he is bigger). Also the pack n play that we have, does have a bassinet attachment as well. So I could have used that but we didn't.
6. Gowns
Yes a definite must have no matter the gender. Those late nights you just want to change your baby's diaper as easy and as fast as possible. You don't have to worry about buttons or zippers which is so nice. We only had a select few gowns for Luca, but I will definitely be mainly getting gowns the next time. When you are sleep deprived, the last thing you want to do is unbutton and then button back their sleeper outfit. There are so many different ones out there as well as gender neutral ones. I will be linking some of my favorites.
7. Hooded Bath Towel/Bath Apron/Bath Mitt
A lot of people do not mention this in their must haves, but honestly think they are both a definite must have for sure. Now for a little while, you obviously can only give your baby a sponge bath until their umbilical cord falls off. But once it falls off, you can bathe them in water, and that is where a hooded bath towel and bath apron comes into play and comes in handy. Now we started with a dinosaur one from Target because I love dinosaurs, and didn't really know what all was out there. It was cute and that's all I thought about when I put in on my registry. Y'all it is so thin though, and doesn't really absorb all the water when you wrap your baby in it. Which also means it won't keep your little one warm at all if you want to keep them wrap in it for a little while afterwards. So y'all I am telling y'all now what brand is the best in my opinion.
Moss & Marsh has the best bath essentials. We use their hooded bath towel, bath apron, and bath mitt. All three are terry cloth, and it is thick terry cloth which makes it very absorbent. All three also comes in four different colors and prints. They are coastal themed and super super cute. The bath apron is amazing because I can literally get Luca out of the tub and not get my clothes soaked. WIN WIN!!! The bath mitt is a wash clothe that stays on my hand which makes washing my little man so much easier. Also the great thing about the hooded bath towel is you can use it up to 4 years of age. But that's not all y'all, they just came out with big kid towels, and the towels have pockets for their hands. So awesome!
Here are all four items
8. Baby Wrap
A body carrier is a must when your baby is like my Luca and does not want to be put down, but you still need to get stuff done. He has been like this since he was a newborn, and we used it quite a bit then as well as now. We love the Solly Baby Wrap. There are so many different prints, and the material so so soft. The company is really sweet, and even have tons of videos out there to show how to properly wear your baby as a newborn and as they grow. The specific print that we have is a limited edition, and is no longer available online. But y'all they just came out with so many fall colors, and I am so in love. I honestly wish I could buy all of them but I don't know if Luca will be able to stay in them much longer the bigger he gets. So people even use the slings but I have never used one. They are highly recommended buy others as well.
Here is there website: click here
9. Boppy
This is one must have that you can use many different things such as: nursing your babe, tummy time, laying them on it, to hold your baby, etc. Luca loved sleeping on it, and I obviously watched him while he did, and it was so nice if to put it around me while I was holding him because even though they are quite little as a newborn, they can get heavy if you are holding them for awhile. You can always buy a plain boppy, and then buy covers in stores or custom ones online. I ordered this custom dinosaur one off amazon but it is also available on etsy. As well as a bunch of other prints. The print in the picture I purchased from Target.
10. Diapers/Wipes (Duh!)
Even though you are probably thinking, well DUH! I know my baby needs them, I am just stating that these are apart of newborn must haves. But I also figured I would let y'all know the diapers and wipes that we use and work well with Luca. All babies are different, so try out a few diapers before you know which ones you like. We use the Babyganics wipes and we purchase them at Target. We always buy the 800 wipes and they last us for quite a while. We have also tried the Babyganics diapers and like them as well. But our go to diapers are the Up & Up brand at Target. They are cheap and amazing. We also love the Parasol Diapers but they are more expensive and we've only gotten them on occasion. But I would love to do their diaper subscription though. Like how convenient you order the diapers and they come to your door once a month.
Here is Parasol website. Click here
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