1. Miracle Blanket
I got a few other kinds of swaddling blankets, but should have gone with my gut and just went with the Miracle Blanket. Lachlan has been a great sleeper from the beginning and I truly think it's due to a good, tight swaddle...if he weren't swaddled his arms would be flying around and waking himself up. We did try other sleepsack/swaddle combos that would velcro around him and I don't know how he did it, but even at 1 week old he could loosen out of those.
2. Rock-n-Play
This also was very recommended and am glad we got it. I also think this is another reason he sleeps so well-- it cradles/cuddles the baby much more snuggly than laying in a huge crib. I also like that it is on an incline cause he has some reflux and I just worry about him choking laying flat. The rocking motion also comes in handy sometimes when he has trouble falling asleep-- the problem with using a rocking chair is when we move him into bed, then he'll wake up. With this, you don't have to move the baby once he is asleep and you are done rocking. Fisher Price makes this in several colors and styles.
3. Boppy Lounger
This was not really recommended to me, but I saw a lot of positive review on it. At the last minute I added to our registry and am so glad I did. When we are tired of holding him, it is the perfect place to plop him down-- it also has a slight incline and snugs around the body. He takes many naps in here too. At dinner time, we put this on the table so he can chill there with us.
4. Baby Timer
Download an app for your phone to track everything with your baby. I thought this was idiotic when people recommended it to me, but there is so much you are keeping track of that it is a MUST HAVE! I used Log4Baby on the iphone- it could use some improvements, but overall was really great. You can even email yourself a summary of each day. You log each time you do a diaper change and if it was wet/dirty/both. This is really helpful if you breastfeed because you have to count how many wet and dirty diapers you have each day to ensure they are getting enough food. It also logs each time he feeds- you can log bottle ounces or the number of minutes on each boob. We also used it to log when he took his medicine-- you can set reminders to go off too. It also can track the sleep- but we found this pretty hard to do since he took so many catnaps. You can also add in any other items you want to track.
5. Swing and Bouncy Seat
I honestly didn't want a zillion toys, but trust me when I say you need these for the parents sanity! It gives you a break from constantly holding and entertaining the baby....plus Lachlan takes naps frequently in both of these cause they magically put him to sleep. We really like that the swing will swing in 2 different directions (side to side OR front to back) and it plugs in vs. using batteries.
6. Bum Genius 4.0s
I was a little nervous about the cloth diapers, but these have been pretty awesome so far! Cotton Babies just had a sale to get rid of some old colors/patterns where they were Buy 2, Get 1 Free. For just under $200, we have 16 diapers we use. I do laundry every other day and it really isn't too bad or time consuming-- the only part that takes time is to put the inserts into the diapers after washing. It really surprises me that so many people are opposed to them because we both think they are just as easy as disposables and will save SO much money by using them. The only negative I have is that with the disposables there is a line on the outside that turns blue when the diaper is wet, so it makes it easy to know when to change him...you lose that perk with the cloth.
7. Baby Bargains and Baby 411 books by Denise Fields
These were so helpful because of how the books were written/organized. I can quickly find an answer to most any question I have-- and the last thing you want is skimming through a bunch of paragraphs looking for something when your baby is screaming! Baby Bargains is helpful for registering, so want to get this before the baby arrives!
