Hello Friends!
If you are about to have a baby or know anyone that is about to, then this list is for you! After having our baby a few months ago, we have realized that baby stuff accumulates quickly, and it can be overwhelming. I have heard that there is a correlation between clutter and stress… and I believe that to be true! People will tell you that you need so many things when you are expecting a baby. But to be honest, you really don’t need much. My daughter is almost 9 months old, and these were the items that we used the most or found most useful during the first few months of her life.
1. Nightlight
This is something we didn’t even think about until after our daughter was born. Infants get up several times a night at the very beginning, sometimes even for several months, and there were tricks on getting our baby back to sleep faster! At first we turned on the light, changed her diaper, gave her a bottle, and rocked her back to sleep. The biggest mistake we made was turning the light on. This woke the baby up from her dazed hungry state, made her mad, and made it harder to put her back to sleep. Then we realized that the nightlight kept our daughter in her dazed and sleepy state. We just changed her diaper, gave her a bottle, and she fell asleep without having to rock her. You can even pick up a cute one at the dollar store if you are tight on money. Trust us, it is worth it!
2. Zip Up Footie PJS
Babies are asleep the majority of their first few months of life, and footie PJS were a lifesaver for us. Just make sure you get the zip up kind and not the buttons. Sure they are cute, but the last thing you want is to get those buttons all mismatched in the middle of the night with tired eyes. The zip ups make it so you don’t have to put anything over the baby’s head, and makes changing their diaper easy peasy!
This one could honestly be a hit or miss depending on whether or not your baby likes to be swaddled. We had swaddles galore! We had every single kind that are on the market, and we liked the simple zip up ones the best. Our baby loved to be swaddled, and she would break out of the other kinds.
4. Burp Clothes
This is something that we did not get at our baby shower, and we didn’t think of buying. We were first time parents and didn’t know what to expect. But we ran out one day and purchased a ton of burp clothes. Babies are messy! I’ve even seen parents use cloth diapers for extra absorption!
Establishing a bed time routine is essential from the very beginning. We don’t give advice on parenting often. But one thing that our baby does well is sleeps through the night. Obviously there are times when she is growing, or is sick, and it is hard for her to get a goods nights rest. But overall she is a good sleeper. We truly believe that lavender body wash and lotion do help with this process. If you want to know what our little one’s bedtime routine is, just let us know!
6. Blanket
It is very easy to go overboard with this one. Cole and I received more blankets than we know what to do with. But at least one is essential. Our daughter loves to rub a soft blanket on her face as she falls asleep. A blanket can also be useful as a breastfeeding cover up or car seat cover. As minimalist parents, we are all about products with many uses!
7. Diaper/Wipe Stockpile
Our daughter is almost 9 months old, and we haven’t bought any diapers! We had a diaper raffle at our joint baby shower and it was a lifesaver! The last thing you want to do as a new parent is run to the store in the middle of the night for diaper runs. You will thank us later.
8. Diaper Genie
Baby waste can get so smelly. When your house looks like mess with baby toys everywhere, the last thing you want is for it to smell bad too. We love our diaper genie and truly believe that it helps.
Sometimes baby just cry and cry and you aren’t sure why. We eventually learned that most of the time it was just trapped gas. Gripe water is made of all natural products and it instantly works to ease your baby’s upset tummy. We only had to use it 3 or 4 times, but we were so grateful that we had it for those late night cry sessions.
There you have it! I hope that this list will help you on your upcoming journey, and if you would like to know the products that we regret buying just let us know. I would be happy to share that with you too!
Marriage A Float 