(the links in here are affiliate links, but I would never recommend something I don’t absolutely love)

Our sweet little miracle baby is already 3 1/2 months old! How can that be?? Being a mom is more magical than I imagined it would be. Seeing Corrie grow and change and learn, watching Paul become a dad - sometimes it’s just too much. It’s amazing.

Being a mom is also more overwhelming than I thought it would be. Especially right before she was born when we were trying to decide what we actually needed and what was a load of crap. And then in those first few weeks after she was born when we really had no idea what we were doing. And all of the information out there! How does one even begin to sift through it all??

I wanted to give you a few of my recommendations. I’m going to start by saying we don’t believe you need the latest and greatest technology in order to properly care for your baby. I realize that there are extenuating circumstances that call for having such technology, or maybe it just gives you more peace of mind - awesome! No judgement here. That’s just not how we flow. I’m also all about trying to give Corrie the most natural or healthy options that we can. This means products with less chemicals, no fragrances, that sort of thing. Again, if that isn’t your jam, you go girl. I’ve just had my fair share of hormonal issues and I’d like to try to give Corrie the best start possible, and this is one way that we personally feel we can do that! But to each their own!

Bedtime Routine

Let’s start with this! First of all, I would very highly recommend taking a sleep course either before your LO arrives, or right after. We did one with Taking Cara Babies and I can’t say enough good things about it. Corrie had acid reflux, which we didn’t find out for a while and it prevented her from getting good sleep, but after we tackled that, the steps we learned through this course have Corrie sleeping 7-8 hour stretches right now without eating (she wakes up and fusses a little bit once in a while, but those episodes only last a few minutes, if they happen at all).

One of the things we learned in the course is the importance of a bedtime routine. Children thrive on routine, so if they know the steps that lead to bed, it’s going to help cue their brains for sleep. What works for us is to give her a bath, give her a massage with lotion, and wrap her up in her swaddle before laying her down in her bassinet.

While she didn’t like baths for the first few weeks of her life, she absolutely loves them now! She kicks around in the water and likes to babble at us. I’m a big fan of this bathtub that we have - it’s convertible so it fits her now and it has two more transitions for as she grows. Plus, the mesh insert is machine washable - all the praise hands for that! We’ve also been using Beautycounter baby wash. I love this company and what they stand for. Their products are a little more spendy, but I trust what they put in them and that makes it worth it to me!

We’ve tried several different types of swaddles, and you may have to do some investigating of your own since every baby is different, but we really like this Halo Sleepsack. I like that it zippers up, ensuring the main part of the swaddle won’t ride up and cover her face while she wiggles in her sleep. Plus, the zipper goes from top to bottom, so you can easily change a middle-of-the-night diaper. It’s also convertible. She’s getting to an age where she wants her arms a little more mobile in her sleep, and this swaddle will let us give her that mobility while still being able to make her feel safe.

I think a sound machine is a must. Babies are used to the whirring of your blood and all the other loud noises that happen in the womb, so white noise is comforting to them. Plus, it helps drown out unloading the dishwasher while your LO is sleeping. We’ve really like this Hatch sound machine. It has a lot of different sound and nightlight color options, plus it can connect to your phone through Bluetooth so you can customize your settings and control it from your phone. It will also be handy when she’s older because it has a setting where you can change the color of the nightlight when it’s an ok time for your LO to get out of bed. (Ah, a full night of sleep somewhere in the future - something all new moms are dreaming of).

While we didn’t have much time to pick out a bassinet (my MIL bought it right before we left the NICU with Corrie), I did do some research beforehand. We knew we wanted to room share with Corrie for as long as we could, but I didn’t want a bassinet that was too bulky, or one that had solid sides in case she pressed her face up against it - which, shocker, she does. This Halo Bassinest has really been great. It’s not bulky, but it’s solid. I love the swivel feature so I can pull it right up to the side of the bed. I also really appreciate the mesh sides. It’s been easy to peek at her in the middle of the night, and there have been multiple times where she’s pushed her face up against it. I realize it’s a little more expensive, but we have absolutely loved it and had no complaints. Plus, we’re hoping to use it for a few future children.

Playtime

The best part of the day! It’s been a joy to watch Corrie be more and more intrigued as time goes on. I feel like she’s learning something new every single day and it’s so fun to watch her be curious.

We were blessed with some awesome baby showers prior to Corrie coming, and one result of those is SO MANY BOOKS. It’s so great! While she can’t quite follow along yet, it’s fun to read to her or at least show her the brightly colored pages. I’ve also been loving this swing and this Boppy pillow. The swing is pretty run-of-the-mill, but it’s been great nonetheless. She loves watching the stars up top, and it’s easy to wrap a carseat toy around the side for her to watch and bat at. The Boppy pillow is a nice option so she doesn’t have to lay on the floor when I’m trying to play with her, talk to her, or read to her. It keeps her head elevated, too, which was so great when we were first dealing with her acid reflux. I also have the nursing Boppy pillow, and while I pump and don’t need it for nursing, she’s getting to an age where she can sit up with a bit of help, so it’s been great for that. I think it’ll also come in handy for tummy time when she’s just a bit older!

We also LOVE to go for walks. That’s been a huge thing for the two of us during quarantine. Plus it always tires her out and she sleeps better at night ;) I knew I wanted a jogging stroller, and during my research I found this one that we absolutely love. You can set it up to place the car seat right in and it clicks in place, and then when she’s older there’s a seat attachment that we can put in. It’s so nice to be able to just click her car seat out of the car and into the stroller and off we go. It’s especially been handy when she falls asleep on the walk and I don’t want to wake her up putting her back in the car.

Baby Care Items

I’ve loved these Water Wipes. They’re a little more on the spendy side, but the ingredients are simple: water and a drop of fruit extract. I’m grateful we’re in a place financially where I can choose to pay a little extra to know exactly what we’re putting on her skin. Same with this diaper cream. It’s a clean option, and it works really well. She sleeps through the night so we don’t change her diaper, and we haven’t had to deal with diaper rash yet (knock on wood).

For cleaning, same thing. We’ve been going with some of the cleaner options we can find. I really like these wipes for wiping down surfaces she’s going to be around. I’ve had very good luck with this laundry detergent as far as getting out stains while also being gentle on her sensitive skin. And for dishes, we use Dapple dish soap. It’s plant-based, fragrance free, and our bottles and pumping equipment are always clean!

I hope these suggestions at least helped shed a light on some of the options open to you. I’ve done a lot of research but I don’t claim to know it all. These are the products that have worked really well for us so far, though!! Let me know if you have questions, and feel free to share some of your fave baby items, too! I’d love to hear.