Chase is approaching three weeks old this week. What!?! Time is seriously flying and I am loving every minute with our baby boy. He makes me so darn happy every single day and even though sleep is tough and Chase seems to need something from me every 2.5 seconds (usually breast milk, some rocking or a loving cuddle) there are a few products we’ve turned to time and time again since we brought him home from the hospital that have made caring for a newborn a bit easier.
Below you will find a few of our favorites!
Newborn Baby Favorites
I mentioned this one in my last Things I’m Loving Friday post, but the HALO SleepSack seriously saved us at night. Chase is incredibly wiggly and seems to have the ability to Houdini his way out of even the tightest blanket swaddle, so the SleepSack helped us immensely! It keeps Chase calm at night and the velcro makes swaddling a breeze!
This was, hands down, the most recommended item to me when I asked you guys what I should include on our baby registry. I now understand why! We started using the Rock n’ Play as a place to put Chase down for daytime naps after he was one week old. (People cautioned us against letting him sleep in the Rock n’ Play at night because he could get used to sleeping on an angle which might make it more difficult to transition him to the crib eventually, so we are just using it for short daytime snoozes and rocking time while he’s awake right now.) Chase seems to love the light vibrations and quickly took to the Rock n’ Play, which was wonderful!
I didn’t register for a bassinet but lucked out when my mom gave us the Summer Sleeper that she found on super sale at Marshalls! It has worked perfectly for us as a bassinet in these early weeks of Chase’s life. He sleeps in the Summer Sleeper right beside our bed every night (it is meant for co-sleeping but we use it as a bassinet) and I love having him close by. Chase also seems to really like the light vibration mode and we’ll usually click on the vibrate mode if we put him down and he starts to get fussy. Plus, the Summer Sleeper seems like it would work well for travel sleeping if you had to travel with an infant.
It wasn’t until I met with a lactation consultant that I decided to order a My Brest Friend nursing pillow, but I am so glad I discovered it when Chase was a week old. It offers light support for my back and closes up the hole that the Boppy leaves between me and Chase, which I like a lot! The positioning of this pillow is perfect for nursing and I cannot recommend it enough to those who may be hoping to breastfeed.
Though I prefer the My Brest Friend pillow for nursing, I do still love my Boppy! I will use it to nurse on occasion, but like it most for cuddle time. It supports my arm while still allowing skin-to-skin time with Chase, which is really important to me. The Boppy Newborn Lounger has been fantastic as well and provides a comfortable place to put Chase down that seems to cuddle him up in a way that keeps him more relaxed than he would be if we put him on a flat surface.
Though the SleepSack is our go-to swaddling tool at night, during the day, we’ve been using the lightweight Aden + Anais swaddling blankets for everything from swaddling and cuddling to burp cloths in a pinch when one isn’t handy. I love that these blankets aren’t too heavy because it’s still quite warm in Charlotte and they don’t seem to overheat our baby when we use them during the day.
- Boudreaux’s Butt Paste and Spray
Butt Paste was one of those products that my mom friends swore by that made me laugh before I had a baby. Now I totally get it! About two weeks after Chase was born, he started to develop a small diaper rash on his tiny hiney and several applications of Butt Paste made it go away in a day or two. Ryan didn’t love the Butt Paste from the tube because it is kind of hard to wash off your hands but fortunately Boudreaux’s makes a spray version as well that he prefers to use when changing Chase. I like both!
My friend Leah recommended registering for two diaper caddies and I am so glad we did because we use both daily! Since Chase isn’t sleeping in the nursery yet, we set up a little changing station for him in our bathroom and the diaper caddy keeps everything organized! We have another well-stocked diaper caddy on hand in our family room for downstairs daytime diaper changes. (We have this caddy upstairs and this caddy downstairs. We wanted something that wasn’t too “baby-ish” for downstairs that would blend into our decor a bit better than most caddies we found and loved the basket look!)
This was a wonderful gift from Kelsie that I absolutely love! I don’t have the need for a giant diaper bag just yet since Chase doesn’t need a ton of stuff at this age, nor are we going that many places right now, but this portable changing station is perfect. It’s small and lightweight and can easily be tossed in a tote or clipped onto the outside of a purse or stroller. It makes changing diapers on the go a breeze!
When I asked friends for car seat recommendations, the only car seat everyone seemed to have and recommend was the Chicco KeyFit 30 car seat. When Chicco reached out to me and offered to send me their Bravo travel system, I was so excited since it was already on my radar, so I graciously accepted and we could not be happier with it! Chase seems comfortable in the car seat (he passes out every time we take him in the car!) and I love the way it easily clicks in and out of both the car seat base and the Chicco Bravo stroller. We have been loving our Bravo stroller for daily walks! It is smooth, sturdy and easy to push. Plus, I love the way it holds a ton of stuff since I usually pack the stroller with everything we might need or want while walking outside.
This is another product I mentioned in a Things I’m Loving Friday post, but I have to include it on this list as well because it’s one of my favorite baby-related purchases to date. The salt lamp emits a warm glow that isn’t harsh, making it perfect for quiet nighttime feedings. After Ryan and I struggled with way-too-bright lights during nursing sessions at night, I ordered this lamp from Amazon and it has made a world of difference. I swear it has helped keep Chase calmer during evening feedings (most nights at least!) and it isn’t nearly as intense when we turn it on since you can easily choose the level of brightness thanks to the dimmer switch.
We received a good amount of burp cloths from friends and family and use a bunch for all different reasons every day. My favorite burp cloths have been the Burt’s Bees cloths we received from our friends Eric and Amanda, as they are a bit wider than others and also quite soft! We’ve actually used them as teeny blankets to put over Chase’s legs on a walk when it was a bit breezy but still too warm for a blanket.
My mom brought this one home from Marshalls early last week and it has been fabulous as a downstairs changing station. I think it’s meant for co-sleeping, but we love it as a place to put Chase down to change his diapers! We can easily bring it all over the house since it’s lightweight and the soft, neutral green color doesn’t make it a total eye-sore. Plus, it plays music and womb sounds which Chase seems to enjoy when he’s not super fussy!
Question of the Day
- What were/are some of your newborn baby favorites?
- Was there anything in particular that you used all the time that you felt like made a big difference when caring for your little one?
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Coconut or olive oil are usually pretty good at getting sticky butt paste and desitin off your fingers after applying!
Awesome tip!! Thank you!
Actually, coconut oil makes a great diaper cream itself! Also good for baby exzema.
i’ve heard great things about the breast friend but i always used a boppy and thought it worked fine 🙂 i loved an activity gym for william – it was perfect for several months… for when he could just lay and look up and then when he could start reaching and eventually rolling 🙂
here is my list of items we love!
http://thespottedbulldog.blogspot.com/2015/08/products-we-didnt-know-wed-love.html
I am so happy you are able to share with us– I am 29 weeks 🙂 This is my first, so I am not sure what my go-to will be right now, but I loved hearing yours! And I just started the shower season! Hoping to keep the registry up to date with tips and advice from mommas, so I will have a go-to list after the showers (and hey for Christmas!) to see any necessary holes. Thanks so much and happy 3 weeks little Chase!
Congratulations to you!! You’re getting so close!
Sounds like you and Chase are all settled! I have a newborn as well and she loves to sit with me and bounce on my big exercise ball!
Ryan bounces with Chase on the exercise ball every day! He loves it, too!
No babies here yet, but my favorite gifts I’ve bought for friends were the rock and play and a little activity gym- friends have said both have gotten a ton of use!
My favorite item is our sound machine. Some nights I just couldn’t make my own SSSHHHHHH noise loud enough to calm him, haha. So I’d turn it on and put him right next to it. We’ve used the white noise since B was a few weeks old and we still use it at 9 months because it helps drowned out any background noise while he sleeps.
Also, he hated the bassinet when he slept in our room the first 8 weeks so he actually slept in his rock n’ play at night and transitioned to his crib at 9 weeks without any issue regarding incline. We did use a crib wedge when he first transitioned and also used soft crib sheets to help mimic the rock n play and we never had issue.
Crib wedge:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2401848&camp=PLAPPCG-_-PID3023743:BRUS&cagpspn=plab_3023743&eESource=CAPLA_DF:2401848:TRUS
Soft crib sheets:
http://www.amazon.com/American-Baby-Company-Heavenly-Chenille/dp/B008R5S8R2/ref=sr_1_sc_3?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1439820390&sr=1-3-spell&keywords=velor+crib+sheet
I ordered a sound machine bunny thing from Zulily and I’m still waiting for it to arrive! I hope is a good one!
Chase is so cute! Time is flying! My little miss is three months old now and it only gets more fun everyday! I know it’s a bit “out there” but you can use breastmilk for everything! Diaper rash, baby acne, nipple cracking, etc. it works well and quickly, is always on hand and you don’t have to worry about figuring out what all those chemicals in the store bought stuff really do. I usually just keep a little bottle of it in my fridge so whomever is taking care of the baby has access to it without having to bug you.
Chase just developed some light baby acne last week… I’m going to try the breastmilk thing!
You can also use hydro cortisone cream, we like Aveeno 1% once a day or .5% twice a day, per our ped. Not sure if you have a Nose Frida yet, i know it looks super gross but the first time Chase is congested and choking you will use it and swear by it. Definitely good to keep gripe water or some gas drops, general meds on hand so you don’t have to run out and get them when you have your first mommy panic due to a gassy/sick baby. Enjoy the baby stage because before you know it you will be chasing a toddler around the house! Congrats!
Those are some good items! As Chase gets bigger and stronger he’ll most likely be able to break out of the halo swaddles as well…when that time comes I highly recommend the woombie. It’s like a straight jacket that zips up and has a snap. They can’t break out of it and it can’t creep over their face which was reassuring to me. If he ends up being a swaddlE lover over night i think the woombie is perfect. My 4 month old just came out of it because she’s rolling all over now. She sleeps on her belly and seeks to be loving it.
I also loved my ktan baby wrap and My boba carrier. I’ve used both extensively for hands free carrying and my little one loves them. If we are out and about I can still get her to nap in them even though she won’t nap in her carseat anymore. The boba carrier is very similar to the ergo and is great for little hikes and neighborhood walks…also great for grocery shopping with her.
Glad you’re adjusting well and enjoying Chase!
When did you start using the K’Tan? I tried putting Chase in it last week but I dont think he’s big enough yet because I could not get him in a position where his chin wasn’t touching his neck…
I also have a K’Tand and started using it when my son was around 9lbs. It took a little practice to get him in a good position in there. Now I love it!
Yes! I’ll never forget going in to get my son from a nap, only to discover the Halo “arm” wrapped around his neck. I’ve never been so terrified. It went immediately I. The trash, and I never used it with my other babies. Be careful as Chase gets stronger!
Yikes! We used Swaddle Me and they worked well until my little guy could roll over.
What a great list! I swear by the Chicco KeyFit 30 too–such a good carseat 🙂
I loved having an activity play mat for tummy time & all that jazz. Cute diaper caddy, too, ps!
I love the Aden and Anis blankets! We also used our swing all the time with both kids.
With my second I always used a sound spa giraffe to help her sleep and that was fantastic.
My “baby” is 30 years old now … I don’t remember a lot but a basket of diapers, etc. was on each floor of our home, too.
I’m very happy for you and your family, and I have enjoyed reading your blog over the years. It is a little too baby-focused for me now, so I’m going to stop following. Wishing you the best of luck.
I’m sorry to see you go, Barbara, and appreciate your readership over the years. Thank you for following along! I totally see where your comment is coming from as baby stuff is definitely consuming my mind (and, therefore, my blog) right now since my life is revolving around our new baby. I am hoping to get back into the swing of sharing more food and fitness-themed blog posts as things settle down (and I’m cleared to work out again!) and as I have more time to do so. I’d love to see you back but wish you well either way!
My babies are 16 and 11 now, so I’m out of “baby mode”, but I am nevertheless thoroughly enjoying reading about this fun new phase in your lives! It brings back lots of memories for me. I like all the different things that show up on your blog! I can understand if someone isn’t interested and that’s ok, but I’m sure plenty of us would love for you to keep it coming with the baby updates and what your life is like these days! Thrilled that you and Ryan are doing so well and enjoying parenthood so far.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and for your support, Julie! I appreciate it very much!
Keep posting whatever you want about your beautiful baby. 🙂
I use the butt paste too and it’s amazing! We use Target brand unscented wipes and they are great at getting butt paste off fingers 😉 Plus, they are AWESOME wipes! I’m a new follower, but I love reading about your time with Chase. I have a 7 month old and it’s nice to reminiscing on the early days 🙂
My husband got me the My Brest Friend after our first daughter was born (he’s a great researcher and found it when we were having nursing problems). I always joked that I felt like one of those people selling popcorn and beer at baseball games if I’d walk around wearing it before or after a feeding. Now with baby two coming soon, I plan on using it again! 🙂
yes!! my mom and i are joking that i look like the shot girl at a bar when i wear it around the house! lol!
Chase is so adorable, and it sounds like you guys are doing great!!!
I loved this sound machine:
http://www.amazon.com/Cloud-Sound-Machine-Soother-Sounds/dp/B00IABHYV4/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1439825298&sr=1-1&keywords=cloud+b+sleep+sheep
I also loved the boppy lounger! I set it in the pack n play when I needed a potty break or to make dinner etc., and it worked out very well!
My swing came in handy for nap time or just when my daughter was fussy.
I like the butt paste, too, and I find a baby wipe works great to get it off my fingers. I also make my own homemade butt cream, and it is fabulous! It is just coconut oil, shea butter, lavender essential oil, and tea tree essential oil. It is great 99.9% of the time and gets rid of rashes. My daughter just had the worst diaper rash she has ever had, and I had to use the maximum strength Desitin (like 40% zinc or something like to) to make it go away. But for the most part, my homemade stuff is great, and it smells amazing so I use it on my hands too 🙂
BTW let me know if you would like the recipe for the homemade butt cream, and I can send it to you.
Hi Jillian,
Can you post your DIY recipe for the butt paste!?
Thanks!
I was JUST thinking I needed to switch the lightbulb out of our nursery lamp to something a little dimmer! I’ve also registered for the boppy lounger and brest friend, so hopefully we can snatch those up before baby girl gets here!
I am nowhere near baby time, but this was still fun to read ! (for future reference? 😉 ) Also for Ryan, in reference to the Butt Paste dilemma, OIL, of any kind (olive, sunflower, canola, coconut..) can help eliminate oil based products from the skin 🙂
Babies4Babies is a great company to get involved with and to order swaddles from! For every swaddle you purchase, 4 life saving antiseptic treatments are funded for 4 babies in the developing world. Really great company started by a Chicago mom.
http://babies4babies.com/
Thank you for sharing this site with me! Sounds like a wonderful company!
How is this little sweetie 3 weeks old? I swear you had him yesterday!!! 😀
We loved the Halo Sleepsacks when Mackenzie was a newborn, they were the only swaddles she couldn’t maneuver her way out of! I have that same exact portable changing station, and I LOVE it! As she’s gotten a little bit older, I also love wearing her in the Baby K’Tan – it’s made grocery shopping SO much easier!
I loved my Breast Friend! I also loved sleep sacks and the Happiest Baby on the Block. The dvd seriously changed me and my husbands life and we saw a huge difference in our daughters sleeping patterns! I highly recommend it!
I had to laugh when I read your comment about Ryan not liking the butt paste because it was hard to wash off his hands. I feel the same way! (But man does that stuff WORK!) The swaddleme swaddle was great when my nephew was teeny tiny. 🙂
I’m so glad you’re liking the portable changing station!
(Thanks for the blog link by the way!!) 🙂
My son used the Keyfit 30 for almost a whole year! It was so great to bring him in and out of the car when he fell asleep on a drive. We’d just put the whole carseat in his room with the door closed until he woke up! My biggest life saver was definitely his bouncer – a lot like the rock n play, I think. The only benefit the bouncer offered that (I don’t think?) the Rock n Play doesn’t is it’s small enough to kind of tote around – every morning and every meal for the first 4- 5 months I would put him in his bouncer on the kitchen table. He was “part of the action” and close by, plus I could sit on my laptop and bounce him with a finger if he was asleep and/or cranky!
I loved my rock n’ play! It was such a life saver 🙂
Wyatt loved his swing! I would put him in that alot when I needed to do something like laundry or cooking since he didn’t like to be in the baby carrier. We also used SwaddleMe for his first 3 months, it was a lifesaver! Trying to swaddle yourself is not easy… even though the nurses at the hospital always made it look easy.
Yes, to the Salt lamp! I got it as a registry gift myself and it was so helpful those early days when I was figuring out nursing and the little needed help latching at night. Apparently it purifies the air too! 🙂
When my kids were in diapers a few years ago, I had a friend suggest to use the back of a small plastic spoon to apply butt paste. It worked beautifully! You just squeeze some cream onto the back, and smooth it onto their hiney. Your hands stay cream free, and it goes on seamlessly, almost like icing a cupcake. 🙂
I would keep the spoon in a plastic bag with me when we were away from home, so I could keep one on hand. Or, I found putting the cream onto a baby wipe, and wiping it on them worked well too.
So smart!!!
We just use q tips at my house to apply the butt paste. They work great!
We have a rock n play and used it plenty for the first 3 months…and we haven’t used it since. Now that our daughter can roll and actually ‘play’ she hates being in it! I hope you update this list in a few weeks/months since you may find that things that work in the first few weeks don’t work later on!
We also have a swing we used maybe 10 times 🙁 sometimes I feel bad for wasting money on things we needed for such a short time. I will definitely do things differently for child #2.
I am loving all your posts about baby Chase. He is sooo adorable and I love that you’re sharing all this with us. So fun! 🙂
I know this isn’t totally related to the products you were mentioning, but when Chase is a little older, you should totally check out http://www.monkisee.com.
When Chase is around 3 months, these will be perfect for him. MonkiSee makes educational DVDs for babies that are entertaining. They’re great for introducing your baby to ABCs, colors, shapes, and also providing you with time to get a workout in, cook, or whatever you need to do with a quick 30 minute break…
Anyway, love your posts and look forward to seeing more of cute Chase. God bless! 🙂
I got the k’tan at my shower and ended up returning it for the solly baby wrap which I love way more! The k’tan confused me but I tied the solly wrap right the first time after watching the instruction video. Highly recommend it if you end up not liking the k’tan 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
My sister is having her first baby in a few months, recommendations from someone in the know is always helpful in knowing what will be useful to get her 🙂
Thanks for sharing! As a soon to be first time mother I love hearing about your journey and product recommendations!
So glad you like them! Thank you for commenting!
I love these baby posts! Mine is just about three months – these early weeks do go fast. I think it’s all of the lack of sleep. Right from when he was born mine hated to be swaddled. We bought a bunch of zip up sleepers, he loves them. They also make those 2am diaper changes a lot easier. No snaps to undo. We also use animal pelts to lay him on. He really likes the extra softness.
Be careful of the Halo swaddlers! I used them with my baby (now 6 months old) until I found him with the arms covering his face. I tried to make it tighter but it just kept happening and I couldn’t handle the worry. I got rid of all my Halo swaddles. On another note, our boy LOVED his rock n play. We, too, tried to keep him in a bassinet at night but he wasn’t having it. Eventually we caved and let him sleep in the RNP at night and we all slept sooooo much better. The transition to the crib was rough but once he learned to roll to his tummy, he was fine in there.
Love to dream swaddles http://www.lovetodream.com.au/?DocPath=online-shop/swaddleup-stage1/& were our lifesavers, they calmed our baby down right away and we used them for naps and nighttime the first 4 months or so. The arms up position is a natural one and our baby loved it. The other thing that worked like magic was the hug a bub wrap. Our baby loved to be walked and close to me, he hated the pram so this was wonderful and I am now a full on babywearer, it’s wonderful! Your bub is gorgeous, congratulations.
Aiden and Anais cloths are the best! A little tip – because they’re made of muslin and are breatheable, they’re also great to put over the car seat or stroller to protect baby from the sun or to cut some stimulation and create some darkness for baby to nap.
My newborn essential is the book The Wonder Weeks. Like you, I read a lot before having the baby but this book really helped me understand why my usually mild tempered son would go through days of inconsolable crying, clinginess, etc. So far, any time I’ve seen a change in the pattern of his temperament it’s coincided with a wonder week! Nice to know what’s going on in those little minds, and that I’m not the only one going through it!
Coconut oil is hands down our favorite go to for diaper rashes and dry skin issues!! We also cloth diaper and honestly I think that is my favorite product for ‘caring’ for my son. It saves money, is so great for the environment and is 100% easier than I thought plus who doesn’t love seeing a little fluffy baby bum?!?!
I used pretty much all the mainstream diaper rash creams out there and for my kids, the Triple Paste works best. My kids go to daycare and that was recommended by the other moms and the daycare folks too. Just throwing that out as an option if the Butt Paste isn’t working as well. Triple Paste is more expensive, but I think it’s worth it when it’s a really bad case!
Loved the Rock N Play and LOVED LOVED LOVED Halo Sleepsacks!
Great list! I’m a new reader, congrats on baby Chase! I had to comment because I totally disagree about not letting baby sleep in the rock n play at night! If anything, I think it actually encourages baby to learn how to sleep in long stretches from an early age because they feel so cozy. Then once baby gets a little older you can move to the crib or cosleeper and for us the transition was a piece of cake with both kids. I tell all new parents that I have the rock n play to thank for my amazing sleepers!
I think one big thing missing from your list is a good baby carrier! I seriously couldn’t live without my Boba 4G carriers – I have two because I use them so much!
I packed a good friend’s son up for his “first day of school” (aka daycare) and his “backpack” was purely filled with booty paste and diapers. Though we had to tea his away from hi play gym. It’s a breeze! The little munchkin can play and learn for a while so that mom can get some work done across the day.
Thanks for the tips!!
Time flies when you’re having fun!!
Chase is adorable, congratulations! Our baby boy is 9 months old, time flies!!
Just so you know, (because I didn’t) that insert in the car seat is only when they are newborn. I used to stuff our little man in there and be all “why does he look so uncomfortable?!?!?!” Luckily I figured it out pretty quickly. Whoops! 🙂
I love the my brest friend pillow! I would suggest having at least 1 backup cover for spit ups and diaper leaks. Amazon sells just the covers. Glad you and your family are doing well!
Thanks for sharing! If you have any updated thoughts on what you wished you brought to the hospital or didn’t end up needing, I’d love to hear them. My bag is currently halfway packed… 🙂
I’m glad to hear you like the Bravo Stroller System. I have been doing my research and REALLY want that set for baby #3. I just wish it was a little cheaper. I’m glad to hear it’s good on walks. I do a lot of walking and want something that’s easy to maneuver.
I know this is quite an old post – but we are in the market for a new bassinet for Baby #2, as our family bassinet is being passed along to my sister in law. Did you just put the Summer Sleeper on the ground, or on a bassinet stand? Thanks!