Well, we have almost made it twelve weeks.  This whole parenting thing is so much more than I ever thought it would be.  SO much more.  The highs and lows are so real and so much more powerful than I had ever imagined.  With each passing day, I become more and more thankful for the moments we share as a family and seeing how much Eleanor has changed our lives. We were definitely parenting newbies and we have had to redesign her nursery four times because it was absolutely not functional the first three times.  We have lived and learned a whole lot these last twelve weeks so I thought I would share some of the products that have helped save our sanity these first few weeks!

Bathtime

1. Baby Washcloths  This was one of the items I was ready to roll my eyes at that we added to the registry.  What on Earth!?  Can’t we just use regular ones??  WELL let me tell you.  Our little one will only bathe with one of these soaked with warm water on top of her head, belly, and feet.  And just TRY washing her with anything else.  Just try.  The addition of these cloths has made bathtime possible, even enjoyable.

2. 4moms Bathtub  Ok, so I will admit that I am still not totally sure how this tub’s bells and whistles work.  What I love about it is that it fits in the sink and now in the bathtub.  I think she is outgrowing it a bit because we have to plug up the drain in it so that she can really work herself down into the warmth of the water.  This girl HATES to be cold.

Diapering

3. Butt Paste  What I love is that it doesn’t smell and so far we have been rash free.  We’ve used the non-sensitive too and works just as well!

4. Honest Healing Balm  OK, this stuff must be made of unicorn tears or something.  It’s kind of on the pricey side, but I am ready to smear this stuff on my face.  Eleanor will scratch her face or develop a dry spot and we put just a dab of this stuff on and within the hour, nothing remains.  We will put it in her diaper area in the mornings and after bath if the area seems irritated at all.  I am almost to the point of  the “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”‘s dad and Windex with this stuff.  Anytime anything goes wrong I suggest using this stuff.  Sleep?  Put some healing balm on it.

Play

5. 4moms Rockaroo Again, this was something that my pre-baby self kinda had to laugh at.  And then the baby won’t stop crying and you set them in this and immediate cooing commences.  Worth every penny.  I also thought that I only needed one sleeper/play seat.  No.  You need one for every room unless carrying it from room to room is something you enjoy which you won’t when you have a baby in your arms.  Eleanor slept in this in our room until we transitioned her to her crib and now we use it as the downstairs seat.  Now that she is older she loves to sit in her Rockaroo and look at the lights and play with a few toys!

Sleep

6. We thought Eleanor didn’t like to be swaddled until we found these.  She would fight her way out of everything else and the blanket would be up around her face and then I wouldn’t be able to sleep thinking about it getting all tangled up around her.  We only put her in the swaddle when it’s nighttime (hoping she associates it with LONG sleep!  We also put on this lotion to help her sense bedtime).

7. Speaking of bedtime, E has been a pretty decent sleeper.  We turn on this sound machine at bedtime to the ocean sound and it also has a light projector.  So her routine is bath, lotion, swaddle, turn on machine, she looks at lights while I feed her, burp/put in pacifier, then I lay her down and she falls asleep watching the lights.  I have associated her sleeping habits to this exact routine and I had a small panic attack when the projector flickered the other night while I was feeding.  Turns out a sock just fell in front of it and I made a mental note to add this item to our must-have list as my blood pressure spikes at the thought of it breaking.

8.  So I was petrified that Eleanor was going to freeze to death in our house.  Not only do we keep the house pretty cold, it is also just drafty.  This heater has a crib sensor that turns the heater on and off to regulate the temperature of the crib so that the baby does not overheat.  I also selfishly love this so that when E wakes up in the middle of a cold winter’s night I look forward to getting out of bed and scurrying into her room because it is so warm and cozy!

Eating

9. These bottles have made it possible for me to switch between feeding methods and bonus: they are so much easier to wash than some other brands.

10. I’m actually really stumped as to what people did with their bottles before this product’s existence.  It actually makes me feel like my kitchen is still a place where we do other things than wash bottles and pump parts.  My cracking-off hands assume that I do nothing else, but at least the kitchen appears otherwise.

11.  Speaking of washing ALL THE BOTTLES, this soap is amazing.  I’m not sure about what other brands offer, but foaming soap is a must for bottles.  Otherwise, you will spend 2,397,986 hours trying to get all of the soap out of all the nooks and crannys.  No, thank you.

12.  When I was feeding E at the beginning and even now, it can be tricky to gauge when they are hungry or not.  The discovery that the pacifier can help a mama out has been amazing for both of us.  If she doesn’t take the pacifier (this is especially important for me at night) then I know she is hungry.  One tricky part is finding the right size for your baby…we have a ton, but the only ones we can get to stay in her mouth are the MAM newborn pacifiers.

Anything you would add to the list??  Would love to hear your thoughts on products we need for the next stint of this journey too!

Have a happy day, friends!
Erin