Stuff Newborns Like

Let's be real.  Newborns don't need much, no matter what the lady behind the registry counter at Babies R Us tries to tell you.  Aside from a milk source, diapers, a few blankets and onesies, and a place to sleep, they are creatures of basic needs.  Less is more.  At least that's what I'm trying to tell myself as we leave the newborn stage behind and enter the next phase of parental consumerism (read:  toys/jumpers/exersaucers/things with batteries.  Apparently we American parents are obsessed with over-stimulating our children).  That said, there were some real life-savers during those first few months, so let's discuss our seven faves. 

1) Moby wrap:  A blessing and a curse, really.  The blessing is that it's like holding your baby all the time -> happy baby.  The curse is that you now have two free hands and no excuse for why yesterday's dishes are still in the sink.  So beware:  Your baby might love this.  Mine did, which is why our house was spotless.  

Notcleaning

Evidence

2) Moses basket and rocking stand:  Loved that I could take the basket off the stand and carry her around the house if I needed to take a shower or get on the treadmill, which happened approximately once (the treadmill, not the shower.  Although some days it may have been hard to tell).  And transitioning her to a crib was easy - put basket in crib.  Done.

Baby in a basket.  Precious, no?

3) Chicco car seat and stroller frame:  If I could keep her in this car seat/stroller forever, I would.  It is lightweight, collapsable with one hand, and rides very smoothly.  I take it everywhere and have been known to push the limits of the under-basket storage at Target (who needs a shopping cart?  Maybe the lady with three gallons of milk schlepping down the aisle in her stroller frame).

4) Bebe Au Lait nursing cover:  All nursing covers are not created equal, my friends.  This one has a cute print, an adjustable wire neckline for peeking at baby, and pockets!  (Friend:  "What are the pockets for?"  "Me: ...")

5) Those long newborn nightgowns with the foldover hand cuffs:  I applaud any parent who could keep those teeny hand mitts on their child for more than 4 seconds, because I could not.  And since I could not have my baby's mug looking all scratched for her newborn photos, these gowns were great (also good for quick nighttime changes).  Just make sure to pull their hands out every once in awhile to remove the massive amounts of lint that they will hoard in their tiny fingers (Husband:  "her hand kinda smells like a belly button").

6) Snugabunny swing:  Oh my word, the swing.  Magic.  She spent pretty much every nap in this.  In fact, she's in it now...  You hear that?  Three hours of delicious silence, which I intend to make the most of by researching all 18 uses for Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps in between reading Sephora reviews.

Please unwrap my hands so I can explore my face with my tiny talons.

7) Boppy pillow:  A million moms have sung the Boppy's praises, so I'll keep this short.  It accompanied us during every single feeding for the first three months.  A good tummy time trainer.  Your baby will like it.  If not, it doubles as a neck pillow on long flights. 

Hold that head up, gurl.