Before Lyric was born and throughout her first few months, I feel like I was constantly scouring Pinterest to find what the "must have" items were. Having a newborn can be hard, so anything that would make it remotely easier for me was worth trying!
I feel like most of the lists that I have found have some pretty big items that aren't quite necessary. So, I decided to build my own list for what I feel like I could not live without for the first six months of Lyric's life. I'm already compiling a list for 6-12 months, but hopefully some find this helpful while researching what they should absolutely get their hands on!
1. NailFrida
These aren't just ordinary nail clippers. After getting Lyric home from the hospital, her nails were already so long! Our Pediatrician said, "You'll cut her and make her bleed, but don't worry. All parents do it!" So I was slightly terrified and determined to clip her nails (and only her nails). I opened these nail clippers, not thinking they were anything special, but they are so incredibly helpful. There is a "peep hole" so you can see exactly where you're cutting, to prevent cutting their sweet little fingers and toes.
2. Gripe Water
I was actually pretty surprised how many of my close friends hadn't heard of gripe water. My sister got us some gripe water for a gift & we used so many bottles of it. From about 0-4 months, Lyric was super gassy and the gas bubbles (and constipation) would hurt her so much. While using this natural Gripe Water, we could literally HEAR the gas bubbles popping as she swallowed it. It was nuts! I swear by this stuff.
3. Sleep Sacks
I don't know how people have babies that sleep without sleep sacks! Haha. They are lifesavers! We used a few different types of sleep sacks based on where Lyric was at in her development.
- Transitioning from Swaddling: We used this Halo Sleep Sack to transition Lyric from being swaddled to unswaddled. This was around the time she was rolling over. It was super helpful during the transitional phase because we would swaddle her with her arms inside for a few days, one arm out for a few days, and then both arms out for a few days.
- From 4-6 Months: After Lyric no longer had the startle reflex, we transitioned her to sleep sacks that zip with no velcro. This one is great for the winter, and this one is what we plan on using during the warmer months.
My former boss got this for us as a baby gift. While it's a little on the pricier end for a white noise machine, it is the best. I highly recommend it! It's pretty loud & has different adjustable tone settings. We love it and bring it everywhere with us!
I'm pretty confident that I'm not the only mom pretty paranoid about leaving my baby in another room, not knowing whether she's breathing, or okay, etc. The Angelcare Monitor will notify you if there is not movement in the crib after 20 seconds. There is also a sensitivity setting that will allow you to avoid 'misreads' on things like fans, a washer/dryer in the next room, etc.
I researched pretty heavily prior to having Lyric on whether or not we should invest in the Owlet Monitor or something like this Angelcare Monitor. Ultimately, we decided on this. It's cheaper, and you don't have to put anything on your baby at bedtime. My sister recommended it to me and she still uses it for her toddlers.
This is my all-time favorite blanket brand. The fabrics are so cute, but they are really really stretchy and soft, as well. By far the best swaddle blanket on the market! This one is my current favorite for a girl, and this one for a boy.
If you follow me on Instagram, you probably know how much I push this book on every mom-to-be. One of my biggest fears about becoming a new mom was the lack of sleep. I don't do well with no sleep - and I was already ready to sleep train my baby when she was 2 weeks old. That's not super realistic, Ha! But at 4 weeks, it sure is. I began sleep training Lyric at 5 weeks, and this book was a lifesaver. And it works!
Sleep Training is one of those things that I've gotten flack on over social media. For example: People jumping to the fact that I only have one kid -- and that it's not hard to train one kid to sleep train. I understand that having multiple kids could be hard, and I'm sure one day I will understand how hard it is, but I still stand by the fact that I worked very very hard to have Lyric sleep through the night each night. And I attribute her success to (a) my hard work and (b) this eBook -- not that she's an "easy" baby.
I think I would have died without my Boppy. My arm was constantly tired, I never wanted my dog or baby to accidentally touch my scar from my C-Section, it was so nice to have this while nursing and/or pumping, the list goes on and on and on. I even had a handful of visitors who grabbed this and used it while holding Lyric. This inexpensive item is a must-have!
These things are nature's miracle. Ha! Whenever Lyric is fussy and I can tell she is likely teething, I pop one of these in her mouth & it calms her down almost immediately. They're kind of magic. Also, you can use them every 15 minutes and they are natural! Win-Win-Win.