I’ve been guilty of not keeping up with this blog while I was pregnant. To be fair, there are lots of other things I didn’t keep up with either: shaving my legs, doing laundry, eating things other than Kraft Mac & Cheese, and getting around to washing that oily spot off my back seat from a pourable candle that melted last summer. So this blog really isn’t that special in that regard. That spot is still on my back seat and here I am, writing a post. Blog: 1, Oily Spot: 0.
That said, my little bundle of joy is coming up on six weeks (where has the time gone?) and today I’m going to discuss STUFF. We got lots of stuff at our baby shower. We got lots of stuff from other people. We got lots of stuff ourselves at a baby consignment sale inside an old Kmart over the summer. We got stuff. But what stuff have we actually used? In no particular order, here are 5 things that have kept us sane for the past six weeks.
1. Graco Simple Sway Swing – $79.99
I wasn’t 100% sure we needed this swing. We put it on our registry after a friend told us that she wished she’d had one for her little girl. And if we hadn’t received it as a gift, I’m not sure we would have shelled out for it. Friends, this thing is a magic-maker. It is a maker of magic and a calmer of babies. My son would starve slowly in this swing if it meant that the swing kept swaying and the babbling brook noises kept playing. The swing has 6 swing speeds (we’ve only made it up to level 2) and a choice of music or nature sounds. It also has a vibration setting that we have not tried yet because we don’t have any D batteries. Who has D batteries just hanging around? AA? Sure. AAA? Maybe I can take them out of the remote. But I haven’t had D batteries at the ready since I upgraded from a CD boom box to a ‘shelf system’ in the ninth grade. Regardless, I’m sure when we get around to popping those suckers in, it will only make the whole package better. One down side? This thing is enormous. You’ll need some floor space for this bad boy but if you can swing it (get it?), it’s worth the lost space.
2. Snuza Hero – $119.99
The Snuza was not on my baby registry. I hadn’t even considered it. I did have an Angelcare baby monitor on the registry (which we received) but I hadn’t thought about the fact that we would be sharing our room with the little man for several months before moving to a larger crib. The Angelcare monitor is pretty major for a small cradle in our room. But the fear of SIDS is goddamn real and I spent a lot of time watching his chest rise and fall while he slept (and I should have been catching some precious Z’s). The Snuza is a little gadget that clips onto the waist of baby’s diaper and monitors the rise and fall of the tummy. If it doesn’t detect movement for a few seconds, it vibrates and makes a small beep. If there’s still no movement, an alarm goes off. The first night we used the Snuza Hero, I woke up and realized that I’d been having a dream. A dream, y’all! That requires you to actually fall asleep for a certain amount of time. Which I had not been doing. For days and weeks. This ain’t cheap and I know this bug might not save my baby if the worst happens. But it does make me feel a little more secure when I close my eyes at night and that is priceless. As a side note, we used a 20% off coupon at Buy Buy Baby so it was a little more affordable.
3. Dohm White Noise Machine – $49.99
There’s a reason that everyone recommends this and that reason is that it is awesome. This little machine is shaped like a weird food steamer for a reason. You can slide the top and the sides to create any variation on white noise that you like. Then you can take that variation and make it soft or loud. Prior to unpacking this white noise machine, we were streaming a three-hour relaxation music video on YouTube (find it here, it’s amazing and will always remind me of those first few weeks) all night long. Baby Boy loved it but he also really loves this white noise machine and we don’t need to restart it every three hours. It also helps mom and dad sleep. WINNING.
4. Boppy – $29.99
There is a debate out there, friends. A debate I never knew existed before I had a baby. One that has loyal followers and defenders that will go to the mat with their opinion. That debate is between Boppy and My Brest Friend (yes, you can giggle at the name). The Boppy is a kinda firm, horseshoe-shaped pillow that can be housed in a variety of fashionable slip covers. For breastfeeding, the Boppy is meant to go around your waist and support the weight of the baby while you do your thing. The Boppy can also be used for tummy time, lounging, and for me, to sit on after my tailbone took a beating during delivery (seriously ouch). My husband uses the Boppy to keep our little one snuggled in while he reads or plays video games. I used my Boppy in the first week or so after I got home, but kept having a problem with my little guy slipping between the cushion and my belly. I felt like I was constantly pushing him back up. So while the Boppy has its merits, I eventually found myself moving on to the next…
5. My Brest Friend – $44.99
The My Brest Friend was not originally on my registry because I thought I’d be a solid Boppy lady. But after visiting the lactation consultant at the hospital (seriously, if you have problem with BFing after going home, VISIT THEM) and trying one out, I asked my husband to pick one up for me. In realness, the MBF (I can call it that because we’re tight) is kind of an awkward setup that involves strapping a foam pillow to your waist. This made getting up after feeding my newborn a little more difficult because I had to navigate removing the pillow (which goes around your back) and getting the little guy to his final destination in the crib while he slept. My husband would often have to get up and make the move for me as I sat helplessly inside my foam prison. But it was way more supportive than the Boppy. Little Man didn’t fall between me and the pillow and each side of the MBF has a slightly raised bump for extra support. I haven’t used it as often in the last week or so because I’m trying to train myself to hold the baby in my arms while feeding him instead of depending on a pillow. You can’t bring a nursing pillow to the mall with you (well… you could…). But I do still use it sometimes when I’m really tired or having trouble supporting his ever-increasing weight.
It’s tough to suss out what you’ll actually need when baby arrives. Everyone has an opinion and honestly, most of them are kinda right. Sometimes you end up needing things you didn’t think you would (My Brest Friend) or hadn’t even considered (Snuza). All babies are different and all parents have different requirements, worries, and comfort levels. Read reviews. Ask your friends. Figure out what you think you might need and don’t be afraid to return things you realize you don’t. Example: we quickly discovered that our son doesn’t like to be swaddled with arms-in, so any arms-in swaddles we received went back. If you’re a parent, what items did you love? Any that you hated? Feel free to share in the comments!