Four months of motherhood under my belt and I could write a book on everything I’ve learned. It’s a continuous lesson and never a dull moment. I’ll start here with a simple blog post of the things I couldn’t live without… or at least the things that help keep me somewhat sane. “Must-haves” if you will. (If you have ANY questions, don’t hesitate to ask because I’m sure I’ll have some sort of opinion!)

Fisher Price Rock n Play vs. 4Moms MamaRoo

We have both.  For the first 12 weeks, Gus slept in our room in the Fisher-Price Rock n Play Sleeper. This sleeper was an absolute lifesaver for many reasons. First, it was so comfortable for Gus because it kept him tight and warm, like in the womb. With the simple press of a button, it would easily rock and play music for 30 minutes or 8 hours depending on the timer you set. Gus loves to spit up so the fact this is SO easy to clean made those mid-night cleanings less of a pain. The incline is a total bonus to help with reflux. It’s extremely light weight so we could carry it upstairs or downstairs, plus it folds up making it travel friendly. For a cool $70 bucks, it’s a no-brainer.

The MamaRoo is a pretty cool gadget but understandably so with a $249 price tag. While the motion sways in every imaginable way that a newborn would potentially love, it wasn’t a winner in Gus’s book. He never slept more than about 30 minutes in it, but he’d snooze for hours in the Rock n Play. I’m not sure exactly why he didn’t love it but when he learns to talk, I’ll ask him. 😉 Like I said, Gus spits up a lot so the flat bed with virtually no incline wasn’t good for the reflux. Also, it was a P.A.I.N. to clean. Impossible to get apart and beyond frustrating, especially with a messy baby screaming that needed my attention more than the spaceship Mamaroo did. With all that said, if 4Moms would create an adult human size one of these, I’ll be the first in line.

Kiinde & Twist Pouches

Hands down. KIINDE. If you plan on breastfeeding/pumping, you MUST invest in this. It’s $100, but usually on sale for around $80 and is the #1 thing I will recommend to any new mom. I am still exclusively breastfeeding (I don’t know when I’ll stop) and I owe 100% of it to the easiness of the Kiinde system. The system allows you to pump, store and feed breast milk in one easy pouch to eliminate the dreaded and risky transfer of milk. It adapts to any pump, the pouches are recyclable, and the nipples come in three sizes for an appropriate flow for your babe.

The fact I haven’t cleaned even one bottle in his four months of life is unbelievable. I clean my pump parts and one nipple per feeding and that’s it. SO SIMPLE.

John had six weeks off for paternity leave (wahoo!) so he usually took the night feedings while I pumped. It made the life of having a newborn much easier to be able to hand off the bottle and know Gus was still getting the necessary nutrients that come from breast milk.

I would reorder the Twist pouches from Amazon when I would start running low and by the time I needed more, they’d be on my doorstep! It was just one more benefit of this system. I seriously can’t say enough about the ease this brought.

Lily Jade “Caroline” Diaper Bag

I have the Caroline diaper bag in brown. It has a cute fringe zipper that makes me still feel like a stylist mom but it’s incredibly useful and organized with the compartments to keep me prepared for any outing. Plus, it’s not babyish or too girly that John feels comfortable carrying it as well.

UppaBaby Stroller

You  may think I’m crazy to say we spent $900+ on one stroller but this splurge was 100% totally well worth the hugh price tag. It’s even more embarrassing to admit the additional $600 we spent on the adapter for our car seat, the organizer and the additional seat still doesn’t make me cringe because this one stop shop stroller will function as a single stroller for Gus and will keep growing as our family continues to grow as we add more babies, God willing. Instead of purchasing an umbrella stroller, a running stroller, a bassinet, and other kinds of strollers, this one checks all the boxes!  Plus, it’s lightweight, EASY to fold up and is a dream to steer around. The ginormous extra storage underneath is an added bonus that I never knew would be so beneficial. We bought it in “Jake” which is all black to keep it gender neutral.

Chicco KeyFit30

John did research and research and research and found the Chicco Keyfit 30 to be the best and safest car seat. It’s lightweight, easy to install, SAFE and comfortable. Gus LOVES to nap in his car seat and I’ll admit to keeping him in it long after we’ve arrived back at home. An added bonus – it’s the #1 rated infant car seat in America! (hooray!)

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? Other must haves that I don’t know about?! Let me know!! XO