Sweet Baby Cash is here! Born April 6th, he’s about 4 months old now and we have loved every second that has seemed to go by way too fast. Below is a list of game-changing (or at least very helpful) items that we’ve used since Cash’s birth. The new baby market, like so many others, plays on new parents’ emotions, trying to sell EVERYTHING imaginable. We’ve fallen for a few of those over the years, but as “third-time” parents, this time we decided to keep things very simple. So here is a list of the things we’ve loved, needed, and purchased out of necessity since our little soul joined us earthside. My hope is that it will help you sift through the fluff and get just what our little ones will benefit from without the excess. Sending you love in whatever phase of this parenthood journey you might be in!
Ok, FIRST, some resources for mama and dad. These are mostly focused on reading and preparing for what happens once babe is here (game changers for us):
- Eliza Parker: her focus on movement, crawling, and development without props has been amazing
- Aletha Solter: Aware Parenting
- Megan Garcia: First foods
- Ina May’s Guide
- Mama Natural’s Guide
- The Vaccine Friendly Plan
- The Aware Baby
- No Bad Kids
- The Whole Brain Child
- Last Child in the Woods
Note: I don’t know where this fits in, but I recently purchased an EMF blocking phone case. With the amount of time I spend working from home on my phone, I felt it was a good call to get a case that could at least reduce the amount of EMF coming from my phone. Bonus points for a case that covers my screen so I’m not constantly seeing when it lights up. WIN!
Wear:
The Moby wrap was my FAVORITE for the early weeks. He’d sleep for hours in there, and I loved having him sit snuggly against my chest. Also great for nursing on the go.- Once Cash hit 4 months, all bets were off, and we fell in love with the Ergo 360. Game changer. He can (eventually) sit forward, backward, on the front, hip, and back. I love it and always will.
- Note: We chose wearing Cash over a stroller or carrying him around in a carseat for developmental reasons, cost effectiveness, and convenience. We do love our Britax (and man did I research the hell out of carseats), but it stays in the car where it’s safe and sound and secure.
Play:
I am a HUGE advocate of allowing for independent play and for keeping toys and stuff to a serious minimum. Something I have learned over the years the hard way, lol. Even for our oldest we choose to gift him experiences over toys or material things. For that reason, this list is short, but I will be adding to it as he grows!
- Sophie the Giraffe – Yep, what they say is true. Worth every penny. So many long legs and a long neck for holding, nice little squeak, and non-toxic rubber for when everything goes in the mouth!
- Flap Happy hat – great for sunshine play! One of the free hats he will keep on his head ?
Sleep:
- Bassinest – This was so so handy in the first few months of life. Jag and Cash used this. Because it swivels up nice and close, it made the transition seamless and midnight feedings easy!
Teething necklace – Believe what you want- I think this works!- Dock-a-Tot – He’s loved this since the start, and it’s made travel and transferring from bassinet to crib easy peasy! Jag loved this too and it made sleep regression stages a breeze! I am a FIRM believer in the powers of the Dock-a-Tot!
- Dimmable one touch amber lights – These were a lifesaver for nighttime feedings. They helped avoid switching on overhead lights that would make falling back asleep hard for everyone, and they are easy to keep within arms reach. We had one in every room at the start.
- Blue blockers for mama – speaking of sleep and amber lights, these have been a game changer for me. Babe gets melatonin from mama’s milk, so if you can keep your circadian rhythms in a solid routine, it will help with sleep for little one. Enter blue blocker glasses. While these aren’t a miracle worker, and screen time is still screen time, they certainly help in those marathon nursing evenings, where a little tv or phone time is bound to happen. And now I use them for early morning work sessions to save my eyes and rhythms.
- Sheets and blankets – When he does transition to his crib, we LOVE the blankets and sheets from the Real Life Baby Shop. This shop is owned by a wonderful mama of her own two littles. Everything is sustainable and non toxic, made from bamboo, wool, or cotton!
- Mattress – We love this mattress and so did Jag. I did a lot of research and found it to be best for the price point with all of the eco-friendly, non-toxic qualities that are a must for us! When he’s big enough, we’ll likely just put this on the floor and have him sleep on that. I’ve been doing some reading on the benefits of having a mattress on the floor so kiddos can play independently when they wake versus needing mom or dad to get them out of bed. We haven’t done this before so I’m curious to see how it will work out. More on this to come…in another year or so 😀
- Organic muslin blankets – I love having these on hand for when it’s too hot or chilly out. I’ve used them with all my boys. In the early weeks, we had him in just a diaper always for skin to skin time, so as of now we’ve only used them with Cash a handful of times. Usually we just wrap one of these over us when he wanted to nurse in public but I am sure we will be using them a lot this fall and winter.
Nourish:
- Pump – I LOVE the NOKIRE manual breast pump. We got a Spectra through insurance, and I also have two Medelas. But I ended up buying this one online for nights when he started sleeping longer and I got super full. It’s a powerful little hand pump that’s SO simple to use and helped me avoid clogged ducts. It’s amazing how a little hand pump could fill multiple bags of milk (note: I had some oversupply issues, and I can only speak to my own experience). Also great to with you for a random date night or anytime you can’t nurse and need some relief!
- Milkies Milk Saver – I can’t say enough great things about this. It catches your letdown when the baby is nursing on the other side. I have saved SO much milk that would have been lost in a pad with this thing. It is the coolest!
- My Breast Friend Nursing Pillow– HANDS DOWN the BEST nursing pillow I’ve ever had, a Boppy has nothing on this!
- Como Tomo bottle – The bottle hasn’t happened yet, we are strictly nursing still. But I’ve heard great things about this brand and have one on hand if and when we ever need it!
- Pura bottle – We are all transitioning to Pura. I love that there is zero plastic and a straw bottle for little ones.
- Doidy Cup – Jag loved sipping out of cups from a very young age, I started him on a sippy cup around 6 months. This is where we started, but now he’ll go straight for my cup. I like to teach them to drink from a cup early so that we aren’t getting plastic kid cups with lids and straws when we go out to eat. I also like them drinking from glass or something non-plastic.
- Thorne Vitamin D + K3 – I take this 3x a day so that Cash can get it through my breastmilk. Vitamin is crucial for development and overall health.
- Thorne Prenatal Vitamin– I took this throughout my pregnancy and will continue to take it while breastfeeding.
Clean:
- Burp Cloths – These take the cake for us! Organic, simple, durable.
- Diapers – After some research, we decided to go with non-toxic, eco-friendly disposable, and Seventh Generation has been AMAZING. No leaks, no rash. WIN! We get them on Thrive Market for cheap.
- Water Wipes – We LOVE these. They’re great for everything and because they’re mainly water, I feel safe wiping Cash’s face. Perfect for travel when little one won’t get a bath. We used them a ton when out and about.
- Butt cream – I kid you not (knock on wood), not a single diaper rash thanks to this stuff!
- Diaper pail – We don’t use one, haven’t since Tyson was a baby! We just don’t see the need. We toss the wet diapers in the regular trash and the poop diapers in the outside trash, which also helps us in our efforts to avoid plastic as much as possible!
Clothes:
HAND ME DOWNS! Seriously, except for maybe a few outfits that you cannot help but buy because of the cuteness, save your money (We do love us some Finn and Emma). We have so many amazing hand me downs, and they grow SO FAST. We do buy a handful of onesies and jammies at each new growth spurt from Burt’s Bees Baby because their clothes are adorable, affordable, and organic!
Well, that’s all for now. I’ll likely keep adding, but at this point, these are things we’ve REALLY used and loved. I can honestly say there is nothing that is not on this list that we found we would have needed, and even some of these items are not necessary, just convenient. I hope this helps you mamas and papas out there. If there is anything I missed, comment below! Babies are simple. They need lots of love, listening, and snuggles. Not junk. Cheers for now. Love to you guys from our little family to you and yours!
