newborn essentials that make our lives easier

I can’t believe it, but we almost have a two month old. We literally knew nothing about babies before our own, and here we are! She is getting heavier and more playful by the day (it is amazing that super annoying toys and songs aren’t annoying when your kid likes them haha).

We’ve been living off of the suggestions of others, late night google searches, and text messages to friends: is this normal?? Through all of this, we’ve found these newborn essentials that have make our lives easier. As always though, what works for one baby doesn’t always work for another, but we’ve been really lucky with the presents and suggestions people have given us. I’m excited to share these with you and I think most of them make affordable baby shower presents!

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These newborn essentials have made life so much easier for us! They also make affordable baby shower gifts! | via Autumn All Along

NEWBORN ESSENTIALS THAT MAKE OUR LIVES EASIER

1 // My Breastfriend nursing pillow

This was recommended before I had my baby from a friend. Her lactation consultant recommended the pillow for nursing. Devin and I both use this pillow to rock baby, hold her, and it is really comfortable and easy to put on. We’ve kind of joked that it looks like we’re selling peanuts when it is clicked on us though 🙂 .

2 // Cuddlebug wrap

We were given this as a present and I love it! I’ll admit that I spent a month not using the wrap at all because I couldn’t figure out how to get it work, and even when I followed the directions, I didn’t feel confident about using it.

A friend here showed me how to use the wrap though and it made such a huge difference (so much fabric!)! This wrap is so comfortable, a great price, and baby loves being close like this! Devin was able to put the wrap on by himself once after just watching me do it.

3 // Infantino 4 in 1 carrier

This is a great baby carrier for the price! Baby carriers and wraps are one of those things that can get really expensive. Infantino carriers are easy to use, and I can easily put it on myself. This carrier is great for babies 8 pounds and up, but I will feel more confident using it more once baby’s neck is even stronger. Since I have learned how to use my wrap, I haven’t used this as much, but she loves being in it just as much!

4 // Boppy nursing pillow

This is another nursing pillow that we don’t use for nursing haha! We actually use the boppy as a baby lounger so she can sit up. She loves taking snoozes in the day in her boppy! Additionally, I’ve seen people use these for tummy time play for children a little older and it looks great!

5 // Portable mini fridge

Our bedroom and nursery are up a flight of stairs and our kitchen is on the main floor. It isn’t always convenient when baby is screaming to run down the stairs and come back up. Recently, I realized I could buy a portable mini fridge to hold milk! This has been a huge life saver for middle of the night feedings and keeps us from having to go up and down the stairs constantly. Bonus: we never have to worry about milk spoiling because it is sitting out now and this is portable in the car as well!

6 // Graco pack n’play

We have two pack n’plays, one in our basement, and one that we use all of the time everyday! We use this particular one as her crib and have it set up by our bed. We love this pack n’play because it is easy to adjust for height so we don’t have to bend over far to pick her up to feed her. Our baby also loves looking at the mobile on top.

7 // 10 piece toy set

We have been to many stores and baby toys are ridiculously expensive for what they are. This set of toys is a lot cheaper than anything we’ve found and it has a variety of toys. During the afternoon, we usually rotate toys to stimulate her or use them during tummy time to get her moving.

8 // Weather resistant car seat cover

Northern Virginia has snowed quite a bit since we’ve been here and it is WINDY. I asked around on facebook for suggestions on how to keep baby safe and warm and this was recommended by several people. This car seat cover is easy to use and it keeps me from worrying about her getting sick from the cold. I love it too because I’ve honestly just been missing outside and I could click her car seat on her stroller and go for a walk.

9 // Graco car seat Click Connect

I really love this car seat series; we also have the stroller that goes with it. Instead of having to take our car seat in and out of the car each time, all we have to do is press a button and it easily comes out. It really saves a lot of time. I love this too because we have a car seat dock in each of our vehicles which makes it easy to switch things out too.

10 // Baby bandanna bibs

These bibs have really helped with our baby’s drool rash! Plus, these bandanna bibs are just adorable.

11 // Wipe clean changing pad

There is a lot of cleaning with a baby and this changing pad is amazing. Instead of having to clear a sheet all of the time, I can just wipe it up. At $70, this was a big splurge for me, but when I thought of it as an investment since we will use it with multiple kids I went for it.

This changing pad is incredibly easy to clean up and we even end up using it sometimes for tummy time. It also helps that our kid really likes being on this.