Registering was a daunting task. What do I really need for this baby? Well, four months in, these are the items that have been indispensable.
1. Aden + Anais muslin swaddles: I originally registered for these because they were cute, but I quickly found out they are the best swaddling blankets. Since they're thin, they're easy to wrap up your little baby burrito nice and tight without making them too hot or unwrapping as they wriggle around.
2. Nuk pacis: Preston is a paci man, and these are the ones my dental hygienist mom recommended. They're essential because, without them, crying chaos ensues, and nobody likes crying chaos.
3. Cloth diapers: These make thick, absorbent burp cloths. I got a ton of these, cutely embroidered by my mother-in-law and others — so many, in fact, that I joked that Preston would be taking burp cloths to college. But these are no joke, and you need a ton of them. Seriously.
4. Dreft stain spray: This removes baby poop from anything. I'm sold by that fact alone. We use it on all of our stains, even the non-baby related ones.
5. First Years infant-to-toddler tub: The best thing about this tub is the little mesh hammock it comes with — perfect for keeping a can't-be-submerged-yet-because-of-the-belly-button-stump baby in the water but not in the water. Once he could be fully in the tub, we still used it until he got steadier with his head control.
6. Fisher-Price Infant-Toddler rocker: Without this seat, I would have never showered, eaten or used the bathroom while on maternity leave. It's light weight enough to drag all over the house (which we do) and keeps Preston happy and within eye-sight. I wanted to start off simple, too, avoiding a swing or a bouncy seat until I knew who he was and what he liked, so I didn't buy something he hated. When he was smaller, it's vibrating feature would put him to sleep just like the car's motion does when we're traveling. Now, he's interested in the little creatures dangling above him.
Things I didn't need after all:
The Boppy pillow: I thought this would be a great dual use piece — a nursing pillow and pillow to prop up Preston. I never used it as a nursing pillow because I'm too short torsoed to make it work, and Preston hated sitting in it. I'm going to revisit it, though, now that he's a little bigger and can sit up a little better.
SwaddleMe adjustable swaddling blanket: I'd read that a tight swaddle would help a baby sleep because their movements wake them up. Well, to Preston, this was more of a straitjacket. He likes his hands out, so he would fight this until he was so angry and frustrated that it made going to sleep even harder. Even when I kept his hands out of it, he hated it. So, stick with the Aden + Anais blankets.
