Sloan is a few days shy of being a 5 month old! I figured before she was doing crazy stuff like sitting up and eating real food, I would reflect on her teeny baby phase and share the items I found most useful. I’m totes an expert now.

Honest Diapers | I must say these have the best absorption and least leaks. I have twice now found coupon codes for bundles (250+ diapers) making the price just as good as Pampers/Huggies, plus they are shipping right to my door.

Gerber Newborn Knit Burp Cloths | These are super cheap and extremely soft and absorbent. I wish they made them as blankets and sleepers and sleep sacks…etc. I always reach for these first.

Boba baby wrap | I have the Boba but really any wrap will do. Baby wearing is a great way to quiet a fussy baby and allows you to get something done, like pour a glass of wine. I am contemplating the Ergo baby carrier…anyone have thoughts on this they would like to share? Better than the Baby Bjorn?

Sound machine | Sloan is an excellent night time sleeper and I think part of that is because we have instilled a pretty strict bedtime routine since day one. It is the only real routine we have established so far, but it seems to be working. I only play the sound machine at night and I think she associates it with bedtime. Plus since we have a teeny tiny house it helps drown out some of the noise we make until we go to bed. We start bath time around 7, then jammies, then food, then bed. Snoozefest. She usually wakes up somewhere around 630-7am.

Dr. Brown’s Bottles & Bottle Warmer | Sloan had some mild reflux and after trying a couple other bottles, I really found these to result in less gas. Since I had to exclusively pump, the bottle warmer was a life saver.

Fisher Price Rock N Play | When every single other one of these lists features a Rock N Play…just buy it.

Stroller | Strollers vary widely and I ended up with the Baby Jogger City Mini GT for several reasons. I call it an all-terrain stroller as it can be used on most any surface. It is not a true jogging stroller in my opinion, but guess what? I ain’t jogging. It is insanely portable. With one pull it collapses and I can transport it between home and the grandmothers’ houses with ease. Most any car seat pops in with an adapter. It is relatively small which is a huge factor for us since we keep it in the house (and often stroll her around inside when she is fussy). It was a reasonable price…not the cheapest but definitely not the most expensive. Plus it came highly recommended by mom friends and friends of mom friends. My best advice is to think about what you really need it for and go from there, and also to try it out in the store.  The Wise Baby blog is great for when you are trying to figure out what to register for/buy. There are tons of real moms with a lot of these type lists plus product reviews.

A pretty basic list but Sloan is a good and easy baby. One thing I will add is an iPad…and from there a Netflix, Amazon Prime, and/or HBOGo subscription. Feeding/pumping can get pretty boring especially in the beginning because you are doing it so often and having something to watch helps pass the time. Something else I will add is have some professional pictures taken. I know it is another expense, but this time when they are tiny just FLIES by and while our phones capture a lot of everyday life, it is nice to have real photos. This is one thing I didn’t do for newborn Sloany but luckily my amazing friend Meredith, who did my maternity photos, came to visit when Sloan was about 4 months old and took some pics. Hooray! Ok, lastly I recommend subscribing to Lucie’s List and have some friends/family you can ask for advice. It has definitely helped me figure things out along the way, and sometimes it is just good to be able to discuss the hardships of baby rearing!

What other go-to things have saved your sanity? Do tell.