Hey y'all!
I'm finally in the fun stage of life where so many of my friends are pregnant and having babies! I love that they're coming to me asking questions for what we loved for E as well as parental advice for a newborn.
I thought I'd start a series on my blog of all of our favorite products with detailed descriptions of why we chose certain products and advice on things we'd do differently with our next baby! SO if you are pregnant, or have a friend expecting soon, I really hope you find some useful information and new favorites. You got this, mama!
If you prefer just a straight list, here's a link to my Amazon Storefront that has almost everything I'm mentioning here, and plan to mention in the future.
When shopping these links, I may earn a small commission from your purchases. This is no charge to you but helps me pay for all things texasweettea. Thank you for making my dream possible!
I also really recommend looking for things second-hand when possible! Most of the sleepsacks we got were thrifted or from GoodBuyGear. GBG is an online store where you can purchase thousands of baby items that are used, new, or even open box! If you use my link to sign up, you'll receive $25 toward your first purchase of $50 or more. (full disclosure, I'll also earn a $25 store credit - thank you for supporting me!)
Favorite Course: Karing for Postpartum + Bringing Home the Baby Bundle
Put this course on your registry!!! It is PACKED full of information for yourself AND your baby. My husband and I watched the video course during my third trimester, and it really made both of us feel more prepared of what was "normal" for a newborn baby. It also has tons of printables, so I made a binder to refer back to in the early days.
Karrie is a postpartum and neonatal nurse and a certified lactation counselor. She has 5 babies of her own and shares real-time her experiences on her Instagram account. If you don't have enough funds to purchase the course, give her a follow because she does share lots of great information for free as well!
Favorite Book: The Happiest Baby on the Block
I'm going to talk about the 5 S's a lot in this post because I swear by it! It's a method invented by Dr. Harvey Karp, and it freaking WORKS. I picked up a copy of The Happiest Baby on the Block at the thrift store while I was pregnant and read through it in a few days. I really credit this book to the reason I felt extremely confident in my calming abilities when E was born. My husband agrees that he felt way more prepared too! Basically, the method is to use the 5 S's when a baby is upset:
1. Swaddling
2. Side or Stomach Position
3. Shushing
4. Swinging
5. Sucking
I really loved our BassiNest when E was a super tiny baby! It was actually the first thing we purchased once I found out I was pregnant. We got it secondhand off Facebook Marketplace and
used this video to learn how to clean it. We did receive
the dreamweave mattress and
fitted sheets from our registry, but it was a great deal!
I liked that I could pull it really close to the bed, reach over the collapsible side when E wanted to hold my hand for comfort, and it can swivel as needed. We didn't really use the "extra features" like sound, vibration, night light, or timer.
If I didn't buy it second-hand, though, I would have been disappointed in its longevity of it. E was a pretty tall baby (98th percentile in height!!!), so he didn't seem comfortable in the bassinet for long. We moved him into the
pack-n-play bassinet insert by our bed around 1.5 months old. He seemed to sleep much better once he had room to move around!
In the toddler years, we decided to make a big purchase and get the
Newton Playard. I would 100000% recommend skipping the cheaper pack 'n plays for this instead if you plan to travel at all. The bassinet attachment is a separate purchase, so I can't speak to its quality. But the longevity of this product is much better than a regular playard. Since the mattress is on the ground, there's no weight or height limit. It's also a huge space so I think E will be able to use this for a very very long time when we continue to travel. I have even dabbled with the idea of purchasing a second one whenever we do have another baby because of how much we love it!
These
suction cup blackout curtains are one of the best inventions! We have two sets - one in E's room and one specifically for travel. They come with a storage bag so it's easy to fold up and put away. But they keep your room DARK, which has always helped prolong E's sleep, especially in new places like hotel rooms or when visiting family.
If you make the choice to sleep train,
this is hands down the book I recommend! She delivers information in a funny, realistic way that makes you feel confident in your abilities as a parent. I purchased the e-book format so I could highlight things I thought I may need to refer back to in the middle of the night instead of having to search through an entire book.
The
Hatch sound machine runs the show around our house. Another one of Dr. Karr's 5 S's is "shushing". We use the storm setting with no light for nighttime now, but when E was a fresh new babe, I liked having the red light on just a tiny bit so I could take quick peeks at him. It's also great for middle-of-the-night feeding sessions.
When E would be upset or fussy and hard to console, we'd turn up the sound machine pretty loud and snuggle him. It was seriously like magic. 90% of the time, the loud sound would help him break the spell, and he'd start to chill out.
We also have the
portable white noise machine in our diaper bag for naps on the go or for moments of overstimulation. During the newborn days, we'd use it in the living room for contact naps or fussy spells.
Make sure to download a decibel checker app, so you're not hurting your baby's ears. You can turn it up loud when they're upset, but make sure to turn it back down to 50 decibels (volume of an average vacuum cleaner or hair dryer) once they've started to calm. I swear sound machines are MAGIC, and I cannot stress it enough. If you buy anything from this list, let the sound machine be it!!
I had a lot of different swaddles on hand after E was born because I didn't want to be frantic in the middle of the night if he didn't like one of them. We tried the typical muslin blanket, hands up, hands out, alllll of the things.
Our favorite was the
Halo Sleep Sack because we could have his arms swaddled up so he could still touch his face but was snug on his arms to stop them from moving around. It was also great because we were able to transition him to no swaddle but still use it as a sleep sack around 8 weeks.
We also loved the
Happiest Baby Sleepea Sack Swaddle Wrap for a REALLY snug fit when he was upset and crying. Reminder: one of the 5 S's for calming a newborn is to swaddle. This specific one was actually created by the guy who came up with the 5 S's. It's almost like a straight jacket but it works for even the wriggliest of babies.
We did try the
Love To Dream Swaddle UP, where the baby has hands up, but E really liked feeling his hands on his face and didn't like the fabric. I know it's a favorite in many houses, though!
Kyte Baby now offers
a swaddler bag so I do plan to purchase one of those when we have baby #2. It has a Velcro closure and is fully removable once swaddling is no longer recommended.
We took
this pair to the hospital and LOVED them! They're so soft and stretchy. When you have a tiny new baby and they're sleepy, you want to make sure you have stretchy pajamas so that you're not having to worry about yanking their arms around.
Once he got a little older, we switched to
Little Sleepies. I'm not joking when I say he wore his 3-6 month size until he was 1.5 years old. They're convertible, so you have the option to cover your baby's feet and then eventually uncover them once they start crawling/walking. WORTH THE MONEY! Join the
VIP Facebook group for a discount code, plus early access to the drops and sneak peeks for upcoming prints.
One thing I recommend doing is keeping a small basket of baby pajamas next to your bed/changing area so in the middle of the night, you're not searching for a new outfit for baby if they spit up or blow out.
Another popular bamboo brand for pajamas + onesies is
Kyte Baby. We had a lot because of E's eczema but I will say that they stained really easily, which isn't ideal for baby clothes.
Honestly, I plan to skip out on all the cute outfits for baby #2 in the newborn days and just stock up on bamboo jammies. They're comfier and much easier to get on/off.
Every Day Essentials
I plan to publish a few more detailed posts soon about our favorite travel products, nursery pieces, and care items. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or want advice. I'm here for you!
xo,
Sarah
