My Baby Survival Kit

Being a new mom is kind of like a slap in the face. You have no idea what to expect until the baby is there. I thought I'd share some products that came recommended to me that I will now sing high praises to all the live long day. They made those hard days a little easier. Some of these are only valuable for months 1-3, like I mention below, but for me months 1-3 were the hardest so far. Hope this helps someone else!

1. Miracle Blanket This swaddle blanket lives up to its name. It's basically like a baby strait jacket. I couldn't quite get down the swaddle with a regular blanket-she always broke out- but once I learned how to swaddle her in this blanket-there was no breaking out! We have 2 of these and they really helped her sleep better.  Also according to dr. karp he says some parents think their babies don't like to be swaddled, but they may just not be swaddling right or not tight enough, and I felt like with this blanket I at least knew I was doing it "right". It got the job done!

2. The Happiest Baby on the Block I can't recommend this video/book enough. It was recommended to us by several people and those "5 S's" really saved our lives. It was amazing to see how once we were doing all 5 S's Lucy would calm down. They really only worked for the first 3 months of her life which they say is the "4th trimester". I also would also say just watch the movie instead of the book. At least thats what we did :)

3. Solly baby or any wrap. LIFESAVER. Every time I leave the house with Lucy I make sure I have the wrap. If I'm out and she needs to sleep or needs to be lugged around I put her in this. Sometimes when I'm at home and can't get her to sleep I'll put her in the wrap and I swear it's magic. Sometimes it's the only way to get anything done. I wear it to church and I've worn it on every plane trip with her. It's also the product I get the most questions on. Especially traveling-people are fascinated by this thing. It is worth every penny. I have 2 and want more...but i have problems sooo... ;) I recently found a cheaper alternative though called Happy Wrap. And I've seen people use these till their kid is 1.

4. White Noise Lite app and/or Munchkin Nursery Projector and Sound System One of the "5 S's" you learn in Happiest Baby on the Block is to "shush" or basically have white noise. The first day she was born we used the app in the hospital and it's honestly amazing how the noise would calm her down. It was convient for us to have it on our phone bc we could use it on-the-go. I know it was annoying to some people-as we'd have it on while driving in the car-but what's worse-a baby screaming or some white noise??! We also got this white noise machine and now we really only use it at night. The machine plays 6 different white noises and has a projector or images onto the ceiling and can be voice activated so that's cool. We still use it every night to help her sleep better. I'm a believer.

5. Rock 'n Play I lucked out and got a hand me down rock 'n play fo' free! And i'm so happy I did bc they are awesome. Our bedroom is so teeny tiny that I couldn't really have fit any type of bassinet in there if I wanted to. So Lucy slept in this from months 1-3 and it was perfect. I could rock her while lying in bed half asleep and she was right next to me. Now I put her in it while I'm taking a shower so I can keep an eye on her. I loved it. Plus they're small and portable. Win-win.