4-8 week baby faves

Gerber First Essentials Bottles: that’s right, baby, we feed our kid with the cheapest bottles on the market. You can find them in your local grocery store, the drug store on the corner and, or course, Target. We started off our bottle feeding journey with Madela bottles because they were the only ones we had at home (they came with my pump) but our Mom’s on Call program recommended the Gerber bottles and we haven’t looked back. The price point makes me comfortable enough to toss them in the dishwasher and if one bites the dust, then so be it. We started with the small sized bottles but have now graduated to only the big boy gallon size (jk).

Munchkin Formula Dispenser: oh holy hell, this thing makes formula feeding so easy. I always keep two of the three compartments full of formula and ready in my purse. I leave the third open because this is clearly an inexpensive product and I find that the seal on the compartment with the pop top for pouring doesn’t quite stay air tight. Two compartments of formula mean two feedings out of the house so I’m still thrilled to have it on hand. I keep an empty bottle or two in my diaper bag and I’m good to go.

Brica Baby in Sight Auto Mirror: So my kid vomits a lot. Fun, huh? Yeah, super fun, especially if he’s in his car seat and I’m cruising down the highway on my way to Starbucks. In all seriousness, it’s kinda scary to hear him spitting up while I’m driving and can’t immediately get to him. With the mirror tilted just the right way, I can obsessively stare at him and make sure he’s still cool. The remote on my visor controls the soft light (that is essential in the endless Maine darkness) and a couple of lullabies that the baby likes to scream over. Ah, parenting.

Baby Gap Zipper Sleepers: please tell me y’all know that you can buy sleepers that zip instead of button. Nothing is worse than a zillion buttons on a sleeper at 4am. Nothing. If you aren’t into the Baby Gap version, you can find zippered sleepers at Target and Babies R Us. I’m a big fan of the gender neutral Baby Gap prints and their sale rack is my jam.

Up and Up Unscented Wipes and Diapers: I should go ahead and say that I honestly think different brands of diapers fit each baby in a unique way. Some of my friends have found that the Up and Up (Target brand) diapers leak but I bought a small pack to try them out and haven’t had a single problem. We switched exclusively to the Up and Up diapers and unscented wipes. I like that I can always use the Cartwheel app for additional savings (and, let’s be honest, that I have an excuse to go to Target.)

Halo SleepSack: we started off swaddling in a traditional swaddle blanket, then made the move to the swaddle with snaps and finally progressed to the Halo SleepSack. I think the SleepSack may be the easiest to use of all of the swaddles. Someone at Halo got wise and put instructions – with pictures! – right inside the swaddle. I won’t lie, that makes things super easy in the middle of the night or for teaching grandparents how to use a swaddle. The SleepSack wins over the Aiden and Anais swaddle for me mostly because there are no snaps. It should be pretty clear by now that I hate the snaps. Instead, the wrap is velcro and sticks to itself. So, so easy.

Boon Drying Rack with Nipple Tree: I hate stuff piled up on my kitchen counter. Toasters, microwaves, paper towels? Nope, hide it. But all of those stupid bottles and nipples have to go somewhere to dry and I guess that somewhere is my kitchen counter. Thankfully, I don’t hate looking at the Boon drying rack. In fact, it’s actually kinda cute. The nipple tree is a mandatory accessory, so just go ahead and get the set.

Baby Einstein’s Neptune Ocean Adventure Gym: I wasn’t lying. This thing made my kid so happy. Honestly, we would let him play on it for as long as he would stand it because he just seemed so thrilled with the whole thing. He kicked his legs, watched the lights, smiled at the mirror and turned towards the music. For a four week old thats essentially the equivalent of getting into Harvard. I wanted one for every room in our house.

Motorola Wireless MBP33 Baby Monitor: I don’t know how new parents did it without a video monitor. Nothing made me happier or put me at ease faster than rolling over in the middle of the night, punching the camera button and watching my baby breathing in his crib. He’s currently 12 weeks old and I still do that. A lot. We chose not to upgrade to the more expensive version of the Motorola monitor that has a pan and zoom feature and, for now, we’re ok with that. I may feel differently in a few months when he’s much more mobile in his crib so I’ll keep y’all posted if I change my mind!

So there it is, the things we honestly couldn’t live without weeks 4-8.
Did I miss anything?

P.S. wanna see what got us through week 0-4?
check it out here