Baby Sleep & Must Have's

I am clearly beside myself.  I GOT 7 STRAIGHT HOURS OF SLEEP LAST NIGHT!!  I haven't had that since she got here...or wait, since the 2nd trimester.  ha.

I decided to follow my mom's and aunt's advice and do a little pre-bed bathtime routine with her last night.  Around 8:45, we did a bath with the lavender sleep baby soap, dried her off, diaper, lavender lotion, super cute cheetah print night gown :>, fed her.

She then went on to sleep a glorious 7 hours from 9:45-4:45.  In her room!  She was in the Fisher Price rocker but still.  I also moved a lamp into her nursery so that it wouldn't be so bright right before bed...I wanted to her to be calm and get sleepy!  I turned on her Jewel lullaby cd as well and she fell asleep with it still playing.  I'm so doing this again tonight!  Maybe we have a  winner :-)  It was kinda nice for me too.  It gave us both a calm, soothing way to end the day and I enjoyed feeding her while listening to the music.  I told Ryan this last night and feel kind-of silly for saying it, but I just am starting to love her even more.  She's becoming my little buddy that I get to hang out with.  She even had her first trip into Ulta yesterday ;>

I've been promising my friend Amanda that I would do some preggo related posts on registering, what I've liked/used the most so far, and also what I packed for the hospital.  So here is my first post on the baby items I'm loving these days.  My "must-have's" if you will.

1. Fisher-Price Newborn Rock & Play Sleeper



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We have LOVED this thing; Karlyn has slept in it since day 1.  We started out using it right by our bed for the first few weeks but then moved it into the living room so we could sleep a little without hearing every little baby sound she made.  It rocks (obviously) but what I love is that it's super light and can be transported anywhere...even to Grandma's.  It's the perfect position for her to lay in and while we don't really use it during the day anymore, it's been sooo great at night.  You can get this at Babies R Us or Buy Buy Baby...use a coupon and I think you can snag it for around $40.00.  Ours was a gift from my sweet co-worker!

2. Boppy



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I use this to feed K all day, every day.  Its taken up permanent residence on our couch, along with a burp rag.  She can also lay in it for a few minutes while I run to the bathroom or go in the kitchen.  It's soft, comfy, and I have two different covers I can alternate between.  DO buy an extra cover so you can wash one while using the other.  I like my soft pink fleece one the best!

3. Circo Receiving Blankets



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I think this is the brand they are?  Anyways, some light, soft receiving blankets are super.  We use these to swaddle her up at night to sleep and have also done this from day 1.  They showed Ryan how to swaddle her in the hospital and he showed me.  She loves being all snuggled up and though I'm pretty sure she's going to outgrown the blanket in the near future, they have been absolutely wonderful.

4. Plain white flat fold cloth diapers



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While the cutesy burp cloths are adorable, these are your go-to best bet.  I love the plain white cloth diapers for burp rags.  Karlyn doesn't spit up a lot but you'll find yourself grabbing these for any and all spills, messes, and baby projectiles. :-)  I've heard you can dust with them later too.

5. Breast Pump



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I have the Madela Swing pump, pictured above.  If you're planning on nursing, I would highly suggest getting one of the Madela pumps.  This one is light, easy to use, and although it's a single, it is electric, and really doesn't take that long to use.  Madela's are supposed to be the best and they say with pumps, you get what you pay for! I got mine off Amazon.com for $30 cheaper than at Target.

6. Swing

 Ryan's mom got us this swing at Kid-t0-Kid so you can get them used!  We would be LOST without a swing.  She takes several naps in hers every day and the soothing rocking motion is what does the trick :>  Totally worth the $10 size D batteries.

[caption id="attachment_1844" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="My Sweetie :)"][/caption]

 

7. Sound/Noise machine



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I can't find the one we have but it's from Target.  These things are great.  Ours plays music and has a variety of sounds you can choose like static, white noise, or a heart beat.  They have put K to sleep a couple times and I let her listen to the music during the day sometimes.

8. Zip-up sleepers



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I LOVE these for sleeping!  I'm sorry but who wants to mess with snaps in the middle of the night.  Zipping is easy and quick!  Well as quick as it can be at 2:00 am.  Have several of these on hand in a few sizes.  Karlyn is out of her nb's now and into 0-3 months.

9. Thin baby washcloths

  

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I love the thin washcloths.  At first, I thought why wouldn't I want the nice thick plush ones?!  But the thin ones are great for getting between baby fat folds :> and especially for cleaning out gunked up eyes.  The thick ones are good too but honestly for bathing, I just suds her up with my hands right now!

~I would say these have been our go-to items that we have loved and used the most.  Of course there are a ton of other useful things and necessary baby gear like a:

-Car seat and stroller

-Baby bath tub!

-Pacifier and pacifier clip

-Pampers diapers and wipes!

-Onesies

-Diaper Bag

I'm sure I could think of more but it is 7:05 am and I've been up since 4:45...AFTER 7 HRS OF SLEEP!  Just had to throw that in there again :)  Amanda, and all my other expectant friends, I hope this is helpful!  I really don't know anything or what I'm doing, but these are the items Ryan and I have found to be useful. 

**Moms, what are the baby items you can't live without?  What am I missing?**