Best Baby Gear 0-3 Months

The research I did before having my baby was all well worth it, but now that I have the experience of being a parent I have some new insight into the best baby gear for the first three months.  I've been meaning to post this list of favorites for awhile now so enjoy -- and let me know your favorites in the comments!

Best Crib
Fisher Price Rock & Play Sleeper

No crib needed in this house for the first 3 months!  I didn't purchase a bassinet either.  For the first 3 weeks my baby slept in a Snuggle Nest, and then she moved into the Rock & Play Sleeper beside the bed.  I was able to scoop her up and feed her as needed during the night, and gently rock her back to sleep when she stirred all from the comfort of my own bed.

I didn't end up using it for naps as I had planned, but I got more then my moneys worth for night time use!  More sleep for everyone is a good thing!  As an added bonus this sleeper is angled to help babies with reflux as well.

Best Sleep Aid

Halo Swaddle Sack

In those first weeks and months almost all I thought about was sleep.  You can spend a lot of money on sleep and still not get much with all the sleep aids out there, but there was one that I could not live without.  Swaddling was essential in getting my baby to sleep longer, and after trying many a swaddle blanket I finally settled on the one that worked best for us.  The Halo Swaddle Sack has the hook and loop closure to prevent escaping arms, along with a zipper that zips from bottom to top making night time diaper changes easier.  My favorite feature about this swaddle is that you can sleep baby with arms in or arms out.  Although we have not yet weaned baby from the swaddle, by the morning she sometimes sleeps better with her arms out after a long night of being bundled up.  That extra hour I can get with the arms out trick is a treat when it works.  I wanted organic cotton for sleep, but this design won me over so I ended up using this swaddle for the long run.  I also have a soft spot for the pink cupcake design.

Best Toy
Freddie the Firefly

I didn't end up buying any toys in advance for my baby which was a good call since newborns aren't too into toys in the first few weeks.  I won Freddie the Firefly in a contest, and I am so glad I did because he is still a favorite for my baby.  This toy is one that you can get a lot of mileage out of.

In the first weeks my baby loved the black and white patterns on the back of his wings.  As she grew she began to enjoy reaching for Freddie if he was hung from her car seat.  Then she progressed to smiling at herself in the mirror, and touching the textures on his body.  Now at 4.5 months he is still a favorite, but mostly for crunching and munching on his wings!

Best Stroller
Quinny Zapp Xtra

I just adore my stroller choice, and for entirely different reasons then I bought it for!  I went with the Quinny Zapp Xtra for a stroller choice because it was the only stroller I could find that would fit in the trunk of my beloved Mini Cooper without having to put the seats down.  A stroller that fits in your car is an important factor to consider when making a purchase, but my second criteria was I wanted a stroller that would last so I wouldn't be buying more then one for the life of my child.  This stroller is lightweight, and has 5 positions to grow with baby.  When my baby was born she wasn't a fan of her car seat, but she loved the flat bassinet setting on this stroller so it was a lifesaver for some early outings.  When she got to about 3 months old I started to use the partially reclined setting where baby faces me which is ideal for my child since she likes to keep Mom in sight.  All this in an adorable shade of brown.  Storage space is limited on this stroller, but I can hang my diaper bag over the handles so that is enough space for me!

Best Baby Carrier
Boba 3G

I planned on wearing my baby from the start, but I didn't realize how tricky it would be to wear a small baby.  She was born at just under 6lbs so I started in a sling, but soon realized that she and I were much more comfortable in a Boba 3G Carrier.  Lucky for us this carrier features a snap up newborn setting so I was able to wear baby from the beginning with her legs in a comfy froggy position.  Some days this was the only place I could get my sweet little one to nap and I wore her around the house doing my day to day tasks in the process.  On the weekends it goes on my husband for hikes, or trips to the grocery store.  I own 4 other carriers, and this one is by far my absolute favorite.  I cannot wait for the coming months when baby is old enough to try a back carry!

* This post contains affiliate links, but I was not paid by the manufacturer to review this product - I just like it! I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC's 16 CFR, Part 255. Images courtesy of Amazon.

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Fluffy Wonderful Organic Cotton Hats!

There is nothing better then soft organic cotton on a sweet baby.  With so many options to chose from I lean towards the realm of the handmade, and the talented Heather Meagher of Feathermar is one of my absolute favorite craftspeople with a knack for knitting.

Simple, soft and utterly delightful I slip one of the two of her hats in Molly's wardrobe over her adorable head frequently.  Unlike the commercially made hats we have tried, the softness of Feathermar's hats ensures a tear free hat wearing experience which means a lot to me as a new mother.

Another feature that I adore about these hats is the sizing.  With so many baby products I feel like I barely get a chance to use them before Molly has grown into the next size.  The hats are made for a 0-3 month old baby, but at 3.5 months they still look cute on Molly and have some stretch so I am going to keep them in my rotation as long as I can.

Moving my mind away from the cute to the practical aspects of this hat I must mention that it is made with organic cotton.  Cotton is one of those fabrics that is so much a part of an American wardrobe experience, but is also grown using many harsh pesticides.  For sweet, pure baby skin I prefer to buy organic cotton when I can to limit Molly's exposure to all those chemicals.

Being a photographer I can't help but look at these sweet hats as a prop option for newborn photography.  Their simplicity allows them to be perfect for a variety of photo shoot ideas, a perfect prop to be used again and again.

On top of all this goodness, Feathermar is amazingly affordable at just $10 for one hat or $18 for two!  You can buy them directly from their shop, or for a limited time enter to win a pair of hats in your choice of colors below.  You can also get 10% off with code ORGANICBABY for the month of September in the shop so pop on over and take a look!

Find Feathermar on Etsy, Facebook & their Blog.

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* I was provided with 2 free hats from Feathermar in exchange for this review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC's 16 CFR, Part 255. Images copyright 2012 Brooke Photo Studio.

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Sleep? The First Two Weeks

I can report that I don't have one of those magical babies who seems to sleep soundly all by themselves.  Sleep for these first 3 months has been a journey to say the least, and the more I talk to other parents the more I see that I am not alone in my quest to make sure my sweet baby catches enough zzzzz's.

The first two weeks are those magical sleepy weeks where newborns snooze randomly throughout the day.  However, as with most newborns, mine had her days and nights mixed up.  The first two nights were full of trial and error.  I expected my baby would sleep soundly in her Rock and Play Sleeper next to the bed, but she was just too small to get comfortable in it at just under 6lbs.  We tried bringing her portable swing into the room on vibrate for night #2 and then by the third night knew we needed another sleeping solution.

I liked the idea of co-sleeping, but was just too afraid with my tiny newborn to bring her directly into the bed so we settled on a Snuggle Nest Surround after some quick research and I sent my husband to the store to grab one.  The Snuggle Nest was a lifesaver!  We placed it in the center of our queen size bed and both scooted down just below the nest.  Our heads were close to the baby to check on her breathing, and we were still close enough to hold hands during those precious few moments of sleep.  Not only was having her close ideal, but the Snuggle Nest also has white noise that helped calm her down and a night light which aided me in nursing her in the dark.

So now that she had somewhere to sleep, the question became how to get her to sleep?  We quickly learned that we were changing her diaper too frequently during the night, and that all that action and light was not helping us out.  So we started changing less frequently instead of every time that she woke and things began to get easier.  She was waking every 2 hours to eat around the clock during these first two weeks, and it was taking about 45 minutes to settle her back to sleep during the night for these first two weeks, but things would get start to get easier in the coming weeks.

Besides the Snuggle Nest there were two other products I was glad we had on hand to get through these early days.  The first is a swaddle blanket.  My baby seems to sleep best in the warm fuzzy variety, the tighter the better.  For the first two weeks I liked Summer Infant fleece swaddle blankets.  Although I had some aden and anais muslin blankets that I loved, they were just too tricky to fold around the baby tightly enough during the early days so having the Summer Infant blankets on hand was fantastic.  I had 1 in my stash and quickly went out to get 3 more so I would always have a clean one for bed time.

It is scary to venture out, but if you are lucky your baby might sleep through the entire trip.  My baby did not like the car so getting anywhere during this time period was heartbreaking for my husband and I, and we kept it to a minimum.  Forget about the stroller with this baby!  She just fussed.  I had a few baby carriers in my stash, but she didn't fit in any because of her small size so I ended up getting a Maya Sling which was fantastic for a small baby.  I was able to take a few walks during week #2 with the sling and use it to nap the baby around the house which I was really grateful for.  I was all about taking it easy to heal, but a little bit of sunshine does a body good!  The sling was also an easy way to calm her down when she was feeling a little bit fussy.

So in a nutshell that was what sleep was like for the first two weeks.  As soon as I find some time I will write the next post in this series about sleep for weeks 2-6.

* This post contains affiliate links, but I was not paid by the manufacturer to review this product - I just like it! I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC's 16 CFR, Part 255. Images courtesy of Amazon.

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