Today Kennedy is 11 weeks old! At this point, I have a good idea what products we absolutely love and make our life so much easier! When I registered for the items we wanted and bought I did a lot of research. I wanted to make sure that we ended up with things that we would actually use. For the most part, we have loved everything! There was only one major item that ended up going back. I wanted to share these items with you in case you're registering or just curious what we are loving. I've always enjoyed hearing what works for other mamas. I tried to narrow it down to items I seriously couldn't live without. These are without a doubt my "must have" items. If our house was on fire, these are what I would grab :)
When I found out I was pregnant, I knew without a doubt that I wanted to breast feed. I wanted to make sure Kennedy was getting all the nutrition she needed to grow up and be healthy. I read books about it and we even took a class that my hospital offered. I felt that I was prepared and it was going to be easy. Women have been doing it for years, it would be easy, right?! Wrong...haha! Little did I know, the most natural thing would also be the hardest thing I ever did. Kennedy is what you call "a snacker". She wouldn't latch properly and would hang out for what seemed like forever!! I wanted to stick with it and even went to a lactation consultant. It just wasn't happening. It was frustrating for both her and I. Knowing that I still wanted her to have my milk, I made the decision to pump exclusively and give her my milk in a bottle. This was an easy decision, but has not been an easy task. I am SOOOO glad I decided to go with the freestyle pump. It is on the pricey side, but allows me to be hands free and I can move around the house. I get a lot done while I am pumping. Since it is something I do about 8 times a day, I would say the pump pays for it self!!
Kennedy had really bad gas that started around 2 weeks and lasted until about her 7th week. It ended up being a dairy issue. After I eliminated dairy {yes, I haven't had cheese in 2 months!!} it got a lot better. It also has to do with these bottles! These bottles are "natural flow" and have a device in them that helps so they don't get gas (Tyler likes to call it "bottle bong technology" LOL). I think these are the reason why she doesn't get that much gas anymore! No gas = more sleep :)
I had to throw this in because just tonight I was at the grocery store and my milk came in. I didn't have my pads in my bra and guess what happened?! Yeah, I got two wet spots on my shirt. Not a cute look! Thank god for long hair!! haha. I carry these in the diaper bag just for this reason! If you're breast feeding don't leave home without them!
When Kennedy was first born we didn't give her a pacifier. When nursing didn't work out and we switched to pumping exclusively, we decided to give them a try since we didn't have to worry about nipple confusion anymore. We started with the soothe ones, but they always fell out and that kind of defeats the purpose. I had heard a lot of great things about these because they are more natural and don't curl up like some do. We have about 8 of these so we are never without them. She really loves having one in the car or when she's in her stroller. I like it because I can get more shopping done!
We have the changing pad that goes on top of the dresser. I originally got the cutest, softest minky pink cover. My thought was "oh this will be so soft on her little rear end". What I wasn't thinking about was that she would pee and poop on it. We learned this the hard way. Luckily, I had also got one from Target {here} that is just as cute and the middle is a wipeable plastic. It's the best and most practical because I promise you, at some point your little one is going to go on the changing table!
This is one of things you see all over social media and you wonder if it's worth the hype. For us it has been worth it! When we first brought Kennedy home from the hospital, she would only sleep in this the first couple nights. She went through a brief period where she stopped liking it, but now she's all about it again. Since it's just her and I during the day most days, it's the only way I can get anything done. It travels around the house with us. I even take it the bathroom while I take a shower. We have glass doors so it's perfect! I would highly recommend this over any swing on the market!
This should be the first thing on my list. This thing was sent straight from heaven!! I'm not kidding, without this little magical bassinet, I would have straight up lost my damn mind. I was close guys. For the first 16 days of Kennedy's life, we did not have this device and she didn't sleep. We spent over $200 on a very popular bassinet that I'm sure you have seen while making your registry. Man oh man did she HATE that thing!! It was the number one thing I was worried about having before she made her arrival and the one thing we took back. She has never been a fan of laying flat on her back. The Rock n Play is at an angle and very snuggly. She loves it! She sleeps in it right next to our bed, and we take everywhere we go if we are going to be there for an extended period of time. It folds up and is very light so it makes traveling really easy. Needless to say I am going to be very sad when she grows out of it and we have to make the transition into her crib!
After we did our 2 hour bonding period with Kennedy right after she was born they weighed her, checked her vitals and then wrapped her up like the cutest little California burrito you ever did see! The first thing she did was bust her hands out of it. No matter how tight we made that swaddle her little hands were up by her face within the first minute. I brought a lot of mittens with me to the hospital so that was fine. We would just do a hands free swaddle and she seemed to love it. From the moment we got home from the hospital that all changed. She decided that being swaddled sucked and she wanted her whole body to be free. That was fine with me because I never did quite master the art of swaddling, Tyler on the other hand was a pro! So now you're probably wondering why I have swaddle blankets on this list, haha. We have a ton of them, this brand being my favorite because they are the softest after a couple washes. They're so lightweight and honestly the perfect summer blanket. We always have one with us when we leave the house. There's a ton of uses for them from using them as a nursing cover or throwing over the car seat so strangers can't look or touch :) {PS this brand also makes these bibs that I use on the daily}
Baby wearing is my jam! Kennedy isn't huge on me putting her down unless it's in her mamaroo or sitting up in her boppy facing me. Those options are great when we are at home, but we are out and about it makes it very difficult. Enter, Modern Wrap! The first time I tried my wrap was on the 4th of July at a BBQ and I was the happiest mama around. I was able to wear her most of the day and had two free hands to eat delicious food and drink delicious drinks!! It was such a game changer. I only wish I would have started using it earlier on. I also die for the spotted print!
I've wrote about this before, but picking a diaper bag was so hard for me. I'm not a fan of all the dorky patterns that are on the market. I wanted something sleek, chic, and one that Tyler could carry without feeling like he had my purse. I'm so glad that I went with this one. My favorite part is that it has the fold out changing pad. That way when I'm out running errands I have somewhere clean to lay her down.
{Zip Up Pjs}
This was a discovering we made very early on. We got a lot of the footie pjs, which I'm sure if you're having a baby or expecting a little one, you already have a lot of these too. I'm telling you, the ones with the zip front are where it's at! When you're changing a diaper at 2am you'll agree with me, I promise! You're not going to want to mess around with all the buttons when you are half asleep! I really like the Carter's brand and Old Navy has cute ones online.
As soon as I found out we were having a girl I started ordering bows and headbands. It wasn't until she was here that I figured out which were my favorite. I love, love the one size fits all that are made with the nylon band. They don't leave a mark or squeeze her head. Beauty should not be pain for little peanuts. I'm really crushing on all the designs that Little Kate Designs has to offer. Her leather and gold bows are the cutest and don't break the bank!
I hope that this list helps you and some of our favorites become yours as well! Thanks for reading!
XOXO, Kayla
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