Our must have baby items (so far)

I've been a mommy now for 7 weeks.

I feel like I've kind of got this thing down.

I mean, hands down, I am super-mom. 98% of the time I know exactly what my child needs and I take great pride in that.

Over the 7 weeks I have found  the "stuff" that we love and stuff we could leave. Let me share... I'm sure there are expectant mommies somewhere that will benefit.

1. Cloud B Sleep Sheep

Wyatt is already the "water-baby" I hoped him to be. This little sheep that has 4 different sounds (heartbeat in womb, whales (awkward), rain, and ocean waves. It has a velcro strap to attach to the crib. When we put Wyatt down for naps and for bed we always "turn on his water" aka the ocean waves. I think he loves it because we've used it since the first week he was home.

2. Diaper Genie II

I heard mixed emotions about these- so people love and some people hate. For us? We will never go without. Yes it stinks buying a $6 refill, but to us it's worth it. It seriously keeps the smell of dirty diapers contained. Before Wyatt was even born I made the  decision to only change him on his changing table in his room. He has never been changed in the living room, bedroom, etc. only in his room on his table. I am very happy we decided to do this because a. I don't want diapers laying around because I'm too lazy to dispose immediately b. He needs privacy c. He hopefully correlates that area with positive feelings.

3. Swaddle Me

Oh my goodness... I like to think this is the reason we get anywhere from 6-8 (even almost 10 at times) hours of sleep. This is honestly the only way he stays asleep. During the day at nap time I swaddle with a blanket and once he has broke free he is awake. Could be after 10 minutes or an hour, either way it's guaranteed. I don't mind re-swaddling him during the day, but at night this is our life saver. They come in fleece and cotton. Love them!

4. Johnsons Bedtime Bath Lotion

We use this every night and swear by it. Even if he didn't get a bath that night you better believe we are slathering this on the little guy. It. Works.

5. Bouncy seat

He loves his "vibrator" as we've dubbed it. We sit in it and entertain ourselves, enjoy it while mommy cooks, potties, showers, etc. Very, very handy.

6. Cheap bibs
Yes, there are tons of "cute" bibs that are in one of his drawers, but the ones that get used? The "cheap"ones that have corny sayings and are made of cloth. Why? Because they do their intended job: absorb. The pretty ones are just that- pretty. They just let formula and drool roll right off. Not cool.

7. Cloth diapers

The thin cloth diapers, not the thick ones that everyone gets monogrammed with a cute "W" or his name to be used as burp clothes, they also (for us) are a waste. We like the thin ugly ones. Confession: I do use my pretty burp clothes in public for my own satisfaction, but at home we have a drawer full.

8. Zippered Jammies

Wal-Mart has then for $5. We had probably a dozen newborn one and probably half a dozen 0-3 months. They are the best thing ever. Don't waste money on PJs that snap. Do you really want to waste time (and energy) snapping 542 buttons in the middle of those precious 2 hours of sleep you are trying to get in those first couple of weeks? Um no. Most aren't very cute, but for $5 you can't have it all. Stock up now.

9. Receiving blankets
Chances are you will get a ton of these as gifts. My advice? You can never have enough. From the beginning we have used them for everything. Swaddling...rolling them up and using as head support in the bouncy when he had zero head control...burp clothes when we had projectile vomit and learned he couldn't tolerate the newborn enfamil formula but instead the normal infant kind...drool rags while we have tummy time...thin blankets when a heavy one is too much...a shield as I'll call them. Wyatt's crib currently has 4 sheets on them. From the bottom up it goes like this: mattress pad, RB, sheet, RB, sheet, RB, sheet, RB, sheet, RB, and small blanket. Why? We learned the hard way that changing sheets at 2 in the morning is not fun. I may or may not have cut the 2 straps off the back of his bumper in a haste to get sheets changed. Now if he has a major spit up I can just pull the first sheet off and the receiving blanket if it leaked through. They are also our boppy cover's cover.  You will be surprised where drool and spit up can end up.

10. Bottles and drying rack

We use Nuk and this isn't to say these are great blah blah blah...what it is meant to say, is have enough bottles to get through an entire day's feeding. I wash bottles and nipples once a day...by hand...because it's quicker and I love this Munchkin drying rack.

11. Mylicon

Daddy has dubbed these "dessert." If he has ate, burped, been changed, swaddled, and it isn't during his "fussy time" these are our first go-to item. 9 times out of 10 it does the trick.