I can’t quite believe that this time last year, Dan and I were getting ready to welcome Elise into the world. If I’m completely honest, it still doesn’t feel real that she’s actually here! To celebrate Elise’s first birthday, March’s blog posts will be taking a look back at our first year as a family of three. Starting with my newborn baby essentials (0-3 months old). These are the things that I found invaluable as a first time Mum. I hope it gives you some ideas if you’re about to welcome a new arrival into the world, or if you want to give a thoughtful, useful gift to an expectant parent(s).
I was going to do a this post as a ‘Top 10 Things For A Newborn Baby’ post, but I found that I couldn’t think of more than 5 essentials, because newborn babies don’t need many things. It’s love and connection that they need the most. I’ve tried to avoid all of the obvious newborn baby essentials like muslins, as you’ll most likely have thought of those already.
Newborn Baby Essentials: A Sling
As I’ve just said, babies need love and connection. However, as a new parent, you can often feel like you’ve got to keep up with household jobs, go to every baby group under the sun, and everything in between. It’s not like your body (and quite possibly your mind) has been torn apart during birth, right?! *Sarcasm*
Slings have many uses. Second time parents may decide to use a sling so that they can play with their older child or get some housework done, while meeting the needs of their newborn. Slings can also be great for cow’s milk protein allergy (CMPA) and reflux babies, supporting them in an upright position and providing comfort from the pain with skin-to-skin, the sounds of your heart beat and the feel of your breathing.
But, it’s not just babies who benefit from using a sling. Keeping a newborn close is a primal instinct and one that helps release Oxytocin – the love hormone. This can be very beneficial for parents experiencing postnatal depression, anxiety, birth trauma and a number of other mental health conditions.
Slings aren’t just for parents either. They’re great for allowing other family members and friends to bond with baby, while giving the new parents some much needed rest time. Babies in foster care also benefit from being worn by their caregiver. It helps them create strong bonds early on, hopefully undoing or reducing the negative impact that their early days may have had.
You’ve probably gathered that a sling is a newborn baby essential for me! There are lot’s of great options that will allow you to wear your newborn baby. I’d recommend taking a look at It’s A Sling Thing’s Best Newborn Slings! post to see what’s available.
Newborn Baby Essentials: A Bouncy Chair
Ah, the bouncy chair! We had two of these. One downstairs, the other in our bedroom. One was a gift from my parents. My Mum had on when my sister and I were little and she found it so useful that she wanted Dan and me to have one. I’m so glad she did, as it was an invaluable tool for me!
When I had a shower, I’d put Elise into her bouncy chair in the bathroom. This allowed us both to see each other, so Elise knew where I was and I knew that she was sage. With Elise in her bouncy chair, I’d usually manage a quick shower without too much grumping. The little toy monsters hanging off the play bar definitely contributed to this.
The other time I used the bouncy chair was when Elise was having her lunchtime bottle. Particularly before her CMPA diagnosis, Elise was very wriggly when she fed – arching her back, screaming and writhing around in pain. However, with my hEDS, this put a lot of strain on my already fragile joints. So to give myself a chance to rest and recover a little, I would put Elise in the bouncy chair for her lunch time milk. Nine times out of ten, Elise would fall asleep. This left me to be able to get on with some bits and pieces (mainly blogging!), while Elise slept safely in her chair.
I’d suggest looking for a bouncy chair that has different angle options for the back rest. Elise’s chairs (the same chair, we just had two of them) had two settings. However, because she was a reflux baby, she just wouldn’t settle with the bouncy chair being reclined – she needed it raised more. I’m so glad we considered having a variable back rest angle, otherwise the bouncy chair might have been a bit of a disaster!
Newborn Baby Essentials: A Journal
The fourth trimester, baby’s newborn stage, is both magical and exhausting! I have a rubbish memory anyway, so I knew that I’d end up forgetting special moments if I didn’t record them somewhere. So at the start of my pregnancy, I started a baby bullet journal. Unfortunately, I’m REALLY behind on it. But, I’ve been making notes in my phone when things happen, so that when I get a chance (when I’m not chasing medical professionals) I’ll be able to fill it in.
I plan on sharing my baby bullet journal with you in a future post. I just need to get it a little more filled in first.
A baby bullet journal, or other memory/journal style book is a great way to record special moments. I plan on giving my baby bullet journal to Elise on her 18th birthday.
Newborn Baby Essentials: A Bath Seat
Newborn babies don’t have the same head and neck control or strength as older babies. So it’s important to give their bodies some extra support.
For bath time, we found a bath seat was brilliant for Elise. However, it isn’t just bath time that these seats are useful for…
… When you become a parent, in particular a Mum, you very rarely get to use the toilet in peace. This can be challenging to say the least. However, I found that placing the bath seat right next to me (where I could easily reach it) on the floor of the downstairs toilet, worked well to keep Elise safe in a space that was too small for a bouncy chair.
Newborn Baby Essentials: Play Gym
Who doesn’t love a good play gym?! Elise got lots of use out of hers – in fact, she had two! One of her own and one loaned to her by her cousins. During the second half of the newborn stage, I used her baby gym in the bedroom when I needed to do essential things like get dressed (that is until she became mobile!). The play gym was also a good altenative to Elise’s bouncy chair when I needed to shower – variety is the spice of life and all that!
Newborn babies don’t need a lot, particularly in terms of ‘stuff’. Love is what they need the most. The newborn baby essentials above are, at least how I’ve used and described them, more about making the parent or caregiver’s life that little bit easier. This says a lot about the importance of self care for those looking after a newborn. It’s draining, but so worth it!
The play gym we got has a keyboard at it’s foot, which Elise enjoyed immensely. And even though she only used the play gym for a short periods due to her reflux, she definitely benefited from it (as did I!). Elise still enjoys the keyboard, which detached from the foot of the play gym so it could be used on it’s own too.
What would your newborn baby essentials be?
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