It is hard to believe that tomorrow we will celebrate Katie’s one month birthday. How the heck did that happen? By celebrate, I mean that I’ll enjoy a glass of my favorite chardonnay and we’ll give her extra cuddles and hopefully capture a few pictures of her.  When I scroll through pictures on my phone, it feels like just yesterday we were in the hospital, cuddling her while the photographer snapped these pictures. So much has transpired in the past month including plenty of health scares, dirty diapers, feeding challenges but, more than anything, our house has become filled with SO much love.

Whether it’s the instant bond that both sets of grandparents felt with Katie when they held her or the excitement we have each time we share moments with her whether reading, cuddling, feeding, playing or even changing diapers.

Since I benefitted so much from the recommendations moms and readers provided to me when Bo and I were building our registry, I wanted to share the items that have made the first month with a newborn far easier. Some of these were already stocked in our home when we came home from the hospital, while others were purchased during a few of our more frantic Amazon orders or BuyBuyBaby trips.

Kissy Kissy Kimono – Unfortunately, we quickly learned that dressing a newborn can be a tedious, painful task. Katie can’t stand when we try to squeeze her head through a small neck hole so she has spent many of her days in either a Kissy Kissy Kimono, Gerber Basics kimono or a few wonderful newborn outfits that have snaps along the neckline for easy access. This particular kimono is our favorite due to its soft feel and perfect fit.

Keekaroo Peanut Changing Pad – Luckily, multiple friends recommended this changing pad to us when we registered. It has been such a lifesaver as the surface wipes clean and Katie seems to like the soft surface. I can’t imagine having to wash a cover everytime she goes to the bathroom mid-diaper change or drools. 

Portable Diaper Changing Pad – Our keekaroo changing pad stays upstairs near her bassinet for convenient nap time changes but the rest of the time, we use this soft changing pad. We’ve thrown it in the diaper bag, used it on the back porch and typically keep it downstairs as part of our secondary changing station for daytime changes.

Aden+Anais Swaddle Cloths – We use these large, square muslin blankets multiple times a day! While we primarily use them to swaddle her when she sleeps, we also use them as burp cloths and keeping her warm. I would recommend sticking with this brand and making sure that you check the measurements as certain retailers sell different Aden+Anais lines which are smaller or not as soft.

Carter Baby Burp Cloths – I remember looking at the pile of six burp cloths we received during the baby shower and rolling my eyes. I asked my mom if I should exchange some and she laughed and said no I should hope to receive plenty more. Now, a month in, I’ve already gone out and bought more. I swear that if I had my way we’d have a burp cloth in every corner of the house as I always find myself without one in arm’s reach. These are inexpensive, soft and large enough to capture all her spit-up and drool when we burp.

What to Expect: The First Year – This book has been loved a lot already, even in the first 30 days. We read the weekly section as she enters the new week in hopes of better understanding what we can generally expect as well as using the index to search hot topics like gas, fussiness, and jaundice. While we both realize that Katie and babies, in general, do not come with an instruction manual and can’t be predicted, this book has helped us become better educated and prepared parents.

Boppy and Boppy Lounger – I have used the Boppy daily to help support my arm during nursing since I often use the cradle position to hold Katie. In addition, it helps elevate my arms so that she is closer to my breasts, making nursing easier and more comfortable. The Boppy Lounger is one of her favorite spots when we are relaxing together. I recently discovered that the slight incline makes her more comfortable and a bit happier during our daily outfit changes, which she previously wasn’t enjoying.

UPPAbaby Bassinet + Cruz Stroller – Strollers are an item that we researched for weeks before making a decision since it’s an investment as well as an item that the entire family uses daily. For us, considering our Brooklyn location, it was important to find a lightweight, durable, spacious, easy to use yet small enough to navigate stores and subways. The basket on the stroller has plenty of room for groceries or anything else we need and the standing fold allows us to easily store it when we’re at home.  It easily fits through doorways, can manage our neighborhood grocery store’s narrow aisles, has a very large sunshade that keeps Katie protected on our walks, and at 30 pounds I haven’t had an issue taking it in and out of our brownstone on my own.  While the Cruz doesn’t come with the bassinet, we were able to find a family in the neighborhood who didn’t need the bassinet which came with their UPPABaby Vista. The bassinet has been wonderful as it easily attaches, with just one handle, to the stroller base and provides a comfortable space for Katie to sleep safely at home as well as explore when it’s attached to the stroller. We’ve taken her for long walks on a daily basis since she was just three days old and have found that she still prefers this over being in a car seat when we’re out in the stroller.

Dr. Brown’s Infant Baby Bottles – Since we didn’t think we’d need to use bottles during the first few months of Katie’s life, we never registered for bottles. Therefore, when we urgently needed to start supplementing with formula, we headed to BuyBuyBaby to buy bottles. Many people recommended buying a few different types so we could figure out what type Katie preferred. While we were initially intimidated by Dr. Brown’s bottles due to their multiple parts and pieces, after just a few feeding sessions we could tell that Katie loved them. She latched easier, suffered from less gas and they were easier for us to hold. When we burp her, typically 1-2 times during feeding, the burps come up far faster than before.  While they have multiple parts, I have found that they aren’t that difficult to clean and I tend to do my best to clean them immediately after each feed while she’s sleeping. I’ve found that the Dr. Brown’s specific cleaning brush helps greatly though!

Your Turn: As we move into the second month, I’d love your recommendations for things you or your baby loved as they hit months 2, 3 and 4?