Our favorite baby products for months 1-3 - Must-haves for newborns

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Time is funny. It feels like Memphis shouldn't be 6 months old already, but during the newborn period (months 1-3), each week felt like a major milestone. And it was.

These are the products that I found most helpful (besides the obvious needs like thousands of diapers and wipes). Some of these were on my registry but a lot of them we didn't realize we needed until we needed them.

If you're setting up a baby registry or have a newborn, hopefully this will give you some ideas to help make your life easier! I also shared my favorite postpartum essentials in this post.

"Big Ticket" Items

Pack 'n Play Bassinet with Changing Station

Bassinets can be kind of expensive, and they only sleep in there for a short while. That's why we chose this Pack 'n Play, because it has a bassinet attachment and then can be used just for the playard as Memphis gets older. It also makes a nice travel crib.

We have a small master bedroom so we're just all nice and cozy in here smushed between the dresser and the bed! It worked out.

What we didn't realize when we chose this bassinet was that the changing station would be such a big help. It's curved at the sides so we didn't have to worry about the little guy rolling off and falling, and it made late night diaper changes more convenient.

Side note: Don't forget to get a mattress cover for the bassinet!

BOB Jogging Stroller

Walking daily, even if it was just a few minutes, was so important for my sanity. This BOB jogging stroller is legit.

It maneuvers really well and has held up to a ton of walks and runs. We love it. Since we wanted this stroller, we chose the Britax B Safe car seat and car seat adapter so that the seat could attach to the stroller. Without these two items, the stroller wouldn't have been safe for him early on. (Plus, it's convenient when we're out.)

For Sleeping

Newborn Sleep Program from Taking Cara Babies

Check out Cara's online newborn program here

I shared how we got our newborn to sleep through the night in this post, but mostly it was because of Cara Dumaplin's online program, "Will I Ever Sleep Again?". I can't say enough good things about this program and it has made all the difference in the world. I shout her praise a lot and I'm not getting endorsed or paid or anything for doing so. I just have greatly, greatly appreciated her guidance.

Halo Sleepsacks

These were our favorite swaddles until Memphis outgrew them. The hospital used these while he was in the NICU and sent us home with one, plus we were gifted one and inherited a couple from a friend ... so we had several! Which is necessary because he regularly peed and pooped in them during that newborn stage.

Ollie Swaddles

Save 10% on your purchase by using this link!

Once he outgrew the Halo swaddles (which was pretty quickly), we moved to the Ollie swaddles. These are an investment but we both agree that it was totally worth it. Cara from Taking Cara Babies is a big Ollie fan which is why we got them and now I'm a big fan, too!

What's great about these is that they are breathable so baby won't overheat, they're velcro and sturdy so they're easy to put on and Memphis couldn't bust out of them, and they are long and adjust to fit his growing body.

You can use these from newborn until you're done swaddling. And we did. We got a two-pack so we'd always have one clean. If you're on the fence, DO IT. These swaddles are amazing. Use my link below to get 10% off!

Save 10% by using this link!

Target Zip-Up Footies

Get it here (or just go to Target because it's an amazing place)

Our good friend has a son who's a few months older than Memphis, which means we get some awesome hand-me-downs. Including a few footed pajamas from Target.

I'm sure several parents are nodding in agreement right now, these are amazing. Not because of the material or cute patterns or anything like that. They are designed differently from other footies.

First of all: zipper. That's necessary when you're getting up every 1-3 hours for a meal and diaper change. But what makes these extraordinary is that they zip from the bottom up instead of the top down, what they call an inverted zipper, which means you don't have to completely undress baby during those late night changes.

It seems like a small thing, but when you're running on empty it makes a big difference. Just ask my husband, the head middle-of-the-night diaper changer.

They don't carry the exact ones we have anymore but here's a cute set of three they have right now that are gender neutral.

Baby Shusher

In the Taking Cara Babies newborn sleep program, one of the methods of calming a crying baby is sound. Specifically, "shhhh." Did you know the reason this calms babies is because it mimics the sounds of your body in the womb? Pretty cool.

Sound is Memphis's jam. Certain songs and sounds really do it for him and as a newborn, I would get lightheaded and dry in the mouth from all the shushing I was doing.

Enter: The Shusher.

This little guy is portable which is great, can be set on a timer and adjusted in volume. We still use this during his naps. You can get it in this nice set on Amazon.

Feeding

Comotomo aka "Boob" Bottles

I wanted to exclusively breastfeed, but Memphis was sick. His illness made him intolerant to my milk temporarily. Until his little digestive system healed, we had to bottle feed him formula while I pumped to keep up my supply. It was annoying but it was such a relief to find out that he didn't have a serious condition. If you want to read the full story about our NICU experience, I shared that in this post.

Comotomo Bottle - Our favorite baby products 1-3 months

Anyway, boob bottles.

I had seen these Comotomo bottles all over Instagram and decided to give them a try. We call them "boob bottles" because they look like a boob ... which is the point. They are supposed to be preferred by breastfed babies.

Now Memphis won't take any other kind of bottle.

You can also buy these handles for the bottles which we use now that Memphis can grab his own drink. Pretty slick.

Toys

The Magical Light Up Bug

This thing. This thing is stuff of magic. When the music plays and the light show begins, a fussing Memphis becomes mesmerized and forgets he's upset about anything. This magical bug has saved many Costco and Target trips from going sour.

WubbaNub Pacifier

I thought these WubbaNubs were cute so we registered for one but I didn't realize they actually served a purpose outside of being cute.

Wubbanub Pacifier - Out favorite baby products months 1-3

The ones that can sit up on their own, like the elephant and the monkey, are great for sleeping because it keeps it propped by his face. When a swaddled baby loses his pacifier, it's no bueno. But since these stay put, it's not an issue.

And once they start grabbing things, the WubbaNub is easier for them to hold on their own than a regular pacifier.

Tummy Time Mat

Memphis hated tummy time for the first few months, but we like this tummy time mat. As he reached closer to 3 months old, he started liking to play with the hanging toys on this thing. He still does.

I don't think this tummy time mat is super special compared to others, but I'm including it on the list because I think having something like this is useful.

Clothes & Blankets

Kickee Pants Footies

The Target footies were my favorite for nighttime, but these were my favorite for daytime. They are super soft (good for snuggles!) and if you get the zipper ones, though they are not inverted like the Target ones, it still allows for easy diaper changes.

Hallmark Baby Clothes

Hallmark Baby makes some adorable clothes. They are great quality and they usually have awesome sales if you sign up for their emails. I especially like their seasonal items as you can tell by the photos.

Kickee Pants Blankets

Kickee Pants blanket - favorite baby items months 1-3

Another Kickee Pants product because the fabric they use is so great. I like their blankets for the car seat/stroller. Heavy blankets make Memphis too hot in there and these are just the right size and weight.

BATH & BODY

Blooming Bath

Memphis hated baths at first. The best method was for me to go in the tub with him, and I used this Blooming Bath padded plush tub thingy to do it. Once he got over his fear of baths, we moved the flower to the kitchen sink which is where we do bath time now.

Aveeno Fragrance-Free Shampoo & Lotion

I was all set on bath stuff. Until I realized I couldn't use any of it on him. Memphis, like many babies, has really sensitive skin. Our pediatrician told us not to use anything with fragrance in it and suggested Aveeno's line of fragrance-free items. We use this lotion and this shampoo.

His bath stuff didn't go to waste. I use it on myself. :)

Boudreaux's Butt Paste

A few moms recommended this product to me when Memphis had diaper rash. We tried a few different kinds of diaper rash ointment but this was my favorite. It's thicker than some, effective and doesn't have an unpleasant smell like some other popular ones do.

Charlie's Laundry Soap

After doing some research, I learned that a lot of the laundry detergent marketed to babies is actually not that baby-friendly because they contain fragrance. Then at our first pediatrician appointment Memphis's doctor made sure, in addition to the fragrance-free body care, that we were using fragrance-free laundry detergent. We were!

I read a lot of reviews before trying Charlie's Soap, and it's great! We won't be switching back to "regular detergent" because this works better. Instead of masking clothes with fragrance it actually cleans them. It's also great for sweaty clothes for that reason!

Babies are high maintenance, aren't they?

If you don't have all of these products, or nearly all of them, don't fret. I found them helpful but I also kept reminding myself that people have been raising babies without all this stuff for a very, very long time.

I'll keep sharing these lists as Memphis grows older so be on the lookout for months 4-6 next!

Our favorite baby products for months 1-3