KEEP ME SANE ITEMS

Baby items that have kept me sane. Most of these types of lists are called “must haves” or baby necessities” when really they are just the items that have kept me sane and that give me a happy baby, which makes a happy mama! Will my baby die without these? No. Will I die without these…maybe;)  

1.     Flannel swaddle blankets. I’m just throw this out there. -Aden and Anis SUCK. I for one am not a fan of those swaddle blankets! I know lots of people SWEAR by them…that’s why I got them! Now I just have them sitting in the closet cause I can’t stand them. They don’t hold a swaddle worth crap. I am so glad I wasn’t fully depending on those or else Milan would never be swaddled for more than 5 minutes. We have been living in our flannel blankets that I made. Super easy 40x40 inches of any flannel fabric surged around the edges! I could leave her in the same swaddle for 10 hours and it would not be smidge looser! Which saves me because she LOVES to be swaddled, only way she’ll sleep and it calms her down almost instantly.

2.     Mamaroo. This was the ONE item I was hoping to get as a gift and thank the heavens above I did! Milan slept solely in her mamaroo for the first 2-3 weeks! Only place we could set her down without waking up!  Now we kind of do a mix, I put her to bed in the mamaroo, and halfway through the night I switch her to her crib-she doesn’t sleep awesome in her crib yet so I don’t get as much sleep but we are doing it gradually! But all of her naps are in the mamaroo as well! Love it!

3.     Lavender bath wash. We’ve used Johnson and Johnson and just recently switched to Burts Bees because she had a rash that I thought could be her wash-it wasn’t cause switching didn’t help, but anyways! Any lavender scented baby wash and lotion works and helps her sleep SO much better at night! She normally always gives me a 6 hour stretch at first from 9pm- 3am, but on nights we don’t give her a bath, its every 2 hours!

4.     Fawn Design Diaper Bag. I don’t know why; but a diaper bag was the baby item that gave me the most stress. Actually I do know why! They are either all crazy cheap looking with butterflies and ladybugs, crazy expensive, way too huge and just looked ridiculous on my small frame, or not enough pockets. I actually bought FOUR different bags before I found this one last minute. I KNEW I wanted one that I could use as a backpack. I’m not a huge purse person to begin with so the thought of carrying around a big purse and a big car seat sounded like torture to me. I knew I wanted one with outside pockets that I could easily slip my phone and wallet into or other items I need to be able to grab quick. And I knew I wanted it to be extremely gender neutral so that Michael could carry it for extended amounts of time without feeling ridiculous. The Fawn Design diaper bag has all of these! I wish I had found it earlier, which would have saved me from wasting money on 4 other diaper bags to only be disappointed time and time again. But seriously-the whole thing is Leather and the inside has accents of a super cute bumble bee print that is all able to wipe down! No worries of staining or ripping fabric! Also I can stick a dirty diaper in in without stressing that the smell is going to soak into the fabric! It’s big enough to hold all I need, but small enough that it doesn’t look ridiculous! I always have with me my camera, my modern wrap, my nursing cover, a change of clothes for her, socks, a burp cloth, 5-6 diapers, wipes, and a swaddle blanket and by no means is the bag cramped or stuffed! Love this bag!

5.     White noise nature music. I just bought an album on iTunes with 110 tracks… Milan absolutely hates the car-and while we haven’t mastered calming her down in the car quite yet- this music does the best. I also play it and put it in her car seat anytime we’re out to eat or somewhere that it’s kind of loud to tune out all the other noises and help keep her asleep- it’s AMAZING at keeping her asleep!

6.     Modern Wrap Nursing cover. When your baby is a MAJOR comfort nurser, doesn’t take a pacifier or bottle and is on the boob pretty much 24/7-your bound to have to nurse in public. Not here to debate whether nursing in public is wrong or right but for me-I knew I wanted to go a year with breastfeeding but I was not about to become a hermit for the next year of my life. However, it is out of my comfort level to flash everyone in the restaurant my boob. But it is also out of my comfort level to nurse on a toilet or in my car every time my baby needs some comforting. This cover is my lifesaver. It completely covers me from collarbones to hipbones on my front and back.  It’s like a giant poncho. I can nurse walking around the grocery store or sitting down in the restaurant booth-all being completely covered. It gives me my freedom.

I’m sure my “keep me sane” items with change as she gets older and learns more things, but for now this is it!

Ps: I’ve been totally slacking on blogging lately but I’m really going to try to do it more! Me and Milan are really setting into a little schedule so it should be easier!