Jack is now six and a half months old and I was evaluating all of the items we registered for, what we’ve used and what wasn’t worth the hype. When I was pregnant, I lived for these types of round ups, so after six months of life with Jack, I wanted to let you all know what’s worked for us and that Jack has also given his stamp of approval on!
Thankfully, the amount of baby registry stalking I did of friends who had babies before me and many blog reviews I read helped curate our wish list. It is safe to say we’ve used and loved just about everything we registered for and received!
I’ve rounded up our favorite items that we’ve used religiously the first six months with a baby and my must haves would be: Nose Frida, Ollie Swaddle, Taking Cara Babies Newborn Course and her 3 + 4 Month Course, Dock A Tot, the Boppy Baby Carrier and the Love to Dream Swaddle. Update: I forgot to add a sound machine! We first used our Amazon Echo to play white noise along with the Baby Shusher, we recently switched to the portable Hushh Sound Machine.
With Jack being born in the winter, he battled his first cold much sooner than we would have preferred. The Nose Frida is intimidating at first but has turned into such a life saver and 10x easier to manage than the bulbs they give you at the hospital. He’s had multiple colds since (thanks daycare), and it’s our first line of defense when paired with saline drops.
Around seven weeks, I took the Taking Cara Babies Newborn Course and our life was forever changed. We already had the Ollie Swaddle and the Dock A Tot, but after taking her course and realizing how to utilize the swaddle and her methods, night sleep and nap times were no longer something to be feared and I could truly start enjoying our flexible routine we were establishing. The Ollie Swaddle we were able to wrap Jack up super tight and burrito like, he absolutely loved this swaddle. When he was showing signs of rolling, we slowing transitioned him out of it with one arm out, then the second arm out. We utilized the Dock A Tot in his bassinet in our bedroom for the first two months and then moved it with him when we transitioned to the crib. He slept about the same with it and without it. We cut it cold turkey right before he started to roll from his back to his stomach. We haven’t invested in the larger size, I don’t know if its worth it because he sleeps so great without it. Right now he just uses a sleep sack and a pacifier if he needs one. We are debating taking Cara’s ABC’s of Sleep course to cut our night feed and to get Jack to sleep continuously through the night…will keep you posted!
I LOVE the Boppy Baby Carrier . It’s made of yoga material and super easy to use. I have a ring sling but it still intimidates the heck out of me and this Boppy Carrier is comfortable and easy to put on and put Jack in. It was his favorite place to be during his witching hours and it’s great for walks and running errands. Now he is big enough to face outwards.
Last but not least, after transitioning out of the Ollie Swaddle, we have moved up to the 50/50 Love to Dream Swaddle (we interchangeably used the original Love to Dream Swaddle when the Ollie Swaddle was in the wash). Jack, from day 1, always liked to have his hands by his face and we could never swaddle him tight enough in the muslin blankets and frankly they made us to nervous if he were to wiggle out of them to have excess fabric by his face. With the zippered and velcro swaddles allowed for easy access for any late night diaper changes. With his ability to roll over, we zipped off the sleeves and he is as snug as a bug in a rug!
Here’s a full product list of everything we use and love on a day to day basis! Let me know if you have any questions or what a further review done!
