The first 3 months is what they refer to as the 4th trimester, hence the below were MY must haves for newborns, I'll be doing an 3-6 months once munchkin is half a year old (not long to go).
Here are my top 10, in no particular order.
1. Tasman Eco Baby Bassinet
The Tasman Eco Amore baby bassinet would have to be our most used baby item, other than the obvious nappies, clothes etc. It has small wheels on it which meant we would move it from room to room depending on where we were. We bought it as the cot we would use in our room till we moved Rayah to her own room ( she has the larger cot in there).It made it easy to wheel the bassinet to the lounge and keep it there during the day, I would put her in there for afternoon naps and little power naps she would have throughout the day. And the whole time I could see her while I did house chores. (As a first time mum, this was extremely important to me during her first weeks and months, I didn't want to take my eyes off her)
We purchased ours at Baby Bunting and opted for the Mocha, which matches the rest of her furniture.
If your baby likes to be rocked to sleep, this makes it that much easier. When Missy wakes up in the middle of the night, a few minutes of rocking her bassinet puts her straight back to sleep.
2. Bonds Wondersuits
Bonds really do make it easy for parents, and make the most comfiest of clothes for little ones. I found Bonds Wondersuits my 'go to' for Rayah's night time clothes. And the definite plus is that they have the fold over sleeves, this really helped when she was a few weeks old and the hospital nurses advised not to put mittens on her due to the safety aspect of the mittens falling off onto her face/ mouth.( I never used mittens for that reason). My main worry in her few weeks was her moving her hands toward her eyes or scratching her face ( her nails were pretty sharp at birth surprisingly). Bonds fit nice and snug and the zip up or button ups ( I don't mind either) made it easier for nappy changes too. I bought most of her bonds onesies from the Bonds outlet at DFO.
3.)Ryco Breastfeeding pillow
I found this to be the comfiest and safest way to feed munchkin in her first few weeks (and months) of entering into this world. The pillow made it easier to prop her up to the right height, and gave my arm a rest from holding her whilst feeding considering feeding session would sometimes go up to 20 minutes for newborns. As she grew, I used the pillow to prop her up and play with her. From memory I used the feeding pillow till she was around 3 months. This one is the Ryco pillow, which I borrowed off my lovely sister. 4.)Baby Studio swaddle wrap & muslin wraps
I started swaddling possum from birth and she got used to sleeping nice and snug. Muslin wraps are great, but as she grew older she would always squirm her way out of it, without any effort. The Baby Studio swaddle wraps were the perfect fit, it has the velcro tabs to keep the wrap in place, but if she really wanted to get her arms out she could. I didn't want her to feel like she was caged in it the whole night. I honestly could not imagine a night without these, it felt as though Rayah would fall asleep easily when swaddled this way. I purchased these from Target.
5.) Medela Swing Breast Pump.
I knew Medela would work a treat, it's the same brand they use at St Vincents and I'm assuming other hospitals. It really did make my life easy, being able to pump and feed her when we were out, or I would just pump and keep it in the fridge. I never froze breast milk, I didn't really have enough to do that. Their pumps are quiet strong, and have the same suckling motion as what a baby does. A definite thumbs up for this one.
6.) Phillips Avent Steriliser (Microwave)
Now I'm assuming all mothers are using some type of sterilising kit out there, and I'm pretty sure they all do the job. This one is a obvious must have for baby's that are being bottle fed, or both (in my case). The reason I have this in my list is for the ease of this kit, and for the amount of bottles it holds. I usually sterilise about 5 bottles at a time comfortably. I opted for the microwavable one (it was a gift and they knew I was wanting this), just because I'd heard a lot of good reviews about it. This steriliser is large in size, but I don't mind it. It just means I can sterilise more at a time.
7.) 4moms Mamaroo.
Now. This is one was my favourites. It was a gift from my dear friends at work and it was just amazing how much it helped. If your child likes to be rocked or held this is the gadget to get. You can connect it to your music device and play music from it too. I started using it from a few weeks old and I'm still using it for possum. There's different settings, from rocking speed to the type of rocking motion (car ride, ocean wave you get my drift right?) You can have you child lying flat , or more upright. It's a life saver for when wanting to do a bit of house work. I pop her on here with a toy, check back 15 minutes later, and she's asleep.
8.) Singlet Onesies.
I wouldn't have known the importance of these if it wasn't for one of my friends who gifted me a pack. I bought munchkin singlets before she was born, and since then I have only bought onesies . These are great because they keep the nappy in place! (It's as simple as that, nappy changes are half as messy with these on). The other downside to normal singlets is that they ride up the baby's back, you find yourself tucking the singlet in most of the time. I have been buying these in long sleeves and sleeve less ones.
9.) Blankets
You need a whole heap! That's all I can say haha. Thick ones, light ones (depending on the season), large and small ones. Especially when they are newborn, you will be wrapping your little angel in blankets all the time. I actually prefer the ones that weren't too large, ( it's harder to wrap them), but more medium sized ones. I have to admit, I have a bit of a blanket craze, munchkin's got excessive of 15 blankets, and I still keep an eye out for pretty ones when shopping.
10.) Digital Thermometer
I didn't really think of buying this till the last week of my pregnancy. It's not something one thinks of when baby shopping, but I would recommend this as a must have. I used it the first time when munchkin had her first shot, and Safety's 1st was quick and easy, 2 seconds is all it takes for the temperature to come up on the digital screen.
I'll be updating my 'Mummy must-haves' for 3-6 months in the coming weeks. This will be more in line with where our baby bear is at.
xox