WHAT YOU NEED FOR YOUR 0-3 MONTH BABY
There are SOOO MANY BABY THINGS out there. It’s overwhelming. Lots of people say you don’t need much. Those people are liars…or delusional. (JK JK)
But thing is, you do need a lot of stuff….just the right stuff. After having two under two, I learned quickly what you need and what you don’t need.
Scroll for my master list!
There are SOOO MANY BABY THINGS out there. It’s overwhelming. Lots of people say you don’t need much. Those people are liars…or delusional. (JK JK)
But thing is, you do need a lot of stuff….just the right stuff. After having two under two, I learned quickly what you need and what you don’t need.
Scroll for my master list!
0-3 MONTH BABY ESSENTIALS
SLEEP: I shared everything that you need in HOW TO GET YOUR BABY TO SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT post, be sure to check it out for some amazing sleeping baby tips! But here are the is what you need for the first 3 months.
VELCRO SLEEP SACK (US Link) Velcro Sleep Sack (CAN Link)- keeps baby’s swaddled so they will not wake themselves up with their arms!!
WHITE NOISE (US Link) White noise (CAN Link)- helps baby sleep longer and also soothing for you to go back to sleep. We had both kids in our room until they were 7 weeks old.
Baby Bed or Dockatot- The Dockatot was a LIFESAVER! London settled to sleep so easily in this. It was also great to put her in it around the house. USE THIS LINK TO SAVE $10! Luca slept great in this bed.
SWING/BOUNCER (US Link) Swing/Bouncer (CAN Link)- The swing is great for getting baby to sleep for naps or just a place to put baby down. I like the two in ones because you can take the bouncer out around the house. I’d put London in it and then put it on our table so Luca couldn’t poke her while I was cooking dinner! Also, I would bring it to the bathroom when I would shower or do my makeup!
ACCESSORIES:
PACIFIER (US Link) Soother/Pacifier (CAN Link)- These are my favourite. As baby gets older they can hold it in!
Milk Snob Cover- These are a lifesaver for me!!! I would usually time London’s naps with my outings. I’d nurse her, put her in the carseat, and when we’d go out, I would pop this cover over the carseat and stick a portable white noise in it. She’d stay asleep the whole outing! You can also use it to nurse under. My baby’s get easily distracted so it was perfect to keep them eating AND they slept on flights nursing under this cover. I can’t recommend a Milk Snob enough!!
STROLLER TOY (US Link) Stroller Toys (CAN Link)- We loved this little cloud from Skip Hop!
DIAPER GENIE (US Link) Diaper Genie (CAN Link)- We love our diaper genies! Babies POOP a lot!! And their poop stinks so you defs want to not let those dirty diapers sit in your garbage! The diaper genie hides the smell. We have a white one for Luca and a pink one for London.
GO GO GO:
BUCKET CAR SEAT (US Link) Bucket Car Seat (CAN Link)- I loved my Maxi-Cosi but there are so many great ones on the market. Make sure you get one that attaches to your stroller because taking a sleeping baby out of the car seat is NO FUN.
Stroller- We have a Bugaboo single and a double Bumble Ride. The Bugaboo is great for city living (we loved using it in NYC) but the Bumble Ride is soo great for any terrain! We got ours used, which I HIGHLY recommend as brand new strollers are PRICEY!
HEAD REST MIRROR (US Link) Head rest mirror (CAN Link)- This makes driving waaay better because you can actually see your little one! Even though London is 11 months, I still glance at her sweet face in the car.
NURSING/FEEDING:
COMOTOMO BOTTLES (US Link) Comotomo Bottles (CAN LINK) + NUK BOTTLE (US Link) Nuk bottle (CAN Link)- I breastfed both babes off the top but we tried to give the occasional bottle of pumped milk. Luca only took the Comotomo but London preferred the Nuk (she wouldn’t really take a bottle until 4 months!!)
MEDELA FREESTYLE PUMP (US Link) Medela Freestyle Pump (CAN Link)- I had a single with Luca but this time around I borrowed this one from my sis and it is AMAZING! I love how it’s cordless
Cheap Sports Bras from Walmart- Here’s a hack. Cut holes in the nipples and BOOM handsfree nursing bra!
Am I missing anything? Let me know in the comments :)
FAVOURITE BOOKS FOR BABIES + TODDLERS
This week is Luca's final week taking part in our local library's (and province-wide) Summer Reading Club. It's a seven week program where you record the books you read and then at the end of the week you get a sticker and a prize! It's kinda surreal because I did it when I was a kid (at the exact same library too!!!!)
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This week is Luca's final week taking part in our local library's (and province-wide) Summer Reading Club. It's a seven week program where you record the books you read and then at the end of the week you get a sticker and a prize! It's kinda surreal because I did it when I was a kid (at the exact same library too!!!!)
If you've been following me for awhile, you'll know I'm a book lover through and through. My hope and dream is that my babies will follow suit. Thankfully they've already developed a love for books. Throughout the day Luca will bring me books to read and at bed time he would read hundreds if he could.
Here is a list of our favourites:
- That's not my Lion - These "That's not my..." books are soo good for babies! They have touch and feel parts that babies love to interact with. London just adores this book and when Luca was her age, he loved it as well. (I'd say best for age 6 months-18 months). London also gives the lion kisses at the end of the book and it is the cutest thing ever!!!
- Wherever You Are: My Love Will Find You- Oh my goodness this book and every other book I've read by Nancy Tillman make me weep!!! They are so beautifully written and capture the heart of parenting (and heart of God.) I was given a number of her books when I had Luca and I was so glad because I had never heard of her books. I 100% recommend getting these for a baby shower!!
- Little Blue Truck Leads The Way- These Little Blue Truck books are sooo sweet. Now that Luca is a bit older, he likes longer stories. I love the illustrations in these ones too.
- Little Owl Lost- I just LOVE these books by Chris Haughton! We also have Oh, No George! and it's soo great. Cute, witty writing and cute illustrations. Luca loves them and often requests them!!
- Each Peach Pear Plum- We love this classic one.
- Are You My Mother?- Another well loved classic.
- Llama, Llama Red Pajama- Probably the most fun rhyme to read!
- DADA- I do NOT recommend this one if you want your child to say MAMA first, ha!! I hid this one from London. Luca said Dada first and I blame it all on this book!!!
- Goodnight Moon- Such a classic!!! I did read a funny buzz feed post on about all the quirkiness in it and made me LOL.
- Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb- We love drumming along to this one!
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?- We love this classic so much, I have a t-shirt of it!!
- Hello My Name is Bob- Luca randomly picked this one out at the library and it's SOOO GOOD. I'm tempted to buy it for him.
- Little People, Big Dreams: Rosa Parks- These books are written about amazing women who changed the world! We have Rosa Parks + Audrey Hepburn but I plan on getting London the whole set!
- The Gruffalo- Such a good book! I have it memorized.
PIN FOR LATER!
That's my list of favourites, I'd love to hear what you love to read to your littles!
XO,
Laura
photos by Rachael Alexandra Co
WHY WE LOVE OUR DIONO RADIAN RXT CARSEAT
I often get asked about the baby gear I have purchased for my babies. I have lists on lists on lists of things because let's be honest, babies need ALL THE THINGS. But one of the MOST IMPORTANT items you can purchase for your babe, is the carseat! In my city, they won't let you leave the hospital without one!
Click through to find our favourite car seat!!
I received this car seat c/o Diono but all opinions expressed are 100% my own.
I often get asked about the baby gear I have purchased for my babies. I have lists on lists on lists of things because let's be honest, babies need ALL THE THINGS. But one of the MOST IMPORTANT items you can purchase for your babe, is the carseat! In my city, they won't let you leave the hospital without one!
We used a bucket seat for the first 6 months. I love starting out with the bucket seat because you can take your sleeping baby everywhere but after about 6 months, it starts getting HEAVY and by 6 months, both of our kiddos hated the bucket seat. For Luca, we toughed it out until he was almost a year but for London, I knew I didn't want to suffer through those carseat meltdowns so at 6 months we graduated her to the Diono Radian RXT.
And we've been absolutely loving it!
Here are five reasons why we love our Diono Radian RXT carseat:
1. LONGEVITY
A child can be rear facing in the seat from 5lbs to 45lbs, forward facing in the five point harness up to 65lbs and then it converts to a booster and can be used from 50lbs to 120lbs! The carseat is also good for TEN years so chances are you can use it on your next babe!
2. SAFETY
When we took the carseat out of the box, both James and I commented on how strong it felt! The frame is made of steel and the sidewalls are reinforced with aluminum. It is one STRONG carseat.
3. STYLE
We went with the Midnight (all black) seat and it looks great in our SUV. It's so sleek as well! But that sleekness isn't just for good looks, it's sleek enough to fit THREE carseats across a single row...(can someone please tell my hubby if we have another baby we won't need to buy a minivan, ha!)
4. COMFORT
It's such a comfortable seat! London just loves it and actually fell asleep in it the other day!! (She stopped falling asleep in her bucket seat at 3 months old!!)
5. EASE OF USE
One of my favourite features of the Diono Radian RXT carseat is it folds flat and can be worn as a backpack. That my friends, will make air travel a BREEZE! It also is super easy to install and the whole cover is machine washable...I unfortunately had to find that out after London got sick all over it :( Thank goodness it all went in the wash and I was able to easily attach the fabric back to the seat.
Visit Diono's website to purchase your seat or learn more about it. Our family HIGHLY recommends it!
XO, Laura