baby favorites: 6 weeks in I howsweeteats.com
So here is a list of things we’ve been crazy loving the last six weeks! We always swore our home would never be taken over by baby things but, ummm… that is seemingly impossible. Make sure to leave me comments below of what you and your babe are loving. Because, you know, we really need more STUFF.

The Halo Bassinest. This is by far the best purchase/investment we made. If you read my few pregnancy updates, you know that I really didn’t buy a thing before the baby was born, even buying nursery (which still isn’t finished) furniture at the eleventh hour. We really thought he would be in his room from day one. As we got closer to delivery, I realized that I probably would not want to be walking down the hall for midnight feedings and Eddie said he really thought he wanted the baby in our room at first. Thank goodness for that realization ahead of time because after he was born and we fell in major love, some type of bassinet would have needed to be purchased and we may have missed out on this. I actually stumbled upon the bassinest on amazon when researching the whole where-to-sleep debacle. The reviews were stellar and after thinking about it for a few days, I deemed it necessary. It is. Our bed is SO high off the ground and this can be lifted to that high level. It is super sturdy and sleek. I can look right at him from my bed. It worked wonders in the beginning because I had such severe back pain – and I believe that this is also recommended for women who have c-sections. Not to mention, I think it’s super chic and modern looking. I love how it swivels. It’s just AWESOME. And based on some other bassinets I saw in Babies R Us before he was born – they were in the $250-300 range – I thought the price on this was great. After using it for six weeks, I can definitely say it’s worth the price.

The Aden and Anais dream blanket. GAH. Words cannot express my love for this super soft and thick blanket. I want one for myself – and apparently they make it! This is something I did purchase right before he was born. I had a Nordstrom gift card and was nutty over the Aden + Anais things. This is so warm. I spread it on the floor and lay him on it to kick around, we use it to get all cuddly when we nurse, I keep it at the foot of our bed for nighttime nursings because I prefer to do skin on skin at night too, I even use this as a blanket for myself when he is asleep. My mom has loosely swaddled him in it and sometimes I throw it on his legs in the carseat since it’s been so cold. And it only gets softer with each wash. It’s obviously not a true necessity and I’d classify it as a luxury item, but I adore it. I think it makes the perfect gift for an expecting mom or new baby. I don’t love any blanket like I love this.

The 4moms rockaroo. So, we have the mamaroo AND the rockaroo. Truly, our living room looks like a newborn bomb went off. I was gifted the mamaroo for my shower and was SO excited about it. It was like the one thing I really wanted for Max, it just seemed super cool. However, he just… isn’t in to it? They seem to be a very loved or hated product and I wonder if he’s still too tiny to enjoy it? I found that if I fed him, changed him and put him in the mamaroo he’d last for about 15 minutes (often less) before screaming. A few weeks ago, 4moms contacted me and asked if we wanted to try the rockaroo. Since they are a Pittsburgh-based company and I was totally bummed about the mamaroo, I said sure and hoped for the best. HE LOVES IT. When I was researching these before my shower, many moms said their babies like the rockaroo better to begin with. I ignored that since the mamaroo seemed so awesome – but I’m here to say that we adore the rockaroo so much more. He is so happy rocking back and forth. I’m still going to keep trying the mamaroo in hopes that he one day loves it. I wish they made one in an adult size.

The Aden + Anais bamboo swaddles. Now, I’m picky about my A + A swaddles! Granted, they are all wonderful. But – my cousin Lacy bought me the 3-pack of bamboo swaddles at Nordstrom when she found out I was pregnant. They are SO soft. They are so much softer than the 4-pack of regular swaddles. So much so in fact that I can’t even do the non-bamboo ones. Everyone recommended these to me and it’s true – they work as blankets, loose swaddles, are great for nursing covers, etc. Plus, they are just so cute. The bamboo ones are pricier and only come with 3 as opposed to 4, but during the Nordstrom anniversary sale you can find them on sale and they often have exclusive prints. That’s when I bought my other two boxes last summer and I believe they were around $29 for 3 instead of $45. These also make a great gift! I use them every single day.

The Halo Sleepsack Swaddles – in cotton AND fleece. Oh my gosh. These SAVED us. My friend Tiff gifted me one of these soon after I found out I was pregnant, telling me how much it helped them with sleep in the beginning. On our second or third night home, after battling with the miracle blanket swaddle (which I do not care for at all), I remembered this was in the drawer and dug it out. It is so easy to swaddle since it has velcro on it, plus the fleece ones are super warm. He LOVES these and most of the time instantly falls asleep when swaddled. I wanted to drive to Tiff’s house in the middle of the night and hug her for giving this to me. The next day, I ordered one more and had my mom pick me one up at Babies R Us in case of nighttime incidents. I can’t fathom sleep without these. They are cheapest on amazon!

Baby nightgowns, like these. I love love love them. I picked up a few before he was born after reading that they were great for easy changing and while the umbilical cord heals. Both are definitely true – plus they are just comfy, cozy and hello – adorable. Baby looks like a little sack of potatoes! I’ve heard that these are a love or hate item – and I’ll say that Eddie isn’t a huge fan just because he finds them difficult to take on and off. But I love them. I now have quite the collection because my friends and family know how much I adore them and they are difficult to find. Someone suggested in another post that you can find ones in thrift/consignment shops, so I can’t wait to look. My mom gave me one that she had from my brothers and it’s too adorable.

The Solly baby wrap. I have a few wraps but this was the least intimidating, most stretchy and cozy/comfy for me to try first. I love it. I love wearing him so, so much. Now, I don’t find it easy to do every day tasks yet while wearing him since he is still gaining neck control – I find that I feel comfortable with a hand on his head if I’m doing things around the house. Which obviously slows things down. And you can’t bend over while wearing this, so again, another strike against daily tasks, like unloading the dishwasher. BUT – I love to wear him just because. Around week 3 he had a growth spurt and wouldn’t stop screaming so I threw him in the wrap and he quieted down immediately. The day after Christmas I had him in the wrap and he slept for five hours. I also prefer wearing him in the wrap in the grocery store – since it’s flu season and I tend to see a bunch of people I know, I like having him close and somewhat “untouchable” during this early stage and cold months. If you’re intimidated by this, just watch youtube videos.

The babyGap 100% organic cotton onesies and pants. These are ridiculously soft. I love them so much – and love the neutral cream color they come in. I have size 0-3 months and they were pretty huge on him until now. They are still roomy at 6 weeks and 9-10ish pounds, so they give room to grow.

This wipe warmer. I KNOW. STOP JUDGING ME. I am the person that got a wipe warmer, kept it, AND bought a second one. So I didn’t register for one of these and definitely thought it was gimmicky. But my friends were split down the middle – some thought it was a complete joke while others said it was wonderful and a must-have during changing time when they are little. I got one for my shower and decided to see how it went. Um, we LOVE this. As ridiculous as it sounds, I’d actually call this as a necessity for us. Eddie loves it more than me – but he does almost all the changings if he is home. We loved it so much that after the first week, he went and bought a second one so we could have one upstairs and downstairs. As he says… wouldn’t YOU want to use warm wipes? Ha.

The Earth Mama Angel Baby nipple balm. I had some regular Lanisoh in my hospital bag to prepare for nursing and that’s what they gave me at the hospital, but the day after he was born, Jenna sent me this and told me how wonderful it is. AHH! I could not have survived without it, frankly. I am on my third tub of it. It’s so much better than the Lanisoh… and it smells awesome. Kind of like cocoa buttery. This was/is a definite must have.

On that same note, I love these Bamboobies! They came up as a recommended item on the Nordstrom website (though I can no longer find them on there?!) when I bought the dream blanket. Having no idea what I was in for, I bought a pack. I am so, so glad I did. I have since bought two more packs, just in case I can’t/forget to throw mine in the wash. These are sooo soft. As for disposable nursing pads, I’ve tried the Johnson + Johnson ones, Medela ones and the Lansinoh ones and the Lansinoh are by far my favorite.

The Belly Bandit! I mentioned this in one of my first posts. I bought it before he was born after seeing other bloggers and friends mention it. Little did I know it would be the thing that helped my back feel 100% better! It offered so much support. It probably also helped “shrink” things back into place like it says it does, but I measured a bit small so my stomach wasn’t very huge. After I blogged about it a few weeks ago, Belly Bandit offered to send me the mother tucker corset (ha!) to try and I couldn’t resist. While it is pretty awesome, it has a million hook and eyes and right now I can’t manage to get it on everyday. If I had to suggest one, I’d go with the velcro version. And at the beginning – I’d have Eddie velcro me into it which helped my back immensely.

The Fisher Price Rock and Play. I got this as a gift and it is also one of the BEST things we received. I’ve only heard wonderful things about this – many friends even have their babes sleep in it at night. We keep it downstairs in the living room and it’s what he naps in during the day, or what he sometimes just hangs out in while I cook. It’s also very lightweight so I can carry it up and down the stairs easily. It’s easily transportable and you can travel with it. It’s what I put him in when I shower and/or put on some makeup, (attempt to) clean up the house or do laundry and unload the dishwasher. Definitely recommended. It’s also quite affordable!

This Crane humidifier. It may go without saying that this is awesome and those of you who are veteran moms are probably laughing at me. But it’s been so cold and dry this winter and Max sounded so stuffy at night – when the pediatrician suggested firing up the humidifier, I did so and now I’m not sure than Eddie and I can sleep without it. And if a humidifier can look fun, this is it.

The Baby Feed app. This is the app that I use to track feedings and what not – it was the first that I found and downloaded in the hospital and I still really love it. It’s worked great for us so far.

[this post is not sponsored and is merely a list of products we’ve loved the last six weeks. 4moms sent us the rockaroo but we were not required to talk about it nor were we offered compensation for talking about it. everything else was either purchased by me or a gift from family and friends. there are a few amazon affiliate links above. thank you! xoxo]