I officially have a 5 month old!! How in the world did that happen?  The first 6 weeks felt like 7 years and now here we are.  So I figured it was about time that I shared the products that have worked for us in these first 5 months of baby life.  The important thing to remember is that this is what works and has worked for US.  Every baby is SO different and every parent is so different so take all of these suggestions with that in mind.  I will go through each product with how we used it and why so if you are building a registry yourself you can kind of wrap your head around the need for these things! Here we go!

2021 update:  We have a new baby!  Milo is now 4 months so I am coming back to this page to share some updates on products and what I did differently with him. Updates added below!

Sleep

Pillow Seat – This thing is pictured above and another great hand me down.  We loved using it on the couch with us if she wanted to nap there or just be awake and near us but not in our arms.  You may read this (if you haven’t had a baby) and think, but isn’t the rock n play for living room naps?  Let me tell you, having options is really nice.  Not necessary, but nice!!

Pack n play with bassinet – For the first 7 weeks of Ruth’s life she slept on the bassinet/ napper attachment on the top of our Pack n Play in our room with us.  This was perfect and I am so glad we did this instead of a bedside bassinet.  We were already going to get a pack n play so not having to buy one more item was great.  She slept super well in it and now we use the pack n play when traveling and she sleeps well in that too!

Milo: Lullago Bassinet – Of course about 1 month before Milo was born we start looking for the bassinet attachment to the pack n play and couldn’t find it anywhere! So we hoped on amazon to look for the cheapest bassinet we could find.  We go this and it was perfect! He used it for the first 10 weeks then he went into his crib.  And if you were wondering, of course we found the bassinet attachment for the pack n play when he was about a month old!!

Muslin Swaddle Blankets – We have TONS of muslin blankets and the ones linked here are some of my favorites.  We used some to swaddle at the beginning but we now just use them as blankets when she’s in her car seat or stroller/ anywhere really, and as a burp cloth when needed.

Halo Sleep Sack – Once she got really good at busting out of muslin swaddles, we tried out this sleep sack and were SO AMAZED.  It kept her in really tight, was so easy to use and she slept like a dream in it!  Linked here is the newborn one we had, then we got the small size, and now that she has her arms out we use the medium size with no arms! LOVE!

Sound Machine – This sound machine is my bestest friend.  We follow the Moms on Call sleep training/ Taking Cara Babies as well and within those guidelines do what works for our schedule.  Both ways involve a sound machine with white noise every night and for every nap!  She loves it and if it ever turns off (like when the batteries are done) she gets so confused.  I love this one because its small and cordless so if we ever travel we can pop it in our bags easily.

Sound Sleeper App – This app is a serious life saver when on the go.  My lactation consultant told me about it when she was trying to get Ruth to focus on eating and played the “Vacuum Cleaner” noise for her.  Now we use it if we are driving and she is loosing it (hungry or tired) and we just need to get home!  We turn it on and put it near her ear in the carseat and she zones out and stops crying.  Also around 3.5 – 4 months she started getting super distracted when eating, so we put it up to her ear and she could eat so much better!

Avent Pacifiers – Oh we just love pacifiers around here! She took them easily from the beginning and were an easy way to lull her to sleep as they set off a calming reflex in their brain.  The nurses were all for them, my lactation consultant was for them, and Ruth loved them too!  She is already getting over them a bit and rarely takes them unless she is super upset, which I am totally fine with.  They are great to have around the house in every drawer though because when you need one, you need it NOW!

Milo: Tommee Tippee Pacifiers – Milo was so different than Ruth when it came to his paci!  The avent ones we had did not work from the start, he just spit them out.  So I got a couple different kinds on amazon that were highly reviewed and those still didn’t work!  It thought maybe he just wouldn’t take a paci but then I tired Tommee Tippee and he loved them.  We are obsessed!

Project Nursery Baby Monitor – We are loving our baby monitor!  The picture and sound are great and that is really all you need right?

Milo: Vava Baby Monitor– We had been using the Project Nursery monitor with Milo for the first few months and got Ruth a separate camera that connected to wifi.  But then we realized it would be much easier to have a 2 camera monitor and getting a second camera

Feeding

For feeding I will start with the products I used while breastfeeding then move onto the formula stuff! To learn more about my breastfeeding struggles head to my instagram and see my highlight about it!

Spectra Pump – This pump and I were friends and enemies for a few weeks but all in all it is a great pump!!  It never hurt and I found in my time pumping that you should never have the pumping levels at a point where it hurts.  I liked this pump because there were 2 settings to choose from so you would start in one setting that would minic how a baby first starts to feed (quicker sucks) then switch it to how they would feed the rest of the time (slower).

Nursing Pads  – I went through a few sets of nursing pads in my 7 weeks of breastfeeding.  First I started with reusable pads that were cloth and you could wash.  I thought they were fine until I got Thrush (you know, a yeast infection in your nipples), because of the constant moisture around there.  So I went to the Lansinoh pads and there was SO much waste with each one because they were individually wrapped.  So I landed on these ones linked and they were sooo much better!!

Boppy  – I got a boppy to support Ruth while I was breastfeeding and I thought it was working okay until my lactation consultant told me it was terrible for supporting a kiddo and to get the My Breast Friend!  SO I wouldn’t reccomend for breastfeeding but we still have it and love it for other things! It is also great for supporting her as she learns to sit up, great for tummy time, and all together just a nice pillow for lounging!

My Breast Friend  – This is what my Lactation consultant told me to get and it did help with her positioning although I only got to use to briefly before stopping and wish I had this from the start.  I have it in storage now and will definitely use it with the next baby!

Avent Bottles – I chose these bottles the way I chose most of my products – because my sister used them!  We have both the natural and anti colic bottle/ nipple combos and I honestly can’t tell a difference between the two.  So we have both and switch off and Ruth doesn’t seem to mind.

Burp Clothes – We use these reusable diapers as burp clothes because they are cheap for the pack and perfectly absorbant! Ruth really didn’t spit up much at all in the beginning and now just does a little on occasion so we use these mostly as a bib under her mouth when she is eating from the bottle to catch leaks!

Baby Brezza – Okay this is something that a ton of people messaged me about on instagram once I said we were switching to Formula. I looked at it and laughed thinking okay people really how hard is it to put water in a bottle with formula and shake it?? BUT YOU GUYS.  This thing is amazing.  First of all, at the beginning, Ruth was a princess about having a warm bottle, so to warm water perfectly and mix the formula perfectly and not make too many bubbles while shaking it, all while she was crying and hungry… it turned out to be more work than I wanted.  So we bought this Baby Brezza Formula Pro Advanced and I am SO happy with it! It warms the bottle perfectly and blends it all together so quickly.  On early mornings it makes me life so easy and that is PRICELESS!

Play

Milo: Graco Swing – We actually got this with Ruth but she did not like it one bit. Milo on the other hand LOVED it!  It helped so much when he was little to calm him down and get him to nap during the day those first couple months.

Activity Mat – This little guy was perfect for Ruthie when she both needed tummy time or when she was first really starting to look at things and grab things.  Anything to keep the baby happy and entertained!

Play Mat – This little mat is great to throw on the living room floor for tummy time, rolling over and playing with all the little things on it that crinkle and have different textures for her to explore.

Bouncer – This bouncer was SO helpful the first 3 months.  We kept it on the kitchen counter so when we were cooking or working in the kitchen she could just hang out and see what we were doing!

Milo: Bouncer/ Rocker – We got a new one for Milo and liked it! He is already out of it but it was great for the first couple months and I loved the look and how it works with our decor.

Bumbo – Once she graduated from the Bouncer, we moved the Bumbo seat onto the counter and she loves it so much. It is perfect for when they can’t sit up on their own yet but they have the neck strength and want to see what is going on!  She loves to sit here and watch me dance around the kitchen to entertain her!

Jumperoo – Do you see how happy that girl is in the picture above? She is obsessed with jumping in her jumperoo!!  Ours was a hand me down but I linked the current one from the same brand.  We first put her in there with a box below for her feet because she was still too little, and now we are almost going to put her on the highest setting!  Growing too fast!

Sophie Giraffe – We have lots of little teether toys for her now that she is loving putting everything in her mouth, but this Sophie Giraffe is a major winner! She bites on her ears, her feet and basically any part that will fit in her mouth.

Walker – This little walker (we call her car) is another awesome hand me down that she loves chilling in while playing with toys and being with us in the kitchen.  She is about to start moving forward in it but for now she can just push her feet backwards!

Bathing

Baby Bath – We got this basic bath and it has been great! She loves her bath time and kicks around and squeals from happiness.

Baby Sink Bather – For the first month we used this little Bather on top of the bath because it was soft and made me feel better before she had the good baby fat she has now!

Wash Cloths – We use these wash cloths with her soap to clean her up and these ones are our favorite.

Unicorn Towel – I mean can you even handle the cuteness!! A fresh washed baby in a cute towel is THE BEST.

Basic Towels – And because we can’t be cute all the time… these are great too!

On the go!

Car Seat – We love our Uppababy car seat! It’s not only super cute but functional and soft, which I love.  She is growing in it so fast! We just started keeping it in the car and using the other stroller attachment which is going great.

Stroller – The Cruz stroller is perfect for around town! Easy to pop open and operate.  I will be getting another stroller for workouts and trails soon though!

Ergobaby – I use this thing all the time!  With the hubby working a lot and me grocery shopping a lot, It is so nice just to strap her on to me to run errands or even get work done around the house.

Changing Station – This is a must for any diaper bag!  Hold wipes, diapers and is a perfect place to change their diaper anywhere.

Diaper Bag – Okay I deleted the last bag I had on here because I love the one I have now so much!  I first had an honest bag and that didn’t work, then a skip hop and it was good for a bit but then ripped. So now I have this freshly picked backpack and its perfect!!