Favorites : Month 1

I had this series in mind for quite some time, but as you can imagine it can be difficult to pull myself away from our cute little boy. I have a three months to catch up on, but hopefully I'll be able to keep up with our favorites as time goes on. These are a few of the things that made life with a newborn a little bit easier, albeit, none of them are ground breaking products, but babies don't require too much in the beginning. 

Starbucks Gift Card - If you gave us a gift card for coffee, God bless you! We acquired quite a stash from some of the people who know us best. We love a good Starbucks date and it was so nice to have a little something special to do outside of the house when we were sleep deprived and couldn't bring ourselves to do too much. Know a new mom? Buy her coffee.
Happy Baby Wrap - There are so many baby carriers to choose from, but the soft, silky, breathable organic bamboo blend fabric makes the Happy Baby Wrap my favorite wrap. Samson is super snuggly and I often got trapped on the couch with him laying on my chest. Once our wrap arrived in the mail, I regained some freedom while being able to keep him warm, content and close.
Avent Soothie Pacifier - Samson had one of these in the hospital when he had his circumcision performed and he preferred it to all the other brands when we got home. Even though they appeared similar, he could always tell the difference. Giving him a pacifier as soon as we got home made all the difference in the world for us. He had no problems telling us when he was actually hungry. Every baby is different, so you might have to try a few until you find the right one, but it is totally worth it!
Pampers Swaddlers - Every parent has their preferences for diapers, these are ours. However, Samson was and is long and lean, so I can't speak for those babies with rolls for days. Our wonderful nurse stuffed my bag with several packages of newborn and size 1's for me before we left the hospital and thankfully we had a few boxes on hand. We tried other brands and they just didn't compare with the softness or absorbency (aka leak protection) for our brand new baby. Save the other brands (or your cloth diapers) for when your baby is a bit bigger.
Sleep & Play Outfits - Samson lived in these day & night during the first month. Outfits with multiple pieces are kind of overrated until your baby is a little more "sturdy." Just ask my husband. I recommend you have like twenty in each size. I'm only sort of joking. The cotton, terry and fleece are all equally soft and cozy. Bonus points if they have cute feet and butts! know a lot of people prefer the zippered ones to prevent some annoying late night snap fiascos, however, I almost always had better luck with Samson staying warm and sleepy when I left the top snapped through midnight diaper changes and only opened his jammies where the action was.
Fisher-Price Rock & Play - Buy this, right now. Of our three infant hangouts (Rock & Play, Bouncer & mamaRoo) this is the most used. It's light-weight and easy to move around the main living spaces of our home. We'd pull it into the kitchen so Samson could watch us while we cook & eat dinner, it's the perfect height to keep an eye on baby while you lay on the couch, and it fits easily through the bathroom doorway, ahem. We use it every day.
Aden + Anais Swaddle Blankets - Super soft and super stretchy, we used these to swaddle Samson at night until he turned into a baby Houdini and required more serious muscle to keep him tucked in. They are lightweight enough to use when your baby is layered in his fleece jammies, but cozy enough to keep your baby warm in his car seat. They also work as a nice extra large burp cloth if your baby can make Old Faithful look like a tiny little water spiget. We almost always have one tucked in the diaper bag.
BabyGanics Hand Sanitizer - Stock up on this stuff! We have both the unscented variety and the Mandarin orange scent. It's not drying like other hand sanitizer (I'm looking at you GermX) and is gentle on the skin. We have them upstairs and downstairs with Samson's diaper changing stations and in the diaper bag. I was a little nuts about germs in the beginning (still am!) and even used it to sanitize Samson's hands after a weird stranger insisted upon touching his fingers.

I know these are pretty basic items, but it really helps to be prepared with the proper goodies. Hope this list helps you if you are a momma-to-be planning a registry or if you know a momma-to-be and you need some gift ideas.