Hi friends! I must be going through all the feels with my little guy almost turning one soon because I’m getting all emotional thinking about when he was just a tiny newborn and I honestly did not like the newborn stage very much! The sleep deprivation got the best of me and I was one big hormonal mess. I remember going to my two week PP appointment and there I was nursing my baby, no clothes on from the waist down and still recovering (ouch), so beyond exhausted and wondering when I would ever sleep again and all it took was my doctor asking me how I was doing…. cue the sobbing mess. I remember thinking I already had PPD and my doctor told me the first two weeks are a hot mess and that I was most likely just completely sleep deprived and to give it a few weeks and check back with her. Gosh, just thinking about that day brings back so many emotions.

Ya’ll the newborn phase was not kind to me and I struggled more than I’d like to admit. I think I always had this vision that I would be floating on this newborn bliss and would be lounging around soaking in newborn cuddles all day and while I definitely loved the snuggles, I would be perfectly content hitting fast forward on that stage! Me and sleep deprivation do not go well together. ha!

Anyways, since I’ve been reminiscing about when Hudson was a little babe, I thought it would be fun to share my favorite newborn products with you guys! It’s funny how you buy so many things when you’re expecting, especially as a first time mama and how you quickly realize that you just don’t need that many things! All of the products listed below are ones that I truly used time and time again in the newborn phase and would 10/10 recommend them!!

1. Hatch Baby Sound Machine: We love our Hatch and use it every single day! In the very beginning, I wasn’t exactly sure how I wanted to incorporate it into Hudson’s sleep routines but found the different colored light options to be so helpful. We always used the red light at night when changing diapers at like 2 am because I learned in the Taking Cara Babies class (will talk more about this later) that apparently it’s not a great idea to turn on all the lights and stimulate the heck out of your baby for those middle of the night feeds. We use this sound machine for every nap as well as at night and love that you can control it via bluetooth on your phone. I recommend this product to all my expecting mama friends and I know we will be using it for years to come!

2. Copper Pearl Carseat Cover: I love this carseat cover because it doubles as a nursing cover and anything that’s multifunctional is a mom win! They have so many different colors and prints and we loved using this to keep Hudson covered especially since everyone was always trying to check him out in public!

3. Taking Cara Babies Newborn Course: I know this isn’t technically a product but I couldn’t talk about newborn favorites without mentioning this class. I bought the “Will I Ever Sleep Again” course when Hudson was three weeks old and watched it all in like a day because this mama was desperate for some sleep! I also am someone who loves to have guidelines/references to follow and I literally had no clue about newborn sleep schedules. I love that her class is a no-cry method and she really stresses the importance of being flexible with the schedule which I really appreciated. I’ve used Cara’s methods and still refer back to her blog to this day to help with changing nap schedules!

4. Copper Pearl Swaddle Blanket: Who knew there were some blankets that make better swaddles than others? Not me- but I quickly learned that these swaddle blankets from Copper Pearl are THE best! I remember buying so many muslin blankets thinking I would always swaddle Hudson in those and um yeah those don’t work!! I ordered like two more of these from Amazon the first week Hudson was born!

5. Gathre Changing Mat: I love these changing mats from Gathre- they’re so cute and have tons of prints/colors to choose from. I especially like that they are very thin and were perfect for packing in the diaper bag. They were also very easy to wipe down and we still use ours to this day! Plus, this rainbow print is SO cute!

6. Solly Baby Wrap: Just thinking of when I used to wear Hudson in this wrap gives me all the feels! I loved the Solly Baby wrap especially in those early days when he just wanted to be close to mama or mama needed to have her hands free! They’re super soft and not as hard to use as they look once you do it a few times!

7. SwaddleMe Wraps: We used several different brands of velcro swaddle wraps like this and these were by far our favorite and also pretty affordable! The velcro wasn’t too loud (and yeah that’s a thing you’ll think about when its 3 am and you’re trying to be as quiet as possible) and they were so easy to use (even for your husband haha)!

8. GouMimitts Baby Mitts: So all baby mittens are not created equal, in fact, I find that pretty much all of them are pointless except for these because the velcro actually helps them stay on! These are also made from organic bamboo & cotton and are available on Amazon- win, win!

9. Snuggle Me Organic Lounger: So I’m a little torn on this one because we definitely used this a ton when Hudson was a newborn but in the same sense- it is 100% a newborn product in my opinion! And I want to clarify that we never used this for unsupervised sleep or put this in his bassinet or crib. I only used this product during Hudson’s naps and while we were awake to watch him. But it was really helpful to have a place to put him other than just directly on a couch where he could potentially roll off.

10. My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow: If you’re expecting and you plan on breastfeeding- GO BUY THIS! But seriously this is a game changer for nursing and WAY better than the Boppy for BF’ing support especially in those early days. This pillow has a more firm, flat surface which is super helpful when you and your little one are just getting started and they need that extra support. It also has a buckle to secure around yourself which is amazing and the cover is machine washable. I honestly can’t say enough good things about this pillow! Although it isn’t something you will use for your entire BF’ing journey (especially if you go long term), you will get months of use out of it and I truly think this helps with positioning especially in those early days!

I hope this was helpful if you’re a mama to be or just expecting another babe and need a refresher on all things newborn! I’d love to know what your favorite newborn products were or what must-haves are on your list!?

-xoxo, M.