My Favorite Things...

I thought, 

with the AWESOME number of friends having babies,

I would share some of the items I really loved using for H's first couple months.

Aden + Anais Swaddles

Whether you get just the swaddle blankets, or the easy swaddles these blankets are the best!  I prefer to swaddle H in the easy swaddles at night because it's much harder for him to wiggle out of, and I'm not swaddling master.  But once I started swaddling him he slept so much better!  Not to mention these blankets can be used for anything and you don't have to worry about baby overheating.  The stroller blankets are really great as well...H might be attached to his.

A Swing of any Variety 

(preferably one that plugs into an outlet...no dead batteries)

Our swing has made naps a breeze for H.  While I hope that he will eventually take his naps in the crib, this thing puts him out in seconds, and comes in handy when he is having a really rough night in the crib.

ZIP up sleep jammies

(or sleep sacks)

Imagine trying to button up a squirming monkey, while drunk, in the dark...
That's kind of what it feels like during those late night diaper changes.
The sleep sacks are nice because you just pull it up, and pull it down.  I did find that they would ride up his legs as the night went on...which would annoy me in my sleep.  But it never seemed to bother him.  Not to mention they made my little boy look a little girly.

White Noise

Whether you buy an actual sound machine or stick to something as simple as a fan, these really help keep them asleep.  Right now we're just using a fan.  I'd like to get a sound machine that plugs into the wall so he can have a full night of the rain, heart beat, etc sounds instead of the 30 minutes that the sound sheep provides.

Video Monitor

We use the WiFi Baby monitor.  It is compatible with our phones and iPad.  I was shocked at how much noise H made in his sleep!  He used to make a sound that sounded exactly like a dolphin.  Anyways, the video makes it easier to tell if the little one is actually awake or not.  No pointless walks down the hall!

Moby/baby wearing contraption of some variety
Mostly because hauling those darn car seats is tiring!!! I wore Hudson in the grocery store, the mall, and parties.  It was great at his first party in Colorado at 3 weeks old.  Ethan and I were both a bit nervous about people wanting to pass our little one around at an outdoor party on his due date.  Sticking him in the moby wrap put him right to sleep and allowed a look but don't touch approach to all the guests.  Maybe I was being over protective of him that night but we had just driven 12 hours, it was flu season, and we were going to drive another 12 back to montana.  We were the ones bringing him home and I'm not sure I would have been able to deal with a sick 3 week old as a new mother.  The wrap also made grocery shopping easy...no room taken up by a bulky car seat=more food for me!

I'll add more as I think of them, but these were/are life savers.