Olivia’s 0-3 Month Essentials

Olivia is 12 weeks today, but she’ll be 3 months old next Wednesday. Though time is flying and things are changing quickly at this stage, I don’t see her using any new items so frequently I’d deem them an essential. Though there are a few other items that we use regularly, such as our Motorola Baby Monitor, these items are the ones I’d say that Olivia uses on a daily or near daily basis. I’ll do a separate post of items like the crib, pack n play, and car seat that we use, but these are the basics.

I have a few friends who have asked me for baby shower gift ideas lately, as sometimes it’s hard to decide what is essential on someone’s registry. These would absolutely be items I’d recommend buying off of a baby registry.

I ranked the items based on necessity and frequency of use for Olivia.

aden + anais Classic Burpy Bib: Olivia has been a spitter since the beginning. She’s gaining the right weight, so her doctor says it’s just a laundry problem. These bibs have been out number one most used item by far. We have about 8 of them, and I feel like we go through almost all of them each day. The shape, snaps, and absorbency of them make them perfect for constant use, as I can snap them on her she can still get to her hands (which she has recently started loving putting in her mouth.

Burpy bib with a smile on an early ride in the stroller. This was one of our first walks.

Halo Sleepsack Swaddles: Olivia has been sleeping in the Halo swaddle sleepsacks every night since she came home from the hospital. I end up having to wash them everyday because of said spitup, so we just bought another one to reduce laundry frequency. The velcro makes them harder for her to escape (though she still does sometimes), and the zipper ending on the bottom means we don’t have to take them all the way off of her to do nighttime diaper changes (though we’re having to change at night less frequently now).

Boppy Newborn Lounger: I mentioned this in my Five on Friday post, but Olivia almost lives in this thing. I love holding her and cuddling her, but she can only take so much of it before she fusses to be put down. We put her in this on the couch, and then I can look at her, talk to her, and play with her while she looks me in the face and looks around. So many of the photos on my phone are of her laying in the Boppy Newborn Lounger on our couch.

She loves that paci, and the newborn lounger is there in the background.

Philips Avent Soothie Pacifier, 0-3 Months: Olivia was introduced to a pacifier in the NICU. I didn’t intend to introduce her to one until 1 month because of breastfeeding, but the first time we went down to the NICU she had one in her mouth and I wasn’t about to take it out. Since then she uses it when falling asleep. More recently I’ve been trying to wean her off of it for nighttime sleep, because she wakes up in the night and needs it if she starts out with it. For daytime naps, though, she uses it to fall asleep and then it doesn’t seem to impact her if she wakes up without it. She’s not good at keeping pacifiers in her mouth, but this is the one that stays in the best of the three kinds we’ve tried.

aden + anais Swaddle Blankets: These receiving blankets are useful for all kinds of things. In the early days we’d put them on her for naps when she still napped downstairs with us, but I’ve also used them to cover her carseat when it’s really sunny and we’re out on a walk, as burp clothes when all the others are dirty, and to keep her warm of course. There are two options of sizes, and the more expensive ones are bigger, though the fabric is fairly similar in feel.

Solly Baby Wrap: My friend Leah gave us this wrap that she had used with both of her babies, and I love it. I’ve gotten more use out of it as I’ve understood how tightly to wrap Olivia in it. I really use it around the house as much as anything right now. When Olivia starts getting fussy at night but it’s too close to bedtime to put her down for a nap, I wear her in the Solly wrap and she’ll either quiet down or fall asleep on me. This has been more of a recent development after she wasn’t falling asleep wherever she was sitting when she was tired (that was around 6 weeks).

I love how enamored she is with the lights, music, and animals.

Fisher-Price Rainforest Melodies and Lights Deluxe Gym: We have used this play gym since Olivia was born. Though she didn’t played with the animals until a few weeks ago, we used it as a tummy time mat. Now that she’s reaching for things and kicking things, she loves the animals. I have it set to play music when she actually kicks the animals, so she’s always kicking trying to get the lights and music to play. She’s particularly enamored with the lights at this stage.

I’ve learned (and been told my a couple of friends) that if she falls asleep in the Tula that I can just keep walking (often around Target) to get in a bit of a nap. This was actually yesterday.

Tula Baby Carrier in Foliage: I use this carrier a lot to walk Olivia around the neighborhood and take her out places. She loves being close to me when we’re out, and with the infant insert that helps stabilize her head, this is so comfortable to wear for me and comfortable to be in for her. The infant insert is definitely necessary for now, as it sits her up higher and helps her head control. I couldn’t tell you whether to go with the Solly or the Tula, because I use them at different times and think they each have a time and a place, like many baby things.

Hello overstimulated eyes and bad picture, but this was the first time she grabbed and shook the rattle,!

Bright Starts Rattle and Shake Barbell Rattle: In the last week or two, we’ve been using this rattle more than any other toy that we have. Olivia likes it because it’s colorful and makes noise. She has recently started grabbing it and shaking it herself. The other toy that we’ve been using is the Lamaze Captain Calamari. We use him for the different fabrics, but she can’t hold him yet so she’s not as intrigued by him.

There are of course other items that we use on a less frequent basis, but these are the ones we’re constantly reaching and grabbing for in the last few months. I’m looking forward to getting to play with more toys with Olivia, as she’s starting to interact more with them.

Anything I’m completely forgetting? I almost left off the pacifier but looked at the monitor to check on my napper and saw it laying there and realized how silly it was that I had forgotten it.

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