New mommy list

I just got home from the second stop of the meeting-newborns East Coast tour today. I am once again (1) amazed at the itty-bittiness of these little ones and (2) convinced that there is no possible way T could have ever been so tiny. It wasn't even a year ago that he was born - yet it seems like an eon ago - and it really is hard to remember what life was like when he was so new to the world. (Ok, maybe a sleep-deprived haze has something to do with that).

Anyway, if you're anything like me (which may or may not be a tad anal), I collected lists of newborn must-have items from basically all my friends for every new-mom situation. Of course, I learned really quickly that every baby and every mommy are completely unique, but there are a few things that seemed to be universal baby-pleasing tools. Since I have newborns on the brain from the weekend, I thought it might be fun to dive into the depths of my memory and list what I remember as my top ten must-haves for the first few months.

1. Cradle Swing
   Some of T's best naps were in this contraption. I'd pay a million bucks for it, that's how amazing it was for us.
2. Fisher-Price Rock and Play Sleeper
   Because T moved around way too much in his sleep I needed to confine him so I wouldn't have to wake up every 2 minutes to make sure his swaddle wasn't suffocating him. We tied a string to it so that we could rock it from the comfort of our bed when he seemed like he was stirring. Plus, it was really easy to move this sleeper everywhere we were, so he wasn't more than 2 feet from his brand spankin' new parents at any given moment. A new parents' dream.
3. Soundspa Sound Machine
   I heart this thing. I admit that I might have a teeny addiction to it since I'm so used to hearing it on the baby monitor - and I might just travel with one for myself these days.
4. The Sleep Sack
   Once we realized our swaddling skills were no match for T's acrobatics, this blanket gave us some peace of mind with the suffocating fear too. Not that he didn't break out of it, but at least we wouldn't fear it getting stuck over his cute little nose in the process.
5. Happiest Baby on the Block and On Becoming Baby Wise Two of my favorite sleep books. Do you sense a sleep trend here?
6. Baby Bjorn
   Sometimes you just need a little break from holding the little munchkin.
7. The Kindle
   I know this is a mommy-tool and not a baby-tool...but momma needs something to do during those late night feedings when HGTV gets old. And Castle. And NCIS. And Bones. (And mommy loves herself some Bones). Holding a book AND flipping the page with one hand = pure awesomeness, especially at 3AM.
8. Probiotics
   These wonderful little drops came directly to my door on some excellent advice from Erika - and I couldn't sing their praises more. They really seemed to help T's sensitive tummy - more than the standard Mylicon and Gripe Water did.
9. Burp Cloths
   One of those things I didn't really understand the importance of until T was born and then I really couldn't have enough of. My little man was a happy little spitter. All. The. Time.
10. Desitin
    New baby tush. 'Nuff said.

So whatcha think? Am I missing anything?

And as an aside - sorry about those annoying white boxes. In my need to try to be helpful and show you visuals for my Top 10....I added an annoyance factor. Oops. Pretend you don't see them.