My daughter Madelyn at 5 months old.

I thought my first post would be all about the products I found most useful in the first 6 months. So here goes, my top ten list of must have items for a newborn – in no particular order.

1. Dappi Organic Cotton Nursing Pads – I couldn’t go anywhere without these in the first few months. Even now I’m glad I have them from time to time. (Like in a three hour meeting the other day at work). When I got them I thought they were for chafing, but after I had my first letdown, I knew better. If you are like me, your boobs will leak when you think about your baby, let alone hold them. You can buy disposables, but I would have spent a fortune if I’d used those. These are organic, so no chemicals on your nipples, and can be washed along with all your other clothes. You don’t need many. You’ll be doing laundry at least once a day post baby.

2. Fisher Price Rock n’ Play – Now I generally advocate all non-toxic, organic everything, but this thing was worth budging on. I washed it several times before putting my babe in it of course. It you don’t have a baby with reflux, then you probably don’t absolutely need this. My baby did, and this was the only thing that she could sleep in without waking up screaming in pain. Therefore it got A LOT of use. It was also easily portable and we used it when we traveled overnight in the first several months instead of a play yard for her to sleep in. It was good till just about 4 months when she could sit up and pull herself up holding the sides.

3. Castleware Sleep Sack – These don’t fit until your baby is a little older (mine fit around 6 weeks), but I love that they have long sleeves and are organic. They are expensive, so just get one or two and wash them along with all the other laundry you are doing. I liked the Organic Halo Sleep Sacks with the velcro to swaddle her in when she was very young, but once she didn’t need to be swaddled, I switched to the Castleware. I had a few hand me down Halo Sleep Sacks, but then noticed that unless you get the organic ones they are treated with flame retardants!!

4. Gerber Organic Cotton Onesies – These are cheap and organic. Nuff said. Don’t be lured into buying the super cute $15 plus each onesies for your newborn. You’ll go through several of them a day and they’ll grow out of them in no time. You’ll for sure have some cute outfits and these are great for layering under those dresses or t-shirts you got at your shower.

5. Dr. Bronner’s Organic Coconut Oil – We use this exclusively as a moisturizer and diaper area rub. It’s edible (used in baby formula) so don’t worry if they put their fingers in their mouth after their baby massage,  and it smells delicious. Baby’s skin is very permeable and anything you put on them gets into their bloodstream. So you’ll want everything that can be absorbed into their skin to be something you could eat! It’s antibacterial and anti fungal, so good for diaper rash.

• As and add on to this item, here are a few essential oils to use along with it. Make sure to buy therapeutic grade. Lavender: Add a few drops of lavender essential oil to the coconut oil for massage and as a diaper rash cream replacement. Lavender oil is safe for babies, helps to relax them and is antibacterial. I also use a few drops in my baby’s bath. Eucalyptus: Add to coconut and rub on babies feet and chest for congestion. Chamomile: Add to bath or use with coconut for massage to calm and relieve pain. (Can use tea as well in the tub) This is especially helpful before and after shots. My daughter puked the few times I tried to give her infant tylenol, but this seemed to relieve her pain by itself.

6. mybaby HoMedicas SoundSpa on-the-go: This is basically a travel white noise machine. You can clip it on to a stroller, carrier, or car seat. Our lived on the car seat, and still does. It helped her fall asleep and stay asleep when I had to transfer her out of the car to just about anywhere. Using this, she slept through parties, dinners out, yoga class, you name it! Other moms asked about it often and several ended up getting one themselves. We got a different one that plugged into the wall for her room too, because otherwise we’d use a lot of batteries.

7. Nose Frida: It sounds weird and gross but boy does it get the snot out. My baby hates it of course, but it’s much easier and more effective than using a bulb syringe. You do need to moisten the baby’s nasal passages before use and I always just use breast milk instead of saline. Breast milk is antibacterial and if they get it up their nose and down the back of their throat, they don’t mind of course.

8. Natural Rubber Pacifier – My daughter does not use these anymore. She weaned from them at about 3 months old. But in those first months, a life saver. Helped her go to sleep when she really only wanted to suck and not eat (my flow was crazy fast then and no way was she able to latch on without getting a mouthful). It calmed her on car rides and helped her get over the hiccups. The first time I gave her one, she feel right asleep.

9. ErgoBaby Carrier – Or something like it. You can’t hold your baby all day or you’re arms will want to fall off. You also may want to make lunch, go for a walk, pee (yes I did), put in a load of laundry, check your Facebook page, etc…all which are much more possible with a newborn when they can be skin to skin while you are hands free. This is easy to use, which is essential for an impatient, tired mom and baby, and pretty comfy too.

10. Aloe Vera Juice – As I already mentioned, my baby has reflux. She got over it at about 4 and a half months old. I didn’t want to give her baby Zantac like the pediatrician recommended and so I used this instead in the same dose. Sometimes I gave it to her straight and sometimes I mixed it in a bottle with milk. It was pretty instant relief for her without the drugs. We also used Colic Ease, which seemed to work too sometimes, but a couple times she puked it up. Others swear by it though. I preferred the aloe because it has less ingredients. Babies have sensitive tummies, so less is more.

So those were my top ten, what are yours?

Next post will be my top ten items that I didn’t need as much as I thought I did. Stay tuned.