These are the products that have helped us survive the first seven weeks of parenthood:

1. Happiest Baby on the Block (DVD)- I received this DVD from my good friend Kimberly as a gift and it truly is the gift that keeps on giving. It is a must have for anyone who is planning on having a baby or if you already have a baby and you cannot seem to soothe your little bundle of beans. Chris has truly mastered Dr. Harvey Karp’s football hold technique:

Dr. Karp's techniques work like magic. If done correctly I firmly believe that you can soothe most crying babies unless they are starving of coarse then just feed the poor thing!






2. The Amazing Miracle Blanket- In conjunction with Dr. Karps’s techniques or solo Jacob loves to be swaddled. He relaxes his arms when he sees the blanket.











3. Cloud B Sleep Sheep to go-We put this in his cradle at the hospital and would ask the nurses to leave it running while he was away from us. Now, we have it attached to the infant seat and take it wherever we go.



4. Pacifiers- I learned in the breast feeding class that its very important not to give pacifiers that have a slanted nipple to your newborn because it will train your love bug to suck incorrectly which will ultimately wreak havoc on your breast. So, for preventive measures we decided to try Avent, Soothie, and MAM. Although, Jacob seemed to be okay with the avent paci, it didnt last long in our house because it melted in my microwave sterilizer. I discarded the avent and now we have MAM and Soothie. Just recently Erica gave me her extra Soothies . Thanks Erica!


5. Transitions: Soothing Music for Crying Infants- This c.d.helped us create a sleep den type of environment in our bedroom. Lisa loan this to me last week and we play it non- stop at night in our bedroom. I am not sure if this is a must have for the parents or the baby but overall we all are falling to sleep much faster with this c.d. running.



6. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child- At six week, a friend of mine had a girl’s night and even though I have been completely exhausted I just knew that getting out of the house and socializing would be just what I ultimately needed. As soon as I walked in the door I felt like all the experienced moms knew exactly what I was going through and this was comforting. Sarah loaned me her copy of HSHC and I started reading it as soon as I got home. According to Weissbluth, at six weeks if possible your partner should take off work as much as possible because moms are usually experiencing extreme sleep deprivation along with physical exhaustion if they are breastfeeding. This was very true for me. We made it though the sixth week as most parents do and HSHC helped and is helping us tweak Jacob’s night time sleep habits which are increasingly getting better. Thursday night he slept for 7 hours and 22 minutes straight. YAY! We have seen some improvements but still have a long road ahead of us.


7. Mustela- I love this stuff!! Jacob started to flake as most newborn babies do and one bath time with this stuff and all his dry flakes are gone. I use it for every bath now and he is moisturized as if I rubbed lotion on him. I am still not sure why the doctor told me not to use lotion on him?




8. Itzbeen- I LOVE this gadget. This helps Chris and I stay on the same page with length of feeding time and amount of time that Jacob is awake. Since babies should not be awake for more than 1.5-2hrs at a time this helps us stay on track so we don’t over stimulate our little man. We use this every day all day all the time. There is even a little light on it for night time feedings. The only problem with this product is that you will never get that Barenaked Ladies’ song out of your head.

9. Babyhawk Carrier-This was a shower gift from Kimberly and talk about convienence I started using this carrier as soon as we left the house. I need for closeness is mutual so, we are both happy when I have him strapped in. I also love that it's stylish.