Fourth Trimester Essentials
The first few weeks and months with your newborn baby are so special, but they can also be exhausting and challenging! Now that I’ve done the newborn baby thing a couple times, I’ve come to realize that while babies don’t really need a lot of those things on the registries, especially in the early months, there are some products that can really improve the postpartum experience for baby, mama, and the whole family! Here are a few items that made our fourth trimester more comfortable, cozy, and practical!
The Haaka
This thing is incredible! I only wish I had known about when I had my first baby. If you are planning on breastfeeding, the Haaka is a tool that can help you build up a large collection of milk without ever needing to take the extra time to pump! When you are nursing your babe, simply attach this milk collector to the opposite breast that your baby is nursing on, and it fills up with all the milky drips (or spray) that you let down. I found this to be especially essential during the first 6 weeks when my supply wasn’t yet regulated. Since it’s just a silicone suction cup milk collector, its super portable around the house, and I’ve even used it in the car if I happen to be leaking milk while I’m driving.
With my first born, I didn’t have any way to collect this excess letdown, and I would just put a towel over my boob and all of that milk would go to waste! This time around, with the Haaka, I was able to collect and store over 100 oz in the first 3 weeks of breastfeeding, without ever having to set time aside for a separate pumping session. And who wants to dedicate more time to be hooked up to a breast pump when we have so many other things we could be doing?
Solly Wrap
I was gifted 2 classic wraps from Solly Baby while I was pregnant and I was so excited to try them out! I’ll admit, I was a little intimidated because I had never used a simple fabric wrap before and I thought it would be too hard to tie. But after watching a couple of their amazing tutorials, I had it down, and now it’s like second nature getting Stone in and out of the wrap. For the babies, the wrap mimics the snug comfort of the womb, and they love it and often it puts the tiny ones right to sleep. Especially in the beginning, your baby just wants to next to mom all the time. And personally, I wanted to hold my baby all the time too. But it’s nice to have your hands free, because #reallife you know?
With Darlene we had another type of popular structured wrap, and it seemed so easy at the time. Now, I haven’t used that other carrier once because the Solly wrap has been so perfect since day one. The Solly wrap is for babies up to 25 pounds, so we still have a good year or so before we’ll need to switch to a more structured carrier. One thing I would suggest is that if you know you’ll be using the wrap later, for example you’re leaving the house to go grocery shopping, put the wrap on at home before you leave. The material of the wrap is 5.5 yards long, and when wrapping it around yourself the ends of the fabric hang down to the ground. You don’t want to be setting up the wrap in the parking lot of the grocery store and letting the fabric drag on the ground there. Putting it on at home first has proven to be an effective way to avoid this, but I’m interested to know if other people might have a better solution!
Overall, the Solly wrap has been one of my most-used items over these 3 months! As a mom of 2, this wrap has been a lifesaver! Not to mention, having my squishy baby wrapped all tight next to me (while I also have my hands free) is something I can never get enough of.
Zipper Onesies— Kyte and Love’d Baby
Before Stone was born, I had only stocked up on 0-3 size clothing because I was so sure he was going to be even bigger than my first baby (who was 8 lbs 9 oz). Stone surprised us all by being only 7 lbs 15 oz even though he was 2 weeks overdue! I quickly realized that all of his clothes were too big and I needed to buy a few newborn sized onesies. I purchased a couple from Kyte Baby and a couple from L’oved Baby, and we liked both of them for different reasons.
The Kyte onesies are made out of super soft bamboo, a thinner and stretchier material than the L’oved Baby onesies. Even though they were newborn size, they stretched to fit my growing newborn quite a bit longer than the L’oved onesies. They featured a unique double zipper that you could either zip from the top down, or from the bottom up for easier diaper changes! They didn’t have any hand covers though, which was the main downfall since Stone was born with long fingernails and it took me quite a while before I felt comfortable cutting them!
The L’oved zipper onesies are made of a thicker organic cotton material and were much less stretchy, but perhaps a bit more cozy. They featured hand covers built right in which was so convenient. They also featured a two way zipper that was slightly different but still very practical. They are made of non-toxic, eco friendly dyes, and ethically made in India.
Both of these brands fit my newborn and kept him cozy which was exactly what we needed! I highly recommend either of these to new moms!
Kindred Bravely Nursing Pajamas
With my first baby, I didn’t have any dedicated “nursing friendly clothing” that was easy to breastfeed in. I just pulled my shirt up or down depending on what was easiest. This time around, I got to experience the convenience of pajamas designed specifically for breastfeeding! The Kindred Bravely Jane Nursing Pajamas are soft, stretchy, and the top has that convenient top layer that you can pull up for easy boob access. I would wear these even if I wasn’t nursing they are so comfortable! Paired with my giant fuzzy robe, I stayed warm and cozy in my bed for the first few weeks postpartum. Every new mom deserves to be wrapped in soft comfort while you’re caring for your baby.
Plum & Sparrow Moses Basket Bassinet and Rocking Stand
I was so excited to purchase this gorgeous Moses basket before Stone was born. I imagined him sleeping in it often. Full transparency, this Moses basket turned out not to be “essential” for us since we ended up co-sleeping with Stone. However, it made a really pretty bedside accessory that Stone still naps and plays in! And the basket is so gorgeous that I know we’ll keep it in the family and pass it along to loved ones when they have little ones.
I did a bit of research before buying, and I highly respect the business practices of Plum & Sparrow! The baskets are all fair trade from a village in Africa, made by family weavers, and the baskets are heirloom quality. Plum and Sparrow gives a portion of every sale back to the African basket weavers, and works with a non-profit to bring additional aid to the community, including healthcare and schooling.
What stood out to me when reading about the company is that oftentimes they don’t direct their weavers to create any specific patterns, they give them creativity to design the basket colors and patterns how they want to, so the baskets are one of a kind! P+S does have some “signature” styles that are continually reproduced, but most of the baskets listed on their site are OOAK!
Baby Swing
Stone still takes most of his naps in this swing, similar to this one. It is the same swing that we used with Darlene. The swing was still in storage for the first couple weeks of Stone’s life, and we missed it! Because he is such a light sleeper, I think the constant rocking motion and the white noise helps him to take longer naps. While it is bulky and not the most beautiful contraption, I can’t deny that this swing has been a real life line for us. While it is not technically for unsupervised sleep, we buckle Stone in there and leave him in the back bedroom to nap, and we feel safe about it. Eventually I would like him to take naps in his crib, but for now this swing has been great.
Water, sleep, good nutrition, and placenta medicine. Support team!
Lastly, I wanted to touch on some of the most important postpartum essentials across cultures and lifestyles: WATER, SLEEP, AND NUTRITION. These are the bare bones. If new moms aren’t sleeping, drinking water, and eating, you will struggle so hard to provide for your baby both physically and mentally. You could lose your sanity without sleep. Even if you’re not breastfeeding, you have to feed yourself to survive long enough to feed your baby.
If you’re really lucky, you’ll also have some SUPPORT! We mamas aren’t meant to do this alone. Whether that be your man, your mom, your best friend, or a combination of all of these, I sincerely hope that all new moms can have some sort of help during the early days, and all throughout their journey in motherhood!
For me, I also have consumed my placenta after both of my births. The placenta that sustained your baby is an incredible organ full of nutrients and hormones, and it shouldn’t just be disposed of after it exits your body. Some people like to plant a tree and bury the placenta in the earth, some like to eat it raw in a smoothie, and I’ve had it processed into capsules I can take daily. The placenta pills have been known to support breastfeeding, regulate hormones and emotions, and they are just a wonderful homeopathic and intuitive medicine that I enjoy taking along with some high quality postnatal vitamins. I have chosen New Chapter for my postnatal vitamins. Definitely look into that company for their incredible business ethics and the best quality vitamins, specifically crafted for better absorption by your body.
The herbalist who processed my placenta for me also made a print of the placenta and dried Stone’s umbilical cord into a beautiful dreamcatcher. These are very special keepsakes from both of my children that I will cherish forever.
Hopefully this little list of items will help you in figuring out what you want to have in place when your baby arrives! This is in no way a complete list, just some of my favorite items that I would use again and again. The newborn days are my absolutely favorite probably because I have been blessed to have a great support network, and some happy & sleepy babies. But even if you have a fussy baby and a lack of support, hopefully these items might make your days a little easier, so you can spend more time resting with your baby.