Gabriella is 1 month old!

One month has passed since I gave birth to this little angel...

She's still so tiny to me... newborn clothes and diapers still are all that fit her. Some are starting to get snug, but all her 0-3 stuff is so big on her! We have soooo many 0-3 outfits so I'm looking forward to when I can dress her up in them :-). 

Since I've made it one whole month in mommy-land, I've decided I'm now an expert and will impart my wisdom unto ye who readeth this blog. Here are some of our baby items we've acquired, and my feelings on them. 

1. Moby Wrap - If you are pregnant, go and buy one. NOW. This thing has been a lifesaver in more ways than I can count. Probably the most crucial baby item I've gotten because it gets her to stop crying! And I can move around the house and actually do things. Your arms will get so tired walking around holding a baby (and she's the smallest she'll ever be, they only get heavier from here), and this relieves all that. And did I mention it stops her from crying?! I never thought I'd be one of those attachment parent types, but this thing has made me a total convert. And she naps so peacefully in it. LOVE.

2. Wipes Warmer - Ahhh the ever-so controversial wipes warmer. So many say they're a total waste of money and useless. I actually quite like mine. It's all of what, 20 bucks? And I imagine it feels delightful to have a warm wipe on the tush as opposed to an icy one. I won't have to imagine too much longer, because DH has proclaimed that after G's done with it, it's so going in our bathroom. He likes to use wipes. Ew? Or genius? You be the judge.

3. Little Lamb Swing - So far, it's kind of been a dud. Which is sad because we totally thought it would be a key player in soothing our little one. She pretty much hates it when it's swinging. And call me a crazy overprotective mother, but I feel like even when it's on the lowest setting, it swings her waaay too hard. Lately she's ok with being in it for 5 minutes, but only to look at the mobile spinning above her, not swinging in it. Hopefully she'll like it more when she's older. 

4. Breast Pump - Uh yeah, if you plan on breastfeeding, you'll pretty much need one, so it's kind of silly to "review" this item. But I have to say mine is just dandy - the Medela Pump in Style. What really is fabulous that I have to mention is the hands free bra thing that my mom got me for it. Seriously awesome that I can just pop on the little suction "horns" as hubby calls them and have my hands free to work on a word jumble. Can you tell I'm really big on hands-free stuff?

5. Microwave Sterilizer - This item turned out to be lame. I mean it's totally not lame that you can sterilize your shiz in 6 minutes, but maybe it's just hubbs and I who are lame and never bother doing it. Piping hot water from the dishwasher should do the trick, no? Perhaps when we eventually really use bottles regularly we'll begin using it more. For now, the included bottle brush gets way more action. Oh and the included paci - ridic. It's so small and awkward, Gabriella never even takes a sucking to it. She loves her soothies though.

6. The Swaddle - Necessary. The cheap Kiddopotamus ones from Babies R Us are fine, the Halo one that is a sack and a swaddle in one is also great. She will NOT sleep at night without being swaddled. The actual swaddling blankets, however are lame for swaddling. Houdini over here can get out of any blanket swaddle you can manage to get her in. The swaddle blankets, however, are fantastic for using around the house to cover her up, catch a bit of spit-up, in the carseat on the go, set down on the couch for a diaper change... 

7. Sound Machine - Fantastic. We just happened to have one, and the waterfall sound is magical to Gabriella. They're pretty cheap, so I'd recommend getting a little $20 one and trying it out. If baby hates it, you could always use it - who doesn't like falling asleep to the sound of a babbling brook, or crickets in the amazon?

8. Mustela Products - So I'm a bit of a product snob, and for her "cosmetic" type items, such as body and hair wash and lotion, I wanted to get her the best. I figured fancy-pants Mustela brand would be the greatest. Now I just feel ehhh towards them. I mean sure, if you want you can go and spend the $12 or whatever it is for a bottle of baby wash (I don't know, since I got the $50 gift set of a bunch of things), but the $2 J&J stuff ultimately does the same job. And if I must be honest, whatever they used to wash her with in the hospital smelled SO amazing, and I feel like this stuff doesn't have that same magic. I have no clue what they used, but I'm thisclose to calling and asking!

9. Bassinet - We raved about how happy we were that we ended up buying one. We initially poopooed it and were just going to stick her in the crib from the get-go, but right before she came (literally like 2 days before) I realized I wanted her in the room with us, and knew I wouldn't be able to sleep at night without her right by me, so I can make sure she's breathing/hasn't run away from home yet. I looked around and was rather horrified at the notion of spending about $150 for one, which seems to be the going rate. I found this one at Walmart online, and it was seriously $40. And it came with those cute little baskets and even pink AND blue ribbon to personalize for whatever sex your baby is. The reviews were great so I went ahead and bought it. I was a little terrified once it arrived when I realized it was basically cardboard, but so were the pricey ones, and she slept well in it for her first month. The last two nights she's actually slept in her crib - and this happened totally by chance. When feeding her one night, I really had to pee, so between boobs I put her down in the crib to run and do my deal. When I came out, she was fast asleep so comfortably in there, I couldn't wake her, so I let her snooze, and she did so for a full 4 hours. I took it as a sign that the time has come for the switchover, and plus she was getting long for the bassi. I'm glad we had it, and glad-er that we only spent $40 (with free shipping!) on an item that got good use for all of one month.

10. Monitor - We went with the Sony Babycall because the reviews for all the other monitors sucked, and we happened to have a 20% off coupon and some leftover money on a gift card one day so we decided to grab this. Our bedroom is 3 feet from G's so we figured we wouldn't need a monitor at first, but again, we made this impulse purchase one day thinking "hey, everyone's got to get one, right?" It works fine, but I really regret not getting a video monitor. Sure, I could be writing this review saying how stupid I feel for shelling out $200 on a video monitor that turns out to be crappy, but for now I feel dumb getting a sound-only monitor. Hello, our bedroom is 3 feet from hers! I can hear her just fine. Seeing is different, and we both lamented the other night how we wish we had the video one so we could just roll over and peek at her sleeping away in the other room. And of course now I'm entirely too stubborn to buy another monitor since we already paid for this one... Maybe if I find a killer deal?

Oh I could sooo go on, but I'm in dire need of a nap, so I'll leave it at the even 10. Rest assured that when I think of more must have/must skip items I will surely inform y'all.