Colton’s 3-4 Month Update + Must Have Baby Essentials

I have been so behind on blogging baby Colton’s newborn life and I feel so bad about it! I love looking back on old baby blogs of Annabelle and Leo and remembering those harrowing days! 🙂 In case you missed it, I did blog about life with a one month old here; Newborn Life + Postpartum Realness: The Things You Forget. Fast forward a few months and I now have a nearly 4 month old and things have definitely settled down and gotten easier. THANK THE LORD! I’ve been getting requests to do a baby must haves post, so I’m finally getting around to sharing Colton’s 3-4 Month Update + Must Have Baby Essentials!

Baby Schedule, 3-4 Months

I’ll start by sharing Colton’s general schedule as I know this can be helpful for new mamas or moms-to-be who are anxious to figure out a routine. It’s flexible as nap times and bed/wake times can change from day to day, but this is generally how it goes…

6:00/6:30 am – Wake/Nurse. If he’s still sleepy after a 30 minute nursing session I may lie him back down in his crib.

8:30-9:30 am – I will sit on the couch and settle in for a nice long nurse/nap session! I take the BEST naps while snuggled up with Colton.

9:30/10:00 – 12:30 pm – Morning nap in his swing in his room. This is Colton’s longest nap of the day. He typically sleeps 2-3 hours!! During this time I usually go to an Orangetheory Fitness class at 10:30 (husband works from home). Nurse when he wakes. After his morning nap is when I’ll try to run errands with him.

2:30/3:00 – 4:30 pm – Nurse and afternoon nap in his swing. If we are out running errands he cat naps in his baby carrier.

The early evening time frame is flexible. Depending on when he woke from his last nap will dictate if he needs an early evening cat nap or not.

8:00/8:30 pm – Nurse and bedtime. He usually sleeps through the night and will wake anytime between 6:00 am up to 7:30 am. We do occasionally get a 3:45 am wake up call, it happens!

REPEAT!

Sleep Must Haves

It’s so crazy how so much has changed in five years since having my last baby. It’s actually made doing it all over again a little more fun, so many new and exciting things to buy! 🙂

Favorite transitional beds

After a day or two at home we were reeling from no sleep because Colton did not like to sleep flat on his back in his bassinet. We used the Fisher-Price Rock ‘N Play Sleeper for a month and it was the best, but then there was a massive recall on the sleepers due to reported infant deaths!! OMG, so that was gone immediately!

Next, we used this Pack ‘n Play that comes with a portable newborn napper that flips to a changing bed. It’s slightly inclined which Colton liked. At two months we moved Colton from the Pack ‘n Play in our room to his crib. We simply moved the portable napper bed into his crib. This was a great transitional bed for us. And we can still use the Pack ‘n Play for travel or as a playard with toys in it when he’s sitting up.

By three months Colton was starting to get too long for the napper bed. I made the switch to his Dock A Tot in his crib, which looks like a little doggy bed! It’s supposed to create a “snug and soothing environment for babies that mimics the mother’s womb.” It was easily the #1 baby gear item all the bloggers were talking about so I wanted to see what the fuss was about! Once again, Colton did just fine with the new sleeping arrangement and he slept until 6:30 a.m. two mornings in a row those first two nights, which he hadn’t done yet! Score!

The key to all these successful moves from beds is that I use the same super soft sherpa blanket to line whatever bed he’s been in. This way, the familiarity of that blanket has always been under his head, helping him to acclimate.

Favorite sleepwear

Little babies need to be swaddled at night so they don’t wake themselves up with those flailing arms, but not all swaddles are created equal. During one late night feeding I saw an ad on Instagram for Nested Bean’s weighted swaddles and sleep sacks. I read a bunch of reviews and I felt like the moms were talking right to me! The swaddles are lightly weighted on the chest and sides (like a bean bag weight) to give the feeling of being held. That light pressure makes the baby feel secure so he thinks mama is still right there! I ordered two and it worked like a freaking charm! Colton went from 2 hour sleep stretches per night to 4! I highly recommend you try a weighted swaddle, I was a new woman with the added sleep!

We recently switched to the Nested Bean sleep sack and he’s done so well not being swaddled. At 3.5 months he was waking himself up because he was beginning to outgrow the swaddle; finding himself half in and half out in the middle of the night. With any change, there may be a night or two of growing pains, but he loves having his arms free and often sleeps with his hands raised up over his head.

Most used baby gear

Nap seats/swings

From the newborn stage to even now, Colton loves his bouncy seat. We have this one, which has a muted, stylish pattern. I can’t handle loud colors on baby gear and furniture around the house. For nap time we use our baby swing from when Annabelle was a baby. It has ugly loud colors like red, brown, and green and I hate it but it works. It’s so 2011, haha! We keep it hidden away in his room, not in the family room! He gets better swing naps in a quite place anyway.

I have the BEST baby stroller ever that will take us from the newborn to toddler stages. The Nuna Stroller travel system comes with the infant car seat + toddler seat add on for later. It also includes the car seat base to put in your car. I’ll give it to you straight, it’s not cheap. It was pretty expensive. But it’s super lightweight, has a very generous storage basket underneath, and collapses like a dream! Plus the wheels look like BMW rims, LOL! It’s pretty stylish! I told Jeff, if I am going to be pushing 40 AND pushing a baby stroller again, we’re doing it up right for our last hurrah! Haha!

Pro tip: Nordstrom price matches, so if you find the stroller on sale online, simply show the sales rep at Nordstrom and they’ll match the price. We got ours for 20% off because it was on sale at Pottery Barn Kids!

Baby carrier

I use the Baby Bjorn carrier when we are out and about and Colton decides he’s over the stroller and wants to be held. This is perfect for 2-7 months when he’s still lightweight. As he gets heavier, I have the Baby Bjorn ONE that has a back support belt at the waist. That’s good up to 3 years.

From newborn stage until about two months I used the Baby K’tan wrap that is perfect for baby wearing around the house.

Playtime

We just got this Skip Hop 3 Stage Activity Center which is perfect at about 4 months when baby has good head control. Colton is a little young to appreciate all it’s toy features, but it’s a good place to put him for short periods of time when we need to get things done. He likes to watch TV in it! What’s nice is that it can be a play center for older babies to walk around and an art/snack table for toddlers!

My son Leo had an activity seat like this 3 stage super seat and he LOVED it! We put it on the kitchen island and table when we ate and he could sit in it and feel like he was included. He liked sitting upright to see everything. It’s a great place to start feeding baby solids, and it transitions to a booster seat when the toy tray is removed.

Diaper bag

I have been using my Crush It backpack from Stella & Dot since day 1 because it’s super cute, lightweight, and easy to wipe clean. I originally purchased an expensive leather Freshly Picked diaper bag, but it was so heavy and bulky compared to my Stella backpack, so I returned it. See my backpack looking so cute sitting next to us below!

I’ve been eyeing this Twelve Little diaper clutch to throw into my backpack for a little extra organization, and something I can take to the restroom for a quick diaper change when I don’t want to take the whole bag. Love the leopard print!

I think that’s a decent list for now. These are all the top things we currently use to make the baby’s (and our) world go round. In a few months I’ll update you on new baby must haves for the next phase of babyness — crawling and walking, EEKS!! Hope you found this helpful, let me know if you have any questions on items I’ve shared in the comments!

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