Exercise Ball

If there is one piece of equipment I absolutely think you need it is an exercise ball!

Because of the size of my apt. and not having any place to store it, I decided while I was pregnant that I could get by without it. I realize now that it would have made my life with my newborn son a lot easier.

Here is why:

• The methods I showed you for bouncing baby in your lap used a couch or a chair. Replace the couch or chair with an exercise ball giving your legs a break, and a deeper bounce for your baby. You can still use pillows and rolled blankets on your lap to support the weight of your baby to relax your arms/shoulders.

• You can use the ball to help you stretch your upper back, hands and wrists. (stretching section)

• Sitting on the exercise ball helps you gently activate and strengthen your core.

  Make sure you purchase a ball that is appropriate for your height so that it will be comfortable for you to use. Here is the ball that I use: BalanceFrom

Pottery Barn Kids: Paxton Swivel Glider & Recliner

A rocking chair is another essential item that I recommend people invest in early during the pregnancy. I made the mistake of waiting to order my rocking chair late in my pregnancy therefore, because of shipping delays it didn’t arrive until my son was 6 months old.

My husband and I still love using our rocking chair with our son. When I think back now, those first weeks home from the hospital were when I really could have benefited from using the rocking chair.

Your newborn loves being close to you and the sensation of rocking. I think being able to hold him, breastfeed him, and rest with him in the rocking chair would have been a game changer for me. I would have been able to rest him on pillows and rolled up blankets in my arms (alleviating the weight and stress on my arms, wrists and hands) and rocked him back and forth to sleep.

My husband would have loved it too…he would have been able to rock our son and nap with him in our reclining chair, especially since getting sleep in those early days is so rare. Even now that my son is 2 years old we still sleep with him in the rocking chair sometimes. I still use it to calm him when he’s having trouble sleeping or isn’t feeling well.

Resting is so key to recovery and rocking chairs with a reclining feature are great for sleeping. Pictured above is the Paxton Swivel Glider and Recliner from Pottery Barn Kids. This is what we picked for our nursery and we love this chair! It was definitely a worthwhile investment.

The mama roo baby swing helped me so much in those early postpartum months, especially since I didn’t have a rocking chair until he was 6 months old.

This swing mimics our rocking motions and rhythms to help lull your baby to sleep and give parents a free minute to do other things. I remember this is where my son would take his first morning nap so that I could have breakfast and clean the kitchen.

It has 5 different types of swinging motions - car ride, kangaroo, tree swing, rock-a-bye and wave. You can also change the speed of this motion and add white noise. My son’s favorite was the wave. I remember if he was crying I would switch the motion to distract him until he calmed down, this was very helpful to do instead of picking him up.

As he got older he loved to sit in it awake and watch/eventually play with the 3 ball mobile. This swing was a huge help for my arms and I am so grateful that a friend recommended this item to me. I would have never heard of this item otherwise.

Picture Disclaimer: What is pictured above is the old mama roo swing that was discontinued - you can read about why: US consumer product safety commision.

The company has updated the straps and released the NEW version of the mama roo swing - please ensure that this is what you purchase.