A Newborn’s Favorite Things

The following items are B-Ron approved.

Not long after coming home from the hospital, Brent and I realized how hard it was to live with a newborn.  Not counting the constant feedings, endless diaper changes and random crying jags, we found out that there is no real way to entertain a newborn.  We had rattles that she ignored and stuffed animals that were nowhere on Lexi’s radar. So what are we supposed to do with her when she’s not eating or sleeping (and to be honest, those times are few and far in-between)?  Below I’ve put together a list of some of Lexi’s favorite things…well…for this week at least.

First off, it didn’t take long for us to find out that Lexi loves laying on her changing table and staring up at the window.  She could do this for minutes!  Sometimes upwards of ten minutes!  Which is awesome because it distracts her while we have to clean and clothe her, and afterward all we have to do is keep a hand on her to make sure she doesn’t fall off.  We’ve decided it is the combination of bright lights and dark contrast that the shutters provide for her (let’s face it) pretty crappy new baby eyesight.

On the topic of starting at random household items, she is also in love with our ceiling fan.  Again, it is that contrast of light and dark, and when the thing is actually turned on?  Oh man, that’s good stuff.  Remember how we had the fan and shutters installed for the nursery prep?  Genius, unintentional foresight on our behalf!

(from Lexi's POV)

When Lexi starts to get fussy there are a few things that we figured out that we can do to calm her down and tide her over until the ultimate soothing mechanism…eating.  She is a big fan of the sucking reflex.  Most of the time when she eats, she’ll continue just hanging out on the boob using it as a makeshift pacifier.   However sometimes this is not an option, so we give her an actual pacifier, which can do the trick in a pinch.  We had to try a few brands/styles before we found one that works, but luckily we found one that appeals to her finicky tastes.

The *preferred* paci

The final, foolproof soothing tool is the “miracle ball.”  You guys, where was this ball the first two weeks Lexi was home?  Well, it was collecting dust as an “exercise ball” in our garage.  We had no clue, until I read about a mom using it to stop her baby from crying by holding the baby and bouncing on the ball.  It is amazing – not only does it stop her crying, but most of the time when I can tell she is getting sleepy and needs a nap, five minutes on the ball knocks her out.  I spend a good chunk of my day on this ball – I’m growing a pretty solid six-pack under all this baby weight.

Sorry for the blurry photo, I don't know what was up with our camera.

In conclusion, newborns are really into a bunch of things you had no intention of using to entertain/soothe them.  So when shopping for a baby, good luck.  Who knows what the hell they’ll like.