We were blessed to have sweet little Bella enter the world on February 20th. For as long as I can remember, I’ve dreamed of having a little girl and as soon as we found out the gender I could just picture all of the girly details I would get to put in her nursery.

Honestly, I had no “theme” for the nursery. I just found pieces I loved and it all eventually came together. A few things I knew I didn’t want: pink overload and too many decorations. In the end it turned out perfectly sweet & simple (and maybe with just a hint of pink).

Below are a few sweet shots captured by the wonderful Leah Nicole Photo. I’ve linked most of the items here in case you want to shop for your little one.

Keep scrolling to find a list of my top 10 must haves for surviving month one!

The wall decal is an Etsy find & was super easy to apply. The shop owner even sent a few extra flowers and was such a pleasure to work with.

There were a few DIY projects throughout the nursery – like the floral monogram wreath pictured above.

This project was really simple – you just need a hot glue gun, flowers from your local craft store, an embroidery hoop (the one pictured is 18 inches) and a wooden monogram .

The dresser & changing table is a Million Dollar Baby collection from Buy Buy Baby.

Now for my top 10 must have baby items. Being first time parents, we had no clue what we did / didn’t need. We ended up with some things we never use and some things we couldn’t live without. Below are a few items I highly recommend adding to your baby registry!

1. What to Expect the First Year – Our pediatrician gave us this book and it has been such a helpful reference tool. They call it the “bible of baby books” and now I see why, such great guidance for first time parents (or parents who need a refresher on those frequently googled questions).

2. Zip up swaddle – Bella loved this because it kept her nice and cozy. We loved it because we didn’t have to mess with wrapping her up in a swaddle blanket at 2am.

3. Safer sleeper – I had no clue this even existed or that we needed one. A pediatrician in our family got it for us and I’m so thankful she did. It kept Bella from rolling around too much and us from worrying about her getting on her stomach. In the early months we actually used it to lay her on her back in the bassinet (see picture below) but the product image shows it being used for side sleeping.

4. Owlet Smart Sock – This really should be number 1 on the list, it is a life saver (literally). It isn’t cheap but the peace of mind it brings you is worth every penny. I can’t say enough wonderful things about this sock!

5. Hatch Baby night light and sound machine – This is currently in our bedroom while she is sleeping in the bassinet, but not going to lie, it’s going to be hard to give up when we move her to the nursery. 😆 You can customize & control the color + sound from your phone, save certain presets as favorites and set it on a timer. When Bella gets older we’ll be using it for sleep training to associate a certain color with sleep vs wake to let her know when it’s ok to get out of bed.

6. Rock n’ Play – This is a given but what I like about the model we got is that you can control it from your phone. The last thing you want to do after finally getting comfy on the couch is to get up and turn it off/on or change a setting. 🙌🏻

7. Portable noise machine – this was helpful for (1) when we had her in a different room of the house and didn’t have access to the Hatch Baby and (2) when on the go, it has a Velcro strap that hangs from the car seat.

8. Boppy Lounger and traditional boppy nursing pillow. – Yes, you’ll want both. We even had two different styles of loungers. You can never have too many, the less you have to tote from room to room the better.

9. Car bottle warmer – Another item I didn’t even know I needed, but have used it so much (shout out to the mamas who have gone before me and got items that weren’t on the registry!).

10. BABYBJORN baby carrier – Some moms prefer wraps and some prefer carriers like this. I can’t speak to the wraps but this carrier is great and easy to put on. Whether you’re going on a hike or just need to get some house work done with a clingy baby, you’ll want some time of carrier on your list.

Here is Bella using the Safer Sleeper (#3) and the zip up swaddle (#2).

One other recommendation is the Sprout baby app. Don’t even bother with the printouts for tracking diapers/feedings. This app made it super easy to track everything and the paid version lets you have multiple users so your partner can log in and track as well. It comes in handy for doctors visits when they ask you how many pees/poos baby had (yupp, they ask) and to know how much he/she is eating each day.

That’s a wrap! I would love to know what your must have (or don’t bother) items are.

xo, Kelsey