We're music buffs around here, albeit with very individual tastes (Cat loves 80s and 90s music, Luke loves Disney, Becka loves Reba, and Knox loves Selena). 

If you're a work-from-home photographer and you're anything like us, you've got music playing all the time. We have an incredible Bluetooth speaker that we absolutely love that sounds like the biggest and best stereo (but it is smaller than our biggest coffee mug). It stays plugged in in the kitchen, and we get to listen to music while we drink our cups of coffee and play with Knox.

We love Spotify, so we'll be sharing a playlist of our favorites! Here's our September 2017 Playlist!

Highlights/Standouts:

• Songs for Knox. So many of these songs struck a cord with us because of our new role as parents. You'll probably know them when you hear them.
• North by Sleeping At Last showed up on Cat's Discover Weekly last month and we fell in love with it. We are working on an art piece for our home with these lyrics.
• Waves by Dean Lewis was featured on the season finale of one of our favorite TV shows, Suits. If you watch it, you know the scene. #Darvey
• Champagne High by Sister Hazel because it goes on every playlist we ever make.
• Against The Wind by Bob Seger to celebrate him being on Spotify, finally!
• He Lives In You from The Lion King on Broadway, because we're both anxious for a return trip to New York City, this time with Knox!
• Good Things by the Bodeans... our favorite on the whole list!

Follow along and join us! Hope you enjoy!

Long Breakfasts & Columbian Coffee,
(Don't get too excited, it's Maxwell House!)

Luke & Cat

I'll preface this post by freely admitting I'm the furthest thing from a baby expert around! However, there's been some things that have made our first 12 weeks with Knox so much easier, and with so many of our #lukeandcatbrides and friends expecting babies later this year or in 2018, I wanted to share some of our baby faves!

JUST HANGING OUT

Boppy Lounger: At 12 weeks, he doesn't really love this anymore, but the first 10 weeks this was Knox's favorite place to chill! We used this in the crib or on our desk for laying around and sometimes, naps. This also keeps a baby at a slight incline and we think (maybe imagined) that it helps with spit up.

Rock and Play: One of my favorite Luke and Cat brides turned friend, Alex, told me about this one that connects to Bluetooth and can be controlled by your phone. Whether or not you go with the Bluetooth one, make sure to get one that automatically rocks so you don't have to keep rocking it. This is super lightweight, folds up, and is easy to throw in the car when headed over to our friends house or grandparent's house for dinner.

Fisher Price Sit Me Up Chair: This chair is one of our favorite things to sit Knox in from about week 10 on. He can't hold his head steady on his own just yet, but this chair lets him sit up and look eye to eye with us (and Wilma and Hudson, too!) :) 

SLEEP SWADDLES

If I had it to do over again, I would definitely have packed these in the hospital bag! If you are going to be in a hospital where the baby stays in your room, having these will help. It's hard to swaddle with a blanket!

Halo Sleepsack Swaddle: We used these weeks 1-6 but our baby started to be able to get his arms out. We have transitioned completely out of the swaddle now, but weeks 10 and 11, we restarted using these because they allow for 1 arm out or both arms out, which is a good way to transition.  

SwaddleMe: We were intimidated by these at first so used the Halo swaddle instead, but if we had it to do over we would use these from the beginning. They have a Velcro spot on baby's chest that makes it impossible for baby to get arms out or up to their mouth.

BLANKETS

Aden and Anais Silky Soft Swaddles: Favorite baby things ever! These are the absolute softest blankets. Lightweight but warm! We always keep one in the bottom of the diaper bag, just in case! If you're going to swaddle with a blanket, this is good too! There are different types of A&A swaddles, make sure to get the Silky Soft ones (bamboo/rayon) because they are the softest by far!

FEEDING GEAR

Burp Cloths: We have found the Carters brand and the new Cloud Island brand from Target are the most absorbent and soft. I don't like the Gerber. I would recommend 12-20 of these total, they go fast every day.

Dishwasher Basket For Bottles: For any detail-loving folks like me, the bottle parts for Dr. Brown's fit perfectly in these slots. I have two, so I keep one in the sink and fill it through the day, then when it's in the dishwasher, I put the other one in the sink.

Drying Rack: I move my bottle parts to this rack after they come out of the dishwasher. 

Bottle Brush: These brushes fit perfectly in the bottles. Useful when you have to hand wash bottles.

Formula Pitcher: For premixing formula in batches. Works better than a normal pitcher because it mixes without adding air bubbles, and it has measuring marks on the side so you can measure right here. Every morning, I mix the whole day's worth and store and pour from fridge. 

Bottle Bag: We use this to keep the bottles cool while out and about. 

DIAPERING

Wipes: I tried all kinds of wipes. Everyone said Honest were the best, but I didn't see any difference. We buy our wipes from Sam's in bulk. They are great!

Diaper Cream Spatula: Seems like a novelty but some of the best money we have spent! No more getting sticky diaper cream all over your hands!  

Wipe Warmer: This ends up on many lists as a waste, but our baby hates cold wipes and this helps him not cry which helped our nerves the first couple of weeks for sure!

CLOTHING

Nightgowns: For the first few weeks we liked these gowns but I got way too many! I would say you only need 2-3 gowns, because with a baby, you'll be doing plenty of laundry each day! 

Footie Pajamas: We moved to these and love them! They are way easier for diaper changes than we originally thought and we like that they don't have to go over baby's head. From Target, Carters, Cat and Jack, and Cloud Island are our favorites. Make sure to get footed pajamas with inverted zippers (they unzip from the foot up) so you don't have to fully undress baby for diaper changes.

MISCELLANEOUS

Trash Can: I did a ton of research on diaper pails. Ended up getting this trash can and it is amazing! Keeps odors contained. Definitely recommend going ahead and getting the size K bags they recommend. And it's just a pretty trash can too. 

 CLOTHES

My favorite outfits of all time are the ones that are made of bamboo - they are incredibly soft! Spearmint Love is the place to buy these MilkBarn rompers which my sister put us on to! I love them because they are buttons and don't have to go over his head!

Here are my favorite places for clothes that don't break the bank.

• Target (Cat and Jack Brand, Carter's, Cloud Island)
• Old Navy
• Gap
• Kohl's

Things We Got and Did Not Need

• Car seat cover
• Bathtub for kitchen sink (we bathe on this baby sponge in big bathtub!)
• Neutral toys and mobiles (pretty but babies like color)

Hope this helps anyone who was like me and didn't know what the heck was needed! I'm ready for the next couple of months - what are your baby must haves?

Long Nights & Cardboard Boxes (Amazon delivery is a parent's dream!),

Luke & Cat