Must Have Baby Items

Mr L and I are those people. You know the ones: find out they are pregnant, go out and buy every single product made for infants, costing an absurd amount of money, put everything together, only to discover newborns don’t need much and they are actually picky, so they’ll probably hate half of what you have and you can’t take it back. We have so much baby stuff in our home, we could open our own Buy Buy Baby (no disrespect BBB, you are by far my most favorite baby store). We bought everything brand-spankin’ new (to be fair, our friends and family were UNBELIEVABLY generous and showered us with many of our large items, plus most of our small items as well) and when we went to “complete our registry”, our final total caused even the cashier to raise her eyebrows. Yes, BBB employee, we are crazy first-time parents who could have almost paid our mortgage payment with the amount we are spending.

            That said, I feel like I can give a pretty decent amount of advice when it comes to what was necessary, what was just extra and what we still haven’t used. I don’t normally dole out advice (ok, who am I kidding, I love to give out advice), but I at least try to wait until the subject is brought up. Due to a number of good friends giving birth and announcing pregnancies lately, I thought I’d write down these things for your awareness. Also, if hubby and I decide to become crazy parents again, I can look back and know what we need to restock and what we can sell.

(I got this idea from my favorite blog Little Baby Garvin. I actually used all her "must haves" to help me create my own list when I went to register for H's stuff. She had awesome recommendations and I found that most of those products were the best around. I always turn to her blog whenever I need products or new ideas for H!)

HoMedics SoundSpa Sound Machine: It's small, lightweight and super affordable. There's several options for sounds and a timer in case you want it to shut off while LO sleeps. We leave it on all night and the white noise sound keeps H from hearing anything we're doing in the kitchen (like when I puree H's food or vacuum). Bonus...the thunderstorm noise is amazing so once H is done with it, I'm totally putting it in our room.

Crane Cool Mist Drop Shape Humidifier: We bought this when I was pregnant because I suffered from dry nose and congestion a lot. I read reviews on Little Baby Garvin and she recommended the Crane. Simple to use, easy to change the water and it did the job. We moved this to H's room when she got her first cold and have turned it on every night since. 

Fisher Price Rock 'N Play Newborn Sleeper: H refused to sleep in the bassinet we had for her (we didn't know yet that she had silent reflux) so I spent the first 5 weeks sleeping in the chair (note: not a comfortable recliner, a small IKEA chair we bought for feeding). Multiple friends recommended the Rock 'N Play and we finally got it. The first night in it, she slept for 6.5 hours. She slept in it for 3 months and saving a few nights where we were working on her reflux, she slept through the night (7-10 hours) from 5 weeks on. My best friend calls it "baby crack"...that's the most fitting description you'll find!

Miracle Blanket: We used this the same night we put H in the RNP. Needless to say, I completely agree with the name...it was a miracle! H would never stay in an Aden & Anais Swaddle Blanket (though I love those blankets for lots of other things) or a Swaddle Me...she was a Houdini. But this blanket kept her snug and she (almost) never got out! We used this until the night she rolled over in her crib.

Babies R Us Changing Pad Liner: It seems silly to list something so small as a must have, but these things have been great. We have several sets and use them on top of the changing table pad, playard pad, on the floor, on our bed, etc. Totally waterproof, they never leaked onto any of those surfaces and they fold up super small. We still use them for all her diaper changes at home.

Boppy Bare Naked Pillow: Great for bottle feeding! I found this wasn't very useful during breast feeding as it doesn't fit around you and isn't a whole pillow to fit under the baby. We use this when we bottle feed and we've used it for the last two months to help H as she learned to sit up. We still use it to lay behind her when she sits as she's still prone to tip over occasionally. 

My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow: I LOVED this pillow for breast feeding. It snaps around you, provides a flat, sturdy place for the baby to sit (and props them closer to your chest), and I felt like it really helped in the entire process.

Lansinoh Lanolin: I didn't use much of this (I only breast fed for 2 months), but I was happy to have it while I was. Breast feeding really does a number on the ladies and you'll be thankful for this when the time comes.

Lansinoh Disposable Nursing Pads: I needed these from the very beginning and used them for the entire two months I breast fed. Depending on how long it takes for your body to regulate your supply (if you chose to BF), you will need a nice supply of these! Have them before you go to the hospital!

Tommee Tippee Easy Roll Bibs: Love them. You don't need to add them to your (ever-growing) pile of laundry and they roll up to fit in your diaper bag.

Gerber Cotton Diapers: DO NOT BUY any other kind of burp cloth. These are the ones! They soak up everything, they are large enough that small spit ups won't get on you during burping sessions and THEY SOAK UP EVERYTHING.

Boon Lawn Countertop Drying Rack: This thing is awesome. The lawn pieces will hold any of your dirty baby items, and the flower and stem accessories hold all of the nipples, valve pieces, pacifiers and tiny baby items that would get lost in a regular drying rack. Don't get the Grass, get the Lawn...you'll need all the space you can get!

MAM Bottles & Pacifiers: I had no idea that babies would be picky about what kind of bottle they would drink out of...but H was serious about not drinking out of a Dr. Brown's, Avent, Tommee Tippee, etc. She 100% refused to drink anything out of any of the bottles I already had purchased. After a little research, I decided to buy one of these and give it a try. Low and behold, she loved it. If you are having trouble with bottle feeding, I suggest MAM! The nipple is collapsed/flattened so it's more like a real breast when they feed, and the anti-colic feature helped us a ton!

Munchkin Bottle & Nipple Brush: Eventually you'll need to wash a bottle. Use this brush! It has a sponge on the top that gets to the very bottom of every bottle. It's super cheap and absolutely worth it.

Boon Flair High Chair: After weighing all our options, we decided to go with the Boon. It's easy to adjust and the best part is how easy it is to clean! The entire high chair is hard plastic (with a softer insert) and everything can be wiped down with a sponge. No material to throw in the washing machine! This is a huge selling point since I have more than enough laundry to do without messy high chair pieces!

Chicco Lullaby Playard: Changing table and bassinet insert included. This thing does it's job and comes in a few colors. It's also super easy to fold up and break down.

Britax B-Agile Travel System: I can't say enough about this system. So easy to use! The stroller is light weight and you can fold it up with one hand (totally necessary when carting around a baby in the carseat). The carseat is light enough (none of them are actually light!) that even at 7.5 months I'm able to hoist it with one arm. Downside ---> the basket in the bottom is SO small, you won't be able to fit your diaper bag under there. I really haven't minded, so make sure you'll be okay with that!

Fisher Price My Little Snugabunny Cradle & Swing: H napped in this swing for the first 4 months of her life. We also used it anytime she needed to calm down. I would imagine many swings are similar, but this one really did the trick for us. We've also had several friends use this same swing and they have also loved it. One huge perk---> it plugs in so you won't run through hundreds of batteries while you use it.

Fisher Price Comfy Time Bouncer: Simple, easy and for us, necessary. I needed a place to put H in the morning while I made breakfast or needed to run to the bathroom. She'd sit up in the swing, play with the little animals and just hang out while I took care of those necessities. She used this from 8 weeks until about 5 months.

Baby K'Tan Baby Carrier: This carrier worked great for us while H was little. It kept her super close to my body, really warm and there are several different ways you can wear the carrier. I felt much better wearing H like this when she was younger than the other carriers that have newborn inserts because I could wrap the material around her and keep her snuggled. Even though the carrier says it's good up until 45 pounds, we stopped using it when she was about 5 months old (and moved on to a BabyBjorn, which is great for her now that she's older).  

Sophie Giraffe Teether: I have no clue why she's so appealing, but Sophie really is a huge hit. She's been a consistent favorite since early on.

Whale of a Tub: There's plenty of tubs to choose from, but we opted to go for a tub without a sling for newborns. We wanted H to get used to the tub right away and make sure she would be okay with it for a long time. There's a plastic insert that holds baby up, but keeps her in the tub. You can remove this when she's ready to sit up on her own. 

Brica Baby In-Sight Auto Mirror: Instead of stopping your car every 5 minutes to check on your baby in the back seat, invest in this mirror! Then you can see her the entire time :)

Mortimer the Moose: Another huge hit in our house. The bottoms of his feet are black and white, making this the first toy H really stared at. His antlers are hard so he's perfect for teething too!

Wet Happened Bag: This bag rocks! It's thick and has a water proof lining so you can store dirty diapers, soiled clothes/bibs, etc in your diaper bag until you get home. You could use this for about 100 other things too. Seriously love this thing.

Hand & Face Wipes: Just get a lot of these. Trust me.

Carter's White Onesies: The only onesies you'll need. Make sure to get the ones with mittens on the end because actual baby mittens DO NOT stay on baby hands!

Boudreaux's Butt Paste: Silly name, awesome product. We haven't had diaper rash yet (knock on wood).

HALO Sleepsack: Once H was out of the Miracle Blanket, we transitioned her to this sleep sack (we actually used a zipadeezip to transition from the swaddle to the sack...another great product) so we could use the velcro sides to keep her body "swaddled" but allowed her arms to be free since she could roll. We used this for a while until we transitioned to pajamas.