Must have baby products + some that I absolutely hated!

One of the hardest parts about preparing for a baby is knowing what to buy and what is worth those expensive price tags! Before I dive into this I want to first say, your parents did just fine without all of the fancy gadgets we have now. If some of these things are not in your budget, don’t stress! There are always cheaper options and if not it is more likely than not that they are a luxury, not a necessity!

Okay now, let’s dive in! These are my personal favorite products that I used with King and plan to use again for a Baby girl! Towards the end is some specific product requests that I didn’t necessarily love or hate but used and also some that I was not a fan of and will not be using again!

Must Have Baby Products

Snoo Bassinet : I know this is a splurge but we absolutely loved ours. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing but it truly works wonders. King took to it right away and it gave me so much peace of mind knowing it was one of the safest ways for babies to sleep in those early weeks. I also really liked the app feature which totaled his sleep and interventions throughout the day and night.

Multiple Changing Tables: We had one changing table in his nursery and then a cheaper one  that we put in our room for the first few weeks. It was a game-changer, no pun intended! It was so nice having two specific places that were stocked full of everything we needed for a change, especially in the middle of the night.

Owlet Monitor and Smart Sock: I think this was the main reason I was able to get any sleep during those first few weeks. We did have 2 or 3 “false alarms” throughout the year that we used it but I would take that any day over a real emergency that was not detected. The one negative to this camera is that you have to have the app open on your phone to view the camera rather than having a separate screen for viewing. Although this was a negative convenience-wise, I do think it was positive when it came to my parenting. It made it so I was not constantly watching him on the camera and hovering over him. It allowed us both to have some space during naps etc. I know that there was some talk about taking this off the market so that they can market it as a medical device so I’m not sure what the availability looks like to purchase a new one. We will be using the one we had with new sock covers.

Newton Mattress: This is the safest most breathable mattress for your little babe. King was in his bassinet until he was 8 weeks old then once he started sleeping through the night we transitioned him to his nursery where he slept in his crib using this mattress. This is another product that gave me so much peace of mind… I’m an anxious mom if you can’t tell 😉 I love that is is 100 percent breathable and washable. We will be using this same one in Baby girl’s crib after it gets a nice spray down.

Hatch Sleep System:  This nightlight and sound machine combo is an absolute must. We have used it every single day from when he was born until now and will continue using it for the foreseeable future. You can program your favorite sounds and lights to turn on and off at a certain time which has been the perfect “alarm clock” for my little toddlers brain. However, this is perfect for those late night feeds and as you know with a newborn you can never have too much white noise. We purchased another one of these for Baby girl’s room!

Velcro swaddles: I personally used the swaddle me swaddles and the sleepea/happiest baby swaddles. There are tons on the market so just pick what feels right for yor baby and your budget! I loved the velcro rather than a blanket because it keeps them snug. I will be using the same ones we had for King again for baby girl. I will even be bringing one to the hospital because it feels safer to me than the loose blanket.

Boppy Nursing Pillow: This one people either love it or leave it. I personally loved it. It helped me maintain good posture and stay comfy during all of those newborn breastfeeding sessions. We also used it alot when my husband would give King a bottle. We plan to use this again for baby girl so I just purchased a more feminie cover off of etsy.

Newborn Lounger: There are lots of these on the market ( some have been recalled so make sure the one you choose is safe!) but our favorite was the doc-a-tot. We used this every day, mulitple times a day until my son grew out of it! It was so nice having a safe place for him to relax that was lightweight and portable. He took many *supervised* naps in this!

Silicone Milk Catcher: This was one of my most used products. I actually had to send the hubs on a late night target run to buy more because I used it so often. With King, I used the Hakkaa brand and loved it. I built my entire stash just using the Hakkaa!  I will definiatley be using it again but I also purchased the elvie curve for this pregnancy. I will update this when I have a favorite!

Portable/Hands Free Breast Pump: You need this. Trust me. I don’t care what brand you get but you do not want to be stuck to the plug multiple times a day. Trust me! I used the willow pumps and also the spectra S9 portable pump. They both worked great for me! I will be using my willow again for as long as it stays alive (it will be about 3 years old by time she gets here). I haven’t decidied if I will get that pump again or switch to the elvie hands free pump but I know I wont survive without one of them!

Uppababy Vista Stroller System : Yes, Yes, Yes! Get the stroller! We have loved everything about this travel system and have used all parts of it and plan to continue using it as we grow our family! I loved that it came with the bassinet option and the bucket seat. We will be added on an additional seat and also the skateboard for King man to ride on once Baby girl gets here!

Stroller Fan: This was a last minute purchase that I wasn’t sure I’d need and boy was I wrong! My little Arizona baby needed to be cooled down often! I have tried two other styles but the wire feet is the most user friendly. It can attach to any part of your stroller or carseat.

Bibs Binkies: These were King’s favorite but as a first time mom I wasn’t sure what kind he would like or take to so I bought a TON of different styles and brands which ended up being a waste. I love that this starter pack has 4 different syles of pacifiers that you can test with your baby before you spend an arm and a leg on something they won’t like.

Digital Rectal Theromometer: Dont get a forehead monitor. Just don’t! We had a “Medical grade” forehead thermometor and it was never acurate. There was one instance that I checked his temp because I knew something was wrong with him and it told me had a temp of 98 degrees. I attempted to brush it off but my gut told me something was off so I stopped at target and bought the Fridababy rectal thermometer. I checked him in the parking lot and he had a fever of 103.8 which was confirmed at Phoenix Childrens 30 minutes later.

Baby K’tan Carrier: I tried multiple different syles of carriers and this was my favorite. It felt secure yet comfortable and it was easy to put on by myself. I will be using this one again for baby girl.  I will probably also try another brand I’ve had my eye on so I will keep you updated on my fave!

Hand pump: This was another late night target run for the hubs. Having this on hand was so much easier than having to use my regular pump all the time. Sometimes, espeically as I was weaning night feeds, I just needed to take the edge off a little bit but I didn’t want to do a full pump and this was perfect for that. It was also great for on the go if I wasn’t sure how long we would be. Much easier than washing all of your pump parts just for a quick let down.

Nose Nail and Ear Picker: Sounds gross but this was one of our most used products. Who knew infants would secrete so many different things from so many different areas! I prefered this 100 times over the Frida snot sucker.

Water Wipes: These wipes blow all the others out of the water. They are non toxic, have no added ingredients and are actually wet! These will be a stable in our house for a long time!

Okay now for the stuff I HATED! Hate is a strong word but I hated these!

Uppababy Mesa Carseat: This was something I was so excited about. I loved the color and was so excited to have the full uppababy set for him to ride in syle. I hated this from our first outing on. Everyone assumes it was the color that got to be a pain, that washed and came clean easy. It was the fact that it was so dang bulky! Having an infant carrier is supposed to make transporting them easier but instead this became such a pain that I never took it out of the car and would just carry him. For baby girl we will be using the Nuna Pipa Lite in all black and I can’t wait!

Nipple cream: I know every lactation consultant is screaming at me right now but I hated it! It made my nipples feel weird and it made King breakout on his chin. Once I stopped using it breastfeeding got much for pleasant for both of us. I share this just to show that even if someone swears by a product it might not be the right fit for you.

Diaper Pail: This is a must have for those early weeks where you are changing 3-5 dirty diapers a night. However this thing STINKS! In every way you can imagine it. You literally have to take it out daily or it smells rancid. Once we were out of the newborn stage we tossed ours and just started bagging his diapers and putting them in our regular trash which we take out 2 times a day. This elminated the smell  completley! For baby girl we bought a cheap ($20) diaper pail that will also get tossed as soon as we are done with the 15 diapers a day!

Padcicles : I think these are great to have on hand depending on how your delivery goes but I was not a fan. They were too cold and too bulky for me. I prefered a peribottle and some dermoplast!

Bottle Drying Rack: I am fully ready to be called out on this one, which I welcome. But I don’t get it!! Why in the world would you wash all of your bottles by hand and leave them out to try all over your counter when you have a dishwasher that does that for you! Yes we sanitized the bottles before use and then our diswasher has a sanitize option! That is just such a waste of precious sleep time to me!

Breastfeeding cover with wire: This was reccomended to me by a mom friend and she swore by it! I opened it once and never used it again. It was too much of a nusance to use every time. I prefered just to throw a blanket over my shoulder and peek in when I needed to. I was bummed because it came so highly reccomended and it was not cheap!

Forehead thermometer: Scroll back up to the rectal theromometer to see why I passionatley hate this one!

Moby Wrap: I had three of these and gave a valient effort in attmepting to use them all. I did get it to work but not easily. There was too much fabric to deal with and I never felt like he was very secure. I know some people love this brand but they were not for me.

Okay now for the specific items that my mamas wanted to know about!

Baby Camera/Monitor: We used the owlet and it worked great for us! We will be using that again for Baby girl.

Breast Pump: I used the willow pumps, the spectra S9 and a hand pump. I will be using all of them again but I will also be adding in the Spectra S2 now that my insurance will cover that. If I have to buy a new hands free pump I am also consdiering the Elvie

Car seat: We used the uppa baby mesa and hated it. We will be using the Nuna Pipa Lite this time.

Bottles: We used and loved the doctor browns bottles. If you are cleaning everything by hand you may not like them but they worked great for us and King took to them really well. I bought about 6 different types of bottles and those were our fave.

Diaper Bag: When he was a newborn I used the large fawn design diaper bag/backpack. Once he was a little older and needed less stuff I used a tote savvy insert into my favorite tote bag! I will be doing the same thing again this time around!

I hope this was all helpful to you! Remember what works for someone might not work for someone else. Don’t be pressured to buy something just because it is the new hot ticket item. Now with that said, technologoy is amazing and let it help you during your transition to motherhood!

xo

Madison