As you guys know there are literally MILLIONS of baby products out there. As a first time mom I knew I had to have it ALL, mostly because I had waited so long to have a baby and I really wanted to bask in everything that came along with finally being pregnant, including buying every item I had ever found that I loved, whether necessary or unnecessary. Over the last 5 months I weeded through all of the stuff and found some favorite products and brands that I feel to be tried and true or have helped us survive life with a new baby. These are products that worked for us, they may not work for you, you may not agree with using them due to safety hazards or CDC guidelines or what have you, so please, if leave your judgments at the door & hopefully you can find something that will help YOU.
Diapers & Wipes
I really didn't have a preference before Georgia arrived. I got several brands at my shower for the diaper raffle and I kind of feel like, if people are gifting you diapers, you can't be picky, they're pooping and peeing in them, just use them.
Pampers—they seem to be the most comfortable, they have the moisture stripe so you can tell if there is pee in the diaper, & they hold up well to blowouts.
Honest Co—what I love about them is they can hold A LOT and their patterns are to die for. What I don't love about them is the price and that they're a little stiff. I bought a subscription when they were offering 50% off so I got 6 packages of diapers & wipes (which I hate btw.) and cancelled the subscription later.
Target Up&Up—probably the most affordable & definitely can hold about as well as pampers.
As far as wipes go, as I stated above, I am not a fan of Honest Co, they're just too damn hard to get out of the package, they stick together and when you're cleaning up a soupy poopy diaper, the last thing you want to do is fight with the wipes. My favorite brand by far is the Amazon Elements which are similar to water wipes but at a fraction of the cost. They're safe for cleaning your babies face, hands feet, and bottom of course, they're free of fragrance, dyes, parabens, and alcohol, they're flexible, and they come in flip top packages. I have a subscriptions for these with Prime they are $11.64 for a pack of 6. I cannot say enough good about these wipes.
Sleeping Gear
Our girl is a pretty great sleeper, but the first few days home were tough, we spent $250 on the Halo Bassinest which she hated so she slept on me in bed and I got very little sleep because I was so fearful of rolling over on her and suffocating her, not the type of thoughts I wanted to have my first few days home (PSA here – Post Partum Anxiety is a real thing!) so we got a Dockatot and are eternally grateful that we did. All I'm going to say is, just get one. Spend the $165, you cannot put a price on a good night of sleep. If you have more specific questions about them feel free to contact me.
The HALO Bassinest Swivel Sleeper - Premiere Series Bassinet is what she sleeps in now, I love this bassinet, it swivels 360°, it's side lowers so it's easy to get her in and out (would be ideal after a csection), it has a light, sounds, it vibrates, the base goes up and down and it is seriously extremely durable and heavy so we don't have to worry about it falling over. We transitioned her into this around 8 weeks with the dockatot inside of it (this is not recommended by the manufacturer of either of these products) and then at 12 weeks took the DAT out and she's been sleeping in just the Halo ever since. Now that she is just about rolling over, our next move is into the pack n play. We prefer her in our room still, especially since she still wakes to eat about once a night, it's just easier on me.
Love to Dream swaddles were also one of our go-to items and every now and then she still uses this if she's thrashing around too much and waking herself, I'll stick her back in this. It lets her hands be up by her face which is what she prefers. These come in cute colors, they're thin, and they're nice and stretchy. We loved these.
Play Gear
The Fisher Price Sit Me Up floor seat has been one of our favorites, and although it doesn't have much to play with, it has helped her with her head control, it gives me peace of mind that I can step away for a second because she is contained. Plus she just looks so darn cute in it.
Our Skip Hop Activity Gym is still one of my favorite items we got. Georgia is finally starting to interact with it a lot more now that she is more aware of how her hands work. Plus it's one of the cutest styles of activity gyms I've seen out there.
The Bright Starts Sweet Safari Bounce Around Activity Center is also one of top favorites, Georgia is really starting to love this too and is actually exploring all of the little characters. This has a springboard bottom so she can bounce on it, and the seat turns 360° so she can spin around and reach all of the toys.
Travel Gear
This is an area where I was really torn and overwhelmed. I really didn’t know what brands were best & I was torn between the pricier brands like Nuna to the more affordable brands like Evenflo. What I ultimately decided on was Baby Jogger, a nice happy medium as far as price was concerned. I ended up getting the Baby Jogger City Mini on Amazon on a day that it was on sale like 50% off, I love the stroller so much, it's SO easy to use, the only downside is the bottom basket does not fit my diaper bag, but we use the Fawn Design backpack so it's not a big deal to just wear that.
On top of that we got the Baby Jogger City go Infant Car Seat which we also love. The best part about this car seat is you do not need the base. I use a base in my car & my mom has one too, but this seat has what is called the TaxiSafe belt path which safely secures the seat using the seat belt. We've used this in Joe's truck and I will tell you, it sometimes feels sturdier than it does when it's in the car seat base using the LATCH system. If I could recommend one travel product, this would be it.
One of our other most-used travel products is our Lillebaby Complete soft structured carrier. Joe and I both LOVE this carrier as it is so easy to put on and has an awesome lumbar support. The Complete is the 6-position, 360° ergonomic carrier which is good up to 45 POUNDS! Bonus, it's 30% off on Amazon right now!
Miscellaneous Stuff we Love
Rock N Play Auto Rocker was a life saver in the early days! Georgia loved this, I could put her down in it and she'd be out like a light! It plays music and rocks on it's own! Bonus, it's on sale, 40% off right now! #winning
For bibs/bibdanans, Copper Pearl is hands-down my favorite. They're so soft and they do not soak through like some other brands. Plus she has everything from basics like all black or all grey, to my favorite pack, the Tropical set which includes mermaids and sea shells!
Our favorite pacifiers have been these Tomee Tipee Orthodic Pacifiers.
Our favorite diaper rash cream is Aquaphor Baby, it was the ONLY thing that worked those first few weeks of her life when her butt was full of red sores from all the pooping she did.
Our favorite bottles are ComoTomo, we haven't tried many others but these seem to work best for her. We also like Twist Shake Baby, even though we do not use formula, we still love these bottles & the colors they come in are the best!
We also love the Boppy Lounger and for the price you really can't beat it. We set ours on the couch still while she's not mobile yet and she can relax on it and she naps on it (only supervised) when we are hanging in the living room.
My favorite diaper bag is the Fawn Design book bag, I get TONS of compliments on it, its soft, the zippers are amazing, and Joe isn't afraid to carry it. I use the Tote Savvy Mini inside to keep it organized.
Even though I did this entire post on bows, I will tell you again, Little Poppy Co is one of our favorites, their bows fit well, they're made well, and they give you some really great variety. For $15 a month I think it's a good deal & an easy way to build your collection. I also love Lilly Belle Market, & Raising Little Ridley's.
The Boon Silicone Feeder
The Boon Grass Drying Rack
The Fisher Price Space Saver High Chair - bonus it's 15% off!
The Boon Silicone Feeder
The Boon Grass Drying Rack
The Fisher Price Space Saver High Chair - bonus it's 15% off!
Nursing Gear
Although this isn't really "baby" gear so to speak, I do have a couple things I can mention. I did an entire post here, but probably my TOP must-have are these Lilly Padz silicone nursing pads that I wear at night. I HIGHLY recommend these, and I recommend getting the kit that comes with the wash & wipes. I wear mine every day, I've had to replace them once, but for $20 I feel like they're a great investment & help keep me from soaking my shirt and sheets at night. Plus, in the early days when your nips are painfully sensitive you can wear them in the shower to help ease some of the discomfort from the shower.
Target Up&Up bags are the storage bags I like, I still get asked about these regularly and they just changed them recently, now they're more like the Lansinoh bags, a little thinner plastic, but I still like them
Plus this nursing bra and these nursing brasby Kindred Bravely are by far, the softest one I've been able to find, plus you cannot beat the price!
My favorite hands-free pumping bra is this Bravado Click & Pump that attaches not only to my Bravado bra but also to the Kindred Bravely ones I mentioned before! 20% off right now!
What have I missed? What else do you guys want to know? We are only a little over 5 months into this whole parenthood things so I know we still have so many products we will "need" and get to try, I will try to keep this list going for you guys as best as I can!
We loved the Sit-Me-Up deal too, it was perfect in the days before he could sit up unassisted and super cheap! I have never tried the Amazon wipes but I might. My favorite has always been Pampers Sensitive & the Huggies brand have been the worst. They don't clean as well and they don't always come out of the container right and like you said, when you are cleaning up poop you need those things to work! haha
ReplyDeleteyay thank you for doing this! i totally pinned it on my secret pinterest board ;) the dockatot really is so expensive but everyone seems to love it.
ReplyDeleteMy little babe just turned 12 weeks old and we love so many of the same things you have listed here! Have you tried Water Wipes? Those have been my favorite so far :) We also love the Baby Bjorn bouncer because she loves sitting as up right as possible and seeing everyone! xx
ReplyDeletethank you for the chance. How great :)
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ReplyDeleteSooo many great baby items! With baby #2 I wound up getting the bumbo multi seat which is wayyy better than the original bumbo and I really love it!
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