Baby Favorites

Because of the events of this week and my last post, I needed to take a couple of days to myself but I am back in action now. Thank you for your patience.

I decided that since my last post was a heavy one, I would lighten things up with a simple post about my favorite baby items that I couldn’t live without. Because D and I weren’t expecting to get pregnant quite so quickly, as well as just starting out as a married couple, we had more of a minimalist approach to our baby items. Below you will find my must haves and a short explanation why, I will also include links to find these products (The Amazon links are affiliated but they’re products that I use, love and genuinely endorse. The other links are not affiliated).

1. Fisher Price Snug-a-Puppy Swing – This swing is a life saver! Henry was a very difficult newborn and let me tell you, the witching hour is REAL people! Every night like clockwork he would have a meltdown from 6pm until usually around 8pm. It was awful. I found myself getting anxious as 6pm got closer. Some nights this swing was the only thing that would calm Henry down and get him to sleep. It is worth it’s weight in GOLD! It has a large footprint but if you can make it work, I know you won’t regret it. https://amzn.to/2zhoXBT
2. Modern Burlap Organic Muslin Swaddle Blanket – These blankets are as useful as they are cute! I have a couple and I’ve used them as light blankets, shades, burp cloths in a pinch, nursing covers and photo backdrops. I also really love this company and their philosophy. I feel good about purchasing from them because of their Christian background and because it is a small company. I know that my money is going to individuals, not corporations. https://modernburlap.com/collections/swaddles/products/new-organic-cotton-muslin-swaddle-blanket-modern-mouse
3. Modern Burlap Crib Sheets – Same company as #2 and that’s why I also recommend these crib sheets. Light, good quality and so cute! I love all the different scriptures on these and have a couple more designs I want in the crib sheets as well as the swaddles. https://modernburlap.com/products/organic-crib-sheet-arrows
4. Burp cloths – Okay so Henry spit up ALL THE TIME! And even at 9 months old, he still spits up a couple of times a day, sometimes more. I use Gerber cloth diapers for the most part and those worked well. What I love about them is that the more you wash them, the more absorbent they become. I also wanted something cute. Spit up isn’t cute and even though the diapers were good as burp cloths, sometimes my sons plentiful spewing soaked through them. Yes, he spit up that much. So I explored different options, scoured the internet, read blogs, looked at the cutesy cloths they have in stores. I decided to combine my favorite things from what I found into one super burp cloth. I am including a link to my Etsy shop where I sell these burp cloths. I’m not just saying this because I make them, but these are the bomb.com. No spit up leaking, they’re soft, they’re absorbent, and they’re CUTE! I have different prints, but they’re all flannel and terrycloth sewn with love and dreams of a spit up free baby… *sigh* One day… (Gerber) https://amzn.to/2tZJ4jc (My hand made cloths) https://www.etsy.com/shop/TaterTotDesignCo
5. Onesies and cotton pants – So everyone knows your baby needs clothes, but if you think you have enough onesies, you don’t. There are going to be poop blow outs, breastmilk/formula spills, spit up, snot… babies are gross. You need a lot of onesies and a lot of plain cotton pants, or you’re going to be doing a LOT of laundry. https://amzn.to/2KNqPXR and https://amzn.to/2NxpWB3. You’ll thank me later. Everyone likes the cute clothes, I understand, believe me. But on those early days when you’re locked at home just trying to survive, all you need is easy clothes.
6. Washable Nursing Pads – Whether you’re breastfeeding or formula feeding, your breasts are likely going to leak. Especially in the early days when hormones are fueling the flow. I really only leaked for a week or two and my son was in the NICU for his first 17 days so I was especially conscious of managing the leaking. I tried the disposable, store brand, name brand…and I really didn’t like them. I was getting hugged a lot more than I would like and I felt like my boobs crinkled with every embrace. Enter the washable nursing pads! Omg. Life savers! Below are the links to my favorite brand. I had 4 sets and for me, that was enough for the occasional leaking I was experiencing. I think 4 is a good starting place and if you are a heavy leaker, buy more. But you likely won’t need less. These are seriously soft and in the early days of breastfeeding that’s important. https://amzn.to/2MZJwoD
7. Baby Laundry Detergent – So important! Babies have such sensitive skin, especially if you and/or your hubby also have skin issues. This isn’t something I wanted to mess around with. I did a lot of comparisons and research and found that the most popular baby laundry detergent brand is full of chemicals. I was not pleased. I ended up choosing Seventh Generation and have since switched mine and my husbands detergent to the same brand. I have sensitive skin, Henry and my husband both have eczema and Henry also has the usual baby sensitivity and I noticed a huge difference for everyone when I made the switch. https://amzn.to/2KG110f
8. Water Wipes – I chose water wipes over regular wipes for all the reasons listed above. My sensitive boy has a sensitive tooshie and the water wipes keep him clean without irritating his skin. I’ve tried the Seventh Generation brand and even those irritate Henry. So water wipes it is! I was gifted the big box and literally didn’t have to purchase wipes for 6 months! It was awesome! https://amzn.to/2udDUPQ https://amzn.to/2uecj0F https://amzn.to/2J3l4A8
9. Bottle Warmer – So, because my son was a little early and had an under developed sucking reflex, I did breastfeeding and pumping for bottles. My husband and I did the old fashioned milk in warm water trick for weeks. WEEKS. And then I decided to consult Amazon for a bargain bottle warmer. We didn’t want to spend much and didn’t need any bells and whistles. Enter the Avent bottle warmer. It’s as simple as plugging it in, adding a little water and turning it on. We just used our microwave timer to let us know when it was ready and life was immediately easier. I highly recommend this warmer! https://amzn.to/2KENgiu PS: We use Como Tomo bottles and this warmer works just fine.
10. Manual Pump – Okay, this is my last item for this particular list. Figured I would end at a nice round 10 and also Henry just woke up from his nap so, duty calls. I breastfeed Henry and I’m glad I do. It makes life easier for our adventures and road trips we like to take. No need to pack bottles and formula, just bust out a boob! Now, this seems like an easy peasy and hassle free way to live our lives. But then one day you’re stuck in traffic coming home from an adventure, the baby is asleep, you’re locked in with nowhere to go and even if you COULD pull over you know that baby will never go back to sleep after waking him up to nurse. Not to mention, I like to keep momentum and only stop when necessary. It had been about 2 hours since nursing and this was when Henry was in his cluster feeding stage so I quickly became painfully engorged. I got home about an hour after painful engorgement set in and couldn’t nurse Henry fast enough. From that day on, a staple in my diaper bag and car is a manual pump. I use two different kinds which I will post links to. They both are great in different ways. My Lansinoh manual pump is perfect for a quick pump to relieve pressure and I have used this stuck in traffic before. The others are silicone pumps that suction on and are hands free. I have used these in traffic, while nursing on one side I stick it to the other and it catches milk to help build a stash and I’ve also used it in the middle of the night for relief on the odd occasion Henry sleeps through without needing to eat. Bonus is the silicone pumps come in a to pack so one is always in my diaper bag and the other on my night stand. I don’t recommend the lids they come with so I will include a link to another stopper that actually works. Both these items are less than $20 to boot! Lansinoh – https://amzn.to/2u4aLXX Silicone Pump – https://amzn.to/2KPb3eN Stopper – https://amzn.to/2NAci0f
    Well, that’s it for this post! Thank you again for reading this and please let me know if you have any questions about my experiences with the products I’ve posted. I would also love to know if anyone else has anything they would like to add to my list.

    Have a great day!
    ~M