"Our Favorite Things"
Many friends and family members have asked for my opinion on particular baby accessories so I thought it would be useful to put together a list of our favorites. There are certain items that are meant to be used as our little one gets older, so I'll add to the list as new gems are discovered! :)
Sleeping: The Rest Assured Sleeper Our little one has been sleeping in the rest assured sleeper since her first night home and LOVES it. We place it in the bed with us at night (Queen or King bed would only work for the sleeper, unless you're a single parent) and move it out into our main living space during the day on a couch or ottoman. The sleeper is also great for transitioning your little one from the sleeper to the crib. Many parents find difficulty when trying to get their baby to sleep in the big crib from a bassinet, cradle, moses basket, etc.; the sleeper can be put directly into the crib for a small time frame, which helps baby get adjusted better. It is also extremely affordable, can be transported easily for road trips and is an overall great space saver. More information below:
http://www.summerinfant.com/Products/Safety-Care/Other-Accessories/Rest-Assured-Sleeper.aspx
Activity Mat: These are a must, right away! Some parents wait to purchase one until baby is a month or two old, but we were using ours the first day we came home from the hospital. She was actually flipping onto her back at two days old while having some "tummy time" on the mat. I'm really glad we purchased this before she was born. You can't really get a "bad" activity mat, just make sure it has some hanging toys and so forth for stimulation.
Bath Time! Mother's Touch Baby Bather (by Summer Infant): If you have a bath tub in your home this is the way to go - very easy to store and our baby absolutely loves it! The sling is very comfortable for her to sit in and it has the perfect incline for her to lounge back in and enjoy bath time :)
http://www.summerinfant.com/Products/Bathing/Baby-Bathers/Mother-s-Touch®-Baby-Bather.aspx
Swings/Seats: These are also a must! There were some days during the first few weeks where the swing was the only thing that would calm our sweet pea down. Here are my recommendations:
**If you are trying to save some space, I recommend the Fisher Price space saver swing and seat:
http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2000&e=product&selcat=bgb&pid=55640
**If you want a separate swing and seat, I recommend the Fisher Price My Little Lamb Infant Seat and Cradle & Swing:
http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2000&e=product&selcat=bgb&pid=46925
http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2002&e=product&pid=45667&ncat=thumbnail&pcat=bgsw_cs
Bottles: We like Dr. Brown's Bottles the best - we tried Medela, Born Free and Avent (Medela were awful and Born Free/Avent were okay) I primarily breast fed the first five/six weeks, but when I pumped and transferred to a bottle we used the Avent/Born Free bottles because we were told "breast fed babies prefer these nipples." I'm glad I took out our Dr. Browne's, because baby definitely preferred these over any other name brand. The feedings weren't as messy, she was a lot less gassy (read product info on Dr. Browne's bottle design) and she preferred this nipple over the others. If you do get Dr. Browne's make sure to purchase a set of the storage caps and a bottle brush for cleaning.
I think it's a good idea to buy a few different kind of bottles to have in stock before your baby comes home (all BPA free) - - every baby is different, so it's good to have a few to try out. Avoid purchasing one massive box of bottles galore for one product; if your baby doesn't like that particular brand your out of luck and out to the store to purchase new ones.
I recommend a bottle drying rack - we got the First Year's Spin and Store Rack (link below) and really like it:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2747237
Sound Machine: We've had a white noise/sound machine in the bedroom for 8-10 years and although I COULD sleep without it, I'd prefer not to (we have a Brookstone one). That said, I had the sound machine on from the second the nurses broke my water up until our last night's sleep on the recover floor (used baby's sound machine these few days)
We purchased the Homedics sound machine for baby's room (wrote about it in post and Pregnancy Notes) because it is smaller, can be transported (battery or outlet operated) and instead of just having natural sounds of the ocean, nature, rain, etc. it has a heart beat sound option as well. I packed this in my hospital bag and used it every day. We set it on the heart beat sounds while baby slept during our hospital stay and she loved it... I think we had the quietest baby on the floor :) Even the nurses thought it was a great idea to bring along to the hospital! I purchased baby's sound machine at Bed, Bath & Beyond:
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?sku=13630208&utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=shopping
Pacifiers: We are believers in the pacifier, but not so much that we take advantage of it on a daily/nightly basis. Fortunately our little one likes it enough to suck on it when she wants some comforting/soothing, but she doesn't NEED it (and never sleeps with it through the night). We literally have EVERY BRAND of pacifiers here... no exaggeration - got a lot of pacifiers as gifts and a couple brands from the hospital. There is only ONE kind of "paci" little Chatham will take from the very beginning: MAM Start Pacifiers, 0-2 months (see below). Pacifiers vary in size as your baby gets older so make sure you're giving baby the right one - some pacifiers can be bad for the babies jaw development. MAM has designed their pacifiers specifically for babies development, so we're pretty happy that our little one happens to like the best product of its kind. They are also BPA free.
MAM STARTS:
http://www.mambaby.com/index.php?StoryID=11099&RefStoryID=103&ProductID=586
Baby Hygiene Products: Our favorite product line is by Mrs. Meyer's. All of her products are organic with a light, soothing fragrance and dermatologist-tested to be pure and gentle for baby's skin. We use her bath products, diaper balms and skin lotions (link below).
We haven't tried out the laundry detergent yet but I'm sure it is a great product as well. We are currently using Nellie's All Natural Laundry Soda for Chatham and LOVE IT! I actually came across it while shopping at the Crate and Barrel Outlet Store here in Lincoln Park, Chicago and it looks like thats place to find your best deal on a 100 load tin.
Mrs. Meyer's Products:
http://www.mrsmeyers.com/Products/Baby_Care
Nellie's Laundry Soda:
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/organizing-and-storage/laundry/nellie%27s-laundry-soda/s581308
MAM STARTS:
http://www.mambaby.com/index.php?StoryID=11099&RefStoryID=103&ProductID=586
Baby Hygiene Products: Our favorite product line is by Mrs. Meyer's. All of her products are organic with a light, soothing fragrance and dermatologist-tested to be pure and gentle for baby's skin. We use her bath products, diaper balms and skin lotions (link below).
We haven't tried out the laundry detergent yet but I'm sure it is a great product as well. We are currently using Nellie's All Natural Laundry Soda for Chatham and LOVE IT! I actually came across it while shopping at the Crate and Barrel Outlet Store here in Lincoln Park, Chicago and it looks like thats place to find your best deal on a 100 load tin.
Mrs. Meyer's Products:
http://www.mrsmeyers.com/Products/Baby_Care
Nellie's Laundry Soda:
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/organizing-and-storage/laundry/nellie%27s-laundry-soda/s581308
Breast Feeding... My Breast Friend: I first heard of this product while watching an episode of Bethenny Getting Married (huge Bethenny Frankel fan here). Whether you're breast feeding or bottle feeding this is a great product - I definitely prefer it over the boppy pillow. Any Babies R Us will have Breast Friends in stock... I got the one below and loved it while breast feeding for six weeks. Now that we're switched to bottle feeding I don't use it as much, but it's still in the bedroom and used during night feedings when I'm tired and need my breast friend support :)
http://www.bellablumaternity.com/brestfriend-deluxe.html
Belly Bandit: Mentioned already under "Pregnancy Notes," my Belly Bandit has gotten a lot of use and is definitely worth the buy. I started wearing mine one day postpartum and still wear it for a couple hours a day at five weeks postpartum (I'll probably stop wearing it once I hit six weeks). Note: If you have a c-section delivery you wont be able to wear it as soon as I did because of the sensitive area/stitching on your tummy.
The Belly Bandit is an abdominal compression binder that helps reduce uterine swelling. It is also beneficial for your posture during feedings. I'm convinced it helped get me back to my pre pregnancy body in just a few weeks!
http://www.bellybandit.com/index.aspx
http://www.bellablumaternity.com/brestfriend-deluxe.html
Belly Bandit: Mentioned already under "Pregnancy Notes," my Belly Bandit has gotten a lot of use and is definitely worth the buy. I started wearing mine one day postpartum and still wear it for a couple hours a day at five weeks postpartum (I'll probably stop wearing it once I hit six weeks). Note: If you have a c-section delivery you wont be able to wear it as soon as I did because of the sensitive area/stitching on your tummy.
The Belly Bandit is an abdominal compression binder that helps reduce uterine swelling. It is also beneficial for your posture during feedings. I'm convinced it helped get me back to my pre pregnancy body in just a few weeks!
http://www.bellybandit.com/index.aspx
Diapers Galore! Pampers is the diaper brand of choice here - no contest. We tried Huggies once just to make a comparison and they did not hold the "water" as well as Pampers do. Pampers do seem to be a tad more expensive - - you get what you pay for :)
We purchase our diapers in mass quantity via AmazonMom. This allows us to get free shipping, and I always have some kind of 20% off or $10 off coupon to apply at checkout.
You can really take advantage of a website like AmazonMom by ordering magazine subscriptions (some are free!) BabyTalk and AmericanBaby are both free and have AmazonMom coupons (among many others) in almost every issue. I talk about some of these magazines in one of my earliest blog posts.
A magazine definitely worth buying a subscription to is Parenting Magazine - - I ordered mine through a maternity clothing store while checking out at the register, but I've seen some pretty great deals since I subscribed over the summer (i.e. $10.00 for 2 year subscription) so do a little research before you set up your subscription!
** Lots of people order through Diapers.com, but I prefer Amazon because there is no minimum order amount for free shipping. I also get my diapers within 24 hours of ordering.
We purchase our diapers in mass quantity via AmazonMom. This allows us to get free shipping, and I always have some kind of 20% off or $10 off coupon to apply at checkout.
You can really take advantage of a website like AmazonMom by ordering magazine subscriptions (some are free!) BabyTalk and AmericanBaby are both free and have AmazonMom coupons (among many others) in almost every issue. I talk about some of these magazines in one of my earliest blog posts.
A magazine definitely worth buying a subscription to is Parenting Magazine - - I ordered mine through a maternity clothing store while checking out at the register, but I've seen some pretty great deals since I subscribed over the summer (i.e. $10.00 for 2 year subscription) so do a little research before you set up your subscription!
** Lots of people order through Diapers.com, but I prefer Amazon because there is no minimum order amount for free shipping. I also get my diapers within 24 hours of ordering.
