All Things Baby Registry
My Favorite Things: Baby Edition
After having three kids of my own, I feel like I can honestly tell you what you need, and what you don’t need! In this post, I am going to give you my favorite items, links, and favorite small business! This is primarily going to be for newborn-6mo age. I will do a separate post for bigger babies!
There is something in the water, NOT MY WATER, but your alls. There are so many people around me who are expecting! (I LOVE BABIES, SO THIS MAKES ME V HAPPY)
First, I have something to say to friends, Auntie and Grandma. I know you are so excited about this baby. BABIES ARE GREAT. I KNOW that you want to spoil this baby and buy it all of the things. It is so fun. But friend/aunt/gma, I lovingly ask you to consider in addition to your gift, to maybe consider a freezer meal? A date night? A visit where you let mom take a nap while you hold the baby? Diapers? Wipes?….any not fun gifts that will save the parents money? Those cute newborn sleepers are SERIOUSLY SO CUTE AND FUN TO BUY OMG, but maybe consider something else that would help the parents, too! (OKAY, back to the post)
Here are some things that I can honestly, without a doubt, tell you that I have used personally and recommend whole heartedly. Most of them I have used for all three kids!
MISS FONG DIAPER BAG
I have already talked about this in another favorite things post, but I seriously love my diaper bag. It’s an amazon knock-off of a really popular brand, and its quality is great. I have been using it daily for over 8 months and it barely has any wear. It is a backpack, so it provides two hands to wrangle ALL OF THE KIDS & THINGS. In the past I have had off the shoulder diaper bags, and NO ONE HAS TIME FOR THAT after you have more than one kiddo. They also make this in toddler size if you mini-me needs one, too!
WOOMBIE
What is a woombie? A woombie is a little contraption that I found after my son, aka Houdini, would wiggle out of all of the swaddle blankets that we put him in. This has been a STAPLE in our house for all three kids. They make them different for each stage. I used this kind for the newborn stage, and moved up to a convertible woombie after they acted like they might roll. It has little arm holes for you to be able to pull one arm out at a time to train them out of a swaddle.
Earth Mama Angel Baby Sweet Orange Lotion
This is the best baby lotion. I discovered this brand when Carter was a baby because of it’s clean ingredients. It smells DELICIOUS and it so delicate on newborn skin. They also make a baby wash that smells equally as amazing. I used that, and the Beautycounter bath collection for the kids.
Earth Mama Baby Nipple Butter
Gosh, that feels weird to type and put in a big font. HA! MOM LIFE! But this stuff will SAVE you when you are starting your nursing journey. Trust me. Grab this when you grab your lotion/wash and throw it in the diaper bag and stick one on your nightstand. The ladies will thank you!
Earth Mama Perineal Spray
Earth Mama also has a perineal spray for after delivery. My friend said that this “saved her” postpartum. It is considered a “cooling spray” and really relives some of the pain after delivery!
Haakaa Breast Pump
Lets just keep the awkward going with the Haakaa breast pump. It is the little silicone friend you didn’t know you needed. Let me explain it this way for the new mamas, when you have a “let down” and the milk comes down for the baby, it basically gets lost in a nursing pad and wasted while the baby is eating on the other side. With the Haakaa, you use it to suction your breast, (bless this paragraph), and it extracts the milk from the let down so that it is not wasted. This saved me from having to pump after feedings and makes a quick and easy extra supply.
Aden + Anais Swaddle blankets
All Aden + Anais blankets are awesome because of their size and how lightweight they are…BUT…someone gave us a set that was WAYYY softer than the other ones we had. They were called Aden + Anais WHITE LABEL. For some reason, they are soo different and soo soft! We used these for swaddling, laying out to play on and as covers or light blankets to have out in the summer.
L’oved Baby Sleepers
Okay. I lay down some truth to you.
Your baby is primarily going to live in ZIP UP FOOTED SLEEPERS the first year of its life. At least it feels that way. Key word, ZIPPER. In the middle of the night when you are changing a blow out diaper, you want a zipper. That being said, the button up sleepers are fine here and there! ;)
Now, these are not cheap sleepers. But let me tell you, the quality is OBVIOUS, and you can re-sell them on Instagram for almost what you paid for them because they are a hot commodity.
When Carter was born, I bought MORE cheap things. With the girls, I bought LESS higher quality things! I promise you won’t regret doing the same! I would stress myself out about getting him in all of the clothes that were bought for him, and not wasting them.
Now….if you are not up for spending the money on the L’oved baby sleepers, Carters has some really great options, too! Just make sure you stick with the zippers! ;)
(and all the seasoned moms nod their head in agreement)
Fisher Price Rocker
This little seat is not something that I had with the first two, but I bought one similar to this at a consignment sale for Callie and used it EVERY SINGLE DAY for MONTHS because you do eventually have to put the baby down to do laundry and take a shower. I would drag this from room to room with us to sit the baby in. You can’t move a giant swing from room to room….and honestly my kids didn’t love the swing. I know most babies do, but mine were like…”hold me or else….”
Little Remedies Gas Drops
When I asked Scott what his favorite baby product was, he said “gas drops”. HA
Do they do anything? Who knows. But it sure seems like it. Our kids each had a bottle that stayed in their room, and when they were gassy or extra fussy, we would give them some gas drops and VIOLA! Happy babies. I buy it as a baby gift at every baby shower.
Happy Baby Wrap Baby Carriers
Everyone has their own opinion about baby carriers. This is the soft wrap that I used for the girls and loved. I am transitioning to a more structured carrier now from Sakura Bloom. There are so many options, but basically you need to be able to be hands free, especially if this is not your first baby. Highly recommend some sort of carrier!
Hatch Sound Machine
*Favorite baby product alert*
Another pro tip. GET A SOUND MACHINE! Make that baby’s room as dark as you can with black out shades, and turn up the sound machine. I can PROMISE you that your baby will sleep better with this atmosphere. I mean, think about how great YOU would sleep in this environment.
This sound machine can be controlled from your phone, has multiple colors, and multiple sounds. I have had a lot of sound machines over the years. This is easily a favorite.
Marpac Rohm Portable Sound Machine
While we are on the topic of sound machines, let’s discuss what you do when you are out and about and the baby just won’t stop crying. You have swaddled them, given them a paci, and you are just swaying and rocking to get them to calm down. Put this little number right by their ear, and it works wonders! Strap it to the stroller on walks, take it on trips or naps at other people’s houses, even have it in your car for car naps! (just don’t put it in the carseat)
Beautycounter Protective Balm
I have a tube of this stuff on every floor of my house. I use it as a diaper cream, dry skin cream, eczema cream, etc etc. It is the best. Truly. If you know someone having a baby, grab them a tube of this stuff!
Boppy
With my first, I used the boppy for nursing ALL of the time. I couldn’t live without it! With the other two, I didn’t use it as much for nursing, but I used it a TON for propping them up to lay on, and keeping it behind them when they were learning to sit up. It has multiple uses beyond just nursing! This is a link for the main boppy, the cover options are endless and you can buy them everywhere! Pottery Barn Kids has AMAZING soft ones though. They are my favorites.
Baby Jogger City Select Stroller
Baby Jogger is the BEST double stroller in my opinion. They side by side strollers are SO bulky and do not fit in between racks in stores. This specific stroller can be a single stroller, or a double stroller. The second seat comes off when you want it to be a single. The seats can also turn around and sit the opposite direction if you want them both facing you, or facing each other.
MAM Pacis
MAM pacis are what all three of our kids took, (for too long). We are a paci family, and our kids really loved these. I always try them first because I think they are the best!
Boon Lawn Bottle Drying Rack
If you are bottle feeding, this is something that you can sit on your countertop and hand the bottle pieces on to dry. It is a huge space saver, and comes with these little attachments that cold nipples, lids, etc.
I have truly found that LESS is MORE. You do not need the entire Target baby section. It really feels like you do, but you don’t. Take it from me, it is stressful to have so much stuff that you don’t use, and they have to store or sell later. Invest in some higher quality items that can be used for multiple kids, and not thrown away after one.
These are the “off of the top of my head” favorites, and I hope that you enjoy this information! Do you have a favorite that I didn’t mention? Agree with my suggestions? Tell me in the comments below! :)
Please feel free to send this to any expecting mama that you think may like my suggestions and information!
<3 Emily
The Amazon links in this post are affiliate links