My Favorite Baby Things

For all of my preggo mommy friends out there who have asked for a "must-have" list of baby things. I couldn't decide which Top 5 I should give, because I tend to have favorites in different departments of my baby life. So I've sorted them here. Everyone has their favorites for different reasons. These just happen to be mine, and if other moms have favorites, feel free to put them into the comments below!


STROLLER & CARRYING GEAR
Baby Trend Expedition LX Jogging Stroller: (note: get this at Babies R Us for the cheapest price) The black one with the yellow stripe. It's *awesome*. It's made it through 5 blizzards with the car seat snapped onto it. It does have speakers for a MP3 player like an iPhone. The wheels are inflatable and are larger than some other strollers. The front wheel swivels or goes straight. We use it as the main stroller, and don't have another stroller (save for a tiny one that is those tiny umbrella ones that you can hang in a closet). Do test it out in Babies R Us.

Baby Trend AllStar Car Seat: (note: also get this at Babies R Us for the cheapest price) Love this car seat. Ruby used to sleep in it at night if we couldn't get her to sleep in a lying down position, swaddle or not. It's easy to carry around, and the boy-version with polkadots and stars can be gender neutral. It snaps in very easily to the Baby Trend Expedition Jogging stroller and into the base in the car.

Nomie Baby Stritten Stroller Mitten: Love these. The stroller mitten is a little known stroller accessory that velcro onto the handle bars (umbrella or jogger), and you stick your hands in them like a muff. My hubby says that they are just like what motorcycle guys use on their bikes, so he has no problem using them (oops, I bought them in pink). The Strittens mean you have one less thing to bring with you out the door - your gloves - which are easy to loose anyway, especially when tending to your baby or toddler, or answering your iPhone.

Nomie Baby Car Seat Cover: Nomie makes her car seat covers for both infant and toddlers, and you should get two - one for the laundry and one for the car seat. The reverse side is waterproof, so leaky diapers won't soak through. I'll be using this cover for her toddler phase to protect the car seat from smeared pureed butternut and broccoli.

Tivoli Couture or Nomie Baby Stroller Blankets: I'm using a stroller blanket for Ruby's toddler phase in the stroller, as it's easier to put her in it. For the infant phase, which has lasted 9 beautiful months, I preferred to wrap her in blankets. For her, it seemed easier as it was hard enough getting her into a jacket.

Bjorn: I used the Bjorn. From the looks of this picture, I guess I had the original, and it was fine. David could fit into it as well for power walks. At first Ruby didn't like it, and my cousin suggested I tuck Ruby's arms into it. The directions show the baby's arms sticking out through the arm holes. But for a tiny newborn, we think she likes being snuggled. Ruby slept in it facing in, and when awake, preferred to face out. Friends also liked the Ergo, but I haven't tried it. It looks like Tivoli Couture just came out with a baby carrier slip cover. This is very cute, and it's a good thing to have because Ruby chewed on the Bjorn, requiring me to wash it a lot.



NURSERY
Pampers: We're into Pampers. Any of the types of Pampers, really. We used the Swaddlers for sizes N-2, but then didn't see Swaddlers anymore, and just get whatever is on the shelf.

Lansinoh Wipes: Until Ruby was about 4 months, I truly only used little cotton pads and water (that's what they gave us in the hospital). Until my very tall brother-in-law had to change a big up-the-back poop, and took the little squares and was like "Really?". I tried Lansinoh and so far so good. No irritation.

Dekor Diaper Trash Can: We got the Playtex Diaper Gene, but it ate our hands. The spring door was too strong. The Dekor is quite pleasant. It has a door that you can drop the diaper onto, or you can place it in. Changing the diaper bag is also easy with the refill bags.

Aquaphore: We used Vasaline in the beginning because they did it in the hospital, and when some diaper rash dots started, we switched to Aquaphore.



SLEEPING
Born Free Pacifiers: We again bought every brand pacifier, and Ruby liked this one. She didn't like all shapes, just a few different types. I liked it too because it was clear.

Summer Swaddles: When Ruby began breaking out of most of my swaddles, I put her into a Summer swaddle with velcro. Though this isn't great for kicking legs, it did settle her arms.

Summer Video Monitor: We can hear and see Ruby sleeping. This has been good during sleep training, so that I can see how she is behaving during different cries (is her head lying down while crying? Or is she trying to climb out). Also good for if I'm vacuuming and put Ruby in the crib, I can watch her to see that she's ok. The range is pretty far. Babies R Us has one that is cheaper, and is where we got ours.



FEEDING
Note: Ruby had a bottle from week 1. David did the 2am feed & sooth, which was very helpful. I would pump at that time, just to replace the bottle each day. Ruby did fine nursing and bottling.

Avent Bottles: We bought a whole bunch of brands, and stuck with Avent. There was a time when I had to go onto heavy antibiotics for two weeks, and we kept Ruby on the 1 nipple thinking that it would not make her a lazy sucker for going back to nursing, and whether or not that worked, she did return to nursing after two weeks. I've linked you to a package that sells a formula shaker, and a brush with hard bristles that do a good job cleaning the nipple before you put it in the dish washer or sanitizer.

Sanitizer: If you have a dishwasher, I don't think you need this. We got one anyway, and found we didn't need it. Your money can be better put towards something else, like the beaba baby blender.

Symilac Organic Powder Formula: During that antibiotic period, we pretty much tried about 5 formulas at once because we panicked. I hadn't anticipated needing to pause nursing at 3 months, so we went to Rite Aid and bought everything, even soy (which made her poop really hard). We liked the Symilac Organic Powder.

Pukies Bibs: Good because they are stretchy and cute. They have fit for 9 months so far.

Beaba Baby Blender: Just get it. It's *awesome.* They need to make these for adults. I make soups and dressings in it. You'll also need food ice cubes and trays (and there are these cube ones as well). We love these spoons because they come in a 5-pack and Ruby can hold one too while she eats, these netted safety feeder things (good for big pieces of apples and melon). There are so many feeding products out there. These are the ones that I use everyday, so I can attest to them.



NURSING
Lansinoh Lansinoh Lansinoh. My whole top shelf of my bathroom is this purple packaging.

Lansinoh Lanolin: I used this in the beginning of nursing. Big help.

Lansinoh Nursing Pads: Huge help for leaking. Slept in these, and wore throughout the day.

Lansinoh Milk Storage Bags: Love them.

Medella Breast Pump: I got the backpack version. You should also get extra tubes just in case something happens to one, and you *really* need to pump. ;)

PumpEase Pumping Bra: I don't pump without it. I use it to be hands-free to drink water, tend to Ruby, and other things to get more milk out. Get two for when one is in the laundry.


RANDOM PREGNANT THINGS
I know this is a post for baby, but here are some items for you as well:

Prenatal Belly Dance Workout DVD from Rhythm for Life: If you need to stretch out, this is a great DVD for movement.

BellaBand: I wore this everyday. Literally. On both maternity jeans that didn't stay up, and non-maternity pants or skirts that I could somehow fit into.

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