Baby Things I Love

I've been meaning to write this post for a while now. I'm at that special age now where all of my friends are having babies and of course we share what we've learned along the way. I spent the months leading up to my daughter's birth researching and deciding what products I would use. Some products I loved and others were just okay. I've had a number of friends ask me what products I recommend. Below of are some of them. I'll probably add to this post as more and more products come to mind. Remember, just because I love them doesn't mean you will. I'll be creating future posts to expand on some of these topics, but below are the items I really like.

Prenatal Vitamins: I started taking these years before hubby and I ttc and now that our daughter is almost 12 weeks and ebf I am still taking them.

I started out taking CBH Prenatals and I found them easy on my stomach in those early days of pregnancy...you know the ones where you wake up needing carbs and ginger ale because that is about the only thing you can keep down. At around $20 a bottle the price was right. Unfortunately, they have been out of stock, this forced me to look elsewhere.

I had already been using Honest Co. products (future blog post to come) and decided to try their prenatals and DHA/Omega 3s. You can currently buddle these two products together for $39.95 a month. These too are easy on my stomach.

Overall I think both products contain what you need to ensure you are receiving all the vital minerals and vitamins needed. There are tons of good prenatals out there, I find these both affordable.

Cloth Diapers: I knew I wanted to cloth diaper right from the beginning, not just for the environment, but for my wallet as well. Yes, Yes, I know...you still need to spend money to wash and dry them. I don't use a service and despite my husband and I both working full-time I do not find it difficult to find time to wash the diapers and it is still a much cheaper option than disables. I'll do a whole blog post in the future about all the wonders of my cloth diapering adventures.

After months of research and debate I opted for Best Bottoms. I ordered some from Amazon, but found Nicki's Diapers was the better option since you earned points for each purchase that you could then use to buy more baby goodies. Nicki's also offer discounted bundles, free shipping and free gifts with purchase.  What I loved about Best Bottoms is that each cover was adjustable, so it grows with baby (and made in the USA). You can reuse the waterproof cover throughout the day and the inserts just snapped in/out. It is super easy, especially if your partner is on the fence like my hubby was. Add an overnight insert and even heavy wetters emerge dry after a long night.

Breastfeeding Goods: I took a breastfeeding class that was informative and swore if you did it right breastfeeding didn't hurt (another post to come)...not sure what their idea of hurt is. It definitely didn't feel good in the beginning. I never had dry or cracked nipples, but they were tender as hell. A good nipple cream can go far.

I've heard use coconut oil (you can seriously use this for anything) or even olive oil (like my sis). I tried the Honest Co. nipple balm, but I found the free samples my midwife gave me of Lansinosh lanolin worked wonders. There are some debates about using lanolin, but for me it gave me the relief I really needed. I ended up buying more and now that my nipples have "toughened up" I have leftover cream my hubby now uses on his chapped hands.

I wish I found this next product sooner. I came across these plastic nursing cups by O-cal-ette and fell in love. There are similar ones by other companies, but I got these because of reviews. You basically wear them instead of breast pads and they collect the leaking breast milk and you can save it. I only used them while I nursed or walked around the house. Sometimes I would collect over an ounce from one breast while I nursed on the other. Now that my milk production has leveled out I only use them in the morning, but I wish I had these from day 1!

Speaking of breast pads. I got some disposable ones for travel and work, but find I like my Bamboobies pads so much more. I have some overnight ones too and they are just more comfortable and affordable. I throw them in the wash with my regular laundry. I find the disposables are more noticeable (I can feel that I'm wearing them, not the case with Bamboobies).

While I like my glider, any comfy chair greatly helps when it comes to feeding.

Sleeping: Since I was going to breastfeed I looked into various sleeping arrangements. I wasn't looking to bed share, nor was I against it, but I was interested in our daughter sharing our room (co-sleeping). I knew we needed help with those multiple feedings every night. I ended up having our daughter sleep on my chest the first couple of weeks, but ultimately she ended up in our Arms Reach Co-Sleeper. I loved the concept of the Arms Reach when I came acrossed it months before my dd arrived, but didn't want to drop the cash (almost $200). Luckily I found one on Craigslist for $50. I picked it up and washed everything and bam! Best thing ever for a nursing mom. It attached to the side of the bed and you can easily reach over to sooth baby or snuggle baby close for night nursing. Once she outgrows this it becomes a pack-n-play, so its more versatile than just a bassinet. I ended up preferring to sit in my glider to nurse rather than lay in bed, but I still love this co-sleeper. Our dd is right in arms reach if she gets fussy and for those crazy new mom moments I can look right over and see her little chest rise and fall with each breath.

That leads me to my other love, The Angelcare movement, video and sound monitor. This thing has it all; a mat that goes under the crib mattress for SIDs detection, a camera so you can see the baby, and a walkie-talkie feature so you can tell baby you are on your way. We have this in the nursery on the crib so when dd naps we can monitor her without worry. Once she graduates to her own room it will be used even more.


There are many other products we have used and liked and others we used, but were really unnecessary. If there are any products or topics you are curious about just ask and I'll share what I and others I know have experienced.

*All images were gathered from the sites in which you can purchase them, follow the links provided. Please let me know if any links are broken.