Top 10 Baby Items

Just walking in the door of Babies 'R Us is enough to send even the most even-keeled new mom into a panic attack.  So just for the fun of it, I thought I'd list our top 10 can't-live-without baby items.

In no particular order...

1.  WubbaNub pacifier 

Beckett is not really a fan of pacifiers; he just seems to chew on them or push them out of his mouth.  But if he's tired he'll take one so we use them as a cue for nap time, which has been really helpful, especially if we're away from home.  The great thing about the WubbaNubs is when we're cradling him we can pin the stuffed animal between our body and his and it keeps the pacifier in place hands free, which allows us to hold him with one arm and pat his little bum with the other hand.  Works like a charm in getting him to fall asleep fast.  Also, these are big enough that we don't misplace them around the house and we can find them quickly in his diaper bag or car seat.  I can't say enough good things about these!

2.  BumGenius 4.0 cloth diapers

We started using cloth diapers when Beckett was one week old and absolutely love them!  I'll write a post about it soon.  In short--- comfy, easy, no blowouts, saves money.

3.  White Noise app
Kolby downloaded this app to his phone and we started using it very early on as a way to soothe Beckett when he was fussy.  We would turn it up really loud and hold it right by his ear and it would almost always calm him down (apparently the womb is really loud so they find it comforting).  It was really convenient because wherever we were, we always had his phone and could turn this on.  We used it at night too for the first three months when we were all sleeping in our room together.  Now we use it when we want to put him down for a nap away from home, in the car, or in a room where there is other stuff going on because it's a familiar and soothing sound and it helps drown out other noise.  We have a baby sound machine for his room now but I wish we hadn't bothered with one of those because they just don't make them nearly loud enough.  At some point I think we'll get a legit sound machine from Brookstone, but this app will still be nice when we travel.

4.  Velcro swaddle sacks
Beckett sleeps swaddled, and like most babies he can break out of a swaddle blanket faster than Houdini.  These velcro swaddle sacks have been a life saver. 

5.  Baby tub

This is THE tub to get.  It also comes in pink.

6.  My Breast Friend nursing pillow

I'm embarrassed to say that this is my absolute #1 baby item.  I say embarrassed because the name is absolutely ridiculous and because I feel more than a little silly strapping it on, especially when I walk across the room and look like an overgrown child in a floatie looking for the kiddie pool.  But y'all, this thing is amazing.  I really believe it has been the reason I have had such an easy and enjoyable time breastfeeding.  It's made of a sturdy foam, so it fully supports the baby's whole body when you lay him on it.  You don't have to hold him up whatsoever, which gives you the freedom to just cuddle him instead (and make sure he has a good latch).  Anytime I try to just hold him myself or use pillows or use the widely-loved Boppy, I am so uncomfortable.  At three months old, he is now big enough to where I can rest his weight on my lap and just cradle his head easily, but this nursing pillow was such a huge help those first three months.  And I do still use it a lot of the time when I'm home just because it's easiest. (P.S. We have a Boppy and absolutely love it for propping Beckett into a sitting position, I just hate it for nursing.)

7.  Playmat with sound and light 

Beckett LOVES his playmat.  It lights up and makes sounds and he can't seem to get enough of it.  We hang a million of his other toys from it, so there is always something within his reach.  Ours is this one, which we borrowed.

8.  Exercise ball

Strange I know, but hear me out.  We got one of these when I was pregnant at the advice of our birth class instructor, who lauded sitting on it rather than on the couch.  It was still in the living room when we brought Beckett home, and at some point he was fussy and Kolby was holding him and sat down on the ball.  He started to bounce on it and Beckett immediately calmed down and then fell asleep.  It became Kolby's go-to technique, and it worked every time.  I had bounced on that thing all the time with Beckett in utero, so I'm sure he found comfort in the familiar movement.  Three months later and Kolby still bounces with him to put him to sleep.  He says he likes it better than a rocking chair, plus it's portable.  Very common sights around here are Kolby bouncing with Beckett in front of the TV, pulled up to the dinner table, or in his dark nursery in the middle of the night.  I had to get him a second one for father's day because he wore out the first!

9.  Aden & Anais Burpy Bibs

These things are basically like a poncho.  Anyone who has had a spit-upper knows that sometimes a bib just isn't enough.  We use these when we put Beckett in his car seat because it protects his clothes and the car seat better than anything else.  The extra coverage is also great when we're trying to keep his outfit clean (for pictures or visiting people, etc.).  They are expensive so we only have two, but we love them and they also double as a really cute burp cloth.

10.  Baby carrier

I'm putting the generic "baby carrier" on this list because it is so nice to have one in general; they facilitate bonding and learning, and when your baby has a fussy day and wants to be held all day it's nice to have a hands-free option.  I was so excited to be a "babywearing" mom but had such a difficult time getting any of our carriers to work for me.  I have an Ergo (pictured), a pouch sling, a ring sling, and a K'Tan.  None of them worked quite right when Beckett was small for one reason or another; he was so slouchy in all of them and I worried about his breathing.  I ended up borrowing a Baby Bjorn and it worked great for us.  Beckett is now old enough for us to use the Ergo, which is our favorite carrier.  And I'm going to try my other carriers again as well and am hoping they'll work now that he'd old enough to try some different positions.  If I got a do-over I'd try out any type of sling or wrap before purchasing because those are really hit or miss in terms of what works for any particular mom/baby combo.

As far as the necessities, we love Gerber prefold cloth diapers as burp cloths, bibs with a terry cloth texture (not smooth cotton or the spit-up just rolls right off), zippered pajamas, and Aden & Anais blankets.  We also LOVE our City Mini stroller.  And I know Dr. Brown's bottles are all the rave, but they are not our favorite because there are so many parts to clean (although I might feel differently if Beckett had colic).  We used Breastflow bottles at the beginning and they worked great for introducing a bottle without creating problems with breastfeeding.  But we had trouble getting all of the milk out of them (and I was not about to let a single drop of my milk go to waste!) so now we are trying some others.

**Update on bottles, 11/2013**
I still recommend Breastflow bottles at the very beginning. But after that it's just a matter of what bottle nipple a baby latches on to best.  There's no way to predict that in advance, so I'd recommend borrowing various bottle types if you can, to see what works, or at least not stocking up on any single bottle type until you see it in action.  Beckett did best with the Dr. Brown's Wide Neck bottles, but all the extra pieces got annoying to clean so I found a real cheap Evenflo bottle at Walmart with the exact same nipple shape but only three pieces (bottle, ring, nipple) and that's what we use.  Sorry to use the word nipple so many times ;)

Well there you have it!  That is my two cents worth at least.  If there are any great baby products that I'm missing, let me know!