Top Ten: Baby Gear Edition

I have been thinking of writing this post for a while now but have been putting it off for lack of time to sit down and actually put some thought into this. But I promised I would do this for my mom, who's co-teacher in the classroom is pregnant with her first baby! How exciting for her!! So, this post is strictly my opinion about baby things, what is essential, what is not, what I wish I had, what I wish I had not bought. Everyone parents differently and what may be priceless to me, may not be necessary for another mom. Here is my top ten list (and in no particular order):

#1 Baby sling-You all know how partial I am to this....especially since my mom made one for me to wear Olivia in. I wish I had this sling with Carter. We waited a few months before getting a baby Bjorn with Carter but I wish I had had something from the start with him. It is soooo hard to carry them everywhere in a carseat carrier. My arms would get bruised from resting the bar on my forearm. Now with a three year old to chase after, there is no way I could run after him with a 11 plus pound baby and the carseat! I also bought a sling from hotsling and it's nice too.


#2 Boppy Pillow-even for non-nursing mothers, I still think this is a must have. I prop Olivia up on it all the time. And of course, I use it almost everytime I nurse her.



#3Fisher price lights and sounds monitor - I have several friends who use video monitors. I did not want to do that because I knew I would be obsessed with staring at the screen all night. So I opted for the FP lights and sounds monitor. What I love about it is you can turn the volume all the way down and still know when the baby is crying because it will light up. This is great for nights when we are trying to watch a movie and don't necessarily want to hear the screaming but would still like to now when she has finally quieted down.

#4 Miracle blanket- I have blogged about this before. Check out the miracle blanket website for more info.

#5 Medela steam clean bags- so great to have for pumping. I don't much that much this time but I still use them to clean her pacifiers. They are so easy to use. I have the avent bottle sterilizer too (which I had to use constantly with Carter) but since Olivia has only had attempted one bottle, I don't use it much. The steam clean bags are also great for working moms who have to pump away from home.


#6 Crib mobile- I have a little einstein turtle one that Carter loved. There are tons of them out there and I don't think any one is better than the other. Unfortuately, right now, I need to replace to batteries again on it so Olivia hasn't been using it. Instead, I have a dim lamp in her room, and play classical music for her. It's basically the same thing with less bright lights!


#7 A good stroller- Since I didn't have a good sling with Carter at first, I was so thankful to have a good stroller. I don't use it much now but it was definitely a life and an arm saver with him.

#8 A bouncy chair or swing- I personally don't think you need both unless you have a two story house. My grandma got our swing (which is actually a travel swing, the perfect size, foldable, and fairly compact) at a garage sale and when it has working batteries in it is a great thing to have. I also have the bouncy chair but it's now upstairs in our bathroom so I can put her in it while I am taking a bath.

#9 An playmat- We have the baby einstein one and Olivia loves it!

#10 Lot of batteries in all sizes! I need to go through this house with a screwdriver and replace the batteries in about half of Olivia's things (which equates to about two things!) and most of Carter's toys. You can never have enough batteries.

What I could live without:
- wipes warmer: I got more use out of it with Carter since I always changed him in his room. But with a two story house and cloth diapers, I usually change Olivia downstairs so I can throw her diapers in the laundry room

- a billion baby toys: to date, Olivia is almost three months old. Here is what she has played with: colored soft blocks (Baby Einstein and Manhattan Baby) and her playmat. Until they are really mobile or can sit up and grasp things, you don't need a ton of baby toys.

- too many hats: I have a ton of baby hats but never get to use them. Pick a couple in colors you know will go with most things and leave it at that. Same goes for bibs.

What I do need a lot of:
-burp cloths especially for a spitty baby such as Olivia

-blankets: in Colorado, you can never have enough

-pacifiers: I inevitably lose some and I always carry a spare when out in case I drop one and am not close to a bathroom to wash it off. And for the record,I do not wash the pacifiers off when they fall on the floor at home. Our house is fairly clean and we don't have pets running around so I don't feel it's necessary. Some germs are okay!

-pajamas: I love zipped footed pajamas and gowns. Both of my babies have worm pajamas way more often than regular clothes the first couple of months

-mylicon gas drops

You can also check out this blog post for a different opinion