Baby things I love

Okay - so I had a few friends ask me about things that we've been using since Will arrived. Here are some things that I absolutely love and have used a lot.



 

These blankets are the best. You cannot have enough of them. We do have a lot of fleece type receiving blankets - and I use those when Will is on the floor, on his play mat or even lying in his crib (which isn't often!) and those are just to catch spit up. These are good for swaddling, laying over him in his swing, putting over his lap in the cool car while in his car seat, etc. They wash up well - and get softer the more you use them. They are thin, so baby doesn't get too hot - overheating a baby is one of the worst things you can do!

These burp cloths are awesome. They are thick and absorb well and if you needed to use it as a bib, you can as you can lay it across baby's neck or snap it around their neck. We have 4 of these in different patterns. We still use the old fashion kind, too - but I like these the best. 

Okay, so hands down - the best bibs are these. They are super absorbent because they have a thick band around the neck. You cannot have too many of these. If it doesn't get to "milky", I let Will use the same one for 2-3 feedings. Once I take it off of him, I just lay it flat to dry. Unless of course it gets soaked with spit up. They wash up beautifully. We typically leave his bib on for at least 30 minutes after he eats. He's a spitter-upper. Especially if you put him down and he's kicking around and playing - or if he gets the hiccups (which is often). I think we have 10 of these. And I could seriously have 10 more. Two go in his diaper bag each day, and we use two of our own at home a day - so, the more the merrier.

I have loved the Tommee Tippee bottles. Now, everyone may have their own ideas on these - and I am sure there are other great bottles. But, these have worked out great. We are still in the little ones (5 ounces) as Will gets 4 ounces each feeding - except before bed, we give him 5 (although sometimes he doesn't drink all of it). We have the bigger ones and it will seem so strange when he gets moved up to those.

Will loves his activity mat/gym. It's not this exact one - but it's pretty similar. At about 3 weeks or so I started laying him under it and he would just stare. Now, he kicks - moves his arms - smiles at the toys and even swats at the stuff - it can entertain him for 10-30 minutes while I fold laundry or get ready in the mornings.

Soothie pacis are Will's fav. And by fav I mean they are the only ones he'll take. The others he just spits right out. We have a WubbaNub (as shown above) and he seems to like it. It's cute to watch him hold it - especially when he's sleeping. Otherwise we just use the plain soothies with no Wubba.

Relax Melodies - an app that has been a necessity. Will loves white noise. The sound of the vacuum, the hair dryer, the dishwasher...so, this app lets you combine sounds, turn volume up and down, set a timer for it to go off after 15 minutes (or whatever you'd like). Go for the premium version. That way, you can still use your phone when the app is turned on. You know, so you can text your husband a grocery list while baby has just calmed down. It has 50 sounds, including lullaby's, a vacuum, white noise, the ocean, monks chanting, music, wind, the womb, a train - you name it - it's there. When Will gets over tired or is fighting sleep - this does the trick!

Total Baby app. I can keep track of how much he's eating (breast or bottle), when he's peed or pooped, you can even track baths and naps. Obviously baths and naps were not a priority because according to the photo above he hasn't slept in 22 days and hasn't bathed in 26. Ha. I started using this app after Will was a week old. And I've missed diapers here and there...but in a running total so far is 586 diapers. Yep. It will even export a spreadsheet for you if you'd like. You can also put in stats from doctor's visits, too.

Diapers. Okay - so at first we liked the swaddlers (Pampers) - but then got turned on to these. Little Snugglers are awesome. They have the wet indicator that turns blue (like the swaddlers) - and this is helpful early on. Or you can be like me and change your baby every 30 minutes. Lesson learned. Baby can wear a diaper longer than one pee-pee break. The Snugglers also have a stretchy band in the back. Whoever came up with this idea should be a millionaire. Will can wear a size longer than expected because of the band or a size bigger earlier because you can pull it snug. They just fit his body better. Do not get these confused with Huggies Snug & Dry. Those feel almost like plastic on the outer portion of the diaper. They have the same stretchy band band but are not as soft. As for wipes - Huggies or Pampers non scented seem to be great. One is thicker than the other and one is moister than the other. I haven't seemed to find a preference.

This bathtub has been wonderful. Will can lay comfortable without us having to literally hold him. Of course we are with him the entire time, but it's nice to not have to feel like you have to support him the entire time. And when he's bigger, he just sits on the other side of the tub. We keep it in the grown-up tub and wash him in there. NOTE: we also use an electric heater in the bathroom. We turn it on for about 10 minutes before bath time so it's nice and warm in there. Once he gets out and is wrapped in a towel, I hold him near the heater for a few minutes to dry off before walking out of the bathroom. If he gets fussy at bath time, we've learned it's because he's cold.

That's all for now. I hope to keep sharing as I find things we've really found useful!