My Top 5 Favorite Baby Items

Handmade Butterfly Mobile by ButterflyOrbs CC BY 2.0  (added text)

If you've been reading, you've probably noticed some pretty heavy posts these last few days.  I wanted to get my story out there and to raise awareness.  If my story saves one life or empowers one person to stand up to their doctors, then I'll feel as if I made a difference.  Now, on to some fun stuff!

There are SO MANY baby items on the market right now.  Some you know you need; clothes, diapers, bottles, etc.  Others are fancier, and the question remains, "Do I really need this?"  Here are my top five baby items that you really do need!

1.  Baby Carrier.  I have two, a Maya Wrap Ring Sling and an ERGO Baby Carrier .  The ring sling is the easiest, by far, to use right now.  It's great for walking my son to the bus stop, or quick trips into the store when I don't feel like unloading the stroller.  I like the Ergo for longer trips.  I feel much more hands-free than I do with the ring sling (For some reason I always feel like I need one hand on baby when she's in the ring sling).  The downside to this type of carrier is that it's not designed to be used until your baby is more than 12 lbs.  You can buy a separate infant insert for smaller babies, which I did, knowing I make small babies.  The infant insert is a heavy swaddle, which was great in spring...not so great in the heat of the summer.  My baby is just over 13 lbs right now, but she is short so she still needs the pillow that comes with the insert.  It's definitely more comfortable, and I do prefer it for longer walks, but it's not very convenient having to carry around the little pillow for her to sit on.  Baby loves both carriers...anything that gets her closer to mommy! :)

2.  Snap 'n Go Stroller.  This was a baby item I thought was such a silly thing.  I have a carrier to wear baby in situations where the bulkier stroller is not convenient.  Why do I need a stroller to hold the infant car seat?  Wrong.  It is so convenient.  Countless times I've planned on just putting her in the ring sling to go into the store, but when I arrive she's asleep.  And we all know the rule--never wake a sleeping baby.  No worries, I'll just transfer the ever-so-peaceful baby sleeping in the comfort of her car seat into the Snap 'n Go.  The ease of the Snap 'n Go will allow me to keep her in the heavy infant seat much longer, probably until the limits of the seat.

3.  Muslin Swaddle Blanket.  I discovered these with my son and when I was pregnant with my daughter I knew she needed her own "cold blanky" as my son calls his.  We prefer the Aden & Anais brand, but they sell other brands at a lesser cost at the big box retailers.  We have the 47"x47" blankets, which are big enough to grow with the child.  My five-year-old still sleeps with his.  The fabric is designed to keep baby warm in the winter and cool in the summer.  They are just the right size for a perfect swaddle and lightweight enough to feel safe having it in the crib with baby.

4.  Infant Tub with thermometer.  Funny story.  We didn't originally register for this with our first.  We quickly learned it was going to be much easier to bathe our tiny baby in the sink than the big bathtub.  Our second day home, I sent my husband to Babies R Us.  In a daze from complete lack of sleep, he fills his cart with our needs and goes to the checkout before realizing he had walked off with someone else's cart.  He did eventually make it back home with the bathtub.  We really like the one we have with the thermometer because you can make sure the water is the perfect temperature.  It also is designed to let the dirty water run out while the clean water runs in.  Take it from me, it really is much easier to bathe baby in the kitchen sink rather than bending over the bathtub.  Baby girl is almost five months and we have just recently stopped using it.  It was a sad day.

5.  Pack 'n Play.  By far, this is the baby item that we have gotten the most use out of between the two kids.  Ours was purchased over five years ago, and they have improved so much!  Ours is just a simple pack & play with a bassinet and changing table attachment.  They make them now with a "newborn napper" attachment, which looks really comfy for baby!  We actually have two pack & plays and while our babies are small, we use one upstairs in our bedroom and one downstairs in the living room.  It's nice to have a place to change baby's diapers and for her to nap on our main living floor.

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