9 Baby Products I Couldn't Live Without
We couldn’t survive the 4th trimester without these
Julian in his Snuggle Me Organic at 12 days old.
As a new mom, I had no idea what my baby was going to need. And having to pick items for your baby registry before your baby arrives is intimidating. Every article I read said all babies are different, which makes sense. They are all little people with their own personalities and preferences.
Now that I’ve been a mom for 2 months, I want to share what products I couldn’t have survived without and why.
The very first thing you’re going to have to do after giving birth, aside from changing a meconium diaper, is swaddle your newborn. And when you are sleep deprived, and just exhausted from labor the last thing you have the energy to do is be YouTubing “how to swaddle” while you’re at the hospital. And yes, the nurses will help you and give you a demo, but what we discovered was that every nurse had their own unique way of swaddling. And swaddling takes practice! So unless you have already mastered the art of swaddling babies before your little one has arrived, I highly recommend buying an Ollie swaddle. Shoot, even if you know how to swaddle, buy one just in case.
Being naive, I thought swaddling was overrated. But we found out the hard way that babies have a startle reflex, where their arms would spread out and they would jolt themselves awake. It’s awful. So swaddle your newborns because they love it. And you’ll love it because they will sleep longer if they are tightly bundled up and cozy. It takes them back to their happy place, being back inside mom.
The Ollie swaddle is SO easy to use, I’ve used them while being half awake late at nights. It has velcro for a tight attachment and a little rubber band attached at the bottom of the swaddle to tie just below their feet. Super easy and only two steps! Just remember to wrap the swaddle just below their shoulders.
The Snuggle Me Organic is my number one recommendation that I can’t stop praising. It is a lounger that simulates being hugged. Your baby lies in the center and feels nestled. After I nurse my son, Julian, in the mornings he tends to fall asleep in my arms. I’ve learned to harness my inner-ninja and gently move him onto the Snuggle Me. I absolutely love it because Julian still thinks he’s in my arms and will take at least an hour nap in it. This gives me the time I need to get ready in the mornings, even take a quick shower without fear of him rolling off the bed.
I’ve talked to other moms, and if your baby loves motion this is a must have. It’s a bit pricey, but it is totally worth it. The MamaRoo will rock your little babe to sleep or keep your little one content by simulating the motion of when they are in your arms. They have a wide range of different motions from classic rocking to kangaroo bounces. But, my favorite is the “car ride” motion. And it even has an assortment of different sounds like waves crashing or a heart beating aside from white noise. You can even hook up your phone and play music. This has been a life saver for me. When Julian is fussy and he needs a nap, I put him in his MamaRoo, and set the “car ride” setting at level 5. It soothes him and on most occasions it helps him fall asleep. And that right there is priceless! A sleeping baby means I can take a nap, or cook dinner, or just change out of my pajamas. Of course, I don’t recommend you leave a sleeping baby in the MamaRoo unattended. Normally, after he falls sleep in it, I turn off the motion and he’ll just keep napping in it or I’ll move him into his bassinet when I want to join in on his nap time.
If your breast feeding a nursing cover is definitely something you should keep in your purse or diaper bag. These are great because they are multi-functional! And in my opinion, they are worth every penny. Not only can you use it while your breast feeding, but I’ve used it as a cover for his car seat. You’ve probably seen most parents carry their newborns around while they are still sleeping in their car seats. We do it too. We’ll carry him to doctor appointments or restaurants in his little carseat while using the cover as a barrier, because honestly, I didn’t want people coughing on him or leaning in and touching him while he’s sleeping. (Let’s face it, a lot of people love babies and there are just some strangers who think its totally okay to start touching your newborn’s face when that’s a huge “No No.” So the cover prevents those awkward situations). My other favorite function of a nursing cover is you can wear it even when your not nursing. As a new mom I never thought about milk leakages, and I’ve learned the hard way that it does happen. So when you don’t have an extra shirt to change into you can wear your nursing cover as an infinity scarf and it’ll just hide those milk leaks or throw up stains and you can carry on with your day with no worries.
I highly recommend setting up a diaper changing station wherever you and your partner are going to be hanging out the most in your home. And that means in multiple locations! For us, we have a two story home so having to go up and down the stairs to change him in his nursery every time became a real pain, especially when you are still healing from delivery. So we bought the 4Moms Breeze Plus Playard and kept it downstairs in our living room. It’s a lifesaver because you have a changing surface on one side, and on the other you have a bassinet. We also sprung for the diaper caddy attachment to keep all his diapers, wipes, and a change of onesies (because blowouts do happen) within easy reach. The best part, when Julian gets older and no longer fits in the bassinet, you just remove it and below is the larger enclosed play pen area. So this will essentially grow with him as he gets bigger.
If you’re a minimalist and feel like your diaper bag just needs the bare essentials, I recommend getting the Gathre Micro changing mat. It’s easy to wipe clean, waterproof, and folds neatly and stays compact. It’s a stylish, leather changing mat that makes you feel like you’re a chic mom, dominating life right before wiping poop from your babe’s bum.
These are amazing. WaterWipes don’t have any alcohol and are exactly what they claim to be, 99% water. I’ve tested them on myself and it doesn’t leave my skin feeling dry nor leave a residue. These wipes also helped when Julian started to get a diaper rash. I combined these wipes with Bourdeaux’s Butt Paste and his rash cleared up in no time.
If your little one comes down with baby acne (which is totally normal and quite common) I highly recommend getting a jar of Tubby Todd All Over Ointment. This cream is pure magic. Julian started getting baby acne a week after he was born. So after a bath I would rub the cream on his face and chest, and where ever I noticed the little pimples appearing. By the next day, I noticed a huge difference. His skin no longer had the bright red patches and the pimples went away. Now I use Tubby Todd’s Everyday Lotion and All Over Ointment after every bath time. The ointment is made from plant based ingredients with sensitive skin in mind and in my experience, it’s pretty effective.
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One thing I noticed in my first week with Julian was how sharp his little fingernails were. I was terrified of cutting them, so I tried using a nail file instead. But, his nails were too soft they wouldn’t file down. Soon he started to scratch up his cute little face when ever he became fussy. I discovered the Fridababy Nail Clippers and they are really easy to use. They have a little window above the clippers so you can see how close you’re getting before cutting. And the way the blade is shaped reduces your chances of hurting your little ones’ finger tips.
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