As promised, I’m super excited to share with you some of my very favorite baby products. I know I’ve share lots of products in the past, but now that Kate is officially 11 weeks old, I wanted to redo the list and tell you EXACTLY what I’ve used the most and what I 100% can’t live without! Also, any excuse to share an adorable photo of my baby girl! Keep reading to get the list!
DockATot – No surprise here. If you’ve been following along at all, you know that I’m a HUGE fan! Trust me on this, you NEED a baby lounger. The DockATot was created for co-sleeping. And while we don’t co-sleep at night, we take lots of naps together in my bed and when she’s having a rough time sleeping, sometimes Keith and I will put her between us for a few hours early in the morning. It’s so nice to know that she’s safe and snug in her own sleep space. It puts us at ease and allows us to get a bit of sleep as well.
In addition to co-sleeping, it’s a great thing to have for naps and play time. When we’re traveling, we pack it for naps and sleeping because it allows us to ‘Dock’ her anywhere (i.e. the middle of the coffee table, my parents bed, the floor!). They also make an arch and toys for playtime in it as well. It’s by far, our most used item because of it’s versatility. I’ve also heard fantastic things about the Snuggle Me Organic Lounger.
Owlet – This is one of those big time splurges that I can tell you has been 100% worth it for Keith and I. This cute little socky monitors Kate’s oxygen and heart rate while she sleeps. When I tell you guys this thing has been a LIFESAVER, not only for Kate but for Keith and I as well, I’m totally not lying. Thankfully, we haven’t had any red alerts from Kate (except once when she managed to wiggle the sock right off). The biggest benefit has been that Keith and I sleep much more soundly.
We couldn’t use it for the first week of her life because her foot was too small for the sock and kept giving us alerts saying it wasn’t working. When she finally did fit into it, we immediately saw a difference in our own sleep. I hear all the times about mom’s who sleep with a hand in the baby’s bassinet to make sure they’re still breathing. The owlet allows me to relax because I know that if something goes amiss, I’ll be alerted immediately!
After Kate’s 2 month shots, she slept the deepest I’ve ever seen her and it kind of freaked me out. So after she went to bed, I was able to monitor her heart rate using the app while sitting on my sofa. It was fantastic!!
Taking Cara Babies – I could honestly write all day about this! All you need to know is that the newborn class is only $75 and 100% worth it. Kate is 11 weeks old and is sleeping 11 hours a night (with a dream feed 2 hours in). That means Keith and I are getting a solid 7-8 hours every night. AND IT’S NO CRY! I knew from the start I couldn’t listen to her ‘cry it out’ and I’m so glad we found another option that still allows everyone to get a fantastic night’s sleep. Head the Cara’s website to read more about her methods.
Ollie Swaddle – Baby’s love swaddles. It’s a scientific fact. Cara (from Taking Cara Babies) says that if your baby fights the swaddle, it’s not about the swaddle. It’s actually what you do AFTER you swaddle that matters. Babies crave that tight, coziness when it comes to sleep and it helps them sleep better and longer. Kate is wrapped in her Ollie EVERY time she sleeps. She immediately starts to get drowsy when I wrap her up! I love the Ollie because it’s super easy to use and no weird loops or holes or sippers. Plus, the moisture wicking fabric lets me know that she’s warm but not sweating! I’ve tried lots of different swaddles and this is BY FAR the best of the best.
Uppababy Vista & Mesa Carseat – I wrote and entire blog post on this stroller (click here to read) and I’m here to say that it’s even better than I thought! It pushes like butter, guys. Everyone who has pushed Kate in it, has remarked on how smooth and easy it is. Even my father, who believes that you shouldn’t spend money on anything like this! Yes. It is a splurge, but it’s been one of the BEST splurges of out pregnancy.
Also, the Mesa Carseat has been awesome as well. It’s a stylish, safe, and snug carseat that fits into the stroller with ease. But the best feature so far has been that it’s approved to buckle into ANY car without having to move the base. Typically, you have to move the carseat base into the different car every time you want to switch vehicles. It’s a pain! But the Mesa is designed to work with or without the base! So we’ve popped her into mom’s car, Kelsey’s car, and Keith’s without having to buy another base or move our current one!!
Rock ‘N Play – Quick back story. My sis told me to get one of these. I said.. we don’t need it! But my mom saw one on sale at a consignment even for only $10, so she bought it. Flash forward to Kate’s birth… It’s one of those ‘MUST HAVES’ for us! Especially when she was first born, we used the CRAP out of it. It keeps her snug and warm since it sort of like a baby hammock and she sleeps like a dream! I don’t have the automatic rocking one and I’m glad. I do manually rock it sometimes when she starts to get fussy, but I don’t want her to become dependent on the rock, so it’s probably good that I don’t have the auto rock feature. Kate loves the vibration feature, though. It’s just enough motion to sooth her!
Ok! Those are the big ones. But here are some smaller items that we didn’t realize would be so Important!
Moby Wrap Carrier – I LOVE THIS THING! It’s a wrap carrier and it takes a bit of practice to learn how to wrap and wear your baby comfortably, but once you get it, it’s AMAZING! She stay tight and snug up against me. It’s especially great when she needs to nap but we’re on the go, like out shopping or at church before she was able to go to nursery. I wrap her up and she can sleep curled up on my chest! This is one of the more affordable options like this. There are some other brands that I’ve heard great things about but they can get pricey, for sure!
Wav Hello Sound Bub – If you’re not using a sound machine for your baby’s sleep, then more power to you. I’m a sound machine mom! It allows Kate to associate a certain sound with sleep, helps her sleep sounder and longer, and allows me the luxury of not having to tip toe around the house! We’ve been using the Sound Bub and we LOVE it! It’s portable and kid friendly. It recharges with the same cord that all of your non-apple products probably use and the battery lasts us several days (including all night long)!
It also has a bluetooth feature that we haven’t tried out yet. So it can double as a speaker when you’re on the go. The best thing about it is that is plays infinitely. Lots of sound machines have a time limit (like 2 hours) and then it shuts itself off. This one has settings you can change to infinite so that your little one doesn’t wake up in the middle of the night to no sound!
The Bum Spatula – I honestly didn’t know what this was called and googled ‘baby bum spatula’ and the actual product came up!!! One of my friends told me to grab one of these and let me tell you, I’m SO glad I did! We recently had our first diaper rash and we used this thing like crazy. It keeps you from having to use your finger. Who knows where your finger has been? Even if you clean it before, wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to rub it all over your baby’s bum!! I think this diaper cream ‘brush’ spreads it on with better coverage and doesn’t waste any of the product!!
Also, Kate smiles when we use it, so I think she kinda likes the way it feel smooth on her bum!
Wubbanubs – WE LOVE OUR WUBBYS! If you’ve never heard of them, definitely go check them out! They’re basically a tiny stuffed animal connected to a soothie pacifier! Kate loves her. She holds onto her ‘baby’ while she sucks her paci. Plus, I think it helps keep the paci in her mouth longer and acts as a counterweight on her chest. This is especially important at night!
Honest Diapers – I wanted to love pampers, you guys! They’re less expensive and much easier to obtain quickly. But I don’t. They feel ‘damp’ outside every time she pees. I had a TON of pampers and was using them until I made the mistake and tried a pack of Honest Diapers someone had given me. GAME CHANGER. No more dampness when wet and the patterns are the cutest. They are a little more expensive, but Target runs a deal every once in a while that if you buy two packs, they give you a $10 gift card. And I’ve actually used the Honest.com subscription and it makes it pretty comparable to buying pampers from the store. Plus you can return what you don’t use and get some money back. Like for instance, I’m not a fan of the wipes… so we return those!
Baby Monitor – We got a super high tech, video monitor for Kate’s nursery. And I love it. But since she currently still sleeps in our room, we don’t get to use it unless it’s nap time. So we grabbed one of these super cheap monitors and it’s proven to be a fantastic purchase! We take it with us when we travel so that when we put her down for naps or bedtime, we can hear her even if we’re in the living room hanging with family! It was a lifesaver on our beach trip!
Storq Kit Bag – I talked about this a little while ago on our beach trip but this little travel changing bag has been SO great to have around. It comes with a little air tight pouch for wipes and a pull out changing mat. But it’s a lot smaller than our actual diaper bag. I use this when we’re going on walks, or while we were out on the beach, or sometimes if we’re just running a quick errand. I can throw my phone, wallet, an extra onsie, and her diapers & wipes in there and go! Plus it has a wrist strap… we moms love our wrist straps!
Ok. So that’s all I can think of today, but I’m getting in some new products soon that I can’t wait to try and share with you! Also, the older Kate gets, the more this list will change. So I’m going to try and update you guys every few months to share my new must have products for each stage in baby girls life!
