What I swear by for my babies

So…advice. With a grain of salt, of course!

Different things worked with my kids. Like pacifiers, if you are going to do that, I swore by soothies (the ones that hospitals give) for Maya but then Orion took to gerber nuks better. I use them because both of my girls are finger/thumb suckers and also for the soothing factor.  

With Maya, I swore by those baby mittens because I didn’t want her scratching her eyes out but then I realized how much their hands are their friends at the beginning (that is how it is in the womb as well) that I got over the fear and just had Ken (yes, Ken because I could not do it) trim their nails often.

 If you are going to try to nurse, I originally used a boppy until I borrowed my friend’s brest friend. Can you say NIGHT AND DAY? I was having so many back problems with the boppy because it didn’t give the best support that a brest friend does. I still use the boppy though because it is a great pillow and safe place to have your kiddo while on the couch or floor. As far as breast pumps go, manual ones suck! I perused the internet looking for the best deal and got my Medela Pump-in-style advance.  AMAZING!!! I leak milk so the best nursing pads that I found (I tried the organic cloth ones and other disposable ones) and the Lansinoh ones worked best for me. Also Lansinoh's nipple cream is a must!

Ok, so this time, I haven’t done it yet because I am still researching but we are going to change to cloth diapers just because they save so much money in the end. But if you are going to do disposable, I tried them all (from huggies-WalMart-Target-Luvs-Pampers-etc) and the Pampers swaddlers were the best for the new baby. I kept with pampers with Maya and they were great. The worst is WalMart brand. Those damn diapers don’t know how to even stay together when not on a baby. And speaking of WalMart they have the worst baby wipes IMO as well. I use the target unscented brand and I love them. I used all the others as well. I was even given a large box of the Huggies sensitive thick wipes and I HATED them. Most are not that durable.

I, with both girls, have lost my milk supply at about 5 months so I have had to supplement with formula. I use the target brand that is equivalent to Enfamil Lipil with Orion. Gerber sensitive is the only one for the “prone to spit up tummies” that does not have corn syrup as the first ingredient. If you end up using formula, make sure you read the labels because of lot of that junk has corn syrup as the first ingredient (which is sad to know that we are feeding our babies junk at the beginning.) Luckily (I don’t know how you feel about this) I have a friend that is giving me mama’s milk to feed Orion. Just grateful for that because breastfeeding for at least 6 months helps with the baby’s immune system now and later on in life. I use glass and plastic bottles by Medela. I hit up some consignment sales and hit the jackpot with those bottles (if you like doing that) because I LOVE those bottles (both of the girls used them).

Something that has been used A LOT is our bebe pod (bumbo-esque) seat. That helps so much with getting your baby to sit up and steady their head. You can take that jammie to restaurants or just have your baby take part at dinner time.  As far as real food goes, I have made my own because it is cheaper and I know what is going into the food. I use my magic bullet to blend up peas and butternut squash. I buy the birds eye steam in bag veggies and usually buy my squash at the farmers market and roast it. The only thing I had trouble making was meat-incorporated meals. I could never get the meat smooth enough. There is a movement of moms that are feeding their kids morsels of food at the beginning so that the kid can get the chewing factor down quicker and develop that muscle (because supposedly their gag reflex is fairly advanced already). You might want to try that but I am not brave enough to do that yet. I just don’t want to do the baby Heimlich yet.  Something that I am using this time to feed Orion is the squirt spoon. That thing is awesome for travel and just to use at home.

The bibs I use and like so much better are by bumkins. If your little one can handle that material then I would highly suggest that.

Another item that I have used this go around and SWEAR BY is the Fisher Price Rock and Play sleeper. That thing is amazing! It is like a bassinet with a slight incline so the baby is not always laying flat and is buckled in for safety. Orion sleeps in that thing ALL THE TIME and my mom friends that own this also swear by it.

One thing for baby wears that is awesome is baby leg warmers. So these things are stinking cute and also help protect her little knees when she starts to crawl on the floor. Also, what helped Maya with walking a bit better and also were a great durable shoe for her to wear all the time were skidders (you can find them at target). They look funky but I love funky and functional!

When both my girls were small and they were needing to go to sleep and were fighting it, I LOVED these things called swaddlers. It swaddled them up nice and warm and then calmed them down. Also with sleeping, I use sleep sacks because I paranoid that they will suffocate at the beginning with blankets.

With burp cloths, we just use the ugly prefold burp cloth/cloth diaper things because they are the most absorbant and there is no fear of ruining something pretty.

On the market, commercially that is, the most natural baby soap is California baby. Burt’s Bee’s wax is ok (that is what we use because it is cheaper) but your best bet is the California baby soaps

Something that is pretty stellar is my moby wrap. You can get that thing to hold your baby so close or help them to be “independent” later on when they don’t want to be so close. Also, a baby hawk is something you can wear that will not make you sweat like a cow and is also pretty much on point.

Something that works for Orion because she is so keen on tactile feedback is a taggie. That did not work for Maya but dear lord, Orion loves that thing. She also loves holding one of those small plastic basketballs when she is just chilling in her rock and play sleeper.

We have a sound machine that helped both the girls get to sleep. Has a bunch of different soothing sounds that work so well!

Something that I received at a baby shower and ended up hating was the diaper genie. It ended up smelling when the poops got more mature and it was a pain in the ass to change all the time.  If you are able to throw poop diapers in an outside receptacle then I suggest you doing that and throwing the pee ones in the regular trash.

Also, something that has worked out great for both girls while in their car seat is strap covers. With Maya, I kept rubbing her neck too often with it so I invested in those things. Pretty awesome.

So for the most part, we have our pack-play with the bassinet in our room. I am not a co-sleeper mom but I do want to be close to my little little baby. That was a great option for us at the beginning and also maybe for you being in a small NY apartment.  So the sheets for those and maybe wet pads for those would be a great investment. 

Socks don’t stay on little baby feet and you will ALWAYS need an extra pair of clothes for those accidents (like a blow-out). I try to keep my diaper bag simple too because you are already lugging around a lot with just a baby in tow. I bought a fancy diaper bag this time hoping to use that as a purse and diaper bag but that did not work out for me. Sucks. I honestly just use the Enfamil shoulder strap back that the hospital gave me and put a change of clothes, enough diapers, target travel wipes, a changing pad (that is plastic not cloth-that was a disaster), pacifier, bottle/formula, taggie, and fugly burp rags.