Baby Products

After reading an article on the Top 25 Baby Gadgets, I got inspired to make a list of my own.  Some of my favorites are also on the Top 25 list.

Cloth Diaper
Flip Diapers - Not going to elaborate because I already wrote a dissertation on cloth diaps which you can read here.

Baby Monitor
AngelCare - Not going to get into a ton of details on this one either because I wrote a lot about it here.  Highlights: audio, video, and breathing monitor.

Bath tub
Fisher Price 4-in-1 - This tub really grows with your baby.  We used the sling when Sarah was tiny and couldn't support her head.  Then we removed the sling and added in the green seat to support her while sitting, and now she sits in it all on her own.  It also came with two little bath toys which is always nice.

Swaddle
Angel swaddle sacks - Sarah could bust out of receiving blankets and velcro swaddles, but this one zips as a sleep sack and has wings that fold over and velcro behind the baby.  No getting out!  It comes in lighter weight cotton and heavier fleece for the winter.  Lots of different sizes and cute prints.  They zip from the chin down so you can't pinch your baby's double chin.  When your baby is ready to transition away from a swaddle you can wrap the wings around her tummy so she can have out her arms.

Also love the Zipadee Zip. It's a good swaddle transition that Memaw told us about and gave us. Lots of cute prints and different fabric weights.

Car seat and stroller
Graco SnugRide Click Connect and Graco FastAction Fold Click Connect Jogger Stroller - When looking for our car seat and stroller we wanted something safe, economical, and easy to work with.  I love that the car seat snaps into the stroller without needing any additional parts to secure it.  I love that the stroller has three large, rubber tires and that the front tire can be fixed or rotating.  Even if you aren't a runner, you'll want a stroller that can take on hills, grass, and gravel with ease.

Baby Carrier
Becco Gemini - Honestly, I don't have anything to compare this one to.  I would just say do your research and find something affordable that also allows baby to remain in an ergonomical "frog" position, and then go from there.  This one allows us to wear Sarah on our chest facing in or facing out, on our back, or on our hip.

Unusual Toy
O-Ball - You'll get tons of rattles from people, but I really like that this one offers lots of holes for Sarah to grab on, and it's light weight and flexible so it doesn't hurt when she hits herself or me.

Activity mat
Skip Hop Activity Gym - Sarah adored the red fox!  This mat made floor time a lot more fun and offered Sarah a lot of things to hit and pull.  Any activity mat will do, but Sarah really did like this one.

Hand Sanitizer
Babyganics - You're going to be changing a ton of diapers!  You want a hand sanitzer pump on the changing table so you don't have to wash your hands at 3:00am.

Nasal Aspirator
NoseFrida - This really gets out Sarah's snot very well and is more sanitary than a traditional nose bulb.  Also, there's just something extremely satisfy about sucking out a ton of snot.  Yeah, we're weird.

Pacifier
Soothie - This is the only pacifier Sarah has ever liked.  You'll find one that your baby loves!  We were fortunate that it was the first one we tried.

Bottle
Dr. Brown's Natural Flow - Whether you're formula feeding or breastfeeding, you're going to need some bottles.  Again, we were fortunate that Sarah loved the first bottle we tried.  This one is good for preventing acid reflux and spit up.  Also, Babies R Us does a lot of seasonal specials where you can get a free bottle if you spend $15.  Worth it since the 8oz bottles are about $8.

Sound machine
Munchkin Nursery Projector and Sound System - Sarah sleeps like a champ, but we really like having the sound machine going to block out the noise we make when she's sleeping.  This sound machine offers three lullabies, three classical songs, ocean, heart beat, white noise, and rain.  It also has a projector with three different scenes if you ever want to use it.

Unusual clothing
Wrap around shirts - I remembered seeing these at a friend's baby shower, and knew I wanted some for Sarah, too.  When you have a newborn you want to protect the umbilical cord and also allow it to get some air.  These shirts are perfect for that!  I don't know about you, but when Sarah was first born she felt fragile even though she was a big baby.  I felt very uncomfortable manhandling her and putting onesies over her head.  This shirts allow you to avoid that and go on and off very easily.

Least Favorite Products
We've loved or at least liked most of the things Sarah has had, but we've had two things that she absolutely hated.  The first was the Mamaroo.  I was so disappointed because it's supposed to be awesome, and you're baby is supposed to love it.  I had used coupons and gift cards to get it for about $15, and was pumped to use it, but every time Sarah would go in it she would cry and would never sleep.  Now, I know babies who loved it, so here's what I would say regarding baby items, especially high dollar items.  Keep the tags, box, and receipts.  We were able to return the rocker for a full refund because we'd kept everything.

The one other things Sarah hated was the Tommee Tippee bottle.  Before Sarah was born I had planned to breastfeed, so I hadn't gotten a ton of bottles.  I'd gotten one Dr. Brown's and one Tommee Tippee.  We tried the Dr. Brown's first and she loved it, but one day I couldn't find it so I went with the TT.  She HATED it!  She just wouldn't even use it.  Since then I've talked to another mom whose daughter hated it.  The nipple was super flimsy and folded in on itself.  My advice here would be to buy one bottle of a couple of different types, and then wait to see which one your baby likes before buying a million of them.