Lennon, our youngest going on 11 months now and we are just about to leave the baby phase behind us. It’s so bittersweet seeing him grow. And since this is our last baby we are soaking it all up before we say goodbye to this chapter in our lives.
I have been wanting to put together this guide for a while now because I find myself recommending these products all the time to friends and family that are having babies. I think I can call this the ULTIMATE GUIDE because some of these things I have used for every single one of our babies. That, or I have discovered them late only to wish that I had them when we had our first baby.
The Binxy Baby Shopping Cart Hammock is so awesome. The best thing about it is that my squirmy baby enjoyed the cart ride until we finished grocery shopping. And you know how when you take the baby in the car seat and load them into the back of the cart and wonder where all your groceries will go? This leaves room for them underneath the baby! This is one of the things I discovered with Lennon that I wish I had for my girls.
FridaBaby Nasal Aspirator – This is just awesome. Trust me, you will need it and it’s just hands down better than the bulb you will get from the hospital. My little one hates the bulb and fights it. With this one it’s not so bad. I get to control the pressure and it’s much easier and works way better.
Milk Snob Infant Car Seat Cover and Nursing Cover – This nursing cover is the BEST and I wish that I had it with my first and second. At first I wasn’t real comfortable nursing anywhere in public even with a cover because my babies were always so squirmy and I was always worried about something popping out. With this cover I nurse all the time anywhere and everywhere. It’s inconspicuous, it’s soft like a t-shirt, it’s breathable so I never have to worry about baby getting too hot. The design is also a wrap around so I wrap myself up and don’t need to worry about anything popping out. 🙂
DockATot – We absolutely LOVE our DockATot! We have the Grand size because Lennon is a BIG baby and we wanted something we could use for a while. Our three year old uses it as a lounger too. The baby can take naps in it. He lounges during the day, plays in it and our three year old puts it in her bed sometimes to nap.
Vulli Sophie The Giraffe Teether – At first I thought it was crazy to pay this much for a teething toy, but let me tell you that it was so worth it. Lennon LOVES to chew on this and he lugs it around with him everywhere. It’s really the only one he doesn’t get bored with after 3 minutes.
Hyland’s Baby Teething Tablets – We only had the amber teething necklace with our second but we started pairing these with it for our third baby and again, something I wished I had with my first two. They contain a blend of herbs + natural minerals so it’s way better than giving your baby Tylenol or using orajel on the gums like some doctors recommend. They make the baby sleepy so we give them during the teething phase at night and it definitely reduces the fussiness and lets all of us sleep!
Amber Teething Necklace – I discovered the amber teething necklace with my second and wished I had it when I had my first. I don’t know too much about the science behind amber used to help relieve pain, all I know is that from my experiences with both my babies it worked. They were less fussy and happier when they were wearing their necklace around the teething stage.
Rock ‘n Play Sleeper – So this rocker we loved so much that it got it’s own post! You can see the post here >> Why The Rock-n-Play sleeper is the BEST baby product we’ve ever purchased. We have used it for all three babies, we are still using it and my three year old just napped in this the other night! Yes, her legs were sticking out of it and everything but she was sick, and when she is sick she just LOOOVES to be baby’d. So I rocked her in it until she fell asleep. It works!
Graco Pack ‘n Play – Another necessity that I put on the top of my list is this Pack ‘n Play. We got it with our first and have used it for every baby since. We co-slept with our babies most of the time but when they were so tiny, like the newborn phase, I always felt safer putting them somewhere else besides our bed. The play yard comes with a napper and changer that we used for naps and sometimes sleep at night. Once they got bigger we used the playard as a playpen.
Braun Forehead Thermometer – This is so easy to use with babies. It takes the temperature in seconds with just a swipe across their foreheads. So easy to use with little ones.
Tula Carrier – I was so excited to get one of these. I had heard so much about them and I am so glad I purchased it. I have a bad back so I was always so worried about carrying my babies because of it, but with this I don’t have any issues and it’s so comfy for baby.
Hudson Baby Muslin Swaddle Blankets – These are so soft, breathable and they come in so many different designs. Some of our favorite swaddle blankets.
Wood Camera Rattle Teether – because I’m a photographer so I think this is awesome! Finn & Emma make many designs though so you can find one that you like. I love the fact that it’s wooden, the baby likes to chew on it and carry it around.
Baby Calm Massage Pillow – I mean what baby doesn’t like a massage? This is such a great invention from Mary & Kate. Their other newborn products are amazing quality too. You can read the post I did about them here >> Mary and Kate Organic Baby.
Baby Wetsuit – Because I mean c’mon. Who doesn’t love a baby in a wetsuit? I first found it when we were gearing up for swim lessons with the girls and I was looking for something Lennon could hang out in and it became our go-to for baby in the pool.
Diaper Bag Insert – This is amazing because it transforms any purse into your diaper bag. I have a Lily Jade bag with this insert but you could use this insert for any big purse and have your diaper bag + purse in one!
Essential oils – We started using oils a few years ago and I am addicted now and sold on their benefits. We use this recipe for diffusing when baby sleeps, Lavender oil for cradle cap << works WONDERS and Melrose to soothe the skin (eczema).
Organic Coconut Oil – We use coconut oil for so many things. One thing we used it It will take anything off. Use it for hard to clean poops, for dry food that gets stuck on the face, for moisturizing and mixing with our favorite essential oils. We used this for our babies mixed with Lavender to help remove cradle cap. It’s the thing that I found to work the BEST for it. Oh, and we also use oil as a massage oil for baby feet!
Aveeno Baby Eczema Therapy Nighttime Balm – This is something that I just discovered a few weeks ago but I wish that I had it sooner. We have two kids with eczema – the baby and my 4 year old and this is sooooo thick and works wonders!! It’s really moisturizing and doesn’t cause any flare ups. The best part about it is that it’s steroid free! Whenever my kids get really bad eczema flare ups we have to use the hydrocortisone cream to give them some relief. This one is one that I can use everyday and it works just as well. The baby especially has really bad eczema and since I started using this his skin is less red, irritated and itchy!!
Boudreaux’s Butt Paste – For diaper rashes we use this. My sons skin is so sensitive and this is one that we prefer to use when he has irritated skin.
Vicks Vaporizer with Night-Light – This is something we still have and use regularly throughout the winter or when anyone is sick with a stuffy nose. It’s so hard seeing your little ones sick and when they can’t breathe from their nose or they have cough and congestion it makes them so miserable. We use this at night and it has a night light.
Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier – We have this one and we used this throughout the summer months. Because it gets so hot here in Texas we don’t always want to have the hot humidifier running, so when we suffered from allergies, cold or stuffy noses in the summer we used this one.
Basically, you NEED a humidifier and anyone will do. Whether it’s a cool mist or a vaporizer it’s a necessity for when your little one gets sick.
Chicco Bravo Trio Travel System – Having the car seat adapter with this so that it fits the car seat is perfect for a mom with her hands full LIKE ME!! There is no need to wake baby when moving him from the car seat to the stroller, you literally just drop it in and go!
A Glider – Something I use to this day, when the baby can’t sleep at night I will bring him with me to the glider and the gliding motion helps him fall asleep. I couldn’t find the exact one we bought when our first daughter was born but it was similar to this one.
Gerber Graduates Rest Easy Spoons – The only spoons I buy now for feeding time. They are great. They have a little support at the bottom so you can lay the spoon down quickly in the case of a huge mess you suddenly have to clean up.
Keekaroo Height Right High Chair – Our favorite high chair by far. I’ve been using this since our first. After my second daughter was born and got a little older, we removed the baby insert and have been using this as a chair at our table. It made the list because for the money, it’s the best value. You get to use it even as they grow out of the high-chair phase.
Dreft Newborn Detergent – We have two little ones with eczema and Dreft is so gentle that it won’t irritate newborn baby skin. We still use this now as our kids have gotten a little older. It also smells realllly good. We also have these Dreft Blissfuls that you add to the wash to make it smell even more amazing.
Well that’s it! I hope that helps, I know there are so many things out there on the market and it can sometimes be overwhelming. I didn’t want this list to be overwhelmingly long and I just wanted to include what I would buy over and over if I had to re-do it all again! I may update this list if I remember anything else that I might have forgotten.