Top 10 Baby Items I Couldn't Live Without!

Allow me to deviate from my usual "Fit Mom" posts briefly to discuss less "fit" and more "mom". :)

It appears there is a bit of a baby boom going on right now amongst my friends --- and I'm so excited for all of you! During my pregnancy last year, I found myself asking my friends and family members that had already ventured down the path to mommyhood what worked best for them and got a lot of honest responses. I think it's a right of passage... When you're pregnant, you ask friends that have been there, and then you can't wait to pay it forward and help your friends out that venture down the path after you.

We all know the basics... the crib, changing table, pack and play, car seat, high chair... We all have our preferences, but for first time parents, a trip to your nearest baby superstore may be a bit intimidating. I found myself wondering, "How do I know what's best?" I can recall at least two times I walked out of Babies R Us in tears during pregnancy because I didn't know if I was making the right decisions (of course my hormones didn't help matters!) Let's be frank: There is no right or wrong when you're picking out baby gear. There may be some products you (and your baby) will like better than others. It is all trial and error. So here are the top 10 baby items I found that I couldn't live without!

Fisher Price Rock and Play Sleeper.

I was dead set on putting my baby in her crib her first night home from the hospital. I've heard stories from parents that struggled to make the transition from a bassinet/pack and play to crib and I didn't want to go through that. However, my friend Rachel told me how her daughter had reflux for the first several months so that the Rock and Play Sleeper was her savior. I decided it was worth having on hand, and am so glad I did! Ellie would not sleep in her crib until she was just over 4 months old. We tried at night. We tried at naps. We tried swaddling (with the SwaddleMe blankets -- which she hated -- and regular receiving blankets), we tried sleeper gowns, we tried everything... And we let her cry A LOT. Nope, this girl wanted to be held. Once she was in this sleeper, she fell right asleep. I think she liked the cradled feeling and the elevation. This is easy to fold up each day if you prefer to use this over a pack and play, or for weekends when you travel with baby. We kept her in our room for 6 weeks and then moved her into her own room in the sleeper so she got use to the room. Note: There was a recall on this product I believe it was this past December due to mold, but I didn't have any problems with mine. I believe this has been rectified. 

Little Remedies for Tummys Gas Drops. Yep. She had gas, and lots of it. I bottle fed her with Avent bottles and Similac powdered formula. There were a lot of air bubbles in her bottle when I shook it up (this may not have happened with the liquid formula but I didn't want to worry about refrigeration and the powder was more cost effective). These drops dissolve all the bubbles like magic. She use to grunt a lot in her sleep (to the point that she woke me up a lot at night when she was still sleeping in our bedroom) and she sounded so uncomfortable, but these drops are amazing. I know many friends suggested Dr. Browns bottles to reduce gas, but we went this route since we had the bottles already and they work. If you need these for your child, I would caution against buying them CVS as they are way overpriced (that's where our first bottle came from since it is right around the corner, but I won't do that again). A 0.5oz bottle at CVS costs almost as much as a 1.0oz bottle at Target.

MamaRoo.

Www.4moms.com

To swing or not to swing? That is the question. I always heard mixed things about swings. There are many different types of swing-type seats on the market today. My friend Christina had purchased the MamaRoo for her daughter and they loved it. It was a new item at Babies R Us last year and it's a bit on the pricier side, but I figured if she liked it and it would potentially get use for future children of ours, it was worth the investment. Plus, I used a coupon so that helped! This was one of the best purchases we made. There are 5 different motions and 5 different speeds for your baby to bounce and sway to. There are some lullabies programmed already to it, but you can also plug in your iPod or MP3 player to play your own music for your baby. Ellie loved her MamaRoo! I was so sad when she started to get too big and squirmy for it because she even took naps in it during the day before she was sleeping in her crib. The seat unzips so you can wash it, especially important if you experience a leaky diaper. It's easy to unzip and zip back onto the frame. Side note: Ellie tried one of the Graco Soothee Swings that my in-laws borrowed from a friend and she was not a fan. If you can look at the items in the stores and see how they swing/bounce, that might help you gauge what you think might be best for your baby.

Itzbeen Baby Care Timer. A lot of the older relatives of ours ask what this white thing is that I keep by my side and hit buttons that light up. Back in the day, people wrote down when they fed or changed ear babies. Now, there's a timer for that. And it's my savior! Change the diaper, push the button... And voila, it resets the time so when you can't remember when you changed the diaper last, you check the timer. There is also a bottle button to track Feedings, as well as sleep button to track naps/sleep at night. There's also what I call the "bonus" button. I used it when I had to give Ellie Zantac every 12 (or so) hours for her reflux. You can use it for anything you need. If you nurse, there is a slide to show which side you nursed with last (noted L and R). I know there is an alarm feature on it as well, but I have never used it. Most parents I know that used this stopped by the time their kids were my daughters age (almost 8 months), but I'm a stay at home mom and without this, I would be lost. The days run together and time between Feedings goes faster ham you would expect. And for those late night Feedings, there's even a flash light on it! Get it. It will be your best friend.

Motorola Digital Video Baby Monitor. I had a little anxiety over monitors during pregnancy. A few friends urged me to get the motion monitor, but I heard so many mixed reviews, false alarms, and that they are not proven to reduce SIDS. Whatever the case may be, I much preferred the video monitor. But there are two big competitors on the market. Summer Infant, and Motorola. I read a lot of reviews online, and ended up going with the Motorola for a couple reasons. First, a lot of the reviews I was reading, people complained that their system broke within the first year. Strike one. The Motorola offered a larger screen, showed the room temperature (something I am OCD about since nowadays, blankets in the cribs are a big no-no), and was a well known name. I absolutely love the Motorola monitor. It also has a feature where you can play lullabies programmed onto it from the parent base, but I have never used it (it sounds terrible!!)

Tiny Love Mobile.
I can still hear my sister, "so many of your registry items couldn't be bought in store.." She doesn't like shopping online. She enjoys the rush of shopping in stores. Tiny Love doesn't have a huge product line, but I love what they do have. This monitor was suggested by Rachel. It's battery operated and the mobile part can be removed to just use the "music box" if we want down the road. It will play music for 20 minutes and turn off after that. Sweet. But even sweeter... There's a remote you can use to turn it back on!! I crack Ellie's door open a little if she's still awake, push the button and on it goes for another 20 minutes! It plays a rotation of 4 classical songs, so it's not cheesy mobile music like we grew up with. Before we lowered her crib, she was able to push the buttons on her own to turn it on (provided the mobile itself was powered on). I've woken up many times to her mobile when she's woken up no wanted to relax to some Bach. :) Note: The actual mobile I have is no longer being made but the above link goes to the one that is most similar - they carry several different mobiles, as well as a take along mobile mobile great for pack and plays and infant carriers.

Fisher Price Infant to Toddler Rocker.
This is a fairly recent find. I need to thank my friend Lesley for this suggestion. She visited with her 3 kids and brought one of these rockers for her daughter. I hadn't seem them before so I went online and found out these seats go up to 40lbs... Timing couldn't have been better because Ellie was getting too big (and mobile) for her MamaRoo which maxes out at 25lbs. And even better: I found it on sale at Diapers.com for only $35 when we bought ours! There is a vibrating feature which we don't use, but it's a wonderful seat. There are 2 positions to recline the seat. It rocks. And there's a kick stand if we want her to be cradled in it (which she would never want but if we had this when she was smaller, maybe she would have used that feature). A great seat for your child to grow with. If you're thinking of getting a bouncer, this would probably be a better option since they can use it longer.

Fisher Price Step 'n Play Piano.
Christmas was coming as Ellie approached 4 months of age. We knew she would need a stationary entertainer. This was the next purchase that started to give me anxiety. I am well aware that I'm crazy! I wanted something that was going to be interactive. She is so inquisitive and I thought she might get bored quickly by some of the ones I was looking at. I was just about to purchase the Baby Einstein entertainer when I found this Step 'n Play Piano on the Target website. I think Fisher Price must have been revamping this product because it wasn't at Babies R Us or Buy Buy Baby at the time, but by the new year, they did have it in different colors on both websites. I love that this has music she can play with her hands AND feet. The seat can also move back and forth to help her as she learns to walk. And when she outgrows it, the seat can be removed for her to still play with. She absolutely loves her piano! She is a really close to maxing out the weight limit of 25lbs which saddens me since she can't stand yet for us to remove the seat (she's growing at a very healthy and rapid pace). Note: The above link will take you to the exact model we have with the green/purple colors. Babies R Us sells one that's red and blue.

Chicco KeyFit Caddy Infant Car Seat Carrier Stroller. I surprised Lesley when she saw I have a Chicco Infant Carrier because everything else I had was Graco. I had been given a tip for multiple friends though that the Chicco seats are lighter to carry and rated safer. It only goes up to 30lbs (some of the other brands go up to 40lbs, but I personally can't imagine carrying a baby in that carrier still at that weight --- as it is, Ellie is probably hovering around 25lbs right now and I feel like my arm is going to fall off when I'm carrying her). As I mentioned before, I had trouble making some decisions when I was pregnant. I had no idea what kind of stroller I would want, so I decided getting the frame to slide the carrier right into made the most sense. I saw a lot of the travel systems that sold the carrier and stroller together but I didn't love any of the strollers. I am so happy with my decision because I then ended up finding a great stroller recently for my daughter. Which leads me to...

Graco Fast Action Sport Click Connect Stroller.
I think I was most dreading this purchase. My sister went through probably 15 strollers with my nephew... And I am not even exaggerating. It actually could have been more, 15 is a very conservative number. She just wasn't happy with a lot of the ones she had purchased. My nephew is 16 now so it's been awhile since she had bought a stroller, but I knew she knew what to look for. I had been eyeing up the City Mini and Britax B-Agile strollers. I liked the three wheels and design of them. I wanted to go for a test run in the stores though. My sister told me to make sure I checked the size of the basket because they looked small online. She was right... Didn't even fit! I couldn't imagine spending all that money (since they are on the pricier side), getting it home and put together and realizing that after I try using it at the mall for the first time. Plus the parent tray and cup holders were going to be an additional purchase since they didn't come with those strollers. I found this Graco stroller though. Very similar design, larger basket, parent tray included, and the canopy even extends more than these other strollers did for more shade. Perfect for walks at the park. I've only used it a few times since I am maxing out the use of the infant carrier and stroller still, but I absolutely love this stroller. Plus it's less then 20lbs so it is easy to load into my trunk without taking up as much room as some of the bulkier strollers do. Oh... And again, you can use your 20% coupon at Babies R Us on Graco (which you wouldn't be able to with Britax or the City Mini).

Now, I know I said my top 10, but just 2 things I want to add...

First. I know the Bumbo is all the rage these days. I planned on getting one for Ellie actually. I suggested it as a Christmas gift to her from my in-laws. My mother-in-law went to Babies R Us and talked with one of the sales associates there who also showed her the Mamas & Papas Baby Snug. Rumor has it that babies with chubbier legs tend to get stuck in the Bumbo. Well, my daughter has chubby legs! So she called me to tell me about this chair. I looked it up and said it looked like a smart purchase. Two great features about the Baby Snug vs Bumbo: there's a seat insert that can be removed so your baby can use this as he or she gets bigger (keep the insert in while they are smaller, and then remove it once they are too snug in there); there is a tray included which you need to purchase separately with the Bumbo. Perfect for snacks or feeding baby on the go if there's no high chair at family or friends houses. This seat costs more than the Bumbo, but not by much when you add the additional cost of the tray. Something to consider. Ellie doesn't sit in hers daily but we use it when we travel.

Second. There is a book out there called Baby Bargains. A new edition is being released in 2 days on Thursday, April 18th. We had borrowed an older edition of this book and I found it very helpful when I was stuck on making decisions. This book tells you what is worth splurging on and what is overrated - it made me splurge on our glider and I'm so glad we did because it will last forever! It even suggests the best baby foods. There are so many brands out there, this lays out all the details in black and white for you. You can buy it in paperback or for your Kindle if that's your preferred method of reading. It is absolutely worth checking out! If you want a funny pregnancy book to read after that, ready "Belly Laughs" by Jenny McCarthy. It's light reading and will definitely make you laugh --- she's blunt and honest as usual. I read this on a cross-country flight during the tail end of my 1st trimester and while I don't particularly care for Jenny McCarthy, I absolutely loved this book. It was reassuring to know everything I was going through was normal and that most women who have experienced childbirth can relate.

I hope you found this post was helpful. If you have questions, I'm here and happy to help however I can!