Top 5 Products for New moms/New babies?

[minniebride]

As a first time mom, I am discovering some must-have products that have really saved me in terms of caring for my little one.

I know every baby is different, but I would love to know what your top 5 must-have products are that you have found really effective for your newish baby?

Here are mine:
1. Dr. Brown's Formula Pitcher-being able to make a large amount of formulat and keep it in the fridge has made prepping for feedings a thousand times easier!

2. Fisher Price Luv U Zoo Crib & Go Projector: It has become part of my daughter's night time routine and really does a great job in soothing her.

3. Fisher Price Rainforest Melodies & Lights Activity Gym: My daughter just started getting interested in this, at 7 weeks old, and she is mesmorized by it! Really active and has started cooing while watching the lights.

4. Boppy Pillow-Great for tummy time and we also prop her up in it on the couch so she can sit with us

5. A tie between Johnson & Johnson Face & Hand Wipes (we use them after every feed) & Gumdrop Pacifier & Toy Wipes.

What are your must-haves for your baby?

 

[FlyingDumbo]

Thank you so much for this info! I am due in June with my first and this is the kind of info I need! I have no clue what to register for.

 

[Tazicket]

Here's our top 5 must haves that have helped us survive our son's first 17 months:

1) Angelcare video monitor - this thing is incredible. It switches between color and night vision/black and white automatically, depending on how much light is available. It's so reassuring to be able to look at a video feed of him to make sure he's ok, and there's an audio option where the sound only cuts on if he's making noise. It also comes with a motion sensor. We never wound up using that piece, but the audio / video combo was worth every penny.

2) Sleep Giraffe - they make a sheep, too. It attaches to a rail on the crib with a Velcro strap and plays different noises. The one we use most is a waterfall or river or something like that and it's great white noise to help him fall asleep.

3) Sleep Sack Swaddle (and then the regular Sleep Sacks) - these made it so easy to swaddle him when he was super little. The Velcro on the wraps help keep them in place and its very easy to switch to a one-armed swaddle later. Now that he's bigger, we use the regular sleep sacks. I love that he's warm and I've never had to worry about him pulling the blankets up over his head.

4) Boppy - this thing is so great! It was perfect for breastfeeding and we were also able to use it to help support him while he was learning to sit up.

5) Boudreaux's Butt Paste - awesome for minor diaper rash. We also use it as a preventative at night. The few times he's had major diaper rash, we've used Desitin with great results.

Hope that helps someone!

 

[#1hoosierfan]

What I found was a "life-saver" for my first was not so useful for my second..... My first LOVED the swaddle blankets and swing, my second ds.... not so much. It depends so much on the particular baby. I did find these items very helpful though.

1) Sheet savers - It is a piece of cloth about 12-18 wide that ties SECURELY to the rails on each side of the crib. Then you lay your newborn on it. When they spit up/drool you can just quickly remove that, and put on a fresh one. I can't tell you how much easier this is than having to change the sheets every time.

2) Video monitor - LOVED being able to turn it on when they started to fuss to see what was going on. Saved me from going in lots of times when I could watch and see that they were barely awake and did not need me to come in.

3) Bumbo seat - Both of my boys loved "sitting up."

 

[marmalade]

I don't have five, but this is the one thing that really sticks out for me as something I loved when my kids were babies.

http://mommyoctopus.com/2012/01/2-pack-of-carters-sleep-sacks-only-12/

These made night time changing sooooo much easier, just unzip and change and re-zip. I didn't have to struggle with trying to put legs back in their home in the middle of the night. Plus they kept my kids so much warmer than the standard footie pj's.


ETA: This is just a random website I clicked on, I have never purchased from them. I just wanted to show what I was talking about

 

[aprilgail2]

I had more things that were a waste than that I loved LOL- the boppy pollow and swing were a total waste as was the exersaucer thing...the porta crib was used only for storing toys LOL....

What was awesome was individual bottles of formula that you could use at room temp so no warming up was needed and disposible nipples to go on them- at night I left some on my nightstand and when she woke up I just popped a nipple on the bottle, fed her and rolled over and went back to sleep....
Co-Sleeper, that was great too, attached right to my bed so no need to get up in the middle of the night when she woke up.
Sleep Sacks made nighttime changes easy!

She napped in her crib instead of the co-sleeper so in that I would put a pad, sheet,then another pad, sheet- this way if there was any accidents just pull off the one sheet and pad and had another fresh one right there on the crib!

I also loved that quited thing that snapped over the car seat where only their face stuck out- for winter babies that was great!

I also never closed her door during nap time, would go about my business vacuuming, watching tv, listening to music, talking on the phone etc so she got used to it and I wouldn't have to have the entire house quiet during nap time. My friend had the house so quiet you could hear a pin drop during her babys nap time, if the neighbor closed their car door the baby would hear it and wake up, it was insane. She would go so far as to turn the phones off so it didn't wake the baby it was crazy--she had the whole house adapt to the baby rather than the baby adapt to the house.

 

[mjkacmom]

All of my babies were formula fed, and we tried them all, ready to feed, concentrate, powdered. By far the easiest method (which, of course, I discovered with the last) was powdered, made up individually, with warm tap water. Fill the bottle, add the powder, shake. No need to heat it up, or make it ahead of time.

Robeez were also discovered late in the game, but I never bought a pair of baby socks/shoes again.

And I am STILL using old cloth diapers for dusting and rags! Some day, I'm going to have to buy more.

 

[mjkacmom]

I had more things that were a waste than that I loved LOL- the boppy pollow and swing were a total waste as was the exersaucer thing...the porta crib was used only for storing toys LOL....
.

The exersaucer was definitely in my top 5 - baby jail. It especially came in handy when I had a bunch of little ones (I had 2 with my twins). Once they were too big for the bouncy seat, it was my safe place to put them if I needed to do something in another room (like go to the bathroom!).

 

[Christopher Robin]

1 diaper genie
2 diaper genie
3 diaper genie
4 diaper genie
5 diaper genie

 

[skuttle]

1. Swaddle me blankets and the sleep sack. Didn't have them for my first but have loved them with the last two (21 months and 3 months).

2. Swing or bouncy, then saucer when older. My first loved the swing, newest loves the bouncy. All three liked the exersaucer when they got older.

3. Pack n play with bassinet. All 3 of my kids napped in this during the day so they'd get used to sleeping when it was noisy.

4. Not really something you buy, but we always made bottles as needed with room temperature water. Made things much easier than having to heat!

5. Plastic Walmart / target bags. We wrap dirty diapers in these and put in regular trash. Diaper pails are a waste, IMHO. Had one for the first and stopped using it after a few months.

 

[minniebride]

Thank you so much for this info! I am due in June with my first and this is the kind of info I need! I have no clue what to register for.

You're welcome! Amelia is my first as well & I wish I had a list like this before I did my registry & bought stuff. I ended up with alot of stuff that ended up to be useless. Some due to just not my baby's cup of tea & no way to predict that, but other stuff looked useful but ended up to be pointless.

 

[minniebride]

Here's our top 5 must haves that have helped us survive our son's first 17 months:

1) Angelcare video monitor - this thing is incredible. It switches between color and night vision/black and white automatically, depending on how much light is available. It's so reassuring to be able to look at a video feed of him to make sure he's ok, and there's an audio option where the sound only cuts on if he's making noise. It also comes with a motion sensor. We never wound up using that piece, but the audio / video combo was worth every penny.

2) Sleep Giraffe - they make a sheep, too. It attaches to a rail on the crib with a Velcro strap and plays different noises. The one we use most is a waterfall or river or something like that and it's great white noise to help him fall asleep.

3) Sleep Sack Swaddle (and then the regular Sleep Sacks) - these made it so easy to swaddle him when he was super little. The Velcro on the wraps help keep them in place and its very easy to switch to a one-armed swaddle later. Now that he's bigger, we use the regular sleep sacks. I love that he's warm and I've never had to worry about him pulling the blankets up over his head.

4) Boppy - this thing is so great! It was perfect for breastfeeding and we were also able to use it to help support him while he was learning to sit up.

5) Boudreaux's Butt Paste - awesome for minor diaper rash. We also use it as a preventative at night. The few times he's had major diaper rash, we've used Desitin with great results.

Hope that helps someone!

Thank you so much for the video monitor review-we are currently shopping for one. We were looking at the Summer one, but we weren't sure if it was worth the money. I had thought Angelcare only made the SIDS monitor. I will have to look into the video one!

We use the Butt Paste as well-she hasn't had many diaper rashes, but we uses it here and there preventative.

 

[minniebride]

What I found was a "life-saver" for my first was not so useful for my second..... My first LOVED the swaddle blankets and swing, my second ds.... not so much. It depends so much on the particular baby. I did find these items very helpful though.

1) Sheet savers - It is a piece of cloth about 12-18 wide that ties SECURELY to the rails on each side of the crib. Then you lay your newborn on it. When they spit up/drool you can just quickly remove that, and put on a fresh one. I can't tell you how much easier this is than having to change the sheets every time.

2) Video monitor - LOVED being able to turn it on when they started to fuss to see what was going on. Saved me from going in lots of times when I could watch and see that they were barely awake and did not need me to come in.

3) Bumbo seat - Both of my boys loved "sitting up."

My daughter is not into swaddling either. She was really enjoying it the first week after she was born, but after that, not so much. She likes to have free access of her arms and legs when she is upset

** What brand/model video monitor do you use?

What age did your boys start using the Bumbo seat? We have one too but my daughter is just about 2 months old & I'm not sure if she is old enough to start using it?

 

[diznygirl]

Receiving blankets - I used them over the sheets in the crib so I didn't have to change sheets in the middle of the night.
Burp cloths - spit happens!
Boppy - for feeding and propping baby when they are learning to sit up.
Excersaucer - both my kids loved it
gel pads - OMG I could not have done it without them!
http://www.amazon.com/Soothies-Gel-...=UTF8&qid=1353279773&sr=8-2&keywords=gel+pads

 

[twinboysmom]

I loved our exersaucer. It was awesome! And our jumper too! I did love our boppy pillows as well. But one thing that I used until they fell apart was their bouncer seats. I truly don't think I could have made it without these.

I am on my third baby video monitor and I truly think I have a winner. We have a Motorola video monitor. Not sure which model but it's the one with the biggest screen and I believe the priciest one they have. It is fabulous! We started with a summer and I can say I will never, and I mean never, recommend a product from that company. It froze, they refused to offer any service for it, even when I offered to pay for it. The worst customer service. Look at reviews on Amazon and I am not alone in my thoughts. Our next was a Uniden security camera. It was my fault it broke but it was a bit too fragile. I have dropped this monitor multiple times, my boys have dropped it, and it still works fine.

I liked our bimbos but only with the tray. We started about 4 months of age.

 

[dakcp2001]

Good timing I am shopping for a baby shower gift, could you all maybe tell what was the biggest waste of money or things that did not work for you? I have no children so I feel lost shopping for baby stuff.

 

[twinboysmom]

Good timing I am shopping for a baby shower gift, could you all maybe tell what was the biggest waste of money or things that did not work for you? I have no children so I feel lost shopping for baby stuff.

Diaper genie. It very quickly went to the curb with the garbage. I also didn't like those bath sponges for the bathtubs for newborns. I could never get it warm enough, always seemed cold.

 

[Minnesota!]

If we had another kid, the only things I would need would be:

Evenflo bottles
Target formula
Boppy
Target diapers/wipes
Butt Paste
And (I know, 6 items..) the sleep and play outfits that snap, vs zip.

Everything else, including a crib, playpen, etc....I found to be a waste of money.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Top 5 items -

Hands free pumping bra
Happiest Baby on the Block book
Sleep Sheep
Swaddle Me
My Brest Friend nursing pillow

Honorary non baby item -
Ipad - helped me stay awake when I was nursing in the middle of the night

 

[Erin1700]

Diaper genie. It very quickly went to the curb with the garbage. I also didn't like those bath sponges for the bathtubs for newborns. I could never get it warm enough, always seemed cold.

I like the yellow bath sponge to use in the big tub when baby is a little older.