So you guys know, I have probably written about ten baby product blogs because there is so many different options out their and at each milestone in my kids life, they have needed different products. I had no idea what I was doing when I walked into Buy Buy Baby for the first time with my husband, trying to see what we liked for our first born, we walked out just nodding in pure shock at all the products available. We didn’t have a baby then so we had no idea. Now that I have had 2 babies, I am going to tell you all the products i’m obsessed with and ones that didn’t work for us.
First off, used and abused, i’m going to walk you through my favorite things, Parker’s and London’s favorite things because really, it has nothing to do with us, but all about them. I couldn’t tell you how many products we got because we liked the way it looked and they hated it. They choose what they like from the moment they open their eyes, no joke.
Crib. We got Parker a basic wooden crib that was grey from Amazon, and London has a metal crib that’s pink. We choose to have them both sleep in their cribs from when we brought them home. I know controversial. Mom shame me, whatever. It worked for us. I slept in their room, they were not alone. I actually slept in Parker’s room until he was around 10 months. With London, she was around 4 months. I felt more comfortable leaving her alone in her room because she wears a Snuza, a breathing monitor.
Swaddle. I actually got a lot of hand me downs from a dear friend and they were the Swaddle Me velcro ones, we loved them, the kids loved them, but when they got bigger, aka stronger, and babies arms are so hard to control, they are like a magician and can maneuver out of them. We switched Parker to the Woombie and it was a life saver, for London, she went from the Swaddle Me’s to just a wearable blanket. Both kids still wear a wearable blanket now. They love them and we do too because we know it can’t go over their face.
Sound Machine. Both kids have one under their bed/crib and London had 2 because her Mamaroo is still in her room and it plays sound, so it’s 2 bad boys going all night. Love it, a must have, a life saver. We have a portable one too and I recommend it.
Diapers. I have tried a bunch and when we usually buy them, we go for either Luvs or the Target and Wal-Mart generic brand. The Target generic brand is my least favorite but in a pinch, we do a Target drive-up and we get those because the value is just incredible. However, the downside is that I feel like just a small pee saturates the whole diaper and makes it heavy and saggy. Parker is potty trained now (yay) so he only wears a diaper to bed, so i’m not that concerned about him anymore. London has a bit more sensitive skin then Parker and actually the Wal-Mart generic brand is 99% similar to the Luvs and those work the best for her.
Wipes. I have always bought unscented and or sensitive, but what works best for us is the Cloud Island brand in sensitive. With Parker, we could use whatever brand, usually it was the Aldi brand in sensitive and he would be fine. London gets rashes from almost all wipes. The Cloud Island is the best. The wipe glides and doesn’t leave a weird residue. A little pricy, but it is so worth it that means she wont break out.
Pacifiers. Parker is a pacifier nut, but London on the other hand, doesn’t care at all. She used one in the NICU and it was the Phillips Avent Soothie. Parker only uses them at night and he typically uses the Smilo stage 3 glow in the dark, latch or Nuk. When he was younger he first started off on the soothie, then he had a few from Nuk and Latch, then he hated the Soothie so those were out the door. He still prefers the Nuk or latch pacis over all. Mama’s…I bought so many pacifiers for London before she was born and I really wish I hadn’t. Never in my wildest dreams did I think a baby wouldn’t like a pacifier because babies love to suck. But she does not like them. She used them for a hot second and that was it.
Bottles. Parker primarily fed off me, but when he did take a bottle he liked the Medela slow flow and when we was older the fast flow and also the Smilo bottles in stage 2. We introduced sippy cups to him at around 10 months and he had no problem transitioning. We also introduced cow milk in small increments then too and again he had no problem switching to that at a year. London is a whole different story. She only likes the Medela bottles and nipples. Occasionally she will take breastmilk out of a Smilo bottle, but she has to be like starving. I have been introducing sippy cups to her for about a month and she hates it all. I have also been slowly introducing cow milk and that too is a struggle. They are polar opposites. So taking suggestions, tips and whatever you got for me in the comments blow.
Infant Swings. We registered for a small portable infant swing from Fisher Price and it worked great besides the fact that we would need to replace the batteries so often because Parker loved to be in it. That got a little expensive. But he outgrew that fast and could stop himself by holding onto the bar and that’s not good. Desperate for some sleep, we got a Mamaroo off eBay and he used it for a while and it actually did help a bit. London liked the swing but preferred the Mamaroo way more. I will say that the swings do help, especially if you have a colic-y baby or have another kid and need a safe place to put your baby. They are little mommy/daddy helpers. I couldn’t say which one to get, but we did really like the Mamaroo.
If you guys have any other questions about the products that I love and swear by please let me know. I would also love to hear if their is any products you love for toddlerhood and beyond!
