Baby Product Lists

Here is our list of things that helped to ease us into parenthood. It is what worked for us over this last year and it may be different if we have another one. However, I will try all the things that worked with Gunner first and then go off into the uncharted territory. We did not have a brand that we loved in the big stuff like bottles, or clothes, or furniture. We used Dr. Brown's bottles because my sister did. I was going to make independent decisions until I got to the bottle aisle. Oh. my. goodness. It was so overwhelming. Gunner still seemed to be gassy and those stupid bottle have close to a million pieces. I was in a bad mood every night when I washed them. We chose Luvs because they are cheaper than the others. You will have to make your own choices but here are my experiences. Take 'em or leave 'em. 

Buy:

Noise machine- We got the mini giraffe version. It traveled well because it was so small. I kept it in the crib with Gunner and he never messed with it. You could choose 12 minutes or 25 minutes increments. The obvious choice here is 25 minutes, by the way. I cannot say whether it helped for sure but we will definitely be getting another if we have another child. We had to wash it after the vomit incident and all the stuffing moved from the extremities to the middle where the noise box comes from. Oops. Also, the batteries lasted at least 9 months.

Bought from Target.

Swaddler- I should say swaddlers. Get AT LEAST three packages. Gunner lovedddddddd being swaddled. I swear he slept longer when he was swaddle. Get a swaddler. He would jerk his arms in his sleep and hit himself in the face. Get a swaddler. You may think you can make a perfectly fine burrito baby with a receiving blanket…. and you would be wrong. The swaddlers have velcro that keep baby snug as a bug. Get a swaddler. You will find that sleep related items top my list. This is not by accident. Get a swaddler!

Bought from Wal-Mart. 

Pack N Play- We have used ours as a baby cage, a crib on overnight stays, a toy holder, and probably other things that I cannot remember right now. It was one of our more expensive items but definitely worth it and it stores under our crib when not in use. Disclaimer: We had lots of add ons that we never used. The diaper changer and cover and other stuff I do not even remember. You could go definitely more basic, in my opinion. 

Rocker/bouncer- We used this thing when Gunner was very little. He sat in it while I did laundry or just sat for a few minutes by myself. If you get one with the bar, that is even more time they will spend in it. Obviously, buckle baby in. Trust me. 

Diaper bag with a long strap- If you are ever carrying a baby (in a car seat or out) and a bag with two straps, you will hate your diaper bag. I felt like I would push the outside strap up a hundred times from the car to whatever store we were heading into. I was late to this thought process but having one long strap lets me put the bag across my body. It becomes easy easier manageable. Honestly, your best option is to leave the kid at home but then you miss them and feel guilty. Welcome to parenthood! 

You will only look this put together when you leave your baby
 at home like this woman did.  #falseadvertisement

Dr. Brown’s Cleaning Brushes- You will want this if you use a breast pump AT ALL. The stupid pump has SO many tiny areas that no other brush ever created can reach. Enter the Dr. Brown's straw brush. We had some because we used the bottles but they also sale a 4 pack. Get them to save yourself the misery of stinky pump parts.

Gripe water- I have no idea what it is in this stuff but it works. It takes care of hiccups in seconds. Seconds, I tell you. Gunner would get them when he was pretty small and he would get so mad at them. It did seem to get less effective as time went on. I'm not sure of the reasoning of that.

Good camera- This seems obvious but I have two cameras and my phone that I use to take pictures of Gunner. You will want to capture moments that seem so darn cute at the time. And you need a camera you can count on. You know that mommy guilt I talked about earlier-nothing is worse than missing a moment and realizing you missed documenting it. (Because we all know kids never do their tricks on demand.)

Mat for diaper changes on the go- You will need to change your baby's diaper in some gross places. Like Wal-Mart. Some diaper bags have the mat included. There are also some disposable ones that I put in a plastic box in each of our vehicles, along with diapers and wipes.

Video monitor- This is a higher priced item but so worth it for us. Gunner is 12 months and we still use it when he is congested. Our's pans up and down, and side to side. It also has a zoom feature that we used quite often. It was the night vision so it was creepy when he would sit up and his eyes would glow. Just a warning. 

Night gown with the elastic bottom- These are amazing. It is all he wore when he was an infant. All you do is change diapers at that point. When you have been up every hour all night long, the idea of zipping the pajamas or buttoning all those zillion of buttons makes you want to cry. Just believe me. 

Walker- We bought this used at a semi monthly baby sale extravaganza. It had a tray so he could eat off of it and a few toys for entertainment. This kept him busy without giving him complete freedom. For the most part, his arms could not make the distance of the walker so he could ram into things without pulling them down.

Extra car seat base- It was wonderful to have a base buckled in to both of our vehicles. We could pop the seat out of one and into another in 10 seconds flat. It also helped when Dusty would drop Gunner off in the morning and I would pick him up. We just left the seat in Bon Bon's house so it was always with Gunner.

Borrow:

Jumper- If you have people knocking down your door to buy your child things, have them buy an exersaucer or jumper. Gunner did not care for the Johnny Jumper that hung from the door. It mostly spun around. I bought our jumper second hand from a family friend. He fell asleep in it once, which was so cute! If I had not found it second hand, I would have tried to borrow and give back. Really, he did not use it long before he was past that stage. I know the walker and jumper seem like nearly the same thing. That is because they are. But when have held your baby, then put him on the ground, then moved him to the walker, then started the cycle again, that one extra step in the cycle feels amazing. Even if it is only a few minutes. 

Bassinet- We only had Gunner in our room for six weeks. Once I went back to work, we moved him to his crib. I know some parents choose to keep their kiddos closer (either in bed or in the same room) for much longer. We just all slept better when I could not hear every noise he made and he had more quiet while we were still up. The bassinet was perfect while he was in the room with us.

Swing- I am not sure if it is because my kid was gigantic from birth but the swing seemed too small by four or five months. (Also another great time to buckle your kid in. You never know when he will learn new skills, like wiggling.) If you cannot borrow a swing, BUY ONE. It is the only way we got any sleep some nights. We were scared to make a bad habit but by 2 AM, you do not care. 

Hand me down clothes- We got so many baby clothes from family and friends who were ready to pass down stuff. It was amazing. (We still get clothes from them so thank you!) I have bought from the semi monthly baby sale extravaganza and never had a problem. I buy Carter's footed pajamas for $1. We received so many clothes as gifts and he wore some of them ONCE! I buy new for holidays and special occasions but for the most part, Gunner is wearing hand me downs.. and rocking them I might add!

Skip:

Wipe warmer- We did not even register for one of these. We did not want Gunner getting all uppity….plus I did not want him getting used to warm diapers at home and have an exorcist moment when we used cold diapers in public. 

Bottle warmer- We used this for a while but then he got my breast milk straight from the fridge. I cannot tell you how long half a minute feels at 3:30 AM with a baby screaming at you. He was just fine with it then and he seems to be okay since he was always in the top weight percentiles. 

Shoes- Pointless. Until they start trying to walk. (I could also make a case for shoes early on. Gunner acted like we poured concrete on his feet when we first tried shoes.)

Bedding- When I started on our nursery, I loved looking at all the cute bedding options. But here is the deal. You cannot use the thick comforter until much later and my kid sweats in pajamas. I found recommendations for the breathable bumpers versus traditional. The mattress platform is so high in the crib in the beginning that a bed skirt looked ridiculous. This leaves the sheets from the sets. I kept the sheets and sent everything else back. Still fine with that decision a year later. 

Playmat- Gunner did not seem to care. I could throw him on a blanket with some toys with the same effect. 

Parenting books- You could make yourself sick reading all the books of what your baby should be doing, or not be doing, or what all the "good" parents do. For the most part, parenting is common sense because you care about the child. Obviously, my generation uses technology for parenting as well. I found a group of ladies who were due the same month as me. We have continued talking (after more than a year and a half!) about babies, and significant others, and jobs, and houses, and what celebrity we find most attractive. They can make me feel normal on a daily basis. I highly suggest finding people you can bounce ideas off of because I have found that parenting is just trying until you find something that works. A book will not apply to you or your child every time. And you do not need that extra stress when you are figuring everything else out. 

This list turned out MUCH longer but I just have so much knowledge to share. Ha!