Products + Tips-
I remember when we first found out we were pregnant I wanted to buy everything that had to do with a baby. I jumped on Pinterest with every free moment I had to plan our nursery, registry and of course the little ones closet. Little did I know, that that’s where I already had gone wrong. Pinterest, man oh man, I love ya and all but sometimes you are just full of overwhelming info and unrealistic expectations.
When it comes to baby products the categories and lists can go on and on, making it hard for ones pregnant brained self to think straight. So here’s my cheat list that I really wish someone would have given me. (recommended products are highlighted and linked)
DISCLOSURE- This is what worked for me and a lot of this was so much trial and error. Do not be discouraged, fellow mama! SOMETHING will work for you! And, to be honest, every mom out there is winging it. I run off of oils, coffee and a whole lot of prayer and personal grace. If this list gives you some major anxiety, I want to encourage you to take a deep breath and just laugh along with me, because at the end of the day you and your tribe will be just fine!
Sleep- IT’S FIRST BECAUSE IT’S SO STINKING IMPORTANT. I remember saying to others, we will do this or we will do that and we are going to be so easy going with our baby.. Now I’m eating my words. Everything I was skeptical of or thought we didn’t need; we ended up desperately needing.
Let’s start with the newborn stage. I was nursing every two hours for about an hour (bless me) so room sharing was a must. I had it all figured it out, so I thought. I bought the Lullagrow bassinet, it’s great, it’s small, it folds up nicely for traveling, I can put it right next to the bed. Great. Right? Nope. Not for my newborn with awful reflux. So we packed it up and stored it under our bed because I was determined that it would one day come in handy. So what’s a mama to use when she doesn’t want baby in bed with her, baby can’t lay flat due to reflux and he loves being snuggled?? You get dressed, and by dressed I mean you should put a bra on and some mascara, load up your little humans and go to Target to get yourself a Fischer Price rock-n-play. It’s another product that is great for room sharing and reflux babies! For the sleep, safety and comfort, it was a wonderful purchase and one of my MUST HAVE ITEMS for newborn babies!
We had such good luck with this, but he was still fussy, disturbed and overly exhausted… so drumroll please…. SOUND MACHINE COMING IN FOR THE WIN! We bought the Marpac Dohm sound machine from Target and let me tell you, we would never survive without it. It filters air and can be super loud or the good kind of quiet. Our boy likes it loud and when it’s not on or we forget it while traveling, it becomes so obvious that it really does work and then I don’t regret spending more money on things for Regan. Rock-n-play, sound machine and you think you’d win right? Nope, another wrong.
This mama was losing to a little Houdini who could break free from just about any swaddle… you name it, we tried it. Until, my mom sends me a link to a swaddle brand named Woombie. One click and I was SOLD. There was no way he could break out, and the material was so light and breathable, yet enough to keep him bundled up tight and close because if he isn’t and those arms break free than say hello to a night full of the Moro Reflex. I was not about to continue to play this game and have him wake up 12 different times just because he startled himself. No way, my friend. Twenty five joyous dollars later and boom I have myself a Woombie. They have amazing sales and the cutest and most versatile patterns if you’re into that kind of thing. You can’t beat the price. Please get yourself one or invite me to your baby shower because that right there is my number one gift to expecting parents! Don’t believe me? That’s fine. I’ll just say this, Regan slept for 8 hours straight the first night we put him in it. Yep, that’s what I thought. You totally agree that you need one.
One month of great sleep came and went, and we were starting to lose sleep again. I boiled it down to the room sharing and we decided it was time to transition him into his own room. After crying and praying and crying, we went for it. There were no regrets, and here’s why..
Dockatot made for an easy transition, a pricey one, but also completely worth it. It’s safe sleeping and amazing for giving my boy the coziness he loves and deserves! For one week I had him sleeping in his dockatot, in the Lullagrow bassinet (yay we used it for one week) and in his woombie. We got 8 hours of sleep again! Huge victory! So at three months, I put the dockatot in his crib, moved the sound machine and of course used the Woombie and voila. Ten hours of sleep. My tears dried up real dang quick.
So let’s talk about how we get about 90% of our nights to last 8-11 hours. ROUTINE. I live, breathe and sleep routine and so does my little boy. I’ll keep it nice and simple… we go to bed at 8:30, so I put Regan down 30 minutes before that. I start our routine about an hour and a half before then. So 6:30 we do a bottle, burp, snuggle and chat. 7:00 we do a bath (depending on the day we either do soap or just let him splash around), then we use our lavender lotion because it’s so soothing, put his swaddle on, turn off the lights, turn the fan and sound machine on, say a prayer and then drink one more bottle and he sleeps till about 7:00. His first time waking up in the early morning, is normally just a dream feed which means that we do not change diaper or burp him, just a quick three ounces and then he’s right back to sleeping until about 8:00 or 9:00. GLORY TO GOD! That’s where we are right now. He is swaddled with his arms out now because he is so great at self-soothing and I’m not about to stop him. It’s amazing. We feel amazing. He’s doing amazing and I owe it all to my Heavenly Father, the diligence and commitment that sticking to a routine takes and all those amazing products that I listed above!
Clothes- Holy cotton! We had too many of the wrong things. Yes ALL the cute outfits are wonderful and all, and it’s still my biggest downfall when it comes to spending the moolah. But, if I’m being honest, BABIES GROW SO FAST. Don’t. Waste. Your. Money. If I could go back, I would have registered and stocked up on packs of onesies in all sizes for the first year and all the neutral socks anyone could find! Most of our days are spent at home. If we run errands he’s asleep in his stroller and when we go out to be social, you bet I pull out those adorable tiny outfits.. but I didn’t need 14 newborn outfits, I needed 14 onesies that can he can be changed out of, washed and I not be stressed that they’re forever stained because they’re casual and not high dollar baby clothes that I’ll shed legitimate tears over. I once again go to target for my favorite onesies. Obviously be mindful of money.. but setting aside the facts that Gerber is tremendously cheaper than Cloud Island, get yourself some of the Kimono style onesies. They are great for quick easy changes, layering and my favorite-Pacifier clips from Ryan and Rose!! Also, don’t go crazy on buying a lot for one size. Now that we know that, when go clothes shopping for Regan, we buy one pack for him now and one pack in the next size up that way one day I’m not randomly caught of guard with an extra tight onesie and everything else that fits being stuck in the washing machine for another 30 minutes.. that happens a lot. So say it with me, Onesies, two sizes, socks in bulk so there’s no surprises.
Diapers- Same rule of thumb for clothes!! BULK and in multiple sizes!! We had some weight gain issues at first, so newborns lasted us a good while. But we didn’t have enough of them, thus we spent a lot of money and time on tuning to the store to grab some more diapers because what we thought were size NB in the closet were size twos and we were nowhere near size twos. I nice little trick I’ll be using with my next kiddo is buying one big box a month in either NB, one or two because you can seriously have a pretty fresh baby wearing a two and at least you’d be somewhat prepared for it. Over 9 months that is 3 boxes of diapers in three different sizes! I’d call that a win and a big stress reliever when you have your hands full with learning how to do life with baby!
Also- join a local mom group on Facebook and use it as a great resource to selling leftover diapers! Or if you’re like me and want to have all the babies in the world (haha I’m a nut), box those precious baby undies up and save for the next bundle of joy in your family!
Bath time- This was my biggest stressor. It sounds so funny, I know. But I probably gained some forehead wrinkles just thinking about it. So many bathtubs, so many options, so much fear. We took back so many bathtubs. I can’t even tell you what brands we tried. But lo and behold we found the on that Regan loved and we trusted right in time for that bedtime routine to start. We use the Angelcare baby bath support, and it’s nothing fancy so don’t get all excited, but for us it was everything we needed! It’s so supportive and allows the water to come up around your baby, keep them warm and when they discover how to splash it’ll be fun for all, without the worry of baby tipping over into the water! It’s $20 and one of my favorite baby items!! As far as soaps go… I’m all game for anything that’s organic and basically sulfate and paraben free. I’m all about cleaning my baby real good, but with really good products! I’ll post more on that on my oils page.
Feeding- Nursing, pumping, formula.. I’m your advocate. FED IS BEST YALL.
I could go on for hours upon hours on my nursing experience, and the pump we used and my review of it. I could go on about bottles, pacifiers, formula, supplementing and more. But I won’t, and here’s why. Moms can be mean. I’m laughing as I’m typing this, but y’all, being mom shamed is no joke and it’s happened to me more times than I’d like to admit. We nursed for two months exclusively and it was HARD. Low weight gain, allergies to cow protein and soy made it nearly impossible for me to eat anything that would help me keep on weight and not contribute poorly to my own health issues. He was truly unhappy and I was barely able to sleep, eat or think straight.
We introduced Hypoallergenic formula and the results were amazing! It was day and night. He’s thriving! I’m happy! For that I make no apologies. But there are things I wish I had known, like that because my breast milk was super low in fat content which caused him to want to eat every two hours for an hour so that’s really like every hour considering you count from the first drop of milk (whew).. well that can be fixed somewhat. (If you have this same issue and want to hear about the research I’ve done, PLEASE reach out).
Let me say, SUPPLY WAS NOT MY PROBLEM. I had a great supply, it was the fat content in my milk that hindered my breastfeeding experience. He wasn’t being sustained by my milk. He is a big eater and I couldn’t do much about it. Yes, I went to several lactation consultants and doctors and tried everything they recommending. But I what I realized is that it’s okay to say, “hey I tried. I gave it 110%. It isn’t working for us and by golly, fed is absolutely best.” Fed baby, happy baby. Healthy mama, healthy baby. That’s all that matters to me.
Baby #2. I will nurse as long as I absolutely can again! Who knows maybe it’ll be a whole whopping year! That’d be fantastic! If not, I’m not going to make myself feel like a negligent mother because my body couldn’t do it. If you struggle with this and don’t want to reach out.. let me tell you this, you grew and sustained that precious baby for 9 months. You endured labor, gave birth and then recovered amazingly while continuing to sustain that child. You are more than enough and I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!
*if you are formula feeding, sign up for coupons, join a mom group with women who are due when you are and share coupons! I got $200 worth of coupons this month! Amazing!*
Okay, end of tangent. Back to products.
-Nursing: Everyone say it with me, Cream and shields!!! Mhmm! I used both and we both loved it. Latching was flawless, easy, painless and caused no damage. Score. It’s personal preference but I’m recommending it because we loved it!!! Medela has wonderful shields, sanitize before use, wash thoroughly like you would your breast pump parts and replace often! NURSING COVERS will save your life! It doesn’t matter the brand, I used 3 different ones and loved them all! Bras was a huge one for me. Don’t get in my way when I’m nursing. I needed ones for going out and some for being comfy at home. My best find was one from Motherhood Maternity- the seamless clip down. I had 4 of them and if inanimate objects could be people, they would have been my friends! Highly recommend those to all my expecting mom friends!
Pumping- um I hated it. But hey, my pump was great! Free through insurance! That’s wonderful! But don’t come looking to me for advice on that one because pumping and I did not get along. That was inevitably decided when my sweet hubs spilled 4oz of freshly pumped milk while making a bottle. Whoever said, “don’t cry over spilled milk”, clearly did not just spend 40 minutes on a breast pump and end up wasting it on the kitchen floor. I have a lot of friends who loved pumping, and I’m sure they’d be more than happy to advise you!
Bottles- all trial and error here, but we ended up going back to what we had registered for and that’s Phillips Avent. Love them. Always. Thank you, God, for these bottles. They too are my friends. Bottle warmers… ugh. Love them and hate them all at the same time. Don’t waste your dough on a car warmer. Just so silly. We use the Munchkin brand and have never had any issues! Embrace Motherhood and bring that warmer with you, plug that sucker in and feed your kid. #noregrets
Traveling/running errands with the babe- Baby wear is not for squares! Do it! We have the Boba wrap and the boba carrier. I love them, he sleeps great in them! In fact, he’s slept through loud football games in them and the crazy noises never even phased him! My two complaints is they swallow me and they’re HOT! I did not like the whole sweaty mom and sweaty baby thing. So if you’re a petite lady, like myself, I’d look into the Moby wrap or the Happy! brand wrap. I’ve heard wonderful things about both, and will definitely be trying one of them my next go around!
Strollers- Take my advice and wait on buying that high-priced mint green jogger. Some women go and start running 6 weeks post-partum. They are rockstars and I am not. Ha. One of my best and cheapest investments was our Multi KeyFit car seat caddy stroller by Chicco. I can run all my errands, grab a Starbucks and walk aimlessly around target for a solid two hours! Yay for me time! You’ll never regret buying this stroller! I repeat, never! We also use the Chicco KeyFit 30 car seat and we love it!!
Free time/Play time in the house:
Play mats- I do not think that a bad one exists! Get something bright and fun and your little one will be happy!
Swings- total baby preference. Mamaroo was a big fat no for us. I was bummed because isn’t it so neat?! But hey, I have a wild boy on my hands so the faster something moved the better. Don’t be afraid to go find something used or borrow from a friend! We were totally saved when my mom found the good ole Fischer Price swing my sister used to use for sale on Facebook (unfortunately I have no link). It’s blue and has an ocean theme! I’m sure someone in your family will know it! Go find it and be very pleased!
Other accessories and mentions- I would highly recommend a car seat canopy from Canopy Couture! They have amazing patterns, designs and light weight material for all the southern families! This too is one of my many favorite purchases! (Tip: look for coupons for the canopy! I only paid shipping for mine! Found coupon in a magazine sent to me from Motherhood Maternity after my first purchase with them!) *Moms and dads*- car seat safety is SO important, hospitals are no longer checking the installation of your car seat upon departure. However, some are offering very cheap two hour safety courses and I would recommend attending one! There’s so much that you don’t know and you’ll be glad you went!
Health- Last but not least!
This has been a long post, so I’ll keep this one short and sweet, and not get into all the fun details of reflux and so on.
My saving grace for the newborn stage- Mothers Bliss Gripe Water. (Insert praise hands). Babies have no clue what gas is until they’re faced with it, help he/she out with a good tummy massage, burping, bicycle kicks and if you find no relief, Gripe Water!! Please read label for correct dosage! We are very blessed to not have had to deal with any major health issues, so I am kind of pointer-less on this topic. Besides the gripe water, I would recommend a health kit that includes finger nail clippers and a boogie sucker (we use ours daily). A good thermometer is so important, too. I prefer the Braun digital ear thermometer, it gives us a clear reading in a short amount of time, which is great for squirmy babies!
I feel like a left out so much and yet I said so much! That’s parenting for ya! In all seriousness, there is SO much information to be shared! If you have any questions, reach out and I promise I’ll make time to chat with you!
The Refined Family 