Many moons ago when I was growing a little Eowyn in my belly, seasoned moms shared their awesome advice with me on what products to buy and which to avoid. It saved us a lot of headaches (and a lot of money.) With the second one coming and with the need to repurchase baby things all over again (since we didn't bring hardly anything with us,) we took a serious look at what was worth our time the first time around. Below are the items we chose.
Here are the ten baby essentials we'll be using with our second kid:
1.Rock N Play Sleeper // 2. Medela Electric Pump // 3.Play Mat // 4. Earth Mama Nipple Butter // 5.Burts Bees Diaper Creme // 6.Summertime Swaddler // 7.Cloth diapers + Wipes // 8. Nose Frida // 9. Baby Carrier (Solly Baby) // 10. White Noise App
1. Rock N Play: All the baby angels sing. This rock N play was one of the best purchases we made last time around; one that we were willing to make again. Eowyn was a refluxy gal, so our good friend recommended it to us. Not only did it help TREMENDOUSLY with the reflux, she also slept longer stints in it. PLUS it was so easy to take with us to small group, family's houses etc. It was her bed for the first several months. (We still haven't bought a crib for this bundle, we'll just be using this until we reach the weight limit or he can sit up.) Ben even recommends it to other new dad's. We rave about the Rock N Play.
2. Medela Breast Pump: Something I'm hoping to do a better job of this time around is creating a better milk supply for days when I need to get out and leave baby with someone else. I'm grateful that I was smart enough to bring our pump here with us. I really like this one, and while word on the street is dual pumps are where the party is at, this has been a trusty friend. I'm looking forward to getting more use out of this fancy nancy.
3. Play Mat: My sister gave me a sweet play mat last time around that came with us wherever we went. Eowyn loved it. Since we didn't bring such items to Finland with us, I was sure to buy another. I got this one from target (and had Ben's parents bring it to us.) It even folds and twists to pack easy. So that's nice. We've actually only bought him this play mat and one other toy... Our son now has a sister to play with, so pretty sure I never need to buy a toy again. :)
4. Mama Earth Angel Baby Natural Nipple Butter: A friend recommended this to me and after my little hospital tube of lansinoh ran out, I bought a container of this. This stuff is so wonderful. It's a small container, but has saved the girls time and time and time again (and I only used half the container through my year of feeding E.) I've recommended it to other breastfeeding moms and they've all echoed how well this stuff works.
5. Burts Bee's Diaper Cream: While the debate is still out on if this cream is cloth diaper friendly, it was definitely the most effective diaper cream for us with Eowyn (other than just letting her run around nekked, which tops all.) We got 4 tubes waiting for the little guy.
6. Summertime Swaddler: While I'd like to claim I'm a swaddling genius, these did the work for me so I didn't have to be. They're affordable, and were super nice at keeping Eowyn in a swaddle and helping her sleep. So we were sure to pick up a few more this time around. We also have the Ana+Anais swaddle blankets, but I often used those more for covering a shoulder while nursing or the carseat than actually swaddling our baby.
7. Cloth Diapers + Wipes: We're busting out our cloth diapers and wipes again! I re-sized all my fuzzibunz one-size back to newborn size and got all our flips ready too. If you want to read up on my diaper adventures, read here. After getting all doe-eyed at how itty bitty they look, I got excited for entering that stage again. We still use the cloth wipes for Eowyn (she has a little potty in her room for night time and naps) so we bought some more wipes from etsy from this store (where the image is from.) We're all set for baby number two! I'm interested to see how the diapers do with a boy vs. girl. Word on the street is there can be some variation regarding how well they absorb. Regardless, looking forward to using them again.
8. Nose Frida: Not only is this a standard thing sold here in Finland (near every grocery store has them.) This thing works. And while many a mother nay-sayer cringes and makes fun of the glorious Nose Frida, I say "don't knock it till you try it." No, you don't eat baby boogers, and yes this thing does a waaaayyyy better job when your kid has a super stuffed up nose (and the Frida doesn't get filled with nasty mold like the hospital blue bulbs do.) Nothing so satisfying as a baby that can breath through the night.
9. Baby Wrap/Carrier: We're all about the ease of baby wearing. Last time around, I used a sling for the first 6 months of Eowyn's life. My mom brought me back an awesome sling from Honduras when she traveled there and I loved it. This time, I'm trying out the SollyBaby wrap as well. My sister was the one that first recommended wraps to me and might loan me her Moby too. So I might be able to tell you the pros and cons of each soon enough. Regardless, we also have a Becco carrier that we're pretty big fans of for the back support and the higher weight limits. We brought both the sling and the Becco with us. All that to say, I'm excited for the baby wearing to commence (especially while chasing after that curly haired toddler.) Plus we walk everywhere, so this is kind of a must.
10. White Noise App: Oh the freedom that comes with this free app! It helped Eowyn stay asleep so often, (even now we use a fan in her room and have noticed a difference) that we're sure to use it for this bundle. Plus it's free, so why wouldn't you try it? It's allowed us to watch movies without E waking up. Having some resemblance of date night while you're in the newborn trenches can really save a heart. Plus its portability allowed us to have solid small group time and Eowyn would sleep through it all.
All of these items can be purchased either on Amazon or Target (or free on google play.) The Solly Baby Wrap can be purchased from their website. I'm not compensated in anyway for recommending these, I just think they're pretty rad.
Any products you use time and time again? I'd love to hear what you'd recommend.
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