One Year Later. The Baby Stuff We Actually Needed!

April 11, 2019

One Year Later. The Baby Stuff We Actually Needed!

Motherhood & Baby

I am convinced that the world is creating far too much short-term-use goods to provide for all of these babies we are bringing into the world. We are creating so much sterile plastic stuff that our kids will grow out of and throw away in 3 month. Unfortunately the poor kids are going to have to live in a world where that gets dumped and will be lingering on the earth for years long past when they need it!

As a new parent you become inundated with products you don’t want, yes.. that much is true. And so is the opposite. Tired and blurry eyed, you become ready to purchase any little device that might make your job one smidgen easier or you baby a tiny but more comfortable. So let’s be straight. Some of those things are AMAZING. The guessing game begins.

Here’s a quick biology lesson: Like us.. babies are people. SURPRISE! And people have preferences. So you never know what they will take to and what they won’t. So there is a balance that begins to play out. If you want to be a conscious consumer, the best practice is restraint. Remember that in other parts of the world babies do with very little and have been for thousands and thousands of years. Remember that each phase is transient and by the time you get them one soothing distraction a new one will need to be purchased.

Remember you don’t always really “need” to hit buy despite those long hours up at night looking at your phone online shopping while you nurse. Remember to look at your baby instead. This is a much more important need.

From what I have gathered there have been miraculous advances since our parent had babies in the 80s and 90s; women would stare at my super discreet breast pump and just marvel at what they had to do to get a bottle of fresh breast milk saved on the go. I fully support the movement to helping breastmilk productivity. Get yourself off of the wall and pump on the go.

So here you have it. With the above caveat said, here are the items that we found were complete must haves for Winter. You can use this to build a starter baby registry or help a friend build one. You can find some of this used! And I would encourage that first and foremost. I hope this list helps you calm the crazy!

xo,

Melissa

WRAPS, SWADDLES & CARRIERS

The Infantino Flip Baby Carrier! I got mine from target but it is a fraction of the cost of the ergo that you can flip the baby to face out which Winter loved and it has been our favorite purchase. At 6 months we took her on a ten mile hike through Kings Canyon in it.
Solly Baby Wraps Winter and I loved them so much we became models for them haha
Little Unicorn Swaddles they are super stretchy

SLEEP

Pack n Play! (Plus sheets) Perfect for trips. Winter has flown 30 times now by her first year. I take ours everywhere. It’s her little sense of home away from home when I travel for jobs.
Sound Machines (I use 2 at the same time to really lul the kid down to sleep town)
The DOM Sound machine uses just air and is so soothing sometimes it puts me to sleep!
White Noise Maker maker is light and easy and we bring it when we travel.
I have heard cool things about the Husher. I Don’t own it but it seems nice and compact for travel. I however found that Relax Melodies on my iPhone works great in the car. It’s just a great free app.
Angel Dear Blankies and Jammies.. so so soft. Winter is obsessed. When we started sleep training her it really helped me to transition her because she got used to cuddling her blankie and I could put her down without waking her.
Halo Sleep Sacs: Love these they are nice and light because we live in a place where its hot in the summer and you can put their jammies under. The zippers on these are better than the adis and anis ones which always broke on me.
Blackout Curtains

FEEDING & BREASTMILK PRODUCTION

My journey with milk was long and hard but I am here nursing Winter with a good supply at 14 months. It took a lot of work and a lot of pumping the first few months and i tried many things. everything you do will feel like work because of how frequently you need to pump to keep your supply up. So having options was key for me. Here are my favorite breastmilk pumping friends!

The Medela Freestyle This was my main beast for a long time until I got a willow. You can sit away from a plug, be a little bit on the go but the thing is your boobs will have to be exposed. Great for at home or working at your personal desk.
The Willow Pump Okay ladies. This is the pump that the world has been waiting for. It’s pricey but it is way discreet. I use it wile driving, shooting weddings, in production rooms and in front of squirmy boob fearing men all of the time and no one ever knows it’s happening.
A Manual Breast pump. It’s just light and easy, great now for being down the road and I’m no there only food supply, I can pump before going to bed if I am too full and I don’t want to get out one of the big pumps. They sell it at rite aid too if you ever forget to pack one and need a way to express on the go.
Avent Bottles Winter took to these however every baby likes different stuff. I got glass because I didn’t like plastic. But the plastic is nice and light for the kid to hold. We pretty much used the small ones until recently. Get a variety of nipple size 2 & size 3 if your baby likes the bottles because size 1 comes standard. They will eventually want to drink faster from the bottles and get frustrated if the flow doesn’t match what your boobs can do.
Cleaning Wand for all the baby bottles and nursing parts
An Automatic soap dispenser for washing dishes because you be washing em like crazy. You can thank me later on this one.
Breastmilk Storage Bags. I found these to be the best and easiest to pour from.
The Bumbo & Tray has been awesome since the day the girl could eat solids. It so easy to wipe down. We have used it even in the kitchen sink at bath time when she couldn’t hold her head up. It also works in a radio flyer as a wagon seat. Basically anywhere that’s safe you can plop it in and have an instant baby seat. The tray locks them in so they can wiggle out.
The Breast Friend Nursing Pillow

BATHTIME / HYGENE

The Puj Tub for little baby sink baths. The sweetest little invention. Very cool, its basically a piece of foam that folds into the sink and water runs through it. No drowning risk. It’s so nifty and light.
The Frida Baby Nose Aspirator I am obsessed with sucking bugars with this nose sucker. Its the only way man. SO much better than the bulb kind. I was grossed out when watching my friend used it and now I am a sugar sucking addict. Results you can see. Haha Literally!

STROLLERS

The YoYo Stroller by Babyzen. Not enough praise in the world folks. It is really the vehicle for the girl.. the thing is just so light and well designed. Brace yourself it’s not going to be the cheapest purchase you make but its so good and we use it so much. Fewer better things right? Also I have the added roller bag and wheel and it fits A LOT. I think you could put an elephant in it.
The Bob Stroller for working out and sand and all that isssh BUT honestly its so heavy. If you can get a good used one I really think the Yoyo is the main squeeze. Also.. I don’t work out anymore. Other moms I know are loving the Nuna system as well as the Uppa Baby systems. I am no expert on either so I’ll let you do your own research before I recommend them.

FOR MOM

A super soft Nursing Bra that’s so comfy
Bamboo Washable Nursing Pads for the side that’s not in use if you know what I’m saying cause once you body turns on you become a facet of drips.
Quality Hormone Free Baby Formula When we got to formula to supplement I was nervous. Winter had only eaten from my body. It felt bad and weird. Then we found this stuff; we get ours from the UK. Less hormones and crap mixed in. She loves this stuff, her baby poop doesn’t even stink from it. Always a good sign.
A membership to Massage Envy for a year or going out to get a massage regularly. I just stopped mine but one year of nursing resulted in a lot of soft tissue aches from a bad wrist to a stiff neck. That one hour once a month was a total savior!

AMAZON GIFT CARDS

I registered on Babylist because its free and you can register for anything on the internet from etsy to big box stores. Down the line I was able to combine cards for some items we weren’t gifted or to get small things I didn’t want to run to the store to get.

April 11, 2019