Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Mama Must Have; Baby Registry Edition



Baby Registries are terrifying. When I first got pregnant I was so psyched to bust out that little clicky gun and start scanning away but then we got to Babies R Us and I got that overwhelmed, deer in headlights, hazy, queasy feeling I've experienced only at Ikea and Disney World. Like where you are looking straight at something but you don't really see it? You feel me, right?
Want my tips for getting through the whole process? Head over to.... HERE.

I think I made six different registries at different stores and changed them up dozens of times before coming to a registry conclusion AKA I gave up and what was on there, was on there...hopefully it would be stuff I would end up using.

Well, some of it was useful and some of it is sitting on a shelf gathering dust.

So here my Mamas and Papas are my top five registry must haves!

1. The Boppy!

Just about every new parent will tell you how much they love their Boppy pillow. I use mine for everything. It is one of the few things that we have that the babe didn't grow out of. From tummy time to learning to sit to just plain maxin and relaxin, the Boppy is totally comfy and cozy. I am always finding new uses for it and I six months in and I still use it for our nursing session. One tip...I would try to get two covers for it. That way when you've got one washing you can cover it with the other...cause every time I take the dang cover off the kid barfs on it and then I gotta wash the actual pillow and it takes forever to dry... and yadah yadah yadah you get the idea.

2. The burp cloths that aren't really burp cloths but cloth diapers cut up.
Has anyone else noticed how insanely over priced burp cloths are? I mean, your kid is supposed to barf on them. Over and over and over again. They are supposed to mop up lust lots of barf and drool...so why is it they average at about a buck a pop? You need a ton of them too so you could literally spend a hundred bucks on pieces of fabric that will mop up disgusting fluids. My husband..I have to give him credit...suggested buying these cloth diapers and cutting them i half. Brilliant. They work so good!!!! They will soak up a ton of liquid. The only downside is when we cut them up the edges started to fray.

3. Stuff to protect ya Nips from being Nipped.

Whats worse than having to squeeze something the size of a small watermelon outta ya vag? Well, nothing..okay bad example but whats a close...err distant second? Having chapped nipples.Ya know what else sucks (hi, this post should be called birth control) having milk leak onto your bra and shirt. I'm not a huge fan of the lanoish??? brand. The nipple balm is so sticky you have to SCRUB to get it off your fingers. My top pick is the Gerber Moisturizing Balm. It's in stick form so your fingers never get icky, you don't have to wash it off before you nurse and it works. Nursing pads...two words that make me cringe...are a necessity. Ive tried a bunch of different brands and I prefer the Johnson and Johnson pads. They are thick but not heavy and they have a sticky spot to keep them attached to your bra so you don't end up with one peeking over the top of your bra.


4.Seventh Generation Cleaning Products
Cleaning pump parts and bottles and pacifiers and toys and other baby paraphernalia is major pain. I am super paranoid about chemicals on the baby's stuff. I'm loving Seventh Generation cleaning products. They are non toxic and hypoallergenic. The dish washing liquid rinses super clean and I use the disinfecting wipes on everything.
5. Swaddlers
While Hendrix was in the NICU I became the best swaddler. Seriously, if there were Olympics for swaddling I'd win gold. Maybe. At least the bronze. Then we got home and he learned to roll and move and kick his fat chubba legs and swaddling became a battle. In come the Kiddopotamus Swaddlers. The velcro is hardcore and your little one would have to do kung fu to get out of it. I recommend getting them in every size and fabric. you will use them I promise.


Veteran Mamas and Papas...what are your top recommendations? and Newbies...what are you dying to recieve at your shower?

7 comments:

  1. I TOTALLY agree! those were the main things I had AND used. We were also first time parents and 22 years old so I wanted all the high end expensive baby gear... the giant $500.00 crib, the $300.00 stroller. such a WASTE. I highly recommend Ikea for baby needs as well... everything so sleek, modern and cheap!

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  2. Oh my...YES to the Boppy & nursing pads!!!!!!! :-D

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  3. The one thing, after my 2nd child, that I now don't want to live without is my electronic swing. LOL maybe a bit slack of me but it was seriously a life saver when I just didn't have the energy to walk/rock/drive my baby girl into the oblivion of sleep. Put her in the rocker, turn it on and it swing her itself so I was free to do nothing *bliss*

    I also love my hug-a-bub, was great for doing what I needed to do while keeping baby close, had that with both my kiddies :)

    Just passing through from sits here and enjoying your posts.

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  4. This info is so helpful! I'm in the middle of my first pregnancy and I'm totally overwhelmed by all these new things!

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  5. One thing I loved is the Mommy Womb Bear:

    http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2401847

    It's a teddy bear that plays sounds recorded from an actual womb. We put it in Josh's crib and he fell right to sleep every night. He was sleeping through the night by 2 months old. It was really comforting being able to provide him with something from his "first home".

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  6. Well, in our house a good bouncer is key because we have little ones & a toddler. The little ones end up having to sit sometimes while I entertain my older one.

    We LOVE a good swaddle blanket. The organic ones by giggle are amazing.

    Mustela milky bath oil is our favorite thing since sliced bread for the twins dry skin.

    -Emmiebee
    www.emmiebee.com

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  7. A good sling and a jump/bouncer thing. Both my boys were addicted to them for a few months. They would want to jump in there for hours!

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