Mommy Panel: Baby Stuff

Happy Monday! Did you survive the candy coma over the weekend? I enjoyed this little quote from Cool Mom Picks. I knew there was a “Reese’n” I became a mom! (ha!)

If you have little ones like I do, then you didn’t actually get an extra hour of sleep, but instead enjoyed a day of looking at the clock and asking yourself, “Is it really only __ o’clock??”. Ugh…please tell me daylight savings time changes will get easier…

Well, how about another rendition of MOMMY PANEL MONDAY to perk up your day?!

What products were game-changers
during baby’s first year?

This might sound a little strange but I don’t think we could’ve lived with out your basic, straight from the pantry corn starch. After our oldest got the most painful, blistering & bloody diaper rash at just a few months old a friend of mine suggested putting corn starch on it. I was desperate to help her so I thought, why not? I swear the next day it was all but gone. We threw out all of our Butt Paste, diaper rash cream, baby powder and never looked back. We used corn starch every night for years with both girls and never had another diaper rash.

A pacifier was an absolute must for us! My kiddo was a sucker from the moment he emerged, so when he wasn’t nursing he was sucking on that thing! We read all the warnings about nipple confusion and realized…this kid isn’t confused. He just wants to suck at all times.

Since I have not had my first child yet, I thought I would name the one thing I cannot live without during pregnancy. I can definitely say as one who is constantly still battling morning sickness and nausea (I am currently 5 months pregnant and this dilemma does not seem like it’s going away anytime soon) that my sea-band wristbands are one thing that have helped tremendously during my pregnancy and something I could not live without! They, along with my growing tummy, are my newest accessories! And yes, I definitely feel like I am in the 80’s again! Now all I need is my fanny pack and my slouch socks in all their bright neon amazingness!

I swear there was a time when every item that was in the diaper bag was forgotten at some point. Or items weren’t accessible or reasonable to travel with, etc. So the first thing that really comes to mind is my husband and also other moms going through the same stage in life. They’re not products, but their support was more than a diaper, stroller, food processor or washing machine could ever do.

A Nose Frida! So gross, but such a necessity!

A good baby carrier. Body to body is the way to be. I love my Catbird Baby Mei Tai! There are babywearing classes pretty much anywhere and hundreds of ways to wear your baby!

Not something I had the first year, but I wish I did! A temperal scanner thermometer! No more worrying about taking temperatures up you know where!!

Having a motion sensor under Eleanor’s mattress helped me sleep better at night. It sensed every breath she took. A light would blink on the baby monitor with every movement, and it would alarm if it sensed nothing for a few seconds. True SIDS is very rare, and after accounting for all of the risk factors I could control (not smoking, breast feeding, cool room, having the baby sleep on her back, no blankets, etc) having an extra set of eyes on my baby was wonderful for my peace of mind. This time around we might might go with the type that attaches to the baby’s diaper instead of under her mattress, just to avoid false alarms when you pick the baby up and forget to turn off the monitor.

Two words. Baby swing. Absolute life saver for us!

The baby Ergo and saline nose spray. Baby swing is a necessity as well as a sound machine!

My kids both LOVED their Sophies. I am talking slept with them and carried them everywhere. Infact Ryan was very sad when Sophie finally lost her squeak! Also I love the company, Mudshrimps. They hand make cloth diapers and training pants. I didn’t discover them until Ryan was a little older baby but they are adorable and have great durability!

For us it was Aden & Anais Swaddle blankets. Felicity loved to be snugged up tight. Oh and our white noise machine! We feel like that really helped her sleep more soundly, though we could be totally off and it wasn’t the white noise but it sure seemed like it. We still use one in her room. I think it helps keep out the noise from outside and dampens other household noises.

I love hearing about all of these experiences!

I have two must-have products to add to this list. When Adelaide was a baby, my life-changing product was the velcro swaddle wraps. She looooooved being swaddled and those things stayed put SO MUCH BETTER than any blanket I bought. Cadence haaaaaated being swaddled (by-the-way, if you have a baby who hates the burrito swaddle, please please please check out www.7swaddles.com and learn about other swaddling methods!! If I had known about the hands up swaddle back then, Cadence, my little thumb sucker, probably would have slept A LOT better!).

Since Cadence hated my beautiful swaddle wraps, my must-have for her first year was a baby carrier. I had a Baby Bjorn when she was an infant (I don’t recommend it) and an Ergo Baby Carrier once she hit three months. I guess that’s just the way it goes with a second child—she was pretty much ALWAYS on me. Always.

Always.

Now it’s your turn—I want to know! What’s your must-have item from baby’s first year?