A few months ago I posted about Exclusively Pumping, my breastfeeding journey. It was such a stressful yet rewarding time in my life. The first year of a baby’s life is crazy; they grow and change so much. I am so thankful that I live in modern times, where there are lots of products to make this year easier. There are quite a few products that saved my sanity as a new mother during the first year of Charlotte’s life. Some are breastfeeding related products and others are normal everyday baby items. I went through many different brands and varieties of products until I found my must haves. Babies R Us, Amazon and Target owned my bank account for this time in my life. If I can pass on any good info for new moms from this post it will all be well worth it. ????
So I want to share with you the best baby products for the first year… in my opinion. I’ll start with two items that I had no clue existed before Charlotte was born.
Gas drops. What the heck are gas drops? They are a liquid medicine that you give your baby by mouth or in my case in the bottle with breast milk. Charlotte was always super gassy, which made it hard for her to sleep when she was little. I tried every brand of drops until I discovered Mommy’s Bliss Gripe Water. Gripe Water for babies is a safe and effective all-natural herbal supplement for newborn fussiness and infants’ gas relief. Gripe Water is used to ease stomach discomfort often associated with colic, gas and hiccups. They retail from $7-$12, depending on where you live and what store you buy them from. Walgreen’s always has a $1 off coupon inside the pack. Hey, every little bit helps, right? This gripe water saved John and I from many sleepless nights. If Char was gassy, she just would not sleep for long periods at all.
Sleep sack. Charlotte was never a very good sleeper until she was about 7-9 months old. In the beginning, like most parents, we were up all night with her quite often. Being the Googlers John and I are, we read everything we could about how to get our baby to sleep. We came across something called the startle reflex. “The Moro reflex is an infantile reflex normally present in all infants/newborns up to 4 or 5 months of age as a response to a sudden loss of support, when the infant feels as if it is falling. It involves three distinct components: spreading out the arms (abduction)”. Basically, she would wiggle around in her sleep and flail her arms until she woke herself up. So, I googled a little more and found that there was a pretty quick fix for this – Sleep Sacks or Swaddle Pods. When you first have a baby, one of the first things a nurse or your mother teaches you is how to properly swaddle. As the baby grows, they tend to get out of a blanket swaddle. SwaddlePod has a zipper up the front to keep them swaddled nice and cozy. Seriously, as soon as we started using this Char slept so much better and was only waking up to eat.
Sound Machine. Ahhhh this baby is still my favorite product that we have purchased for Char so far. Maybe that’s because I love the sound of rain as I sleep too. Once Char started rolling over in her sleep, we could no longer use the SwaddlePods or Sleep Sacks, and she went right back to being a terrible sleeper. One of my friends suggested a Sound Machine. Thank god she did. It took a week or so to work I would say, but has worked every since. It is great for drowning out the sounds of nearby traffic, barking dogs, or even our voices in the living room to keep baby sleeping peacefully.
Bouncer & Baby Swing. Babies love anything that vibrates or moves for the most part. I have heard of babies that hated their swing or bouncer, but that is pretty rare from what I have read and been told by other mommas. Char wasn’t a big fan of her swing at first, but once she got used to it, the heavens opened up. After I fed her, I would lay her in the swing and she would pass right out. For a mom that exclusively pumps, this is a life saver. It’s great for all us moms that needs to get something done around that house or work from home etc… Once she was a little bigger we started using her bouncer. This was no joke the only way I could get a shower in during the day. She would sit in that thing forever…or until she was hungry. If it was nap time I would turn on the vibrating part and just like magic, she would asleep. There are quite a few companies that make bouncers and baby swings, with prices ranging from $20-$300. To be honest, they all pretty much work the same way, so pick something you can afford, no need to go all out…unless you can.
Maxi Cosi Mico AP infant carseat and Qunniy Buzz Xtra Stroller Travel System. OK, let me start off by saying I did not purchase this outright. I opened a new CC just for these two items that came as a set. They are not cheap to say the least. HOWEVER, for me they were totally worth the money. I had a Baby Trend Travel System Jogging Stroller and truly hated it. The carseat was too big for Char to even leave the hospital in and the jogging stroller was huge and didn’t fit in my trunk at all. So, I did all my research and looked and looked until I found the perfect travel system carseat and stroller set that was right for Charlotte and I. The Maxi Cosi seat was soft and comfortable for her as was the Quinny Buzz Xtra stroller. The stroller is my favorite part though. Hands down one of the products that helped me leave the house. I never wanted to leave the house because I was always worried about her freaking out or being uncomfortable. One of those anxiety inducing things was getting her from the car to stroller and vise versa. The stroller is designed to be easy to use, and features an easy fold system that makes storing it away simple. I can fold the seat up with Charlotte in my arms. The best part? It also unfolds automatically with a unique air pressure system. One touch and it pops right up! It has all terrain tires, so off roading is easy and has a huge canopy to protect the child from the sun. Again this was not cheap, but for me and my piece of mind it was well worth it.
There are also products that saved my sanity while exclusively pumping. I doubt I would have made it a year without these products.
Medela Freestyle Breastpump. Whoa, when I discovered this pump it change my life. For probably about four months, I used a pump that plugged into the wall. Don’t get me wrong, I loved that pump and it worked wonderfully. But as Char became more and more mobile, it was hard to be stuck to the wall for 15-30 mins at least 6-7 times a day… or when the dogs wanted out, or I needed to clean, or make dinner. This was the best money I spent on breastfeeding. Once I started using this pump I felt like I was free! I could pump and do anything I needed to do around the house. On long trips, it made pumping in the car super easy, and it was small and quiet enough to use at a friend’s house.
Medela Breastmilk Storage Solution. Medela has a lot of different sets of bottles and storage options for breastmilk, but this was my favorite by far. The set comes with lids that spin and have day and time on them. John and I would mix the milk up all the time without the dates. After purchasing this it was so much easier to keep track of what milk needed to be used first. The set also comes with a tray to keep the bottles in order and in place. Hence no more bottles rolling and sliding all over the refrigerator!
Munchkin Bottle & Nipple Brush. When it comes to bottle brushes we went through our fair share of them. From the expensive to cheap, large to small, we tried them all! This brush was my favorite for the price. It worked really well with getting old breastmilk off the bottles, and held up over time nicely too.
Medela Quick Clean Breastmilk Removal Soap. Next to my breastpump, this stuff was our biggest sanity saver. It makes cleaning bottles super, super easy. We just added it to hot water and let the bottles soak for a bit and they were already clean before we used the brush. It also rinsed away completely clean, unlike using regular dish soap which left more of a residue and made the bottles smell like soap. The only down side is that it isn’t cheap. On the other hand, a little goes a long way. In the beginning I used wayyy too much, so we went through it fast. I would recommend this to any mom, breastfeeding or bottle feeding. It was a must have for me.
Boon Lawn. I added this product to the list because it was a great space saver and held the bottles perfectly. We still use this for drying all of Charlottes dishes and utensils. Oh, and it’s super cute. I have a few products from this company and I can’t say enough good things about them.
I also want to give a shout out to Starbucks and my husband. Without these two, I may not have lived through the first year of her life. Being a new momma away from my family and everything I knew for the first time was extremely difficult for me. I am so thankful that I have a wonderful, supportive, and helpful husband.
OK, now on to the part I am sure all you mommas have been waiting for! I teamed up with Medela and Munchkin to give one lucky winner a few of my first year life saver products, valued at $100! One lucky winner will receive:
Munchkin Microwave Sterilizer
Munchkin Bottle Brush
Brica Crib Sound Machine and Projector
THREE Medela quick clean soaps!!!
*Entering has never been easier! Just head to the Rafflecopter giveaway widget below and enter (up to 9 times) to increase your chances of winning! US entries only please ! All of these items will be given to 1 winner, which the giveaway widget will draw randomly. All accounts and forms of entry will be verified.*
Gabby Anderson says
What an amazing giveaway thanks for the opportunity.