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Top 10 Mommy Must Haves

by - May 31, 2012




Click the item to buy or add to registry.


I have been asked by many friends and readers about items I found to be the most helpful when Ace was born. I thought prior to having him I knew exactly what I would use and not use because I had experience watching babies since I was 17. Man, it is not the same when they are yours! I bought things I never used and never purchased things I wish I had and later ended up caving and buying. I can not tell you how many times we went to Babies R' Us those first few months returning and buying things. I mean that registry was a joke. We got a lot of useful items but things that I thought I really needed ended up being returned or never used.

In an attempt to help soon to be mommies and new moms I am going to make a list of things I found most useful and things I never touched. The funny thing is some Mom's loved certain gadgets I never used and I used things other Mom's hated. I will try to post what I found the most useful and if you'd like add to the list in the comment section. I am also adding a widget for Amazon so you can easily find these items to buy or add to your registry. It has been one crazy year of learning, hope this helps!

Must Haves!

1. Boppy Pillow: This was used straight from birth. My back was killing me from pushing and having an epidural so nursing was a struggle because I was so uncomfortable and everyone told me to bring the boppy pillow with us to the hospital and I am so glad I did. I used that thing every nursing and if I didn't have it I was so awkward nursing Ace. It was my life saver. I will be getting an extra one next time around so I have one in the bedroom and one in the living room so I don't have to drag it around everywhere with me to nurse. I also used this for tummy time and to help Ace when he was learning to sit up. This got use all the way up until he was 7 months old. Heck even our dog liked the Boppy when our son was done using it.

2. Angel Care Monitor: I know a lot of people love the video monitors and I think they are great. The thing about the video monitors is you can't tell if your baby is sleeping or not breathing. This freaked me out. I knew that I wanted a monitor that would sense if my baby stopped breathing. SIDS was so scary to me and as a new Mom I had such an easier time sleeping knowing I had this monitor to warn me if he wasn't moving or breathing after 5 seconds and so on (although I still checked in the middle of the night, ha!). It rarely had "false alarms" and if it did it was time to up the sensitivity. I highly recommend this monitor. Another reason I love this is because our son slept in our room for the first 7 months of his life. The video monitor would have gone to waste and honestly I would love to have a video monitor now that he is older because he plays in his crib before he falls asleep and I want to see what he is doing so it may be worth investing in. They do make one with a video monitor as well if you are interested in both.

3. Colic Baby Relief: Ok so this I am putting all in one category. When Ace was first born up until 8 weeks or so he was so colicky. I felt like my baby would never stop crying. I finally discovered quite a few items that saved us! Here they are!

  • Gripe Water: the only thing you can really give babies to help with tummy issues.
  • Gas Drops: Another remedy if gripe water doesn't work.
  • Bottle Medicine Dispenser: I don't know about you but my baby was not easy to squirt medicine in his mouth. I felt like I was going to choke him or something so we tried this and he sucked it down, no problem.
  • Baby K'tan Carrier: I tried the Moby but it took me so long to get the wrapping done and get Ace comfortable in it that he screamed the entire time. The Baby K'tan took me 1 minute to put on. I watched the video once and watched myself put it on in the mirror and was a pro after that. I used this not only for colic but Ace was never a fan of the infant car seat and so I brought the K'tan everywhere with us. If he woke up in a store I put it on and stuck him in it. Going to Disney? No problem, just wear the K'tan to carry him around. 
4. Pumping/ Breastfeeding:

  • Medela Pump in Style: My milk supply didn't come in till 4 days after Ace was born. My poor baby was starving and I have supply issues so a pump was a must in our household. It helped when I had to supplement after nursing so that my body thought Ace needed more milk. I loved the double pump because it made pumping go by way faster. 
  • Hands Free Pumping Bra: This made pumping so much easier. I was even able to pump in the car on road trips because I put the bra on and covered up with a blanket and read a magazine.
  • Breastmilk storage bags: These are great room savers in the freezer. 
  • Nursing tank tops: I loved to wear these under t-shirts so that way I could just lift up the shirt and pull the tank top down making breastfeeding in public discreet. 
  • Nipple Butter/Cream: I was fortunate enough not to use this a lot because Ace had a great latch but pumping was made easier when I used these because of how much I had to pump. 
  • Nursing Bra Pads: Great for Mom's that leak. I didn't need these a ton because of my low milk supply but I definitely a whoops here and there.
  • Nursing Bras: They just make nursing easier because they snap open, simple as that.


5. Bottle Feeding: If you are like me and have to supplement then a great option for nighttime feedings and on the go feedings is the Tommee Tippee system.  The bottles have a formula dispenser that sits inside the bottle. This was the BEST thing for nighttime feedings for us.  We would put water in the bottles then formula in the formula dispensers and close the bottle up. When baby wakes up and you are half asleep there is no measuring to be done. We never heated Ace's bottles so we would just dumb the premeasured formula into the bottle, shake it up and fed him. So much easier then going into the kitchen to make a bottle.

6. Aden & Anais Muslin Swaddlers:  We used these A LOT! I used them to shield the infant car seat from sun, prying eyes at the store (people always want to touch a baby, germs!), swaddling Ace and they were so large I even used them when I was chilly, ha! They are super soft and the best blankets ever. I would suggest these over receiving blankets.

7. Flips Cloth Diapers: My favorite cloth diapers, hands down. They are super trip, have great inserts that are super absorbent and fit from 7lbs to 35lbs.

8. Mobile/ Soothers: My son LOVED his mobiles. We put one above his changing table. This one was bright and it was the first thing he ever smiled at. We also had one that played music and moved in his crib. He loved to watch this before going to bed. He also has a soothing sounds giraffe and lamb. They have different sounds that help sooth baby to sleep. He loves the heartbeat, rain and ocean ones.

9. Portable Swing: When Ace was born he had jaundice. This meant he had to be on TWO billiblankets because he was 1 point from going back into the hospital and the easiest way to keep him wrapped in them was to have him sleep in his swing. He spent the first week sleeping in his swing at night and during the day. We had a normal size swing and it really annoyed me because during the day I would be in the living room and I would have to have Branden lug the swing in from the bedroom then when he got home move it to the bedroom. We finally bought a portable swing to keep in the bedroom. Had I thought about this before I would have just bought the one swing and moved it around because it was light and easy to move. I also used this when I pumped and Ace didn't want to be in anything else.

10. Playtime: In the beginning I found "entertaining" Ace to be difficult because he was so small and didn't have much expressions yet. Here are things that I found the work best to keep him "entertained"

  • Activity gym: Any type works. I got the Fisher-Price Rainforest one and he loved it because the center lit up and changed colors. 
  • Board Books: Ace LOVES books. I have been reading to him from the start and when he started smiling and showing excitement over things he would wave his hands up and down and kick his legs when he saw me take out a book and turn the pages. He now knows how to turn pages and will sit and listen to a story. Board books are especially great because he loves to explore the books with his hands and mouth and they are very durable. 
  • Jumperoo: Such an awesome play area before baby can crawl and even sit up. Ace still goes in it even though he can crawl. 
  • Bouncer: When they can bat at toys this is a great thing to get. We had two, one that had a rainforest "show" and another simpler one that we got real quick and cheap on a trip and he ended up loving it. They can be simple just make sure they have toys that appeal to your baby. My Mom had one that had farm animals and he was OBSESSED with the cow. I think it was the black and white contrast so really think about what will work for baby's interest, not what looks cute.


Those are my top 10 that I can think were the most useful.  Of course you are going to need newborn diapers, wipes, onsies, crib sheets (don't waste money on the crib bedding set) and anything else you find absolutely essential but these are things people might not necessarily think about or might be questioning. I also wanted to give brands that I thought worked well for us.

Now onto what I never used, found wasteful, could do without to save money or even things you can wait on buying.

1. Crib Bumpers & crib skirt: We have these but honestly it doesn't make his room any cuter or put together and the bumpers are a hazard. The skirt was removed once his crib was moved down to the lowest level so we don't even use that now.
2. Wipes Warmer: We bought one from consignment store thinking it would help for diaper changes, it didn't.
3. Diaper Genie: A simple trash pail works fine.
4. Bassinet: Ace never slept in his. I could have just used his pack n' play if I needed something but he co-slept with us, slept in the swing or little lamb seat the first couple of months and then we put him in his crib and he slept better there.
5. Bumbo Seat: Ok, I know, I know. EVERYONE talks about this amazing seat. I am not knocking it. I think it is great for SOME babies. If you end up having a baby that is chunky you are not going to get a lot of use out of it though. What I suggest is waiting to buy any type of seat like this till your baby gets to the age where they are able to sit in one, around 4 months. The downfalls of this is babies with thicker thighs can't fit in it well, it does not have any type of strap around the baby's waist and a baby can easily throw themselves out of it. Another option that we found was the Summer Infant Super Seat. This one is great because it grows with your baby AND has a fun little activity center around it. It can be strapped to a chair and used as a feeding seat when baby gets old enough and has a strap around the waist so baby can't throw themselves out of it. It also doesn't secure babies in the seat by the legs so it is great for chubbier babies. My son is almost 11 months old and his legs are starting to get tight in them but my nephew who has chubbier legs grew out of his seat by 5 months.


Things I want for next time.

1. Moses Basket: I have used these before when I nannied and I like them for when the baby is sleeping and you want to bring him around the house with you. You could also use this instead of a bassinet.
2. A comfier Glider: We have the standard glider a friend had generously given to us and I still use it but since I fell asleep a lot in that glider when nursing Ace I want a super comfy one for the next baby.
3. Manual Pump for when I am out and about and need to pump quickly.

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4 comments

  1. wow..you got this covered!! i agree! this is a great informative post! you should send it into a magazine and get some$ for your wisdom!!
    I am your newest follower..pls follow back if you can.

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  2. Thank you so much! I will be checking out your blog as well.

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  3. May I suggest the Medela single pumps instead of the manual for "next time?" I have one that I bought for $25 secondhand on diaperswappers.com and seriously love the thing. Before the purchase I was borrowing the pump in style, which is also fab, but this one is so tiny and 98% as effective as the big bulky model.

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