Life's little necessities.

I would like to talk about of a few of my favorite things. Baby things, of course. Things that I would prefer to not live without...and some I could.

I got this idea from this blog I follow, who's author has a four week old. She had some good things suggested but I have more to add, since Lily is older. I'm hoping some of my mom-friends-to-be will find this helpful.

I'll start with the obvious, pacifiers and bottles. In our world, it's Soothies and Dr. Browns.
Even if you don't have a baby, you've seen these pacis. I think they are the standard in all hospitals across the U.S. and they are sent from heaven. Lily took to a paci from day one. I know she will have orthodontic issues and all kinds of other psychological issues from sucking on a paci, according to some philosophies...but I don't care. It keeps her happy and soothed (no pun intended).

As far as bottles go, we could have been a retailer the first 8 weeks of Lily's life. We tried them ALL: Playtex Drop-Ins, Playtex Vent Aires, Avent, Born Free, Nuk. I think the only ones we didn't try were the super cheap, dollar store brand. Since Lily had belly issues ("reflux", as they called it, which I firmly believe most babies have), we needed to make sure she wasn't sucking in a ton of air. Dr. Brown is one smart mofo because they ended up being the only bottles that worked. And while you're at it, if you're a formula feeder, get this mixing pitcher too. Makes life easy.

We love our Diaper Genie II Elite. Keeps the stink in. It does really work.

Swaddle blankets. Swaddling was THE reason that Lily slept through the night at 6 weeks of age, and the reason why she gave us 5 hour stretches from day one. She loved it. When she started rolling over at 3.5 months of age, and we had to stop swaddling her, it was a sad, sad night in the Nichols household.

We liked the Miracle Blanket, the Aden and Anais muslin blankets (especially for when she got bigger), and our favorite were the ones we stole from the hospital:


These little snuggle blankets are awesome too (I know there is a name for them. Someone help me out here). I wasn't sure what they were for at first but when she was about 2-3 months old, she loved to rub these as she was falling asleep. Now she not only rubs them, but examines them. I think we have 5 of these laying around. They're very comforting to her.


Our video monitor. Love. Yes, it's a bit excessive in price (but they have come down quite a bit) but you know what, it kept me from running in her room ever 2 minutes to check on her. Priceless. The best part was that we can turn the volume all of the way down (since we can hear her cry from anywhere in the house) and just hit the video button to see her. I'm telling you, best.invention.ever.

Something, anything, to chew on. These Bright Stars Chill and Teethe are great. Our friends picked these up for us when they experienced the hell that is teething one night with us. This vibrating teether is pretty cool too. We were oh so lucky that she started teething at 3 months. She now has two teeth and it doesn't appear to be slowing down yet. Nothing else seems to work for Lily, except Infant Motrin. I've tried several types of Orajel, herbal pellets, and Tylenol. If someone has another suggestion let me know.

Some suggestions that need no explanation:

Fisher Price My Little Lamb Swing.


Exersaucer. Any exersaucer will do.



This is her newest love.
They now make these "jumperoos" that are an exersaucer and jumping thing in one, which look pretty cool.

Some things that were a waste of money for us or would have never used:

• A bottle sanitizer. This is what a dishwasher is for. Invest in a dishwasher basket and you're all set.
• A wipe warmer.
• A bottle warmer. I missed the memo that babies' bottles do not have to be warmed.
• A baby wearing device. Bought a Moby, HATED it, bought a sling, HATED it, bought a Baby Bjorn and it's fine but we've used it 4 times. I am not in the majority with this one though. Some babies love to be worn, just not mine.
  

"We didn't have any of this shit when you were a baby".
I cannot tell you how many times I've heard that come out of my mom's mouth. Yes, I know, moms in our generation are spoiled with conveniences and I'm sure if Lily decides to have a baby someday, I will say the same thing to her about how lucky she is to have what we didn't have!