Products for New Moms That I Recommend

As I was feeding my daughter about 15 minutes ago, I looked around her room at all of the products that we use everyday.  I was inspired to write this post to inform new moms of products that make life easier for them.  What works for us might not work for you or your baby, please keep that in mind.

I remember walking around the baby section in Target when I was about 5 or 6 months pregnant.  I recall looking at the rows and rows and shelves of products and thinking to myself "What exactly do I need and what is necessary and what truly isn't?" How do you choose a brand of bottles when there are 7,000 different brands? It can be a challenge to purchase exactly what you'll need and use while leaving the fluff out.  

Not long after that I set up my baby registry at Babies R Us.  I added products that I thought would be useful, as well as what I thought I would need.  Over the weeks I removed items from my registry that I realized you don't really need, like a wipe warmer.  A wipe warmer takes up space and is probably one of those products that you'll use once and then it'll collect dust in the closet.

My daughter is now 6 weeks old and I'd like to share with you the products that I truly use everyday.  I would be lost without these items.  If you're pregnant or know someone who is, this might be a great list to show them.

HALO Sleepsack Swaddles

My daughter lives in these swaddles.  If you aren't familiar with HALO, they are an awesome company that makes velcro swaddle blankets and sleep sacks.  They come in a variety of prints and patterns in cotton or fleece for boys and girls. Scarlett likes to be swaddled as tight as possible and she cannot break out of these swaddles.  She loves them so much that when I open the velcro to change her clothes or give her a bath, she cries.  I know it might not be funny, but I do laugh at that.  Swaddling a baby comforts them, reminds them of the womb, and helps them to sleep longer.  She's swaddled almost all day everyday, and sleeps swaddled too.  I'm convinced that she'll go to prom in her swaddle sleepsack too. Do they make them in size XXXXXXL?

Baby Swings

The brand of baby swings you choose does not matter.  Choose Graco, Evenflo, or even Fisher Price. Once you put baby in the swing, it calms them down instantly.  Babies love the movement and feel more relaxed. Scarlett loves her swing and is constantly in it.  When you're at your breaking point and you can't stop your baby from crying at 4 AM, put them in the swing. I'm speaking from experience at that statement! Bonus points if the swing offers white noise too.

Sleep Sheep

This cute and cuddly white noise sheep attaches to your baby's crib.  There are different white noise options on the sheep's back.  Not only do babies love white noise, it comforts them too.  The different sounds can be put on a timer depending on how long you want it to stay on.  Scarlett loves her sheep and it's been velcro'd to her crib even before she was born. At 2 AM those noises can sound a little creepy through the monitor though, I have to warn you.  

Diaper Genie

This one is pretty straight forward.  This white genie that is sent from baby heaven contains all of your diapers in one place and keeps the odor out too.  I can't speak highly enough about it! Get one, your nose will thank you.

Bottle Sanitizer:

I use a Philips Avent brand for my bottle sanitizer.  The basket on top holds all of the bottle pieces, while the bottom holds the bottles.  The unit sanitizes up to 6 bottles at once in only 10 minutes.  Don't waste time boiling the bottles.  Put everything inside the unit, turn it on, and walk away.  Your life will be so much easier when you don't have to clean each bottle one by one.  

Dr. Brown's Bottles:

These were highly recommended to me from countless moms.  They help reduce feeding problems and prevent trapped gas and air.  I've been using them to feed Scarlett with since day one and they haven't caused any problems.  She has no problems drinking from them, and the bottles are easy to hold.  There is also minimal spit-up too from the bottles which is wonderful.  I was able to find a limited edition 3 pack in a cute pink color around Christmas time.  That excited me way more than it should.  It's the little things in life!

Dreft and Resolve Max Stain Power Pre-Treater Gel

Everyone knows that you should wash baby clothes in Dreft laundry detergent.  Dreft is made for baby's sensitive skin and leaves their clothes smelling fresh and fantastic. You'll come to love that smell when you do your 700th load of baby laundry a day. Every mom also needs Resolve's stain pre-treater too. I don't know if my washing machine is very good or it's Resolve's product, but all stains come out of Scarlett's clothes.  No matter if she spits up all over herself or has a poopy stain on her clothes it all comes out! Just rub the gel into the stain before washing and it's gone afterwards.  It's my little bottle of green magic.

Fisher Price Whale Shaped Bath Tub

Not only is this bath tub adorable, but it gets my baby clean too! It fits well in my bathtub and Scarlett looks so cute in it.  There's a bar between the middle of the tub and the front that helps secure younger babies in.  Once they are older, remove the bar so an older baby can fit well.  It comes with a cute whale shaped rinse cup too.  

Washable Changing Pad

This is a big one for me! I have adorable changing pad covers on my changing table.  I wouldn't be too thrilled if I had to wash them frequently throughout the day due to pee/poop stains.  Just place a washable changing pad on top of your cutesy changing pad cover and you're good to go.  If baby makes a mess on the washable changing pad, just throw it in the wash! This will relieve your washing machine of another job, and save your sanity too.  I recommend stocking up on at least 3 or 4 at once so you don't need to wash each one constantly.

These are the main products that stand out to me, although I'm sure there more.  

I'm a big believer in buying in bulk and in advance too.  I bought a case of 744 wipes from Walmart before Scarlett was born.  I still have about 8 packages left! It's never fun to look down and realize you just used your last wipe and baby had a major poop accident.  Buy bulk cases of diapers and wipes so you won't need to go out in the freezing cold or snow to replenish your supply.  

Also, don't forget to have a large supply of burp cloths too. You'll use quite a few of those per day.

I hope this lists makes choosing baby items a little easier for you.  It's always nice to have first hand experience from a mom rather than trying to select what you need yourself without knowledge!