Baby Tidbits

Brands you can't go wrong with- Carter's, Graco, Fisher price

Best book for reading- Pregnancy weekly

Pregnancy App: Pregnancy + was my favorite, aslo loved Ovia 

Baby App: Wonder weeks was helpful to know about brain leaps, also 1 sec for daily pics to look back on how baby grows. 

Book I lived by the first two-three months- Moms on Call (Liam edit- we SWORE by & oved Taking Cara Babies on Instagram

 

Bibs- 1. As a baby - Carters (the ones that have a plastic lining on the inside (you can kind of feel it) they don't let spit up, drool, or anything of that sort seep through to their clothes)  2. Once they start eating solids- I loved the Tommee Tippee that had a place to catch dropped food. We also loved anything of the vinyl type. They are sooo easy to just wipe off as you are wiping off the high chair after a meal. I even stick them in the dishwasher.

Liam Edit: Liam was  a second kid, we basically took the shirt off and called it a day. haha! 

Swaddling blanket- Aden & Anais blankets they are so soft and large & make for easy swaddling. When swaddling Mason we followed the Mom’s on Call Swaddle. There is a video on YouTube. We did not use their special blanket, we just did their special swaddle.

Liam Edit: Liam LOVED the Halo swaddle blankets with velcro. As he got older he loved the Swaddle up. Once he rolled over we transitioned to sleep sacks and used those until he was 2. 

Bottle- I loved the Playtex drop-ins everything about these is great for me. You just have to wash the nipple. They have a great system too if you are going to pump, where you can pump directly into the bag. For me I am all about simplicity, so I didn't give him a choice on this one. I have heard of some babies being picky with bottles, so don't purchase a lot and open them all. Just wash a couple and go from there.

Liam Edit- Liam proved us wrong! Drop ins did not work for him. He had a pretty strong lip tie & we found that Dr. Browns were the only thing that worked for him and helped him develop a good strong latch. They are hands down worth the extra parts. 

Pacifier- We love the mam pacifier. The circle kind you get from the hospital seemed hard for him to suck on. The mam seemed to fit his mouth shape better. Same for Liam 

Burp Rags- I liked the Gerber flannel burp rags the best. They seemed to be more sturdy & absorbent. I also liked the Aden & Anais burpy bibs.

Liam edit: We preferred the Aden & Anais burpy bibs 

Stroller/Carseat- When he was an infant we had a stroller that came with an infant carrier. Our brand was Eddie Bauer (chicco & graco are great too). The carseat that we use now is a Graco All in one covertable carseat. It seems very comfortable and will grow with him until he no longer needs a booster. We currently have a seat in Blake’s truck, my car & the sitter has the infant carrier to use when she goes places. This has been very nice for us to not have to put carseats in and out. We first got a non-jogging stroller & ended up purchasing a jogging stroller. It rides much smoother & we like to take Mason on runs so it is perfect for us. I also recommend getting an umbrella stroller to keep in your trunk for unexpected stops you may need a stroller for.

Liam: Same. We got the sit and stand double stroller and rarely used it. It wasn't worth the bulk. I would have gotten a side by side jogging stroller if I could do it again. 

Pack & Play- we have a Graco one that had the changing table and bouncer attached. We never once used the changing table or bouncer function. This was great for us when we went on trips & if we were not on a trip it stayed at the sitter for Mason to nap it so it has been used about every day.

Liam: Same. There is not a slumber pod you can put over the pack and play that would have been helpful for travel! 

Rock & Play- This is made by Fisher Price. We had the one that had the option to rock itself. This was a life saver for us!

Liam: same....but it was discontinued. We tried a Momaroo & he wasnt a fan. 

Monitor- We have a Lenovo video monitor. Our first one stopped working. The second one that we bought we made sure we could see the temperature in his bedroom because it is typically colder in his room than in the other rooms in the house. There are monitors that can link to wifi & connect to your phone. Some people prefer these more, however there have been some scary stories out there about people being able to hack into them and see into your nursery/talk to your baby. So we have stayed away from those.

Liam: Good luck. We went through monitors like water. In Mason's room when he could come to our room and night we got a wyze baby monitor. We like it, but we never notice the notifications on our phone through the night. Now we have a baby pixel and it works well. But I dont think there's really a great long lasting monitor out there to be honest. 

Highchair- We have the Graco 4-1. I like that there are so many options with it. You can have a kid in the high chair, one in a booster, and one on the child seat. It doesn’t fold up for storage so I’m not sure what we will do when we are done with it.  We had a wooden one at the beginning and while they are cute and trendy, the food sticks to the wood like glue if it is not wiped up immediately. (spoiler alert it’s never wiped up immediately haha!)

Liam used the same. it was pretty bulky once we had a second kid. I would have preferred something smaller. 

Sleeping clothes- In the beginning at night we liked the night gown sleepers. So simple to change a diaper in the middle of the night if they just have a night gown on. We also used zip up footed sleepers. I like the zipper ones, because in the middle of the night it takes more time to button and get all the buttons straight. Every minute of sleep counts. During the cool months we used fleece & when it warmed up we used the cotton. Then you don't have to use a blanket.

Liam: Same, however his room was cooler so we just used a sleep sack always with his clothes. Also, never ever ever buttons. Just never. 

Bouncer chair- You want this! Probably with a vibrating setting too. I think any of these are good. In the beginning you tote this thing around a lot! This is a great way to get showers, laundry or dishes done.

Jumper toy- We borrowed my sisters this was also a great way to occupy him whenever we needed to get things done. Once he became mobile crawling and walking he really didn’t use this much. I would recommend finding one that folds up, ours does not and it takes up a LOT of storage!

Socks- We didn’t have a problem with them falling off constantly, but they pretty much all fall off. We always felt like we never had enough. Mason didn’t really wear shoes much, he’s just over 1 now and we are starting to put them on him.

Breastpump- I had the Medela free style. I loved this one because the battery charges and you don’t have to plug it into the wall. I know now there are several different brands your insurance will cover but I went with Medela because it was the only brand where I could get replacement parts in the stores.

Liam: I used the Spectra. It worked the same. My Medela fell off the counter when I was pumping and broke. Only reason I switched. I would use the one with the rechargeable battery. It's game changer to not have to be plugged in, then you can literally pump anywhere. 

Breastpump accessories: I started with the Lansinoh milk storage bags & was freezing them and found that when I thaw them out they would leak and I lost a lot of milk. I switched to target brand Up & Up and they seemed more durable. Lansinoh- breast pads. I didn’t notice a difference in nipple cream from the store. Mason’s pediatrician actually gave me a prescription brand that was a miracle worker. That and applying breastmilk directly to the nipple after nursing helped the most. The parts need to be sanitized daily so Up & Up or Medela make sanitizing bags that can go in the microwave.

Liam: Same. However! If you apply breastmilk directly to the nipple after nursing let it completely dry before putting your bra back on or you will get thrush. We learned the hard way. Also, GAME CHANGER!!! After your pumping sessions put your pump parts in a baggie in the fridge immediately. Then you only have to wash and sanitize once a day. Also, if you're pumping at work or school, buy the cleaning wipes. Totally worth it! 

Changing Pad Liners- I never used these on the actual changing table, to be honest we used the floor more than the changing table. These were awesome on car trips and for nursing. We would line the car seat with this if we were traveling very far in case he had a blowout with his diaper or threw up. Then the whole seat wouldn’t be ruined. The most use I got out of them was I would line the boppy with this when I would nurse. Milk seems to get everywhere and it would soak up the milk but not allow the milk to soak through to the boppy cover. These things I didn’t feel like I could have enough of.

Liam: I hated wearing a nursing bra at night so I would just put them under me so if my boobs leaked I didn't have to change the sheets. :) 

Bras- I had zero success with nursing bras, I couldn’t find the right fit. I just used a regular bra. I did love the nursing cami’s from Target. They were very durable & if I was around the house (the 1^st 5 months) I lived in a nursing cami & sweats. Very simple to throw a T-shirt or jacket on over and be presentable if company pops in. I got a nursing cami from motherhood & the straps were very flimsy & non supportive. I did get a couple of nursing sports bras off of Amazon that I loved too. La Leche brand.

Liam: Loved the same! Also, Hofish brand from Amazon I liked too.

Boppy- A must, especially if you breastfeed! But can be used for so many other things. Even a prop in a photo shoot. My sisters each had an extra from when they had their baby & it was wonderful. We kept 1 in Mason’s room, 1 in my room & 1 in the living room so I wasn’t having to hunt down a pillow when it was time to nurse. I recommend registering for more than 1. We also had multiple boppy covers because in the beginning milk just seems to get everywhere.

Gas drops- I used the the Hyland’s version. These were fabulous & pretty much covered any symptom that could be bothering them if they weren’t wet or hungry in the middle of the night. I did not like the generic brand because they were very milky in color & hard to tell if you had the correct dose or not.

Liam: Same! Don't know what's wrong...gas drops help it all haha!

Bath stuff- We had a baby bathtub that we could put up on the counter in our bathroom. Once he was bigger & splashing around we were able to put the baby tub right into the big tub until he transition to the big tub alone. I don’t recommend a seat that goes into the bathtub because that requires filling the entire tub up enough to get the water to the seat each night.

Wipes- I like Huggies. We tried pampers but they seemed harder to pull apart whenever you are in a hurry or trying to change a restless baby.

Diapers- I love Pampers! They smell so good & they are so soft and less cantankerous.   We used pampers swaddlers from newborn to size 2. When we got into size 3 Mason started to have a blowout every time he pooped. We switched to Huggies Little Movers at size 3 & haven’t had a single problem. Some people say blowouts will happen no matter what you use and they do happen occasional but shouldn’t happen often.  The best deal we found was to use Amazon Prime Subscribe and Save. We have used this for Diapers, wipes, bottle liners, booty cream, everything consumable that we use with him. We haven’t had to buy any of those things at the store they just ship directly to us. You can pick every month or less frequent if needed.  

Liam: Huggies caused blowouts for Liam. Pampers all the way for Liam. We tried hello bello for a while and really liked them, but ended up switching back to pampers for a better fit. 

Sound Machine- This has been a life saver for us! We have the Marpac Dohm off of Amazon. They also make a travel size one. It has been helpful for us because we don’t have to worry so much about our noise level after he goes to sleep and the Moms on Call book recommended it too.

Liam: Same. Since having kids, none of us can sleep without one anymore. 

Tylenol vs. Ibuprofen- Your pediatrician will tell you what age they can have each. Most people will also tell you that ibuprofen works better for teeth and lasts longer. We have found that tylenol works best for Mason’s teething so do what works best for your baby.

Liam was the opposite. Ibuprofen worked better for Liam. 

Feeding- I started out making baby food by steaming and pureeing veggies and fruit. Mason hated it so we quickly went to Baby Led Weaning. This was fabulous! I never had to prepare extra food, he just ate the soft foods that we ate or I would throw a steamer bag of veggies in the microwave for him. This makes going out & traveling easier too because you don’t have to pack extra.

Liam: Same. however, we were able to do oatmeal & cereals with him. I think that helped him become a less picky eater. Baby Led Weaning Ideas on Instagram is a great account and has wonderful recipes to introduce a variety of healthy food in a way they love if you do baby led weaning. I wish I had it for Mason because Liam ate anything and everything 

Thermometers- We registered for a really nice scan your forehead thermometer and got it. It was useless. The first time we use it Mason registered a 104 temperature. We rushed out and bought a rectal one and his temperature was only 99.0. From then on we have used a rectal thermometer. We have the vicks brand. It is much quicker than other thermometers and the most accurate. (side note, for babies it is not considered a fever unless it is above 100.7 & 100.7 is considered a very low grade fever.)

Liam: Same. Rectal thermometer sounds awful but its the only way to be accurate. Use a water based lubricant on it before using, not vaseline. 

Booty Cream- We use Boudreaux Butt Paste every diaper change & have yet to experience diaper rash.

Baby Carrier- We have a Tula & a Baby K’Tan. We liked the K’Tan better because Mason could stay close to my body. These were helpful when he was younger and I needed to go on grocery trips or run errands. It was easier to throw him in the carrier than lug the whole car seat in.

In true opposite fashion, Liam prefered the Tula to the Baby K'Tan.

Diaper Genie- I have heard mixed reviews on this but I love ours. I have thrown an air freshener in the bottom of the diaper genie so it helps with any smells that could come out. It has helped keep the dirty diaper smell out of our home.

Liam: Walmart sack and straight to the outside trashcan. I think there is a new one out that does better but ours always smelled bad. When he was a tiny baby it didnt smell as bad so we could throw it in a can in his room and empty at night. 

Swing- Mason really liked this! This was something that he would sit in while I worked out, showered, or if I needed to get something done. This too was something that we borrowed from my sister. Ours will go back and forth or side to side which we really liked.

Liam: We got rid of it thinking we'd use and love the Mamaroo. It was the biggest regret we had. Wish we would have kept the swing. 

Extra info:

1. Even though you will want to, don't take your baby to the doctor for every tiny thing (they'll get sicker being there around other babies). Instead call the nurse and explain the symptoms.  (I think I called mine nurse every month for his first year)
2. For teething we loved the orajel night-time. They make one for the day but it is less powerful so we just always used the night-time. We steered away from teething tablets, our pediatrician did not like the ingredients in them.

• I think orajel is frowned upon now. We didn't use it with Liam. 

1. For colds our life savers were: humidifier, baby vicks (do NOT use adult vicks! Baby vicks has a pink lid), Nose Frieda (it isn’t as nasty as it looks, no snot actually gets into your mouth and it works so much better than the suction bulb they give you at the hospital)

• Liam was in the hospital for pneumonia and they recommended the Neilmed Naspira Oral Suction. Hands down better than the nose frieda 

1. The monthly stickers for pictures are a pain! You have to have them positioned just right and by the time you are done it doesn’t even stick anymore. I have seen people stick round ones on a pillow or I preferred to just use the chalk board.
2. Buying diapers: We started to buy a box of diapers a month toward the end of pregnancy & I wish we would have started sooner. We would buy 2-3 of sizes newborn-size 2. If you buy all pampers and then decide you need huggies that’s ok, Walmart will let you exchange for the brand that you need. This makes your diaper expense not so daunting when you first have baby.
3. Buying Clothes: We found out Mason was a boy around 4 months. It was in the fall/winter season so we started buying that season a size up. I.e. we bought 9 month winter outfits because he would be 9 months the following winter. This worked well for us up to 12 months. But he is 12 months now and still wearing 9 month clothes. So I wouldn’t purchase too far above 12 months. This is good for seasonal/holiday pajamas, shirts, outfits, etc. This saved us a big cost too because we weren’t having to purchase a lot of clothes.

• If you wait until the end of the season. I.e. end of winter to buy for the next winter it's even cheaper :) 

1. Shoes: They are cute but in all honesty don’t waste too much money on them. They can be expensive and they are truly RARELY used.

• Used even less for Liam 

1. Advice: You are going to get A TON of advice some will be good and some will be not up your ally. People are just wanting to help. The most important thing is you do what is best for you, your husband & your baby & what you guys are comfortable with. At times it may feel like you’re being “judged” for the way you do things but you are not. I found that everything I said I would “never” do as a mom I have done because honestly, it’s all about survival! TV would never be a babysitter….mama needs to shower so sometimes it is. I would NEVER “co-sleep” with my baby…..one week Mason was teething & Blake was gone & he slept in my bed, SURVIVAL! I would just let Mason cry it out…..we did when he got to a certain age but the first couple of months I was sprinting to him if he cried because it hurt my heart. Talk with your husband & your Pediatrician and do what works best for YOU don’t try to please everyone else.
2. Extra Breastmilk: First, if you get all of the air out of the bags when you store them and lay them flat to freeze you can store them easily. I can show you how if you want. When they get older & they start to wean off but you have extra stored you can make pancakes replacing the milk with breastmilk & they still get the nutrients. I have noticed you need a little more breastmilk than you would regular milk. Same with oatmeal.
3. Medicine. If your baby is of the age they can eat yogurt, applesauce, or oatmeal mix the medicine in with it. It makes it so much easier than wrestling with a baby that hates medicine.
4.  If you are nursing, take a nipple shield with you to the hospital. Mason was tongue tied & we needed one until we got his tongue clipped.
5.  Once a month get a sitter & plan a date night with you and your husband. You won’t always want to because you don’t want to leave your baby but you need that time to be adults. You have to make your marriage a priority.
6.  Things we took to the hospital:
   1. Comfy pajamas, black sweat & a nursing cami to wear during the days, a robe to throw over the nursing cami when company came to visit, house shoes, boppy, Blake & my own pillows, Mason sleeper, outfit, coming home outfit for you and for baby, swaddle blankets, makeup, facewash, travel body wash, phone chargers, lotion, chapstick, snacks for Blake, car seat, breast pads, nipple shield.
   2. The hospital has: diapers, wipes, paci.
7.  Tips for recovery:
   1. The week before you have the baby start taking a stool softener
   2. After having the baby set an alarm for every 4 hours & ask for your pain medicine. I’m not one for taking pain medicine but was told by several to stay on top of your pain because it was very hard to get it back under control once you got behind. When you get home continue taking stool softener & pain medicine for a couple of days round the clock. I stopped needing round the clock after about 5 days.
   3. 1-2 days after you get home take milk of magnesia for your first bowel movement.
   4. It feels good to sit on a donut pillow or your boppy but it can rip the stitches so don’t!
   5. Continue with the whole “bathroom procedure” they teach you at the hospital for several weeks. Make sure you have purchased tucks pads to have at home.
   6. I was afraid that I would have postpartum after I had Mason because I had depression before. I spoke with my dr about it prior to having Mason & also in the hospital. 5 days after having Mason postpartum hit. You will know because it is very different from baby blues. Don’t be afraid to call your dr. for a prescription. I called the day after it hit & was prescribed Zoloft & was so glad that I did. The crying & awful feelings are not worth feeling.
   • I asked for Zoloft before even going to the hospital with Liam. But it took me longer to admit that I needed it with Liam. I wasn't sad with Liam, but I was incredibly anxious any time Blake left the room I cried. So while there wasn't the sadness I had with Mason, There was a lot of anxiety. 
8.  Nursing at first may not be wonderful & that doesn’t mean anything is wrong with you. I hated it the first week & wanted to quit. Nobody tells you that it is not this all natural wonderful feeling from the first second. It hurts, you both don’t know what you are doing & there is milk everywhere once your milk comes in. But if you can, stick with it I promise it gets so much better!! Blake knew how bad I wanted to do it so told me to give it one more week. If it wasn’t for him I probably would have quit. But if you can’t there is absolutely nothing wrong with formula feeding. Science is great! 
9. If you have a sitter, we told our sitter to not ever tell us if she saw a milestone that Mason accomplished that we hadn't told her about. That way we never missed a first. :) Because the first time we saw it was his first and we'd rather not know if it wasn't.