A Few of My Favorite [Baby] Things

Taking a quick break from the road trip for... Baby gear!

My big sis is due to have her first baby (!!!) and Auggie's first cousin in October. To celebrate, this post is dedicated to my favorite baby things. Please add your favorite things to the comments, and I'll update the list in the end of August.

some of my notes are short due to trying to get this finished FAST!! :)

Nursing

• If you're planning on breastfeeding, the Boppy nursing pillow is a must-have. For the first 6 months of Auggie's life, I used this pillow every day. I even took it with us when we traveled. The only thing I wish I had done with this pillow that I didn't do was bring it to the hospital when Auggie was born. We have one of the nicer Boppy slipcovers - velvety on one side and regular cotton on the other. The velvety option was great throughout the winter and well worth the extra $15, and flipping to the regular side for summer is easy.
  
• Lansinoh lanolin nipple cream is a lifesaver. Seriously. I brought my own tube to the hospital. (They gave me a trial version, but when you've just had a baby the last thing you'll want to do is go to the store to buy more.) I used this liberally after every nursing session for at least 6 weeks. After that your nipples get used to nursing and aren't bothered at all, but before then I am positive this saved me from any cracking and bleeding. A big plus is that you don't have to take it off before nursing again. I also put it on before showers because water and any soap can dry out and iritate sensitive nipples.
  
• In the same vein, a stick of 100% pure cocoa butter is a well-spent $0.99. A friend (with daughters my age) told me that her mom recommended this for her when she was pregnant - rub it on your nipples once a day for a couple of months before your baby is due to condition the nipples. I decided that I'd try anything to avoid said cracked nipples and bought my own stick of cocoa butter early on (from Walgreens). For me, the cocoa butter plus the lanolin nipple cream was the golden ticket.
  
• Have two bags of frozen peas in the freezer in case you become engorged after your milk comes in. During the first week of Auggie's life, I spent a significant amount of time in the middle of the night sitting at the dining room table rotating peas and corn around my boobs. Humorous now, but agonizing then. And hey, if you don't have that problem, you have a freezer stocked with food!
  
• Gel nipple pads - The Carle Hospital lactation consultants gave me a pair of these, which were great during the first two weeks of Auggie's life.
  
• Breast pads are tricky. In my personal opinion there are no 100% discreet disposable breast pads out there. For the most part, I used Lansinoh breast pads because they were the thinest, but even then underneath anything less than a sweater you could see the fold lines through most nursing bras. I found myself positioning the folds to line up with the seams of what could have been a demi-cup bra, but wasn't. Before Auggie was born I bought a set of Gerber cotton breast pads thinking I'd go the environmental route, but promptly learned they're only good for nighttime. The cotton pads were so thick that they showed through any sweater. And really, wool would have been better since it holds much more liquid than cotton. (I thought about chopping up a nearly-felted old wool sweater to make breast pads, but really, who has the time?)
  
• Lily Padz are the Godsend answer to the breast pad dilemma. They're reusable for 2 - 3 months (or 7 if you're cheap like me) and they're totally discreet. Seriously, no one knows you're wearing breast pads - no one! They way they work is pretty cool. It's based on the pressure of the nipple. The silicone pads are tacky (and the tackiness renews every time you wash them) and stick over and around your nipple. The pressure the silicone puts on your nipple is just enough to keep it from leaking, and if perchance you do actually leak, the silicone around it is tacky enough to hold the milk until you remove the pad. I don't have leaking problems any more, but when Auggie was 3 or 4 months old there were several times at work when these amazing pads kept me from milking my blouses during client meetings. They also held up well during the many hours we spent on the road between families in Chi-town and home. ... A few quick side notes: (1) I didn't discover Lily Padz until Auggie was 10 weeks, so I'm not sure how well they would work for a woman with ultra sensitive newborn nursing nipples. (2) These won't work miracles - they won't keep you from leaking if you are leaking BUCKETS. (3) I don't wear these at night in order to give my nipples have a chance to breathe.
  

Nursing Bras/Tanks

• The first nursing bra I picked up was an Anita Underwire nursing bra. I loved underwire pre-baby, so I thought why wouldn't I post baby? I was very wrong. The underwire digs and pinches, and can even cause plugged ducts. I am not a huge fan. I also had to return it a week after Auggie was born to purchase a bigger size - there's really no way to know what size you'll be once you start nursing.
• For nighttime, and other general lounging purposes, I bought 3 Barely There bras from Kohl's. They're basically super-soft self-bras that aren't for nursing, but work great nonetheless. I wore these to bed as well as when my milk came in and I couldn't fit into the underwire Anita bra.
  
• My second bra was an Anita microfiber nursing bra. This was much better - no underwire, soft fabric - but it still had obnoxiously huge straps and that weird fabric piece that stays on your breast, underneath the nipple, while nursing. I always thought those were standard until I bought a bra without one. This bra served its purpose, but I much prefer the next bra on this list.
  
• Bravado Designs - A chorus of angels starts singing when I think about this company. Their nursing bras are amazing. I only wish I had found them sooner. (Conveniently, they're sold at the Carle Hospital Breastfeeding Clinic.) My favorite so far is the Body Silk Seamless Nursing bra. It has no annoying triangular fabric piece below the flap that shows through, and it even comes with cup-like pads that can disguise any nursing pads. (If only I had known about you sooner!!!) I got a great deal at the Carle Breastfeeding Clinic, but would still shell out $49 for this bra in a second. ... Now, if I had discovered Bravado Designs before Auggie was born, I would have bought the Original Nursing bra because it was so comfortable, can be a sleeping bra or daytime bra, is almost all cotton, and best of all, can fit you as you change bra sizes through that first 2 week period. It's incredible! I highly, highly recommend this bra to any pregnant woman!
  
• The Essential Nursing Tank, also by Bravado Designs, is the natural companion for any woman hooked on Bravado nursing bras. This is the reason why Auggie did so well on the plane rides down to Little Cayman. It's a tank top, with plenty of length, with nursing flaps. The only con to this tank is that there's no fabric above the breast when the flaps are down, meaning that to achieve complete discression (like on an airplane), you'll want to wear a tank over this to cover up the top part of your breast. Still, it's comfortable, useful, easy, and can be worn out or around the house. Side note: I think the sizes run a bit on the big side.
  
• Glamour Mom Tanks come in second. Although I'm a little saltly because they returned the tank that didn't fit me claiming it had deoderant on it. It didn't. And now I'm going to have to sell it on craigslist (anyone interested??).. Okay, I'll backtrack a little. Glamour Mom nursing tanks come in regular or long, and as a stand-alone tank with discreet clips ("Tank") or as a under-other-clothes tank with obvious nursing bra clips ('Top"). (I have a Medium, black, long "Tank" for those of you who are interested.) They also have cut-out holes for your nipple to come through so your breast isn't exposed when nursing, and they have mesh pockets in the flap that a breast pad can fit into - pretty handy for the early stages, in my opinion. The medium fit me everwhere except for under my arms - there was just too much fabric.
  
• The Majamas nursing tank simply isn't my favorite. It's kind of hard to maneuver because it has a shelf bra with nipple holes cut out below a regular tank top. The straps come down to reveal the shelf bra part, but what are you supposed to do when these straps are around the sides of your arms? It's hard to hold a baby with them there, and it's tricky to wear a sweater while nursing, too.
  

Sleeping

• Receiving blankets - great
  
• Knit blankets - great
  
• Crib mattress covers - only need one if your dipes work well :)
  
• Crib sheets (Pack 'n play sheets) - Auggie won't sleep on straight vinyl, so this is necessary
  
• Mobile - great!! and great for changing tables, or so I've heard
  

Clothes
newborn - just needs t's and sleepers. i'd skip the newborn onesies since they irritate umbilical stumps. after that onesies are great, and anything long-sleeved is even better for a winter baby.

Bathing

• We registered for and received a totally cute baby bath tub before Auggie was born. However we honestly didn't use it for very long. It would have been impossible to predict, so I can't feel bad about it, but as soon as Auggie's umbilical stump fell out, we almost exclusively held him in the shower. And by 'we', I mean that Dan held Auggie's ridiculously slippery baby body while I reached in, scrubbed him down, and then retrieved him with a towel. This process, however dangerous, has been so much easier than setting up the baby bathtub. And, I have to mention that Auggie would never sit in the baby bathtub either. He always streched out his body making it impossible to keep him in the little seat.
  
• A perfectly good alternative for the times before you can hold baby in the shower, if you so choose to go that route, is an infant bath sponge. I plan on getting one to try out for baby no. 2, whenever that happens.
  
• Something we completely overlooked in the registry process is a bath tub faucet cover. Naturally you don't need one early on, but we need one ASAP! Auggie pulls himself up in the bath tub and more or less walks around instead of sitting and playing. Each time he gets this close to banging his little noggin on the tub faucet.
  
• Bath toys - great to have later on
  
• Bath towels - go for big ones.. like Carol Kohn's. they don't make them big enough at the stores, but they will work for a newborn
  
• Baby wash cloths - great to have a set of 4-8
  
• Johnson's vs. Aveeno - i like aveeno, but that's just preference
  

Diapering

• Cloth - my faves are Fuzzi Bunz in size small and medium. a BumGenious are okay, but i think the velcro gets kind of icky after a while. invest in hemp inserts or prefolds if you have a heavy wetter like Auttie!
  
• Disposables - Pampers, Seventh Generation, Luvs
• Diaper Rash Cream - only get one tube, we've only gone through 2 tbsps of ours... i like aveeno, and dislike the lansinoh brand
  

Furniture

• Glider rocking chair with footrest - great
  
• Co-sleeper Bassinet - great
  
• Pack 'n Play
• Bumbo
• High Chair
• Swings
• Bouncy Chair
• Johnny Jump-up Seat
• Baby gate
  

Travel

• BabyTrends Car Seat - skip!! a huge pain... i've heard great things about Chicco Keyfit 30
  
• Bundle Me - love it
  
• B.O.B. Sport Utility Stroller - love it, but our version is not the most practical or easiest to get around, and you have to buy an extra adapter for infant car seats
  
• Umbrella stroller - great for bigger baby, get the cheap $20 from toys r us
  
• Mobywrap - love it
  
• Slingling/HotSlings - skip
  

Feeding
Bottles, etc

• I have exclusively used Medela bottles for Auggie because they were the cheapest and most readily-available BPA-free bottles when I was pregnant. And because they fit into my Medela breast-pump, it just made sense to go with Medela-only.
  
• I would say we have nearly 20 bottles, which fits our needs since I always have several at work, several in the refrigerator, and several in the dishwasher at any given time. Although, if you planning on breastfeeding, and not planning on going back to work, I think you'd only need 4 bottles max, if even that.
  
• My Mommy's Milk Lansinoh breastmilk storage bag samples came free with my nursing pads, and worked well enough, so I've stuck with them since and have three gallon bags full of frozen breastmilk in our deep freezer. It's good to have in case I get sick and my milk production drops, or for any other number of reasons. I plan to donate it if we still have a bunch left before we move. The bags are made of medical-grade plastic, and are stiffer then the average plastic, meaning that it's easier for the plastic to break. I've noticed that I have to pay attention to making sure there aren't any holes before I freeze the milk. Still, I don't mind the extra attention required if it means that the milk is free of leaching toxins.
  

Solids, 4-6+ months

• I'm pretty hooked on Nûby feeding products. All of their products are BPA-free, and they aren't ridiculously expensive either. Their baby feeding spoons are just the right size for Auggie's mouth. (I didn't realize this until we started feed him solids: spoon sizes vary according to the age of the baby, and we were only stocked with bigger spoons for toddlers, not tiny baby mouths.)
  
• Nûby sippy cups are also great. I like the handles, the spill-proof squishy top, and the lid that it comes with. I bought them mainly because Target sent me coupons post-registry, but they really seem to be a great first cup for Auggie.

Toys

• Pacifiers - didn't use
  

First Aid - you really only need a thermometer, nail clipper, alcohol wipes and maybe vaseline... skip the big kits, in my opinion