Tried and True Baby Products: Day One

This week I have asked several of my friends and family to guest post in the Romper Room.  Each of the women who will be writing are moms with infants younger than one year old.  I asked each mom to send me a list of their favorite baby products they use and why.  I have done lists like this before, but I think it helps to get other viewpoints from all different kinds of moms.  

Today I asked one of my favorite blogger friends to share her favorites.  Kat from Living Like the Kings has been a long time imaginary friend.  We have been reading each other’s blogs for years, and have loved watching each of our families grow.  I think if we lived closer, Kat and I would be very good friends.  We seem to raise our children very similarly and have a lot of the same ideas on parenting and family.  Plus, she is fellow working mom and I always respect that in women.  

Hello MC readers! I’m Kat, a mom to 2 girls which is really just code for saying that my whole house is filled with pink things. I’m honored to guest post for Katie today and share with you my 10 favorite baby items of all time.

1. The Sleep Sheep. It’s basically a sound machine in a sheep costume. We actually have 2 of them because my girls love them so much. With our first, the sleep sheep was part of our bedtime routine – she always knew it was time to fall asleep when the sleep sheep went on. With the second one, the colicky one, the sleep sheep is a life saver. We blast it on the loudest setting, set it right next to the baby’s head, and cross our fingers that it reminds her of being back in the womb (which is pretty much where she wants to be). I must warn you though – it’s addictive. To the parents that is. Each time that we move the babies from the co-sleeper next to our bed to their own rooms we have to readjust and learn how to sleep without our beloved sleep sheep.

2. Which brings me to number 2 – the Arm’s Reach co-sleeper. For the first couple of months we keep our babies in our room and this co-sleeper keeps them safe and sound and within my reach when I’m barely awake in the middle of the night. Once the babies are out of our room and in their cribs, we use the co-sleeper as a portable crib when we travel. It folds up nicely into a convenient bag. The only thing though is that it is much harder to fold back up than it looks – I swear it hates me and always gets stuck.

3. One of our favorite toys, this ball popper is fun for babies and toddlers alike. The balls pop up and should technically land in the track and then the whole thing starts over again. Well, that doesn’t always work that way so be prepared to fish a lot of balls from under your couch. Also, once the tot figures out that you can put things other than the designated balls in the toy, you’ll become a pro at fishing random toys out of the super small hole. So I guess it’s a fun game for adults too. Dinosaurs are worth 1 drink, the Little People are worth 2.

4. We have gifted this glow worm to anyone pretty much who has a baby. It’s a toy that has a soft glow and a very soft melody that lasts about 10 minutes. Peanut has had this toy since she was about 2 months old and still sleeps with it today at 2.5 years. The music and light doesn’t stay on for very long – great in some respects, but annoying when it keeps waking the baby back up. It’s an absolute best toy to bring on trips away from home though because our kid has learned to associate it with bedtimes and now when the glow worm comes out, she lays down to go to bed.

5. The overnight diapers – one of the greatest inventions. Ever. These diapers are made to hold much more than a regular diaper (which also means a high price tag) but they’re amazing at helping the little ones sleep better and longer at night because they don’t wake up when the diaper is full (or is that just my kids?). One thing you should know is that they start at size 3 so for our newborn we use diapers in a size up for bedtimes – works well, but not as good as the overnight diapers.

6. My absolute favorite carrier – the Ergo carrier. We tried the Moby, the Baby Bjorn and the Ergo and I definitely gravitate toward the Ergo. It’s easy to put on and just as easy and quick to take off, gives the right balance for your back, and has convenient pocket in the front for a pacifier or your cell phone. It also has a cover that goes over the top of the baby’s head and protects them from the sun or rain or strangers in the grocery store that like to put their dirty fingers in my child’s mouth. There is a newborn attachment that I’ve heard is good, but we just used a rolled up blanket and that worked ok too.

7. The swing. There are many different versions and although we’ve only tried 2, I would recommend this one. It’s the kind that actually swings your baby back and forth rather than gently rocking or swaying them. We borrowed ours from my MFF so the only thing I would change if we were purchasing our own is that I would look for one that can plug in. The thing eats batteries in a matter of days, but considering the fact that it totally calms our colicky baby, I don’t blink an eye when I’m purchasing yet another 20 pack of them.

8. A simple ball toy, this Vtech Move & Crawl toy is one of the reasons that Peanut learned how to crawl. It has fun sounds, the beloved tags (I don’t know what it is with 6 month olds and tags but Peanut was obsessed), and it moves around. Peanut used to love following it around our living room.

9. Summer Infant Best View Handheld Color Video Monitor, aka the best monitor we’ve ever had. We’ve since purchased a newer “nicer” monitor from the same company but it doesn’t compare. This model has lasted over 2 years (where others have a tendency to die after a year), has a camera that can be controlled and moved with the handheld monitor and has one of the best night-time visions I’ve ever seen. The only trouble that we’ve had is that the monitor’s battery doesn’t last as well anymore – but after 2.5 years of service, I forgive it.

10. Last but certainly not least is the Halo sleep sack. I think that, along with the sleep sheep and the night-time diapers, is to credit for our babies sleeping super well at night. It has a zipper blanket and a swaddler on top that allows you to swaddle the baby extra tight for bedtimes. The swaddler part can also be removed if/when your baby doesn’t like to be swaddled and you’re left with a very safe night-time blanket. We have these in just about every size. Although we’ve had the fleece ones for winter, I would recommend getting the cotton ones – they’re more breathable.

Come back tomorrow to hear about my best friend, Sarah’s, favorite baby products!