Mommy Diaries : Baby Must-Haves

As one of the last of my friends to have a baby, I was lucky enough to get a lot of tips and advice from friends. My good friend Carmel even went so far as making a list of things I had to have on my registry!! I'll add my personal comments in red to her amazing list!

Carmel's Baby Item Favorites

• Nursing bra/tops: Camisoles from Target for price ($19.99ish), Bravado/Glamourmom if ok with paying more. No-wire, spandex nursing bras (there are ones at Target and a good padded one at Destination/Motherhood Maternity). *I got the Target camisoles and they work just fine!
• Baby bottles at least 6-10 to start with. Dr. Brown (less gas and spit-ups, but more parts to clean and you need the special brush, so yes it can be a pain, Seattle Children's Hospital usually recommends Dr. Brown with the special Premie nipple--which comes separately, or Playtex Nurser (convenient and makes cleaning easy when you have no time on your hands with baby, but less eco-friendly, drop-in to buy, & wide bottle doesn't fit in all cup holders). Baby might make the decision for you! *Luckily my baby wasn't picky and liked the Dr Brown's just fine! It is a pain to clean but since I didn't use any other bottles, I haven't been spoiled by less cleaning!
• Drying Rack: Boon "grass" *Super cute, all my non-baby friends thinks it's so "cool"!
• Dishwasher bottle parts rack: Oxo *Skipped it since I washed everything by hand
• Bottle brush: Oxo or munchkin *Went with Munchkin but the sponge part of the brush keeps breaking off. Maybe I'm too vigorous when I clean??
• Swaddlers/Blankets: several standard Carter's receiving blankets, aden/anais blankets (they are kind of big for newborns, but are good for when baby is a little older and useful as a nursing cover, sun cover, play blanket) at least 2 SwaddleMe of each size (1 clean, 1 for spit ups), Halo SleepSacks (might not need until baby is older). *Aden & Anais!! More on them later . . . my baby hated the SwaddleMe (see if you can borrow some first before you buy!) but is fine with the sleep sacks!
• Newborn mittens *YES!!
• Adjustable knot hat (like at Gap) *I borrowed some various hats from friends and never used the adjustable knot hat since it's been too hot!
• Socks: Circo (Target) 0-3 month low cut ones stay on the best, but they are hard to find *Yup, they never stay on!
• Aquaphor (eczema, cradle cap, barrier cream, a big gob to the baby's bottom for diaper rash) *We went with A&D cream  as our diaper cream since she doesn't suffer from any of the other symptoms.
• A diaper stick (looks like deodorant) is sometimes nice when you are too lazy to put on diaper cream but baby needs something on their bum. *Skipped this - we "try" not to be too lazy!
• Sleepers/Footed pajamas LOTS! Baby shower item, make sure you have at least 4-6 of each size *Or borrow as many as you can from your friends' babies!
• Small insulated bag for breastmilk (there's a good Playtex one on Amazon) *If you sign up on Enfamil, Similac, & Gerber's websites, they often give you samples and I got a free insulated bag!
• Nursing pillow   Boppy is very versatile. My Breast Friend was really a best friend (it was nice to have a strap to keep it strapped to you, a pocket for a burp cloth, bottle, phone, TV remote) *I liked the comfort of My Breast Friend but the Boppy is definitely cuter and you can use it to prop up the baby, arm rest, etc.
• Tub--Summer Infant Right Height is the one I like since I'm short and it's hard for me to reach down to tub, but it might more of a personal choice. *I went with the My First Year's Infant to Toddler Tub w/ Sling and LOVE it! Also consider a water temperature gauge to make sure the water is not too hot for baby!  
• Pacifier Wipes (like Arm & Hammer/Munchkin) for pacifier, for a quick clean on-the-go. *I would also add the BooginHead pacifier clip to prevent dropping of the paci and the Avent Soothie pacifier. The WubbaNub (beanie baby + paci) has also been great to help the paci stay in her mouth when it falls out.
• Nail Filer: The electric one is AMAZING and won't hurt the newborn! We used this for the first couple of months and then graduated to the Piyo Piyo Baby Nail Scissors. I feel like the scissors allows for more control of each snip so that you won't accidentally cut the finger!

Things Carmel wish she had gotten, but didn't (so she can't rate for sure)

• Baby sling like the K-tan or Maya Wrap, for when baby is newborn *I tried the Moby Wrap and it's super hard to use and really hot so I gave up on it.
• Ergobaby baby carrier *We have the Baby Bjorn - it's ok, but a bit of a hassle to put on so I ended up not using it.
• Nursing chair that has matching ottoman (I love my LaZBoy but it would have been good to get a chair that included an ottoman--you really need something to rest your feet on for proper nursing, and when you are just plain tired). They seem to sell some on Costco.com. Consider making a cozy nursing area on each floor or each room you will be in (living room, nursery, bedroom--will likely be your bed ;). *I just went with my LaZBoy too - didn't really want another piece of furniture in my house!
• Infant monitor with video (like Summer Infant Baby Touch monitor), but our Angel Care monitor was also nice since it had a room temp monitor and mute function (DO NOT get baby motion mat unless you don't mind getting alarmed frequently). *We had a hand me down from my cousin who is ELEVEN now! It's basic but still works!
• Baby White Noise Machine (like Graco Sweet Slumber) *My baby can sleep through the Blendtec blender! We skipped this too!
• A simple (non-motorized) mobile for diaper changing table to keep baby occupied *She loves looking at it - I just made a simple one myself via Pinterest! For our crib, I do wished we got a motorized mobile that plays music for longer than a couple minutes!!

Things that were helpful but not necessarily registry items

• Small space heater for baby's room *Yes and a portable AC unit if your house doesn't have one!
• hot water dispenser (mix with cooler water to warm breastmilk or baby food) *Or a Keurig! Two birds with one stone!
• board books *Yes!
• room darkening shades/drapes *In the midst of getting these!
• dimmable lamp *We used a nightlight instead.

Let me know what are some of your favorite baby items!!