HELLO… Long time no blog???? It has been a while since I have posted, and I am sorry, but if you know me then you know my life has changed just a little bit over the last year! WE HAD A BABY!!!!! We welcomed our sweet little girl in December and she has been everything we ever wanted and so much more!!! So with that being said I am going to make my first post back about babies. Being a first time mom I had no idea on what I would need, and I quickly got needs and wants confused. So that’s what I am here to tell you about today, some baby must haves and some things you can go ahead and pass on! I hope this post helps all you moms out there, and moms to be!!!
First things First… I am going to tell you that when we found out we were having a baby we didn’t have any idea on what we would need for a baby, so we just started buying everything!!!! We went crazy on clothes, diapers, wipes and so much more, this is something I don’t recommend doing, and I will explain why throughout this post. I am first going to start with MUST HAVES, now let me say this, these may not be must haves for everyone, but my husband and I both feel these items are very helpful and we highly recommend each one!
MUST HAVES-
- Fisher-Price Sweet Snugapuppy Dreams Cradle ‘n Swing ( $127.99)
- Fisher-Price Deluxe Kick ‘n Play Piano Gym ( $49.95)
- Copper Pearl Swaddle Blankets (24.95)
- Philips Avent Ultra Soft Pacifier, 0-6 months ($6.99 for two)
-
Baby Mittens, Organic, Scratch Free & Germ Resistant ($14.99)
- Baby Brezza Baby Bottle Sterilizer and Dryer Machine – Electric Steam Sterilization ($99)
- Organic Cotton Baby Protective Pillow ($18.95)
- Halo Bassinest Swivel Sleeper ($209.99)
- Carseat and Stroller combo ( we use GRACO)
- HaloVa Diaper Bag Multi-Function Waterproof Travel Backpack ($35.99)
-
4moms, Spout Cover, White ($40)
- ZoLi BUZZ B | Electric Baby Nail Trimmer, Baby Nail File ($32.98)
- GIFT CARDS
The list above are most of my must haves, I am sure there are more things we will come across as time goes by, but these are the main ones I could come up with. The stand out items for us were: (1)The Fisher price swing ( this is hit or miss for babies, but ours LOVES it) (2)The Kick Play Piano Gym, this is a toy that grows with your baby, from playing on their back, to tummy time, and you can also remove the piano for a toddler to play, it teachers shapes, colors, numbers, and plays many songs. (3) Baby Brezza sterilizer, we actually started out with the AVENT (which was cheaper and good) but with the Brezza it actually sterilizes and dries within 45 min, the AVENT only did the sterilize process so you had to dry everything after, and trust me when you have a newborn this step can take up a lot of time so we really enjoyed having one that did this for us. (4) My last favorite from this list is the 4MOMS temp tester, this is so awesome to just put on the spout of the bathtub and it lets you know when the water is too hot or too cold for the baby so you never have any concern, we love this. Everything above can be found on Amazon (which is where we purchased most of these) but I will say you can get most of these from BUYBUYBABY and if you sign up with them they send you a 20% coupon each week that works with pretty much all of their merchandise.
Now I am going to give you some tips on things to do and not to do or some items you can pass on, now let me say this… If you like these items or if you still want to try them, well go for it, they just didn’t work for me and my situation or we found something that may have worked better for us!
- DON’T stock up and diapers and wipes- WHY? Well because you do not know what will work for your baby. For example, our daughter uses pampers sensitive wipes and huggies little snugglers diapers. Other wipes irritate her so we found these were best! So just wait and try one brand at a time then stock up once you find your right combo. ( We have found buying diapers from Amazon and wipes from SAMS have saved us the most money) A tip to add with this is, if people buy you diapers and wipes for a gift and you find they will not work for your baby, Walmart will exchange them all so you can get what works for you!
- DON’T buy too many clothes- I will be the first to admit when I found out I was having a girl I went a little crazy on clothes for her (which is ok to do) but I have found out and highly recommend start out buying a few different outfits in each size until your baby gets here and you can see how fast they are going to grow and how big they are when born. Example, we thought that our little girl was going to be big and we bought a ton of 0-3 and we didn’t have hardly any newborn, well she was in newborn clothing for over a month, so we had to send family members out to buy her things until she got to 0-3. When you wait it does make it a little more difficult at first, but it will save you from having too many outfits in one size that your baby never even got to wear.
- If you are using formula for your baby I recommend using powder, it is so easy to travel with, easy to measure, and you don’t have to worry about spending extra money for a bottle warmer, when you can just use room temp water with the powder. This has worked best for us, but do what is best for you, just because it was best for us doesn’t mean it will be that way for everyone.
- My last tip I have for today is, if you are planning on having more children try your best to buy things that are gender neutral, this will save you a lot of money in the future if you have a boy and a girl!
WOW… I know that was a lot to take in, but I really hope this helps ALL moms and soon to be moms out there. Being a mom (or a parent in general) is the best feeling ever, but at first when you are learning everything it can be overwhelming when trying to think of everything you are going to need. If you have any trouble finding these items, or have any additional mommy questions feel free to comment below. Also, if you have any recommendations for good products let me know below, I would love to check them out and try them for my baby. I will be doing these posts as she grows to let you know new things that work or may not have worked out for us. Thanks for taking time to read this and Good luck to all you moms out there! XOXO The Southern Diary!
THE SOUTHERN DIARY 