Friday, September 27, 2019

Motherhood: 3 BEST Newborn Products and 3 Purchase Regrets

3 BEST Newborn Products and 3 I Could've Passed On

There are so many surprises when you begin your journey as a mom. The first thing that surprised me was how much you can love someone you literally just met! How you can instantly feel like you've known them forever. It's an incredible feeling.


After that I was surprised by how much laundry there is.

No really- what the heck is with the laundry? Not just her clothes but MY clothes too. I had no idea how many times I'd be changing my own clothing every day- especially during the first few months.

Another surprising thing, was just what it takes to get out of the house. With or without the baby. I remember our doctor telling us to start getting ready to leave the house an hour before we normally would in order to get somewhere on time. She wasn't kidding.


Luckily - I managed to streamline the process and bit and shared about it in a post on my blog. If you're in that early phase and are finding it difficult to get out of the house you can read my tips to make it a little easier over here: Tips for Getting Out of the House with a Baby

I'm surprised that I still find it challenging to take alone time for myself - especially for things that are just for fun like getting my nails done or going shopping (for myself not for baby- shopping for baby is way too easy- this was surprising too.)

Another surprise- how there are very few pictures of me actually with my baby (even though we are together all day, every day) - we are working on changing this!

There's tons of little surprises, I tell you!

Some of our favourite newborn products were also a surprise to me - as were some of the biggest regret purchases.

I guess that makes sense- because you wouldn't purchase or inherit something if you didn't think it would be helpful.

Below, I'm sharing the best three surprise products that were so useful and amazing that I'm still using them. I also share three things I could have lived without!


Top Three Products


These products were by far the MVPs of our entire baby experience so far. In fact, these are all products that I didn't even realize the value of until I was using them day in and day out. Some of them I wouldn't have even purchased if it had not come recommended to me.

The most amazing thing about all three of these products is that we are still using them today at 6.5 months!


Milk Snob


I had no idea how much I would love the Milk Snob nursing cover. It's stretchy and stays securely around your body so you don't have to worry about your cover flying off. It has made nursing in public so much more comfortable for me and stretches enough to give baby space while she's feeding.


It's also been amazing as a cover for her stroller and has helped me put her to sleep while on the go and has offered an extra layer of protection from wind and germs during colder seasons.

I've LOVED the Milk Snob and it is one of my favourite things for the baby. I love it so much I bought two so one can always be available even if the other is in the wash. We never leave home without it.

Snuggle Me Organic


The Snuggle Me Organic was a hand-me-down from a friend and another product I really didn't realize would be so useful to me. I realize in Canada they are not considered "sleep safe" however, this was amazing during the first few months when babies spend so much of the day sleeping. We used it for her to nap/lounge while we were awake and watching. Later, as she got older, we also used it in our bed to give her her own space.


The Snuggle Me was perfect for making her feel safe and cozy when she still had the startle reflex. We still use it on occasion now, and in it our daughter is able to sleep in the family room, even while we are moving around right beside her.

Beluga Baby

Our Beluga Baby carrier was another item I just couldn't have functioned without! It's so soft and stretchy and has been amazing for keeping the baby with me while I've taken walks, done things around the house and prepared meals too. Around the 6 week mark, our baby went through a phase where she did not want to be put down.

The carrier was amazing because its not too big or bulky and it hugs the baby close to your body. The sense of security and calm that our baby got while being in this carrier was truly amazing. Some days, it even helped to put her to sleep when she was extremely fussy. It's also great to take on the go or for travel because it folds up nice and tight to pack away.



An honourable mention goes to the Uppa Baby Bassinet which has been amazing to take with us on the go to people's houses, or for walks. It has a pull down canopy and UV shade which

has been amazing to create a dark space for napping. Our baby has loved napping on the go in this sleep safe bassinet and I really don't know what I'm going to do now that she has out grown it.

I should also mention that this is a product that I didn't realize would be so useful to me initially so if you're shopping for a stroller, I'd recommend the Uppa Baby brand as the bassinet comes with some models.

Regrets

With all the things I was gifted, someone passed on to me and that I bought myself, there were bound to be a couple of things we could have managed without. These items aren't "bad" per say, but they just didn't get a lot of use in our home - or definitely not as much as I expected.

Dr Brown's Sanitizer

I was lucky to be able to breastfeed and so we didn't have a need for many bottles and as a result we didn't use the sanitizer much. I felt the need to wait for a bunch of things to sanitize all at once so I didn't really end up sanitizing with it very often. I felt it was much easier to just boil some water or use a microwave sterilizing bag vs keeping a large sanitizer on our counter. In case you do end up bottle feeding however, this product would be a game changer! One of those things, you won't know till you know whether you will need it or not.

Bumbo

The Bumbo seat was a hand me down and while it was nice to have (especially with a tray!) I think the amount of time a child would fit in this chair will vary. I'd definitely recommend a sit-me-up chair but I'd probably go with Summer Infant or Fisher Price for this.


Pumping Bra

I quickly learned that washing all the parts of a pump multiple times a day really sucks. The harder it is to pump, the less likely you are to pump. A lot of people choose not to pump and now I understand why.  I kept up with pumping because I wanted the flexibility of being able to give the baby a bottle when we needed to. I also really liked giving one bottle at night so we knew how much the baby had to drink. It helped us understand her other cues and predict some of her sleep habits.

It was much easier for me to set up both sides of my pump in the morning and use one for an am pump session and the other for a pm session. I also learned that you get more milk from a session when you express while you pump, so the bra just seemed useless to me. Some people swear by it, but for me it made the experience a little less natural, so I preferred not to use it.

Notable Mentions

The following two items aren't super big regrets,  but I thought it would be helpful to mention a few reasons why we could have pumped the breaks on these -

Fancy Outfits for the Baby

While it is so fun to buy cute dresses and party outfits- truly they often out grown these before you can make use of them. The best gifts to buy a newborn are the every day kind of clothes- sweat pants, jeans, cotton sleepers and burp clothes/bibs are always useful.

Sleep Sacks

Buying multiple sleep sacks at once has been a bit of a regret because you really don't know what your baby will like and what TOG (heat value) will get them the best sleep. I'd recommend buying one- trying it for a few nights and then seeing if you want a second one or if you want to try another brand.

So far we have had success with the Halo brand in 0.5 TOG (very light blanket).


So there you go - my top three products and three shopping lessons learned thus far in parenthood. Hope this helps you when you're buying gifts, building a registry or "adding to cart".  If you'd like to see a full list of my Baby favourites, check out my Amazon page here



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