Infant-Related Must-Haves

Hello!

So I want to share my very favorite baby-related items, in no particular order. Some are practical and some are silly. Enjoy!

p.s. I wanted everyone to have easy access to everything I mentioned so this post is chock-full of links. 

Rock n’ Play

why is this sideways? I don't know how to fix it. Oh well, Ramona's right-side up.

Ramona is just about outgrowing this now but for the first four months it was fantastic. She could nap in it during the day and it was somewhere for her to sit and watch me do the dishes or some other chore and every once in awhile she’ll sleep in it at night. It outs her feet up a little, so if she has a toy in her lap she can reach it, which has been really helpful. The whole cover is washable in case of spit-ups or diaper leaks. And it’s super portable, so we would take it to the grandparent’s house for naptime and such.

Elf Hat

She actually looks like she's trying to take off her hat here, maybe this picture wasn't the best choice. 

Ramona wore her elf hat the first day home from the hospital. I really like it. It’s a perfect medium temperature hat, it fits her well, and it’s super, super cute. I like a lot of babysoy products, they’re really simple and not too cutesy.

Thirsties Diaper Covers

I think I’ve said plenty on thirsties diaper covers in my previous cloth diaper related posts. They are my favorite.

Life Is Good socks

truck socks!

These were the only socks we owned that would stay on Ramona’s feet. They are really thick and high enough to not come off easily. These were actually the first thing I purchased when I found out I was pregnant.

My Evenflo Stroller

Ramona in her car seat with her baby friend Jolene

the stroller (without the car seat in it)

I love my stroller! It’s a travel system, so I love my carseat as well.

Best Things About It:

-It has lots of storage room underneath; I can easily fit the diaper bag and another bag and a toy for Ramona and a water bottle for me.

-It has a wicked turning radius; I can easily turn around in elevators so I don’t have to back out.

-The handles are padded and comfortable.

-It’s light for a travel system

-It’s very easy to fold and unfold, and it’s very easy to take the car seat in and out of the car, even with a sleeping baby in it.

Ring Sling

Ramona all slung up

My maya ring sling was a hand-me-down and it has been excellent. When Ramona was a (younger) newborn, she would always sleep in it, and I could easily walk around and do chores at home or go out and do errands. Now that she’s a little older she loves to people watch when I’m downtown or just to be held close to me instead of put down when I’m at home. She has just started holding her head up enough for me to wear her facing out or wear her on my hip, so this opens up a lot more possibilities.

As a side note, she has never liked getting in or out of the sling, it takes her a few minutes to get used to it, so don’t give up if your baby cries when you first try it. Walk around a bit and see if they’re calmed by that feeling (it’s soothing because it’s similar to being in your uterus).

Moon Pillow

I just got my moon nursing pillow, but I’m really excited about it. It’s very similar to a boppy, but personally I like it better. (Off topic, grammar check wants me to change “moon nursing pillow” to “moon-nursing pillow”, grammar check thinks I’m nursing the moon.) It’s main use is as a pillow to hold Ramona higher while she breastfeeds, because otherwise I’m holding her there, which gets tiring, or I’m bending over for the whole feeding, which is hard on my back.

But other than that I can use it to prop her into a sitting position, or to support her back while she’s sidelong nursing, or as a prop pillow for tummy time. Multiple uses! Hooray!

Crinkle Cat

I cannot for the life of me find this toy on the internet. Oh well, it looks like this:

Crinkle cat was Ramona's first favorite toy. Babies LOVE the crinkly sound of plastic so some toy companies have ingeniously incorporated it into their products. Crinkle Cat has plastic in her feet and tail so she crinkles! We used to just hold her and crinkle her for Ramona to keep her attention focused on something but now that she's grabbing she can use it to entertain herself, which is particularly useful in the car. 

Ramona also likes Crinkle Cat's goofy smile, it was the first inanimate object she smiled at.