Note: Smarties Jennifer Voorhees and Karly Barker tag-teamed on this one!
The excitement of being pregnant can quickly become overwhelming once you think about all the things that come with having a newborn. As you step into the baby stores with the endless aisles of binkies and walls of bottle parts, take some advice from those that have been there before. Smarty Karly and I, both relatively new mamas have put together a list of registry must-haves to help you filter through all of the cute madness. Smarty tip – batteries. Register for them, lots of them.
Getting around
Karly’s pick: City Select Stroller The stroller is one item I think you should splurge on. Man these things can get expensive – but it sure is nice to have a stroller that you like. While shopping for a stroller we were told that most parents end up buying two or three strollers. So we decided to take our time on this decision. We talked to a lot of people and decided on getting the City Select. It is not the most affordable option – but it will work as a double stroller if we are lucky enough to have #2 in a few years. We figure this will actually save us money in the long run. My car seat attaches to it and I am able to use it as a grocery cart because of all the storage. It isn’t the best long distance jogging stroller but for what I do it is perfect.
Jen’s pick: Now that we’re toting two babes around, I agree with Karly on the stroller; however, I love, love, love my Baby Jogger City Mini GT Double Jogging Stroller. This thing kicks serious pavement. This stroller is great for when you want to blaze through the park or your neighborhood. The side-by-side seats give each kid their own space without being cramped and both get to see out without obstruction. For those sleepy babies, the seats recline individually, which works great considering my infant son typically falls asleep about ten steps into our walk while my super-observant toddler daughter is whipping her head back and forth looking around at everything around her. The canopies provide great coverage from the sun and go down further than any other canopy I’ve seen – making those sunset strolls much more bearable. The storage is ample for multiple sippy cups, snacks, phones, keys and even a couple lovies – and that’s just the compartments by the handle. There is additional storage below the seat for whatever else you may need.
Scrub-a-dub-dub
Karly’s pick: Puj Tub If there is one single product that I would recommend – it would probably be this one. It is designed by moms for moms and it is wonderful. It lays completely flat on your wall (I just have a nail that I hang it on in my laundry room), and folds into a tub that fits into the sink. It drains water so it is always clean and warm and it dries in seconds. Annie loves bath time because of this thing. I am hoping she will fit in it till 6 months, when I switch her to sitting in the tub by herself.
Jen’s pick: Fisher Price Rain Forest Bath Center We used this tub for both babies (still using it for my son). This tub comes with a mesh liner that is pulled tight over the tub for that is great for those first few weeks when you cannot submerge your baby into the water because of their belly button or circumcision. Once they can be put in the water, the liner unclips and the tub has a padded seat on a recline giving your baby decent support while you bath them. This tub was made to set on most sinks without budging and once my babes started splashing around more, we just moved it to set inside the bathtub until they could sit up on their own.
Karly’s pick: Baby Bee Shampoo and Wash It has worked well for us. No rashes. We love Medela but the price gets to us. We have really liked the Baby Bee – and the price seems better than some other organic soaps.
I’ve got my eye on you!
Karly’s pick: Motorola Video Monitor I made a big mistake thinking I didn’t need this little wonder. We got it right around the time Annie turned 18-months and it has been a game changer! Don’t waste your time on anything else. This is what you need!
Jen’s pick: Completely agree with Karly – and girl, I can’t imagine waiting that long! We now have two cameras – one in each of the kid’s rooms. It’s great because it can pan side-to-side and up and down. For my toddler who tries to make the great escape during naptime, I can use the intercom to kindly remind her to get back in bed. The scan function allows the view to automatically toggle between the two views which makes it easy to keep an eye on both of our (sometimes) sleeping angels.
Eatin’ time
Karly’s pick: Ikea Highchair We bought this chair and love it. I think it is a steal of a deal – just $25. High chairs are going to get messy and I think this one looks pretty cute anyway. So far it is a hit in our house. Affordable AND wonderful. Sign me up!
Jen’s pick: Fisher Price Healthy Care Booster Seat One of my biggest challenges with highchairs was how much room they take up in the kitchen. We are already pressed for space and adding a big highchair to the mix just wasn’t ideal. Then we found this gem. This attaches to our dining chairs and comes with it’s own attachable adjustable tray allowing kids to eat with you at the table. Also, it’s great for traveling. Whenever we go over to a family or friend’s house we bring it along. A tray cover is also included for those times when your little one gets distracted and needs to come back to dinner later. Even better – the tray is dishwasher safe. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
For food prep, Baby Bullet is the real deal. It’s great for blending and storing your pureed masterpieces. I was a bit nervous about making my baby’s food, but after doing it a couple of times, it’s a breeze and it’s way cheaper than buying the prepackaged goods. I hate the name, love the product!
Good night, sleep tight
Jen’s pick: Halo Sleep Sack. I admit it, I am terrible at swaddling. I try to be super mom but when it comes to this, the swaddle is my kryptonite. I just thought my kids didn’t like to be swaddled since they were regular Hodinis whenever we swaddled them. Enter the Halo Sleep Sack. My saving grace. This wonderful invention makes swaddling incredibly easy. You can swaddle babies a couple of different ways – arms in or arms out. My four-month old son is swaddled arms in every night and honestly, he falls asleep almost instantaneously once he’s wrapped up like a little burrito.
Smarties – what would you recommend to new mamas that are making their registry list?
4 comments
I was terrible at the swaddle and marveled at the moms who could origami swaddle with one hand. LOVED the sleep sack. We had them for both kids. We had the same Fisher Price high chair, too, and I can’t say enough good things. I love a 2-in-1 so having it for home and travel was a bonus. And you get to the point where you HATE seeing all of your “gear” so throwing it in the pantry or coat closet when hosting adult guests gave me some sanity. When planning a nursery, I think blackout shades and a noise machine (we used a fan, which supposedly helps with SIDS prevention, too) are key. Sleep is precious in our house and those 2 items made it ‘night time’ any time of the day! Great post, gals!
Good call, Susan! We use noise makers, too and rock the blackout shades. They are wonderful things.
Love, love, love this list! Great post girls!!
As an new expectant mom, I loved the post! Thanks-