My Top 10 Baby Products

I cannot believe how fast the first year of parenthood has just flown by! I still feel like it was a couple months ago I was pregnant and waddling I went. Now that my little one is almost a year and a half and I’m already envisioning what his 2 year old party will be like, I can’t help but reflect on his first year of life. I know we have it way easier than our parents and their parents and even those before them did, and I am absolutely not complaining one little bit. Parenthood is hard! I’m sure they had tips and tricks for their time period. For me, I used many products that saved my sanity and helped make the first year of his new life easier for both of us. So here we go, my top 10 baby products that I loved. These baby products were true lifesavers in my household.

1.  The Owlet. So while I was pregnant and awake at 3am with frequent pee breaks, I google searched a lot.  This is an electronic hospital grade sock that is put on your baby’s foot. One you place the little sock on, it measures the heart rate and oxygen level. It comes with a base station that blinks green letting you know everything is ok. If for some reason something isn’t, it flashes red and goes off. Crazy, huh? It also has an app you can download and you can see all the details on your baby there. Honestly, because of this product I was able to sleep at night because I knew he was being monitored. It put my mind at ease and was a mental lifesaver with a brand new baby in the house.  Kind of pricey, but well worth it for the sake of your sanity and sleep.

2.  Baby video monitor. We set the video monitor next to his crib, and it was awesome.  We would put him to sleep and then take the charged monitor part and go in the living room and finally have adult time while watching him too! We monitored his every single move from the comfort of our living room. We still use this faithfully, and monitor him from the moment he goes to sleep to the moment he wakes up. We take the monitor with us when we go to sleep and it’s right on our nightstand. He’s always being watched, even if we are not physically in the room.  Many of these monitors come with downloadable apps too. My husband leaves early for work and likes to occasionally check in.

3.  An activity mat. This was a gift from a friend while I was pregnant. At the time, I didn’t know exactly what it was, but it quickly became a living room staple! Babies need plenty of tummy time and a little space to try to roll and explore, and this activity mat was a hit. He loved watching the star light up and play music, kicking the big fish and chewing on the big toys. I loved putting him on the activity mat and watching him explore and play.

4.  Nursing pillow. This was so good for my backaches. There are tons of ways to use it too. First, while you are sitting down, you can place the baby on the pillow as you hold them securely and breastfeed. It adds so much support and comfort. Later on, as your baby gets older,  you can lay them in the middle of the pillow and it helps them sit up. You can also use it for tummy time. This pillow was always on our couch and made feedings, nap times and tummy time so much easier. Our baby loved it too.

5.  Sit Me Up This was another living room staple as well as every single time we traveled. It was his go to seat. I actually learned about this baby product through a social media group I was in with mothers that had the same due date as me. Everyone kept talking about this product, saying how good it was and posting pictures with their babies in it. I listened and totally bought it because it was in my feed and I am so happy I did! He loved being in it. We brought this everywhere we went, and I would still use it if he had not outgrown it already. It was with us when we traveled on vacations, and if it we were not traveling,  it was a staple item in the living room.

6.  Travel Crib If you are even THINKING of traveling anywhere overnight, you will need a travel crib. End of story, really.  One time we were on a road trip and realized we forgot this at almost midnight, six hours away from home. We were desperate and had to buy a plastic storage  bin and make a makeshift crib for the night. Never. Again. I like ours because it is super easy to set up and collapse and also comes in its own travel bag.

7.  Fruit Pacifiers Get ready for the world of teething. It is horrible, no two ways about it. We tried cold wet rags, those little pills which we were later told not to continue giving him for recalls, baby gum ointments, frozen teething rings, etc. These fruit pacifiers were the only baby product he would actually use for more than three minutes. So you stick a little piece of frozen fruit in the pacifier and give it to them and they just chew the life out of it. It makes his gums feel better and who doesn’t love frozen strawberries? It was a teething hit.

8.  Activity Jumper This was just an all around cool thing. Our son loved playing with all the gadgets, making things light up and making everything twist and turn. He also enjoyed making himself spin around and jump. This baby product is where he learned how to really manipulate things and cause and effect. When he learned how to bounce and it was the funniest thing ever.  It makes music and sounds too.  It is a loaded baby product!

9.  Portable DVD Player Yes, we have electronic devices in our arsenal. This product is in the car and has saved us from many car ride meltdowns. We put on his favorite cartoon DVD and it will usually put him to sleep in the car after a while. We have also taken it inside restaurants before when we know our little one is sleepy or fussy and might not be in the best mood while we are there. We want to be polite to everyone else there and also have a happy baby instead of dealing with an embarrassing temper tantrum and eye rolls from non parents, staff or anyone else. It can be a pretty handy tool and a baby product I use sparingly.

10.  Baby Bjorn Oh yes, you are going to need to carry your baby, and sometimes lugging the stroller around is just not an option! Both my husband and I wore this baby product and it was surprisingly not that hard to put on. The only thing I ever had to do was adjust the straps after my husband wore it. My son would fall asleep on my chest while I grocery shopped and it was the sweetest thing ever. This gave me great support on my back and I didn’t feel like I was going to suffer from an aching back.

I hoped you liked my article about my top 10 baby products! I really loved using each and everyone of these and still use many of them today, even if he has outgrown some. 👶🏻🤗💚👍🏻