Amazing Baby Products

Top 15 Baby Gear That Worked for Us

Before we get this list started I have to say that thebump.com has been a sanity saver for me.  The forums with other moms has gotten me through some hard times.  It has been so comforting to know that other mamas are going through the same things I am going through.  Also it has been so helpful to see what the other mamas are doing in order to get their babies sleeping, nursing, reaching developmental milestones, etc.  During my pregnancy knowing other mamas were miserable near the end of their pregnancy helped me keep things in perspective.  Thank you The Bump for being my lifeline.  

1. Swaddleme

Our little guy had a killer startle reflex that would wake him up moments after falling asleep and being laid down on his back.  Poor guy would wake up so upset.  It took us awhile, but we figured out that he needed to be swaddled.  He started sleeping much better after the swaddle was utilized.  First we used a blanket to swaddle him, but he was so strong he could break out of the swaddle no matter how tight we got it.  We then switched to the swaddle me with the velcro and never looked back.  They hold much better and he loves them.  We had to start using a blanket around his arms along with the swaddleme in order for it to hold all night.  It works like a charm!  Ryne is now an excellent sleeper.  Now that Ryne can roll like a champ, we have tried to have him sleep without the swaddleme on his tummy.  He is not having it.  I guess the swaddleme is here to stay for awhile. 

2. Nipple Shield 

Without getting too graphic breast feeding can do a number on a mama physically.  The nipple shield goes on the mother's nipple and acts as a protective barrier.  If it wasn't for the nipple shield, I wouldn't have been successful with breast feeding.  Thanks goodness for the medela nipple shield!

3. Rock n Play

We didn't have the rock n play before Ryne was born, but when we were having a hard time getting Ryne to sleep anywhere but on our chests I did some research on my favorite website, thebump.com.  All the mamas were saying the the rock n play was life changing, so I sent Matt to babies r us to pick one up.  Ryne did sleep in the rock n play much better than anywhere else we had tried.  It took another month or so before he exclusively slept in the rock n play.  He probably would have done it sooner had we stuck to putting him in the RnP, but we were so exhausted we would give in and let him sleep on us in the recliner at night.  Moral of the story is the RnP was essential to getting Ryne to sleep on his own.  He sleeps in his crib now and the transition to crib from RnP was easy for us.  Thank goodness for the RnP!

4. Sleep Sheep

As soon as I was pregnant, I was obsessed with the sleep sheep.  It is basically a sound machine to help babies sleep.  Ryne really loves the ocean sounds.  We have 2 of them.  A small one we use in the carseat and in the pack n play while traveling.  The big one is on his crib at home.  My only complaint would be that it automatically turns off at either 23 or 43 minutes, but I guess it has to otherwise we would go through AA batteries like crazy.  Sleep sheep has been an essential tool for getting Ryne to sleep on his own. I LOVE YOU SLEEP SHEEP!

P.S. Matt made fun of me when I was pregnant because he thought Sleep Sheep was stupid.  Now he loves sleep sheep too.  

5. Itzbeen

The itzbeen was an amazing find!  We live and breath our itzbeen.  It is so very hard to try and remember anything when you are so sleep deprived due to nursing a newborn every 45 minutes.  This is where the itzbeen comes in.  You hit the bottle button when you feed the baby and it will start a timer, so you can see how long it has been since you last fed the baby.  You can use the diaper button to see when you last changed the baby.  We use the diaper button for gas drops.  The zzz button is for how long the baby sleeps, but we use it for when we last gave his zantac.  The * button is for miscellaneous needs.  When Ryne was on antibiotics for his ear infection when he was 2 weeks old, we used the * button for that.  Right now we use that button for Tylenol and Orajel for his teething.   

Another feature I love about this product is the flashlight on the top.  It is hard to find your way in the middle of the night when you don't want to turn lights on as to avoid waking the baby.  There is a clip on the back that allows mama to wear the itzbeen on her waist if need be.  I really love the ability to set an alarm.  You can make the itzbeen either buzz or have the button flash when the timer for a particular button has reach a certain point you set.  We have the bottle button set for 4 hours and the button flashes red.  

In a nutshell, the itzbeen makes it so you don't have to try and remember the last time you did something and so you don't have to calculate the length of time it has been.  The itzbeen has kept our sanity.  We love you itzbeen!

6. Breast Pump

This was given to me by a friend who is done having children.  It is a hospital grade pump that she got from a family member who owned a medial supply renting company.  I haven't used any other type of pump, so I don't know the difference.  I do know that my lactation consultant at the hospital said it was a really good and expensive pump and I was lucky to have it.  I wasn't going to buy a pump until I knew I was going to be successful at breastfeeding, but I am really glad I had the pump before Ryne was born.  We took it to the hospital and the lactation consultant taught me how to use it.  I also needed it within a week of Ryne being born.  Now I pump during the day and only nurse during his middle of the night feeding and sometimes when he gets up for the day.  My pump is essential to Ryne getting breast milk.  

7. Video Monitor

This is the first thing for the baby Matt bought.  The video monitors that you can buy for baby are expensive.  I have seen some over $300.  Matt got this camera for about $60.  We got an app on our phone called tinyCam Monitor Pro that allows us to move the camera and see in his nursery from anywhere(even when out of state we could peak in on his room).  I love that the camera has night vision! We can even use the app on our tablets.  We have Matt's tablet setup in our loft with the app running all the time.  I love that I can see him from anywhere! 

8. Pacifier Clip

Love love love the paci clip.  He used to spit out paci and it would hit the floor.  Then I would have to go clean it. This cycle would repeat repeat repeat.  Now that Ryne can grab things and put them in his own mouth, when he wants paci he finds it himself and puts it in his mouth.  Its great!  We will be using the paci clip from day one with the next baby.

9. Dr. Brown's Bottles

My mother in law bought these bottles from a coworker.  We didn't have problems with the bottles we had, but Ryne has reflux and these bottles are supposed to help with that.  I feel that they work well for him.  He never spits up and rarely fusses.  I would recommend these bottles to anyone.

10. Bouncy Seat

Our bouncy seat was a hand me down from my aunt's twins.  He didn't like it when he was really little, but around 2.5 months he was able to see the handing toys and he started to love it.  He can reach the toys now and loves to shake them and pull the lion and make him play music. I keep the bouncy seat in our bathroom so that he can play safely while mommy gets ready in the morning.  

11. Bumpo

We have been using the bumpo since Ryne was 2 months old.  You really aren't supposed to start using it until babies are about 3 months old, but his pediatrician said he was far enough in his development and strong enough at our 2 month appointment.  Go RYNE!  Anyway I feel that the bumpo has really made Ryne stronger.  He could only last about a minute or 2 when we first started putting him in it, but he increased his tolerance very quickly.  He is now sitting up on his own over a month early.  We also use it to feed him.  It comes with a tray which is fun for him to play with his toys on.  To sum it up the bumpo made the Ry Guy very strong and is a great substitute for a high chair until he is big enough for one.  

12. Baby Signing Time DVDs

Our friends have 2 boys ages 3.5 and 6.  They loved these DVDs when they were babies, so they let us borrow them.  Ryne has loved them from day one.  When Ryne is upset, we just start singing songs from Baby Signing Time and he immediately calms down.  The theory is that if a toddler knows sign language and is able to communicate with the sign language before their ability to speak they will be less frustrated therefore there will be less tantrums.  The jury is still out on that.  I am hopeful that sign language will give Ryne the gift of being able to communicate his wants and needs effectively.  As of right now, he just enjoys the music and watching the babies do the sign language.

13. Changing Pad

I registered for this changing pad on a whim at target.  I love it!  It holds diapers and wipes and can be wrapped up in a neat little package with a handle, so if I only need to take my diaper changing supplies they are all in one convenient pouch.  I haven't used the pocket on the outside yet, but I am sure once Ryne is a little older and I am more comfortable not going out with everything but the kitchen sink  I will utilize it.

14. Jumparoo

I saw the jumparoo at babies R us before Ryne was born and wondered if he would like it.  Ryne has enjoyed standing and being bounced since he was 2 weeks old, so I knew once he was big enough he would love it.  This jumparoo is normally about $140.  I found it at a garage sale for $25.  Score!  I cleaned it up and its like new.  The best part is he loves it!

15. Nursing Tanks

I did some research before Ryne was born and all the mamas said that you don't want a nursing bra, you want a nursing tank.  It's great because if you have to lift your shirt to nurse you don't expose your tummy.  I wear a sleep bra under the tank for a little extra support.  So glad I took the nursing bras I bought back and bought the nursing tanks.

* Honorable Mention 

• Swing 
• We didn't use it that much.  He slept in it a couple times before we got the rock n play.  It wasn't the magic soother that a lot of parents say it is for their baby.  He would hang out in it, but he didn't love it.

• Gates
• We have two gates. One at the top of the stairs and one to block off the loft.  They are great to keep the dogs out, but we have them open most of the time.  They will be used much more when Ryne is mobile.

• Chicco Cortina Magic Stroller
• We do really like our stroller, but there isn't much special about it.  What we like about it is that it matches our car seat, our car seat fits in it, the back is very adjustable, and it opens and collapses very easily.  We can open and collapse it with one hand.  My only complaint is it doesn't collapse down small.  It takes up most of the trunk of our scion.  Also it is kinda heavy, but for the price it is perfect.

• Pack n Play
• When researching what pack n play we wanted I thought we needed the diaper changing station, the infant napper, and a mobile.  Not so much.  All we needed was the basic pack n play.  We have never used the infant napper, hanging stars, or changing station.  When you read about the pack n play we got, it says you can't allow your baby to sleep in the infant napper at night.  What? If the baby can't sleep in it at night, why are they allowed to sleep in it during the day?  When Matt put it together, I just didn't feel safe putting Ryne in the napper.  It didn't feel completely safe to me.  We thought we would have Ryne sleep in his PnP in our room, but he didn't sleep in it for longer than a couple minutes until he was almost 4 months old. What I do like about it is that you can break it down and put it back up quickly.  It gets pretty small and travels well.  The PnP is essential for us because we travel so much, but we didn't need the fancy one we got.
•  Funny story.  The night we got home from the hospital I nursed Ryne swaddled him and rocked him to sleep.  We then laid him down in the pack in play.  Matt and I stood there looking at him asleep and felt so proud of ourselves.  I thought to myself, that was easy.  We laid down to sleep and thought we would be woken up in an hour or so.  A minute later he was up and we were up for the next couple weeks. haha I didn't realize that babies had to taught how to sleep on their own.  Lesson learned. 

This is the picture of Ryne asleep in his PnP the night we brought him home

• Chicco keyfit 30 Magic Carseat
• I did the most research on the carseat.  I wanted it to be safe and user friendly.  Everyone has to have a carseat.  They don't allow you to go home with your baby without one.  The nurse will even get in your car and inspect the carseat.  Any who when researching carseats this one kept coming up as one of the safest.  I was then in between two.  We went to babies r us and this one seemed to be more user friendly and looked more comfortable.  Every carseat out there has to pass certain safety tests done by the government, so really you can't go wrong.  Ryne hates his carseat, but I doubt a different carseat would have improved this issue.  We are very happy with how easy it is to get this carseat in and out of the car.  I also like that the color is gender neutral and matches the stroller.  

Here is Ry Guy at the hospital before be left