When you first find out you’re pregnant, you become the target of marketing campaigns designed to make you buy things when you have no clue what you’ll actually need.  Companies tug at your heart strings, promise to make life with a new baby easier, and push products on you in the name of safety.  You could seriously go bankrupt with one trip to Buy Buy Baby.  Here are the products we used most for baby #1…and used again for baby #2!

Carseat Canopy

You won’t think about it much until your little one gets here just how many issues there are with taking them out in a carseat.  Even though some of them have that little half canopy, sunshade thing, the sun is still a constant problem.  This thing was my lifesaver.  Right now, you can get one for FREE by using code simplelivingmommy50 at this site.

An added bonus – it helps keep well-meaning strangers from touching your new little one!

Mamaroo

This thing is crazy expensive, but it was the only thing that got our son to sleep for naps.  One night, my husband and I passed out during one of his naps and didn’t wake up until the next morning – to him still sleeping soundly in his Mamaroo even though he hardly EVER slept through the night!

We’ve also used this for at-home-date-nights.  I can’t sing this things praises enough.  You can even record your voice in your phone, plug it into your Mamaroo, and read your baby books even when you’re catching up on housework.  It’s amazing!

If you pick one up, don’t forget the newborn insert so your tiny baby is able to use it as soon as they get home from the hospital!

Baby Carrier

You’d think after 2 kids, I’d be a pro at this, but I’m just not.  Those people who can use those huge long wraps and somehow turn it into something that’s safe for their baby to ride around in – amaze me.  I’m more of a “oh good, I can tighten it and it’s got snaps” kind of baby wearer.  This one is my personal favorite while my husband loves this one.

Now that we have a toddler and a very soon to be one year old, these backpack wearers are a God-send when we do anything outdoors.  This is the one we use – but we found it at a yard sale for $5!

Graco Stroller

A lot of people buy their carseat and stroller as a set, and will probably think they don’t have a use for this thing.

Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it.

When we first bougth ours, money was EXTREMELY tight because we’d just gone from two jobs to one, had a new baby, and moved 7 hours away to a new town.  Spending $40 on a stroller that we didn’t technically need seemed frivolous to me.

HOWEVER, two days with this thing and I was in love.  I started going to walks with a local mommy group and could grab this thing in and out of my trunk in seconds.  It took literally one second to open, another second to pop my baby on top since he was still in his carseat, and off we went.

I literally credit this stroller with helping me keep my sanity as a new mom.  Going from having to only keep track of my wallet and cell phone to suddenly having this tiny thing that requires so much luggage was a huge adjustment.  Having a stroller that was so quick to open and put away, lightweight, and easy to use made it seem like getting out of the house wasn’t such a daunting task after all.

Breastfeeding Pillow

I’m not sure if you’re planning to breastfeed, but if you are, this pillow is incredible.  Pregnancy and breastfeeding pillows are the best invention for pregnant women, I swear.  Ours sat in it’s wrapping from my baby shower for a while until my back pain was bad enough that I was willing to give up a few precious moments of sleep to find it and dig it out of it’s packaging.

Being able to relax in a chair while my baby rested on this to nurse immediately cut down my back pain and made breastfeeding about a million times easier.

Right now, you can get a FREE pillow at www.pregnancypillow.com using code “simplelivingmommy50”

Nipple Shield

Since our little man was a preemie, he couldn’t quite figure out how to nurse when he was brand new because he was just SO small.  The lactation consultant at the hospital gave me one of these and it was the thing that single-handedly saved our breastfeeding relationship.

 

Now for the things we DIDN’T use

Infant Sleeper

I swore I’d never be one of those parents that let their kids sleep in bed with them, but I thought it might be a good idea for the first few weeks to have the baby extra close to make breastfeeding more convenient.

We registered for and received this infant sleeper.  On Amazon’s reviews, it looks like lots of people really like this thing.  I just couldn’t love it.  It’s awkward to get a baby out of it when you’re sitting up in bed next to it.

It’s made to allow the baby to sleep safely in bed next to you as this rests on top of your bed.  The problem is, if you move at all (unless you have a foam mattress like we FINALLY have and I freaking LOVE…no seriously, I’d marry this thing) the baby can shift in the sleeper.  One night, I actually woke up to find our sons tiny face pressed against the mesh side and that was it for this sleeper.

I highly recommend the Mamaroo right next to your bed, the Rock ‘n’ Play which we also loved, and then cosleeping after they’re slightly bigger.  Our second son was in the Mamaroo and Rock ‘n’ Play for a few weeks, but quickly made it into our bed and has been there ever since.

Cloth Diapers

Okay, green parents listen up.  I seriously admire your commitment to cloth diapering and I wish I had it in me.  When our first son was born, we didn’t even have running water because it was so cold in Pittsburgh in January during that “polar vortex” a few years back.  Then we moved to North Carolina and were living in an RV park having to go to a laundromat every weekend.  Cloth diapers are slightly inconvenient for families with normal circumstances.  Our nomadic ways made it nearly impossible.

By the time we moved into our house, our son was 9 months old, I was pregnant with baby #2, and those cloth diapers got vacuum sealed and put away.  I regret it sometimes, but cloth diapering just wasn’t in the cards for us.

Pacifiers

I know most people can’t live without these things for their kids.  Like I said above, our son was a preemie, so to support our breastfeeding relationship, the lactation consultant recommended we not use pacifiers until he was at least 4 weeks old.  When he was around 6 or 7 weeks, we finally gave him his first pacifier (which I loved because these Wubanubs are just so freaking cute) but he was only interested the first day.  He never developed an attachment and now as I watch our friends try to wean their kids off of theirs, I’m grateful.

For this reason, we never offered a pacifier to our second son and have no plans to offer them to any future babies.  They sucked on their hands and toes and little toys, but pacifiers never made a lasting impression in our house.

If you still think pacifiers might be your thing, you can have a custom pacifier made at Custom Pacifiers for FREE using this code for $30 off!  “simplelivingmommy30”

 

What products could you not live without in your house?  What products were a huge miss?  Let me know in the comments!