MY TOP BABY ITEMS - WHAT I LEARNED THE FIRST TIME AROUND

When I began the process of registering for all of the baby gear that we would need for baby Miles it was an overwhelming and mind boggling task. Where do we register? What do we register for? How much of it do we need? And each particular company you register with makes the decision making process that much harder by offering up a list of about 10,000 things that are MUST HAVES!!! I remember thinking -- "Do I really need a crib, bassinet, moses basket, co-sleeper, and a play yard? The obvious answer was no, but I still needed to figure out what I needed and what I could live without. This time around is so much easier and the been there done that feeling is sooooooo nice. There were things we registered for that we absolutely could not have lived without. Well -- we would have lived, but God knows it would have been waaaaaay harder. Those items are:

1. A Sight & Sound Monitor - We only "co-slept" for the first 2 weeks and then little Miles went straight into his crib. The microphone quality is outstanding and we could actually hear our little guy breathing while he slept. What peace of mind. And we never had to tip toe into his room, fearing that we would wake him, to check on his breathing. We also had a full visual on him at all times thanks to the night vision!!!!

2. Sling/Carrier (Specifically The Baby K'Tan) - Where do I even begin? These items were truly the holy grail of newborn-hood. I will start by saying -- those car seats ARE as heavy as they look. I was stunned that people actually lugged them around with baby in tow wherever they went. I found it so much easier and sooooooo much lighter to pop Miles into a sling or carrier and go. Plus Miles was colicky and had to be held A LOT!!! So having that much needed support was so nice. Miles would sleep in the sling and could fix lunch or clean up or do my hair and makeup or blog or pretty much whatever. I had a ton of these bad boys. I made 2 ring slings (which I loved until Miles outgrew them), I had a Moby Wrap, Ergobaby Sport, Bjorn, Peanut Pouch, and my all time favorite The Baby K'Tan. BTW -- I still "wear" Miles. I love it.

3. Diaper Covers - We thought we could brave the world of cloth diapering. But not too long after Miles was born, we realized that it was a pipe dream. There was no way we were capable or even willing to deal with the amount of work that was involved in that process. We had many other important priorities to attend to in dealing with our newborn. That being said -- nothing was wasted. We actually did use the cloth diaper covers. Miles was -- well -- his bladder worked really well -- and we found that he was leaking through many MANY diapers a day. So we started popping the water-proof diaper covers on over his disposable dipes and voila -- no more wet clothes or jammies. This proved to be very helpful with diaper blowouts, as well. Oops -- some poopie escaped the diaper. But not to worry -- the diaper cover caught it. We avoided changing full outfits this way. It was really nice. And let me tell you un-fun it is to do a full change in public!!! Good grief.

4. Swaddling Blankets (Specifically The Miracle Blanket) - Seriously -- we would never have made it without these. Miles had the strongest startle reflex. He would literally beat and badger his own face and head unless we "restrained" him in one of these. There was no way he could have slept without it. Oh -- and those adorable muslin swaddling blankets wouldn't cut it!!! We used those for wrapping our little guy up in to keep warm. That's it. For us it was the specially made swaddling wraps. The Velcro ones were really nice until about 3 months in when he got Strong enough to pull the Velcro apart. Then we had to get medieval and go Miracle Blanket on the kiddo. It was like a straight jacket for babies. Only way cuter.

5. Footie Jammies - You can not have too many of these. All the other clothes are nice, and cute, and fun. But Footie Jammies???? Absolute necessity. If I had known this when we were buying all of the clothes that we bought for MIles I would have only bought footies!!! Ok -- maybe not only -- but we would have been up to our eyeballs in them. For Lennon we plan on having at least 10 in each size. What can I say -- they are warm and easy to get on and off. You don't have to try to get it over the babies head and when you need to change the dipe -- voila -- just unbutton or unzip.

6. Diaper Backpack - We did the whole cute-sie diaper bag and diaper dude route. What a waste for us. Those things were such a hassle to lug around. We realized very early on that what we needed was a backpack that we would throw over each shoulder so that we would could handle all of the other things happen without the bag slipping off of our shoulders. We're really active people and are always out and about doing things -- so we needed something that was way more practical. So we got a diaper backpack. We fell in love after the first use.

7. The Bumbo - Once Miles culd hold his head up this was brilliant. We could sit him in it, fully supported, and he would play or eat or just hang. This gave us a ton of freedom. Loved it.

8. Jumperoo/Exercauser - Again -- once he was able to hold his head up -- these were freedom givers!!! We were able to pop Miles into one of these and he would play for 20 minutes straight. I remember feeling overjoyed when I realized that I could actually have 20 minutes to get something done. Like shower!!! WHAT????

9. Orbit Stroller - We had a Baby Trend Travel System. It was nice. Worked well. Looked good. I hated it!!!! It seemed that no matter what direction we were heading outdoors, the sun was always in Miles' face. The canopy on most strollers in useless. So I was determined to find a stroller that had a rotating seat so I could turn it whenever the sun was in Miles' face. That's when I discovered the Orbit. Rotates a full 360 degrees. Plus they have a car seat that snaps on and off and also rotates. It was a very pricey -- but very yummy find. We are sad to report that we will not be able to use this once Lennon arrives -- as they do not make double strollers yet. WHY??????

10. Full Strength Desitin - We were fooled by all of the cute-sie diaper balms on the market. The ones that touted all natural or had funny names like "Butt Paste" lol. We tried them all -- but were very VERY disappointed. None of them healed or helped to prevent diaper rash. Except -- the full strength, medicated Desitin!!!! That stuff works like magic!!! Miles would literally have a bout of diaper rash that would last one day tops. Once we noticed it -- we'd slather stuff on and it would be healed within a few diaper changes. Glorious. We purchase this stuff by the tub. Love it!!!

Other things we used a lot -- grooming kit and first aid kit, hooded towels, wash cloths, almond oil for cradle cap, gas relief drops.

Some of the things that we got and were useless -- receiving blankets (these things are waaaaaay too small to wrap a baby in), umbrella stroller, 4/5 oz bottles (we outgrew those so fast -- we should have just gotten the 8/9 oz-ers to begin with). There's is actually a ton more in this list -- but I can't remember them at the moment.

Thankfully, this time around, we know a little more and we'll be able to apply this knowledge. We've already got a ton of stuff on hand and the things that we don't have -- we know we will use!!! We can't wait to start using them allover again with Lennon!!!

Hey Jason and Nana -- did I forget anything????