Baby Products I Love | From a mom of two

Now that I am a mom of two, I have a better understanding of what baby products are IN, and what products are OUT.

When creating my registry with my first child, I didn't have any idea what the "best" baby products were. I found myself putting random things on the registry because I was overwhelmed with all the options. 

For example, there are a million different highchairs... how was I suppose to know which one was best when I didn't even have a child yet!?

So, I am here to help you navigate this process whether you are a new mom, expecting mom, or already have a child and want more!

These are the products I LOVED with James, that I am using (and will use) with Bekah!

Let's start with feeding seats.

Okay, we had, not 1, but 3 highchairs with James and I can tell you which ones are IN. Seriously.

First, you want to look for one that can be CLEANED easily. We have the Stokkee Tripp Trapp ($$$) and the Ergobaby 3 in 1 ($$). Both of these are FAB and can be cleaned easily. 

You also want one that grows with baby and both of these do that! (WIN).

You also want a feeding seat that can be transported easily. That's why we love the UPSEAT ($). We used the UPSEAT A LOT with James, and will do the same with our new baby, Bekah. This seat is perfect strapped to a traditional chair, and can be take easily on the go. 

Find all the feeding seats we love here!

Next, let's talk baby care items. 

You definitely need a good diaper rash cream, because no matter how hard you try - it's inevitable. 

We LOVED Dr. Bourdeax's Buttt Paste with James, and use it every. single. diaper change with Bekah! The hardest part is getting this paste off during bath, because it seriously works that well! 🤪

The other baby care item we can't like without is Mylicon drops. It's inevitable that your baby will have gas in those first few weeks to months because their little body is adjusting to ALL things digestion. These were, and continue to be a life saver when our newborn is squirmy and uncomfortable because of gas. Extra advice is completing these Infant Massage strokes for gas and digestion in addition to the drops. 💯 

The last baby care product I would highlight is the Bumbo Changing Pad. This changing pad has been SO convenient when accidents have happened on the changing table 💩 . Once you are done changing baby, you simply just wipe the changing pad off! It is SO simple and gone are the days where you are changing the sheet on the changing pad like you are changing the sheet on the crib. Absolutely not.

Find many of these items here!

Next let's chat about transporting baby.

I always opt for a separate stroller & car seat, even though this may be an unpopular opinion. I prefer to take my baby out of the car once I arrive somewhere and place them in the baby wrap or carrier, which is why the Uppababy Mesa car seat has always worked so well for us. Plus, this car seat is SO easy to wash because spitting up is DEF going to happen while taking these little ones on-the-go.

I also love this Uppababy stroller system in addition to the car seat. We have the Uppababy Vista stroller and I recommend this stroller if you plan to have two children close together and need a system appropriate for an infant + toddler or twins. The stroller is lightweight when folded, allows for the car seat to be inserted, and includes a bassinet attachment (which I love, especially for "flat head" prevention!). 

Another way I love to transport, or carry, my kids is baby wearing. I loved the Moby wrap with James, and I am using this wrap, in addition to the Solly wrap, with Bekah. This makes life so much easier when you can wrap baby on your chest and carry on with your activities with both hands free. Find some my fav baby wraps here!

I also enjoyed using a more structured carrier with James, like the Baby Bjorn mini. My husband even used this one with James in the forward facing position once James was older than 6 months.

What about baby feeding "things"!?

I chose to nurse both of my kids in the beginning, and am still nursing Bekah, so I needed all the pumping / storage things!

When nursing, I love using a Haaka silicone pump to catch my let down and build up a milk stash in the early days of breastfeeding before my supply regulated. This is great for those mama's that leak a ton and don't want to waste that precious liquid gold!

Once my supply regulated, I started to implement a couple pumping sessions so the babies could be fed with milk from the freezer while I was away. I loved the Motif pump with both my kids and I could go on and on about how easy and effective this pump is! You can find this Haaka pump and the Motif pump here!

Once James was weened from breastfeeding, I switched him to Kendamil formula and I plan to do the same with Bekah if I wean her before she can have cow's milk. When giving my kids a bottle, I have always used the Dr. Brown's anti-colic bottles and have found them to work well for both babies. 

What about sleep??

I am a big fan of a minimal sleep sacks, so the Halo swaddle sleep sacks have always been some of my favorites. These can be used in the early days of swaddling baby with arms in, and can also transition to an arms out sleep sack which is a great bang for your buck! This sleep sack is also very minimal, non-weighted and non-restrictive so baby can move freely which helps to reduce the risk of "flat head" 🎉. You can find the halo sleep sacks linked here!

As far as monitors go, we opted to get a second Owlet camera monitor and we love it. This monitor does run on WiFI and has a dual camera so you can see both babies at once! For the times we travel, we opted for an old fashioned audio monitor, like this one by V-tech. It's great when you're on-the-go and need to hear baby cry out if you don't have access to a full monitor. You can find this monitor here and use code "INFANTINSIGHTSOWLET25" for $25 off!

We also love the Slumperpod for travel and will for sure use this again when we travel with the babies to create a dark environment for sleep! 

Lastly, is play!

I have done a lot of things differently with play this go around with my second, which I will elaborate on in another blog post. But, a few things I loved with James and will use with Bekah include the UPSEAT (perfect for play as well as feeding), the prop-a-pillar, and a variety of other toys like Squiggs, push walkers, and manipulation toys when the time comes! You can find many of these favorite toys here on my Amazon storefront! 

The only thing I didn't touch on is bath time, in which we have gotten many new things for bath this go around! A couple things we did keep were hooded towels (of course) and a seated bath seat when the time comes for Bekah to sit in the tub. 

I hope this was helpful! Look for another post soon on NEW products I am loving with my second baby!

Thanks for reading!

Brooke, OTR/L