My 5(or 7) Favorite Baby Items

First of all, every baby and every mother is different. And I know most mothers have their own opinion on baby items. But for me, in the first 3 months, these are worked best for Eleanor and me. I also want to add that before I had kids, I had made up my mind that I did not want baby/kid stuff taking over our house. So I always tried to get things that could be stored easily and minimize clutter.

5. Bath Sponge. I really didn't want to buy one of those big, bulky plastic tubs that take up so much space! I found out about these sponges and love them! I also liked the Puj tub, but that was a little pricey. These are cheap, so you can always just replace them on a regular basis. Eleanor seems to like it. And so does my bathroom closet space.

4. The fancy schmancy swing. This was our miracle worker in Eleanor's first weeks of life. She slept so well in it that sometimes I would sleep on the couch at night so she could sleep in the swing all night long. It has the perfect angle to the seat so she was just tilted just enough. Now she'll still sit and watch the birds for 15 minutes or so. One of my favorite parts about it is that it plugs into the wall, meaning you don't have to change the batteries all the time! It is definitely a bulkier item, but this one looks cool enough to display it in our living room full time.

3. The Bumbo. This is one of my more recent purchases, and already it made the list. Eleanor likes to be upright. I try to lay her down on her play mat and she only lasts about 2 minutes before she's crying. Now I just put her in the Bumbo and she'll play a lot longer. Plus, it's smaller than a bouncer, so it's easier to move around the house for when I need to take a shower, cook dinner, etc. Spencer likes to put this on the coffee table and let her watch basketball games with him. She even watched the Superbowl in it.

2. The pacifier. More specifically, the Nuk pacifier. She took the hospital one for the first week or so, then she didn't like it as much. These are her favorites. I thank my lucky stars that Eleanor took to the pacifier. I have women tell me ALL the time that their babies never took it. I can't imagine what life would have been like without it. She loves it and it definitely helps at night when I can just pop it back in her mouth. And not to mention the first few months of all the crying. That only would have been magnified if she didn't have a pacifier to help out a lot of times. 

1. The sling. More specifically, the Jelly Bean sling. I bought this thing off of Craigslist for $10. I actually contacted the seller to buy her Moby Wrap, but she also had this one, so I decided that $30 for a Moby and this sling would be a good deal. The Moby is great as well, but it is SO much fabric. We also have a Baby Bjorn, but this one wins my vote. It is just one small piece of fabric that you simply throw over your shoulder and put her in. The first time I put her in it(I had no idea how since I didn't have an instruction manual), she looked really uncomfortable, and I freaked out because I know there were stories of babies who suffocated in them. But luckily I gave it another shot, and it literally changed my life! She feels right at home in it. At home meaning in the womb. She cozies on up and goes to sleep almost every time. We've taken her to the movie theater 4 times now, all because she just slept in this thing the whole time. Never had to walk out once. We've gone to restaurants with her, but the only problem is she sometimes gets food dropped on her head. Oops. This thing always comes with us on grocery shopping trips. I really don't ever even use the stroller. When I need to get things done around the house, I just throw this on and go to town. I can nurse her in it. Take walks in it. It is so convenient. If she ever has a hard time falling asleep, I'll put it on and rock her in the rocking chair. It's magical I tell you. And I just barely found out that there are 5 different ways to carry them in it, up until they are 35 lbs. Not bad. I don't know if all babies respond as well as Eleanor did to it, but it is BY FAR my favorite baby item I have purchased.

I just thought of another one that probably should have made this list. Definitely a double electric breast pump. Not only to help alleviate pain when I'm engorged, but I love that I can have enough stored up in the freezer to go out and run errands or go to the gym and let Spencer feed her on his own. Luckily she takes a bottle, and he's able to have his cute little bonding time with her. 

Wait, one more thing. This is one that I hadn't really heard of before, and one day saw it on a blog. They are so handy. They are the Boppy Changing Pad liners. They come in a 3 pack, so you can have one on your table, one in the wash, and one ready to go when the other gets dirty. I love them. They are waterproof, so your nice pretty cover won't get stains on them. They wash out great, and just make life easier. I totally recommend them. Especially if your child has as many messy diapers as mine. I'm thinking Spencer would recommend them as well since he saw first hand how helpful they are. He was changing her diaper one day when I heard a "STACY, COME HERE! WHAT DO I DO???". I knew what had happened by the tone of his voice. Sure enough, I walked in, and there was a big puddle of poop hanging out on the liner. No big deal though. Just rinse off and put in the wash. Then replace with a new liner. I'm telling you, they make life so much easier.

And now for the item that I promised myself I would NEVER buy. But here it is, sitting in my house. Staring back at me. I literally told myself I wouldn't get one because they are big and bulky and ugly. They take up so much space. But little Eleanor just loves to stand. And I love my morning time to eat breakfast and check my email while she plays in it. She really loves it, but I told Spencer that we might get rid of it after she starts walking and just buy another one when we have another baby. Oh, and if you're wondering, yes, our house is pretty much overtaken by baby stuff. It was inevitable. (just look at those little legs!)