Baby Products

Having a newborn can be daunting, but with today's products for infants it's even easier to take care of one. Here is my list of must haves with product reviews for all your baby care needs!

1. Diaper Bag
If you plan on going anywhere with your new baby you need a diaper bag. Now these can get expensive, but I have opted for the carters zip front bag. I looked at all the diaper bags Babies R Us had to offer and decided on this one. I liked the style because it looked more like a purse and it had zipper pockets in the front that I can put my stuff in to keep separate from Lincoln's stuff. I also liked the price! It ranges between 39 to 59 dollars!

Now, if you want the Cadillac of all diaper bags, I know that petunia pickle bottom makes an amazing diaper bag. My friend Amy has one and it is completely durable and will last through her second kid. Problem is the price. They range from about 159-300 dollars depending where you go to purchase it. I just couldn't bring myself to spend that much on a diaper bag right now...maybe for the second baby. :)

I think its also a good idea to invest in a diaper bag for the guy who got you in this whole baby predicament in the first place, and I love the look of the diaper dude bags. They look manly, are durable, and do the job. Nate's mom purchased him this one and he likes it, plus it doesn't make him carry around your girly one.

2. Diapers

I prefer the pampers sensitive and Nate likes the Huggies little snugglers. What I find about the Huggies snugglers is that with a boy they tend to fill up right at the front with pee very quickly. The pampers tend to hold a bit more. Either way, they both work and depending what's on sale we will buy either. I tried the swaddlers by pampers which a lot of my friends swore by, but I'm happier with the pampers sensitive swaddlers.













3. Wipes
The pampers sensitive win again in this category. Hands down they wipe off Lincoln's scheiss better than Huggies wipes and any other non-name brand.

4. Diaper Cream
Bordeaux Butt Paste wins by far. This stuff has Lincoln's bum looking brand new after one application and it wipes off easy! I used two other ones and butt paste won by a long shot!

5. Baby Bath Products
Pottery barn makes the best baby towels. Lincoln has one and it's so soft, nice and cuddly! One of these goes a long way and since they are not cheap I suggest only buying one. A nice substitute would be the target brand bath towels. They are cute, soft and make snuggle time after a bath great! As far as bathing products, I love anything Johnson and Johnson. They have so many things to try that I suggest picking up a travel set like I did. That way you can try all of them, and then decide what you would like to use. I use the basic baby shampoo and the Johnson Naturals line of products. A warning with the Johnsons Naturals is that they don't have a scent. They smell like nothing! So if you want a baby that has that powdery baby smell don't use this line of Johnson products. I use the baby shampoo and that gives me my fix of baby scent.

Lincoln has this exact towel from target.

6. Feeding Baby
Lincoln is a bottle-fed baby. If you are looking for information about breastfeeding this is not the place to get it because I have no clue about that!

Lincoln uses ADVENT bottles by Philips. I like these bottles a lot because they are easy to clean, he eats well out of them, and I have not had one leaking issue out of them. The thing with bottles is that if you use one brand, primarily stick to that brand! I had tried Lincoln on several types of bottles early and he did not show a nipple preference, but now he won't take any bottle that doesn't use the ADVENT nipple.
I like the natural style because they don't come with the nipple ring like the classic. Its just a lid and you screw it on, good to go! I swear by these bottles!
Formula wise we are using Enfamil Newborn and have not had one feeding issue in regards to spitting up/upset tummy. He has been drinking this since the hospital with no issues, and yes I realize how lucky we are! I know a lot of babies who take FOREVER finding the right formula that works for them.

7. Clothing/Wrapping Baby

Just stick your baby in anything cute and cheap because they will be barfing/peeing/pooping in them. The two things that have made a difference for us would be kimono onesies. I recently received a package of onesies from my friend Sara for Lincoln and they were like little kimonos. These things rule! They literally wrap around your baby and you don't have to do the whole OMG! I'm going to break my baby's neck trying to put this onesie over his head. (By the way you will not break their neck and really the quicker you get it done it makes a much happier baby!) I had no idea they made this type of style of onesie but I LOVE IT!

8. Soothing Baby
Lincoln loves to be swaddled! The potterybarn swaddlers for whatever reason keep their swaddle the best and I believe it is worth the money. Also, if your baby is showing preference for being swaddled in the hospital grab up all of those basic hospital blankets we all know about. No they are not the cutest, but heck nothing like a hospital blanket to swaddle. We tried all of those interesting swaddlers/wraps that almost work like clothes, but for whatever reason a blanket made for swaddling has done the trick. Lincoln is not a huge pacifier baby but when he does want one we use the philips soothies. There is also this company called Wubbanub that attaches soothies to a cute little stuffed animal. Lincoln has a duck one and he is all about it and they don't get lost in your diaper bag!

8. Things I couldn't live without

Finally, if you are going to have a baby invest in a nice swing, bouncer, playmat, books and some type of mobile/stationary light up toy. All of these items make the baby happy and frees up your hands so you can get some stuff done. I don't think I need to say the obvious and invest in a nice and well rated carseat too!

Lincoln is doing extremely well and I could not have asked for a better baby. I love staying home with him and we just hang out. I have no complaints or really any 'parenting lessons' for this week. I'm sure plenty more will pop up. He has already traveled to three swim meets to see my brother, Nate's cousin, and some of my high school kids that I coach swim. He has done fantastic!

One thing that did piss me off at the first swim meet we took Lincoln to, when he was almost 3 weeks old, was all the comments about how cold it was and the poor baby that is out here. First of all, Nate and I are not going to stop living just because we had a baby. People who just stay all cooped up in their house with their baby when its 55 degrees outside because 'its cold' are the parents who nobody wants to hang out with. Secondly, Lincoln was in a sweat outfit with socks, had a hat on, swaddled in a blanket, and had another heavy blanket wrapped around him. HE WAS SWEATY AS HELL when I unwrapped him to change his diaper so, I don't think he felt like he was 'poor baby cold.' Third, he slept the whole time and didn't seemed too bothered. Lesson here is what I mentioned last week about not listening to others about how to parent, but I'm still tired of others trying to guilt me into parenting decisions.

Nathan and I had our first funny miscommunication last week when I asked Nate to dress Lincoln. I wanted Lincoln to wear his only two piece outfit that fits as of now. I asked him to put on the outfit that has tools all over it. Nate then brought back Lincoln in a black onesie with red that has lightning bolts all over it. I was like, "uhhh no the one with tools." He then said to me, "Yeah that one like the band Tool, you know they have the lightning bolt as the symbol?" I laughed then replied, "No, like tools as in saws, hammers, and pliers." We both still laugh about that one today.

Nate and I really enjoy being parents and hope we're as good at it as we think we are!

Just chillin' like always

Until next week,

Julia