10+ Items I Wish I Had For My First Baby
It can be kind of stressful planning for a baby. Thinking about what all you need. Creating your baby registry. What items do you need to buy new? What items are a waste of money? And the list goes on and on.
As a parent to two kiddos I now have an over abundance of baby/kid related items. Some that have never been used and some that I cannot live without. Although, there are quite a few items that I did not have for my first child that I wish I would have.
So below you will find the list of my favorite 10+ items I wish I had for my first baby. That have definitely made caring for baby number 2 easier.
10+ Items I Wish I Had For My First Baby
Love To Dream Swaddles
I have tried several different sleep sacks, swaddles, and suits, etc. for my little one and the Love To Dream Swaddle has been my favorite so far! I honestly never swaddled my daughter because she had to sleep with her hands above her head, and my son is the same way. Well actually, 90% of babies prefer to sleep with their arms up above their head! And traditional swaddles do not allow for this, but the Love To Dream Swaddle does!
Babies also need to self soothe, by typically sucking on their fingers. Once again traditional swaddling does not allow for this, but the Love To Dream Swaddle does! My son woke up every three hours throughout the night, and then about every 1.5 hours during the early morning. Well that was until I started using the Love To Dream Swaddle. He would then sleep for 5-6 hour stretches! Yayyyy for mom!
These swaddles also come in several different sizes, in order to make sure you are getting the perfect fit!
Haakaa
You have probably heard about the Haakaa by now, as it has taken the breastfeeding world by storm. Although, if you haven't I am telling you, it is a must if you are a breastfeeding mom. I actually did have this for my first, but I didn't end up getting it until about ten months in. And I definitely wish I had gotten it sooner!
If you don't know what the Haakaa is, it is a silicone breast pump that expresses your milk through the power of suction. Although, you do not need to manually express the milk yourself. Instead you just suction it to your breast and let it do the work!
It is lightweight, easily portable, convenient, and does not require any cords, assembly, or battery power. And my absolute favorite part, attach it to your non nursing breast while nursing your infant and let it catch your let down! This will help supply you with a freezer stash, that would have otherwise soaked into your nursing pads!
Breast Pump/Pacifier Wipes
If these are not already an essential in your diaper bag, I highly recommend making them an essential.
First off, if you are on the go and not able to clean your breast pump parts with soap and water these wipes will save you! They are proven safe to clean breast pumps, shields, and breast pump accessories.
Although, do I not only use them to clean my breast pump accessories when on the go, I use them more often to clean other baby related items. That includes wiping off pacifiers, teething toys, highchairs, bottle nipples, changing tables, etc.
Car Camera
Boy do I love this thing, and wish I had purchased it a long time ago! I had the car mirrors for my daughter, although they always tended to move on me! So I would be on the road, look in my rear view mirror to check on her, and I couldn't see her because the mirror had moved!
So with my son, I decided to purchase a car camera instead. And I absolutely love it! No more having to adjust a mirror. No more having to turn around to look in a mirror so I can actually see her. And no more having to look up into a rear view mirror. Instead the car camera monitor sits directly on your dash, making for easy viewing.
The camera also has a night vision function, which comes in extremely handy since those mirrors don't work for night time. It was also easy to assemble and I honestly thought I would be paying way more for something like this!
Sorry for the awful glare. I ran outside real quick and took a picture in the freezing cold.
Baby's Brew
This is an item that has come in handy more times than one!
If you do not know what the baby's brew is, it is a portable bottle warmer that warms up your baby’s milk for you. So no having to find hot water! It has 4 different temperature settings. 96 degrees being the perfect temperature for breast fed babies and 110 for infants that struggle with reflux. It uses a safe slow heat technology in order to preserve all of the nutrients in the milk, as well as make sure there are no hot spots! It takes about 5-10 minutes to warm the milk and adapts to fit most bottles! The brew is also battery powered, so no having to find an outlet, with a battery life of around 8-12 hours.
If you are a parent who is always on the go, this is a must! We have been traveling to several doctors appointments that are 3 ½ hours one way, so the Baby's Brew makes warming up breast milk in the car a breeze.
And if you are a formula mom, the Baby's Brew is even that much more awesome! No having to find hot water when out and about.
Cradle Cap Brush
This may be something small, but it has helped clear up my sons cradle cap tremendously. With my daughter I tried several different brushes in addition to olive oil, and nothing seemed to do the job. She didn't have extreme cradle cap, so we kind of just let it get to the point where she grew out of it.
Although, with my son, I wanted to try a brush that I came across when I was pregnant. It is honestly kind of gross, yet provides satisfaction, looking at the photos in the reviews. So after reading all of the reviews, I decided to try out the brush myself. And let me tell you, it lives up to its expectation! A couple times of using this brush and we had his cradle cap completely cleared up!
Electric Finger Nail File
This is also something that I had with my daughter, but ended up getting very late.
I definitely know I am not the only one who hates clipping babies nails! And when I finally ended up clipping a piece of my daughters skin, I knew I needed to purchase an electric finger nail file! I was then kicking myself for not purchasing it much sooner! It makes keeping babies nails trimmed much easier, and no worrying about clipping babies skin.
I am beyond happy that I had one of these since the day my son was born! My daughter is 2 ½ and I still use an electric file on her nails, as she prefers it much more over clipping!
Electric Snot Sucker
Oh, how I wish I had this much sooner! I used the NoseFrida with my daughter, and as I did like it, she did not. It was a battle to try and hold her down, let alone still, in order to suction out her nose.
This electric snot sucker is so easy to use, and no having to wrestle my kids to the ground. The music and light function on this snot sucker is one of my favorite features, as my little one focuses his attention on that instead of on getting his nose sucked out! It also comes with three different suction powers, which is a definite plus!
Owlet Smart Sock
I debated on the Owlet with my daughter for quite some time, and finally decided not to get it. Although, with my son I decided to take the leap and purchase it, and I am beyond happy that I did!
My son was in the NICU for 2 weeks, with monitors on him constantly, so when we got home the Owlet gave me peace of mind. If you are unaware of what the Owlet is, it is a monitor that tracks baby's oxygen and heart rate. And it will notify you when readings leave "safe" zones. Another great function of the smart sock is its ability to track your baby's sleep patterns!
Baby Carrier That I Love
I did have a baby carrier with my daughter, although it was one that I didn't love. So I did not use a carrier as much as I would have liked to. Personally, I highly recommend a wrap carrier, as it can be used from newborn to approximately 35 pounds.
The carrier that I had with my daughter was not compatible with the newborn stage. The Boba wrap that I use with my son is compatible with the newborn stage and great for baby wearing while cooking supper, playing with my daughter, going for walks, doing dishes, folding laundry, and much more!
The Boba carrier is stretchy and soft, provides knee to knee support for baby (which is a must), and you can even nurse your baby while wearing it!
Read up on all of the benefits of baby wearing here.
Silicone Squeeze Spoon
I actually had this with my daughter, but it is one of those small items that I absolutely love and some of you may not know about. So I of course wanted to include it in this list.
This little silicone spoon makes feeding babies a million times easier. No mess, just simply squeeze a little onto the spoon and feed. I love using this when traveling or out in about. No having to carry around the jars of food as well as a spoon. Just place the baby food into the silicone spoon before heading out and about and you are set.
Anytime I had someone watch my daughter, I always heard afterwards. "That spoon is awesome, I wish they had those around when I had babies."
Accu-dose Pacifier
If your little one doesn't like to take medicine, vitamins, gripe water, etc. the accu-dose is an absolute must!
There is no mess as it sends the liquid to the side of the mouth, recommended by doctors, in order to prevent spit ups. It is the same familiar pacifier shape as used in hospitals, so babies are much more willing to take as well.
Disposable Diaper Pale
When creating my baby registry for my daughter, multiple people told me that diaper pales are not worth it. So I never put one on my registry. They also stated that the inserts can tend to get somewhat expensive.
So with my daughter, I never had a diaper pale. Instead I used these little Munchkin diaper bags that are infused with baking soda in order to naturally eliminate odors. I absolutely love them and they are wonderful for on the go. I keep some in my diaper bag to use when traveling, at a grandparents house, out and about, etc.
Although, with my son I wanted to try a little something different for at home. So I decided to try the Munchkin disposable diaper pale instead. It simply contains a resealable lid that keeps the odors inside. And it holds up to 30 newborn diapers. I just use them for poopy diapers and still put wet ones in the trash, so they tend to last me quite some time. I also keep the pale in the cabinet under our sink, so it is out of site.
Now that you have read my list of 10+ items I wish I had for my first baby. What items do you wish you had for your first baby but didn't? What are those items that you can't live without?
Thank you so much for stopping by! I greatly appreciate it! And if you loved this post, don’t forget to share/pin with all of your fellow mamas! And I would be honored if you followed my family and I on our Instagram journey.
You can find all of my favorite motherhood/baby/toddler products here!
You May Also Enjoy:
