With adopting A there wasn’t much we had control of, when or if we’d be chosen, but the one way I could prepare and love this baby that wasn’t here, or ours, was to prepare for her to come. And boy, did I prepare, and then over prepare, and then I still prepared some more.
After having clothes for A up to 24 months before she was even born (I stress prepare), to 2 baby swings, to 2 pack n plays, etc, these are the baby things you probably actually need, haha. And that I love.
This post is full of affiliate links, because, well, why not, and I did buy them all from Amazon – I’m a bit of an Amazon addict. I LOVE that it just ships to my door with free 2 day shipping (We have Prime), how easy returns are, etc.
This snot sucker has been a life saver. When A got croup we were sleeping in the recliner with her, using a humidifier, using saline drops and a bulb sucker but nothing was helping. Once we busted this baby out she really started to improve. It is definitely an investment, but it’s so worth it. The walker, well, A LOVES it, and it folds up to save you space when storing. It cleans up easily, moves smoother than the dogs like since A can now chase them, and is just perfect. A slept in the rock-n-play the first, 4-5 months, right by the bed, and we loved it. It made me less anxious having her right there, and I could set the timer on it to have it rock then turn off after so long. It also has the option to play music, which we used when we started to transition her to naps in it in her own room before moving her to her crib. The Pack ‘n Play, aka, baby jail. With 4 dogs this thing has been amazing. We actually put her play mat in it and she played in there until about 7.5 months when she really started rolling around and it just didn’t cut it. She still uses it, and we will take it to grandma and grandpas for naps and such. I even know some that use this instead of a crib and it works great.
The play mat, once she was able to reach the toys, kept her occupied in baby jail, giving K and I a rest, so I’d call it a necessity, and will have one for every kid. We didn’t use this baby carrier at first, rather we used a ring sling, which I also love, but once she hit about 6 months I started to use our Ergobaby carrier for grocery shopping and to walk the dogs, and it’s now the only way those things get done. The Angelcare monitor we started using once she transitioned to the crib. It has an alarm that goes under the mattress, and it monitors her breathing. I honestly don’t know if I would have been comfortable with her sleeping there so soon without it. You can also disconnect the alarm and just use it as a monitor, and it has great reception. The doorway jumper is the only way we are able to clean the bathrooms or sweep and mop, haha. It hangs in the doorway of our bathroom, so she can jump to her hearts content and see us while we clean. With 4 dogs, we need to sweep and mop a lot, so we this all the time.
This jumper we keep in the kitchen, and she’ll jump in it for at least an hour, giving us time to meal prep or eat dinner, or play a game baby free, which is so nice. She wasn’t able to use the bumbo for long, as her thighs got too chunky, but it really helped her with balance and learning to sit up. She used to sit in this while we played games and just giggle – for the giggles alone it’s worth it. We tried two different diaper bags, and this one was the best hands down. It is sooo spacious, you could easily use it for cloth diapering, or if you’re like us just for a crap ton of toys, diapers, wipes, formula, spare clothes, etc. I love the handles and the shoulder strap, making it so versatile. And it isn’t super girly so K doesn’t feel weird carrying it around. These plastic bibs have been our go to when A started eating baby food and solids. That stuff stains her clothes sometimes, even after spraying, and her regular bibs were just looking so gross, even when clean. We wipe these down after she eats, then wash and hang dry and they hold up super well.
We tried so many diaper creams, but once we found A+D we had no more diaper rash problems. And, when you can get a jar this large you just need to buy one, and it’s so much cheaper. The Ubbi diaper pail has quickly become a favorite. You can lock it so little hands can’t get into it, and it does a great job of containing the smell, my dogs aren’t even trying to find the stinky diapers, which is impressive. The bouncer we keep on the kitchen table, and it helps us in the mornings as we try to get the dishes done, cook breakfast, feed the dogs, and she’ll usually end up falling asleep in it. It vibrates and plays music, which we used when she was littler. The prefolds we actually use for burp cloths. They soak up better than any others we’ve tried, are cheaper, and hold up well. We have way more of them than we need, but they are seriously perfect.
A has had a bit of eczema that we couldn’t get to clear up, and we tried creams and lotions, and nothing worked until these Aveeno creams. We use the night and day one, and within 2-3 days it was all cleared up. Pacifiers are used all the time here, and having these ones that glow in the dark makes it so much easier at night, and helps us calm A down quicker. Lastly, these MAM bottles have been life savers. We used to many different brands, and A would be so upset with gas after each feeding, then once we switched to just these MAM bottles it got so much better. We absolutely love these. You can get them in other colors too.
With all the baby items out there I wish I’d listened to people, but I didn’t of course, and we have lots of things we hardly ever used, doubles of things we thought we’d use, and just overall, more than we needed.
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