I’ve had a kid for two months now so I guess you could say things are getting pretty serious.
I love doing research and I love lists. So, you can imagine how much fun I had putting together a baby registry. I watched approximately one million YouTube videos on baby gear (all of which contradicted each other, more on that in a minute) as well as what to pack in my hospital bag, first 48 hours at home, etc. I ruined all my recommended feeds with non-stop baby content for months. I love YouTube. Anyway! With all of that information, I did my best to curate what I thought was the perfect selection of stuff I needed and, honestly, I did a pretty bang-up job. There were some misses (that’s another post) but overall we ended up in a good spot. If you aren’t about to have a baby, you may not find this interesting, but as someone who loves to read opinions of almost any kind, I figured I’d throw it out there just in case.
I mentioned above that all of the videos I watched contradicted each other – they did. Some people LOVED certain items, some people hated them. Nearly every recommendation came with the same caveat I will give here: every baby is different. Also, babies change fast (like, really fast). There are some things that E hated at first that have turned out to be OK, some things that we thought she would really like that she has decided are beneath her. Or something. Finally, as you’ll also hear from everyone, babies don’t need much. They want food and a safe place to sleep and your love – pretty much anything else is just gravy. But babies are cute and buying stuff is fun, so here we go. Oh, also, I am linking everything for convenience, but I am not fancy and monetized so I am getting no benefit from this. Don’t come for me, FTC.
A bouncer. This is one of the “baby gear” things that I remember having around the house when I was little and my sister was a baby. You don’t need an expensive one (cough Ergo Baby cough) – the $25 Fisher-Price version will do. I freaking love the bouncer. I can plop E in it and she will kick and coo and amuse herself with the animals – she’s doing this literally as I type. I credit this bouncer for my ability to shower (almost) every day since she was born – I simply move it to the bathroom and buckle her in while I shower. She likes the shower noise, I like being clean, we both win. This bouncer has a vibrating feature that we never use (because I didn’t have batteries when I was frantically putting it together one day and I have not bothered to install them since), but I can imagine that that might be pretty nice for soothing purposes.
The Honest Company Diaper Rash Cream. Yes, this specific stuff. We have tried every version of Boudreaux’s Butt Paste (seriously, there are four kinds littered all around our house) and I have been underwhelmed by them all. Enter the Honest Company stuff – it’s amazing. Clears everything right up and doesn’t leave a weird-colored paste everywhere. 10/10. It’s diaper rash cream, I don’t have much else to say about it.
A portable sound machine. Portable being the key word here. We took one of these Hushh ones to the hospital with us, we use it every day for nap time, and I bought a second one to keep in the diaper bag for naps at Gramma’s or wherever else one might be encouraged. I am personally pretty particular about white noise, and I like the wave sounds this one makes. Plus, it gets really loud if needed (our hospital home videos sound like we’re standing at the edge of the ocean because we have it turned up so loud) and the charge lasts for a while. Really, though, any portable/rechargeable version will do. We have the Hatch Rest also, which is awesome for our room overnight, but it plugs in and isn’t something I want to lug around all the time. As an aside, I also discovered that I can say “Hey Google, play ocean sounds” and it will. Technology, man.
The Ollie Swaddle. OK, hear me out. Yes, it’s $60. Yes, the Velcro is incredibly loud in the middle of the night. Also, yes, it chills my kid out and has been a key part of our routine to get her to sleep through the night. I have a whole bunch of other swaddles, and they mostly sort of work, but the Ollie Swaddle is by far the easiest (I just leave it spread out in the bassinet or crib so it’s ready to go when we need it), snuggles her up tight, and I don’t have to worry about it coming undone and posing a suffocation hazard. It’s also super breathable, which was nice peace of mind when we had a newborn in mid-August.
Burt’s Bees Sleepers. Or, as they should be called in the Hickman house: “All-dayers” (har har). I am not someone who spends a lot of time dressing my baby. I mean, she’s adorable, but really I’m just making diaper changes harder on myself and that feels unnecessary. I bought a bunch of onesies (dutifully mostly in 0-3 mo. sizes) and almost exclusively use them at night as an extra layer. Most days, E is in a sleeper all day, and the Burt’s Bees loose-fit ones are my favorite. They make more than chapstick, who knew? The Target (Cloud Island) ones are also very cute and less expensive, but they’re fitted and she grows out of them much faster, so the cost-per-wear pretty much evens out. Moral of the story: more sleepers, fewer onesies. Bonus, with sleepers you don’t have to deal with baby socks. Praise the Lord.
And finally, a ceiling fan. Kidding, but also not. Literally nothing entertains my kid more than our ceiling fan. She loves it – just stares and smiles and chirps at it for about as long as I’ll let her.
Honorable Mentions: Boogie Wipes anything (the whole line – I love this stuff), muslin burp cloths (they are super absorbent), changing pad liners (because girls pee all over during diaper changes, too) and this play gym (yes, it’s expensive and trendy, but it’s cute and doesn’t flash lights or sing songs – hallelujah!).
Hickmans at Home 