When Andrew and I were expecting, I did a lot of research. We wanted to have all the best products and items for our baby girl.. and I wanted them all to be pink! Yes, really. Did that happen? No, of course not. Obviously, they weren’t all available in pink, but we did make sure to get the best products we could that would be the most useful to us as new parents. With that in mind, at the same time, there were a lot of items we thought we needed and realized we didn’t… I’m looking at you Pink Diaper Genie, and you, Baby Bullet..
While I’m sure items like those might be great use to a lot of new parents, from our experience we found they just weren’t things that worked for us. So I’ve compiled a list. When Isabella was a newborn through about 6 months of age, there were many times I recommended these products to other expectant parents, and after recently being inspired to make a gathered list, I’ve decided this is something I felt compelled to share!
- Owlet Smart Sock
Retails for $299 HERE
As an anxious person one of my biggest worries after Isabella was born was the scariest thing you can hear about, SIDS. The owlet helped us sleep easy by monitoring Isabella all through the night and every nap, constantly keeping us up to date on her heart rate, oxygen level and sleep patterns via their handy app from the night she came home from the hospital until a week before she turned 18 months! The peace of mind is more than worth the price!
- Dockatot Deluxe+
Retails for $195 HERE
The Dockatot was another item that helped this anxious mama, and gave peace of mind. It stopped Isabella from rolling to her side or over when setting her down, and she even slept soundly on her back anywhere we laid her, while in this. Though it is advised that babies do not sleep in this in a crib, cot or bassinet; we didn’t know that until after she was old enough to roll out of it, and by then we had retired it to keep nice for our next future child. While sleeping in this however, she always had her Owlet sock on, so had there ever been an issue, we would’ve known immediately.
- Peg Perego Prima Pappa Zero 3 High Chair
Retails for $249.99 HERE
This Peg Perego high chair is what pink baby girl expectant mama’s dreams are made of!! We had previously picked out a different high chair until we seen this in person at Buy Buy Baby, and knew we couldn’t leave without it. It is the Rolls Royce of high chairs. The first thing I loved about this, was it didn’t just go up and down, and by down I mean that seat goes all the way down, down enough to let your baby girl sit eye to eye with you as you fold clothes on the floor… But it also tips back! It was great as a safe place to lay Isabella with a bottle while I did things around the kitchen, and when I was working on projects on the computer, I often had my sweet baby girl right beside me with a toy. Also, for being white, this high chair wipes down and cleans up so wonderfully that you could never tell it had been used after cleaning up a spaghetti mess!
- Binxy Baby Shopping Cart Hammock
Retails for $49.95 HERE
Of course having a baby pre-pandemic was a thing of sheer luxury when you could show off your adorable new baby while shopping. The Binary Baby hammock was something we constantly were giving people information on. Isabella would lay in hers and coo away, as we shopped and placed groceries and such beneath her. It is the perfect way to keep your little one safe in a shopping cart without taking up the entire cart with their car seat. - Electric Baby Nail Clippers
Retails for $21.99 HERE
While looking for things to make taking care of a newborn just a little easier before having Isabella, I found these electric baby nail clippers on Amazon. So often baby kits come with little tiny nail clippers, and I wasn’t even aware there was such a thing to make such a daunting task easier, until I came across this! The device is fairly quiet and so easy to use. We often trimmed Isabella’s nails while she napped with this, and even the times she was awake, she was mesmerized by the little light on it that helps you see what you’re doing. It comes with multiple file heads that are each different levels from newborn to older baby and plenty of replacement heads so you’ll never run out. This made trimming her nails quick and painless every time!
- Magnetic Me Jammies
Retails for $38.00 HERE
Before we even knew whether we were having a boy or girl we had found these jammies in one of the cutest children’s boutiques in Michigan! We seen their magical potential with the lack of zippers and thank goodness – snaps. These magnetic closure jammies are just the tip of the absolute goodness that Magnetic Me offers, but we loved them so much that by the time Isabella was 6 months, the bulk of her jammies were all magnetic. After all – they made middle of the night and sleepy early morning changes a breeze. They have the most gorgeous prints and patterns and they come out the wash looking just as good as new. The one in the photo is one of our most favorite prints we ever found for Isabella, and she wore it the very first time she napped in her crib. - 4moms Breeze Plus Playard
Retails for $249.99 HERE
Much like our high chair was basically the Rolls Royce of high chairs, this is the Rolls Royce of playards! The ease of opening for use and closing for storing was what really caught us. For quite some time it was kept open in our living room as a safe place for Isabella to play when she was smaller, and even as she got bigger and started to walk, we found it as a great place to put her in to play safely while we ran to get something from another room, used the bathroom or let our Pug outside. Of course the day finally came when she could climb out, but we used this heavily until that time came. We even used this outside with a bug net/ sun shade over top at cook-outs a couple times, and Isabella found it so comfortable she even fell asleep in it many times.
- Guava Lotus Travel Crib
Retails for $249.99 HERE
This travel crib is more than just a travel crib, but also acts as a travel playard! Ours specifically has been through 4 flights, and has been used not only on 3 separate week-long vacations that included multiple hotels, resorts and airbnbs, but it also has been used here at home. When Isabella napped more often as a small baby, there were times I would go visit with my mom during the day and we’d lay her down in this. We found it so easy for her to fall asleep in our arms and slowly lay her down inside without waking her due to being able to put her in through the side and not down from the top. When Isabella began crawling she would also play at their house, crawling in and out with toys, just as she would do when we went on vacation! The ease of folding and carrying this was one of the biggest factors in our purchase decision, and the idea we could stow in the overhead during a flight or have it compact in the trunk of our vehicle for a road trip was a huge plus!
