Review: My Favorite Baby Products

Eleven months have flown by since I had my daughter. I love her more than I ever dreamed possible. She’s my favorite person on the planet. And I’m so proud to be her mom–her intelligence, her sense of humor, her love of music and dancing. She is my strong, fierce NICU graduate.

Every parent has a list of products they wasted their money on. I built up a stash of cloth diapers, only to realize that it was too much work as an exhausted single mother. My daughter was 87% percentile for height at birth and the bassinet didn’t work out. She fought her going-home outfit so she never wore it (or the darling shoes that matched). She hurt herself on a Nuby teether (speaking of Nuby, the mesh thing you put frozen fruit in and the teething pacifier are both gathering dust because my daughter hates them). She’s never gotten the hang of 2/3 of the sippy cups I’ve tried with her. The manual Lansinoh breast pump that barely had any suction, no matter what I tried. The flimsy baby gym that she tore apart before she was four months old. I’m sure that if I was brave enough to start rummaging in my totes, I’d come up with even more.

So what did work? Read on. Please note that the Amazon links are affiliates.

Rock’n’Play

There is a lot of mixed opinion regarding the RNP. A lifesaver! It will give your baby a lifetime of neck and back problems! The only way I could put her down! It gave my baby a flat head and now he has to wear a helmet! All I can say is, the soothing vibrations soothed her, and the tilt of the RNP helped her reflux. No flat head, no neck or back problems. I wish it was larger.

VTech Tummy Time Giraffe

Tummy time was a struggle at first. She started rolling over early, she hated tummy time so much. But once I bought this sweet giraffe, she had a much better time. It comes with a keyboard, a mirror, a rattle (all of which can be removed by busy little hands), and a squeaky tail. I recently gave one to an expectant mom because I wished I’d had one from the start.

VTech Sit to Stand Learning Walker

WELCOME TO OUR LEARNING FARM, IF YOU OWN THIS THE SONG’S IN YOUR HEAD NOW. Oh yeah, maaaaaaaaaaaajor downside to this one. I tried to give this to my daughter for tummy time way early, but she couldn’t mash any of the keys. The part with all of the buttons is removable and I brought it back out when she was about 6 months, later putting the toy together to encourage her to sit up. I do not let her use it as a walker because it slips away from her on the terrazzo floor and I’m scared she’s going to wipe out too hard. She loves it and plays with it all the time.

North States Superyard

The baby zoo I call it, as the cat will stare into her play area for hours. Very sturdy and keeps her contained when I shower or cook. It comes in a lot of different colors and has a gate that is sold separately. I’ll admit that I bought this brand on the recommendation of other moms and never checked out other options.

Summer Infant Shopping Cart Cover

I love this. I get compliments and questions about it all the time. It even fits large carts (Aldi, Target). The positioner is removable so you can make sure your baby is comfortable. It comes with two loops for toys and a rather insecure pocket for your phone. Plus you have a barrier between your kid and whatever handbags/poultry/anxiety dogs the previous customer put in there.

Manhattan Toy Winkel Rattle and Teether

My daughter is mesmerized by this, and will follow the tubes (pincer grasp practice), shake it (palmar grasp practice), and throw it out of her play yard (softball practice).

Touched By Nature Organic Cotton Dresses

I love these so much I just bought two more sets. Whoops. Roomy, thick cotton that barely shrinks.  I can’t recommend these enough. And they’re so sweet!

Aveeno Eczema Therapy Lotion

For several months, my daughter had an outbreak of ezcema. I cut out dairy, I switched her to formula, nothing helped until she outgrew it. I had to rub in this lotion after her baths. It was the only thing that soothed her angry skin.

I hope this helps some new moms out there. Leave your favorite products in the comments!