Things I Love Thursday: Baby Stuff (Guest Post)

Today’s post was written by my lovely sister, Anna.
*********

Standing in target with my baby bump barely showing and registry gun in hand, I was overwhelmed with the products made for babies. I was a first time mom with a small house and little storage space. What did we actually need? I had no idea. Luckily, I have a cousin and sister with a super-fantastic blog. Emily and Jenny let me write this guest post asking their readers about the baby products that they couldn’t live without. I wanted to get the products that would be the most helpful for our baby, and not be overwhelmed with things that we would eventually find to be of little use. Keeping the suggestions in mind, we were blessed to be given absolutely everything we needed by our friends and family at one of our four showers. That’s right, four showers. We are so thankful and amazed by the generosity.

Our bundle of joy is now eight months old, and we’ve managed to not break her yet! We consider that nothing short of miracle. In my time as a new mom, here’s what I’ve found that we can’t live without:

The hospital where I gave birth is a certified baby-friendly hospital. And it was fantastic! The nurses were great, the doctors were great, the epidural was dreamy, and it is conveniently located to a Chick-fil-a. Yum! But the best part was how helpful everyone was helping me get the hang of breastfeeding. Their lactation consultants were so very helpful. I’ve happily made it through 8 months of breastfeeding without bleeding nipples! Locations of baby friendly hospitals can be found here.

I love the Graco SnugRider Infant Car Seat Frame Stroller. On the 359 days of the year that Ohio’s weather is nasty, I don’t have to take our baby out of her car seat to put her in the stroller. I can just pop the car seat right into the stroller. It’s also very lightweight, easy to maneuver, and easy to collapse.

The Fisher-Price Newborn Rock ‘n Play Sleeper is the cradle of dreams! I love, love, love it. Our baby slept in it while in our room for the first month or two. She would happily sit in it while I was on facebook… I mean, while I did chores. My husband could get her to go to sleep by rocking back and forth. The best thing ever. Sell everything you own and buy this! And, when our baby was going to sleep in the Rock ‘n Play Sleeper, she loved, loved, loved, being swaddled in the Miracle Blanket. Let me tell you, this thing is miraculous. I’m incapable of swaddling with a blanket so that she couldn’t break out of the swaddle. With the Miracle Blanket, I could wrap her up in seconds and she would be snug as a bug all night.

Oh Baby Hawk, how I love you. Let me count the ways. Our Baby Hawk was the only thing that would calm our baby down when she was a newborn. The swing didn’t work, neither did the car seat or the stroller. But our Baby Hawk would do the trick without fail. We carry our baby in it when we are cooking (and by we, I mean my husband), at the grocery, on a walk. She loves it. With the Baby Hawk, we can carry her around without aching shoulders or back. The best part is that it allows her to be right up against our chest, which is pretty much her favorite place to be.

My other suggestions for postpartum moms? Spanx and coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.