Baby Must-Haves

I have several friends who are pregnant right now, and I'm sure the list will continue to grow because I'm in that season of life where someone is either getting married or having a baby!  So I thought I would put together a list of things that are my tried and true go-tos for all things baby.  A few of these have held over from when I had Collin over 4 years ago, and a few are new this go around.

1. Blankets.  Sheesh.  You need a lot of blankets for a baby, and everyone and their mother will give you blankets as gifts.  However, not all blankets are created equal.  My favorites with Collin were the muslin swaddle blankets from Aden+Anais.  I loved them so much that I kept all of Collin's, and I'm using them with Grady.  Atalie got her own girly set, of course!  I will admit they aren't cheap as far as a blanket goes, but they are worth it.  They get softer with each wash and are large enough to be multi-purpose.  Ex. I used them as nursing covers with Collin.  You can check Amazon and eBay for affordable versions of the prints you might want.

Blankets continued...

So this time around, we discovered that having a little bit more substantial blanket sometimes helped the babies not to break out of their swaddles.  Plus, the twins were born in Winter, and it helped to have a little warmer blanket on them.  My mother-in-law happened to give us a couple of Ultimate Swaddles from Swaddle Designs.  These are "cotton flannel", so they aren't as "airy" as the muslin blankets, and they hold heat in well.  They didn't really stand out to me at first.  I also never thought anything would come between me and the muslin blankets, but these were wonderful!  Jarrod especially loved them because he felt like he could get a really secure swaddle (Baby Straight Jacket, he calls it!).  They are also large and have held up really well being washed several times a week.

2. The Zipadee Zip.  When our babies started trying to bust out of their swaddles about a month ago, we wanted to cry.  These babies seem to startle more than Collin, and Grady really struggles in the area of self-soothing.  Atalie does an alright job and Collin was a champ at it, but Grady is just our needier child.  I saw these on Instagram, looked them up and ordered them in a moment of I'm so sleep deprived, I don't care what it costs.  They really work though!  Hint: You may have seen them on Shark Tank.
Our babies look like cute little starfish in them, and there is enough resistance in the suit to keep them feeling secure when they aren't in a swaddle.  The first night Grady was in his, he startled/flailed around a little and fell back to sleep on his own when the suit kept him from slapping his self in the face.  Hallelujah!!!

3. Sound Machine.  When Collin was a baby, dear friends gifted us this guy.  We took that giraffe every where with us.  Seriously.  If Collin was out of the house, we had the giraffe with us.  It was especially a lifesaver on road trips.

We also put an old CD player/radio combo in his room and set it to a radio station with only static playing to use as white noise.  He sleeps with it to this day.  He is entirely capable of sleeping without white noise going, but I find that it helps to drown out anything else going on in the house and makes me feel more at ease after I put him to bed at night.  I don't have to worry as much about disturbing him with the TV or dishwasher, etc.

With the twins, I bought this to have, and it's been great.  Obviously not as sweet as the giraffe, but very functional.  We use it as our "portable" sound machine.  I bought this one for their nursery.  It stays put in there and is also extremely functional.

4. Burp Cloths.  Babies spit up and drool and snot on everything.  I forgot just how much.  I love using old school cloth diapers from Gerber as burp cloths.  My mom had them when we were little, and I had them with Collin.  They are wonderfully absorbent and you can wash/bleach the heck out of them.  They are worth it.

With the twins, I have really enjoyed these muslin burp cloths my mother-in-law gave us.  I had my doubts about them because they are so thin, but I love these things!  Because they are so thin and light weight, it's so easy for me to throw one in my purse to have as backup when we're out and about.

5. Bibdana/Bib Scarf.  I hated putting bibs on Collin because I thought they always ruined a perfectly cute outfit.  With the twins, I happened upon a bib-turned-accessory through the Bibdana/Bib Scarf.  I mean really.  :)  You can find these on Amazon, Etsy and other sites, but my one of my favorites has been this site. Or if you're extra crafty, you could make them yourself.

Oh, bibdana, we love thee!

6. Pacis.  We are paci people.  I realize some people don't want their baby to take a paci, but we have no problem with it!  Collin loved his paci, and so far Grady does too.  Atalie will only take it if she's extremely tired; she prefers to hold it in her hands and gum on it - still handy!

Many of you know that Collin took the ugliest, orange paci and developed the strongest fondness for it. With the twins, we decided to try the Wubbanub and they have been awesome!  I have had my eye on this dinosaur and this pink kitty, but Jarrod doesn't know why we need two more!  Because they are so stinking cute, that's why!  Besides the cute factor, they are lifesavers in that the animal lays flat on your baby and keeps the paci at an angle that allows it to stay put in baby's mouth.  The weight of the animal and the angle at which it holds the paci, help when your baby loses suction and drops his/her paci.  They are often able to get it back in their mouth all on their own.  When baby gets a little bigger, they can grab the animal and play with it/gum on it/efficiently get the paci back in their mouth.  We wash them in a garment bag and air dry.  We have two for each baby so there is always a clean one available.  (There have been moments when both could technically use a washin', so you know...that pink kitty and dinosaur would come in real handy, Jarrod Baum!)

Is it an eye sore when they are newborns and the animal takes up most of their face?  Sure.  But now that our twins are grabbing things, holding things and chewing on everything, I love the Wubbanub!

7. Paci Clips.  For the love.  If your baby takes a paci and you use a traditional binky that is going to get thrown on the ground, lost between seats in the car and under your crib or changing table at home, invest in some paci clips.  With Collin we had the traditional ribbon type paci clips.  One with funky colors for everyday use and one from Mud Pie with a seersucker material that we deemed the dressy paci clip.  As if there could ever be such a thing!

With the twins, I found these, and I love them so much!
I am waiting for the day when they are a little bigger and don't use the Wubbanubs every second so we can use these more often.

This site also has some SUPER cute options, and the actual clip part is engraveable.  That's a win!

Paci clip in use :)

8. Bath time.  Bath time was a joy with Collin, but with two babies, it is downright exhausting.  Bending over the tub, lifting in and out and having everything arranged just right.  It's so tiring!!  With Collin we used a more traditional sling type bather, and I liked it just fine.  With these babies, I happened on this right around the time they were born and decided to give it a try.  It. Is. Awesome.  My twins will lay on this thing in the warm bath water and look at me light they are waiting for me to feed them some grapes and fan them with a palm frond.  Grady especially.  He puts his little arms up next to his head, pokes his belly out and just lounges like nobody's business!

I fill the tub, put this in there and press down on it to absorb some warm water and then put a baby on it.  It stays warm from the water and conforms to their little body so I don't have to worry about them slipping or sliding around in it, and I'm able to bathe them with minimal effort.  We hang it from the shower head to dry out and have not had any problems with it!

I'll update this list in the future with more must-haves as we go through teething and other developmental phases, as well as some of my favorite ideas for unique baby gifts.  That's it for now!