Just curious...

[adelinasmommy09]

Whats the best baby product that you just absolutely loved or could not live without in the 1st year?



I know its only been 4 years since I had my LO but theirs sooooo many new products out, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed!

[LanceBabe]

You know, it really varies with each child. With my first (and this was 29 years ago, mind you), it was a swing. DS had one period of time every day when NOTHING I did satisfied him. He wasn't hungry, didn't need a diaper change, didn't want to play, didn't want to be held, didn't want to lay in his crib, and the only thing that satisfied him was the swing. With Erin, it was a walker. We were in a one-level house so there was no danger of stairs. With her being a micro-preemie and so little for so long and not able to sit up until she was almost a year old, the walker was a life saver! She loved to stand up, although obviously she couldn't do so on her own, and her walker had a little tray so I could put cheerios in it for her and we used it for her high chair, too, since she couldn't sit up yet. With Laura, I don't remember any one thing being a must-have.

Erin's two kids, on the other hand, both hated the swing, but Katie loved her exersaucer and Nathan loved his jumper.

Edit to add: Oh yeah, now I remember what was my must-have with Laura! It was an early version of a carrier like a Baby Bjorn, except it was only for baby facing mommy. When Laura was born, Erin still wasn't sitting up on her own and was still on oxygen. It was impossible for me to take them both out on a walk without that carrier for Laura because Erin took up the entire stroller with herself and her oxygen bottle. Plus, Laura was colicky and she loved being in the carrier right against me.

[ibisgirldc]

Too many great things out there. But my must-have list includes
-sweetpeace swing by graco
-patemm pad (www.patemm.com) good for long after the first year
-The Happiest Baby on the Block DVD and an Aden & Anais swaddler
-pacifier clips

[janben]

1. Angelcare baby monitor
2. Pacifier clips
3. Exersaucer
4. Play yard

[kellyowens]

My wrap, sling, etc...I've never regretted "wearing" my babies

[futuresoccermom]

'Boppy' or 'my breast friend' pillow for breastfeeding, hand down the most useful baby product for me.

[Scarlett]

It does really vary on what baby likes, DD2 loved her swing and her bouncy seat, she even loved to nap in her bouncy seat when she got too big for it. I got a lot of use out of the Boppy with breastfeeding.

[Dreya]

We loved this little chair. It's foldable, portable and we didn't use a high chair at all with DS2.

[pumpkinseed2011]

DD NEEDED her vibrating bouncy seat and the swaddle wraps. Either the A&A or the SwaddleMe with velcro. Lifesavers. (in addition to her darned gumdrop brand binki, too)

[froggie83]

rocking chair

[sammilynn]

For Kyle it was swings. The faster they went the happier he was. For my niece it was her excersaucer and I wish there was one big enough for her 14 year old body to sit in cause she loved it and it would wear her out. lol

[runningmomofmany]

Sleepy wrap and Ergo.

Theywere the only new pieces of equipment added since my 5th child born in 2004. We did add a battery operated swing when she was born, and a new highchair.

Someone gave me a "Nose Frieda" which had potential, but DD was so healthy she has only had one cold since she was born, so I haven't used it enough to get the hang of it.

[pumpkinpeejays]

Boppy or similar nursing pillow, a swing, sleep sheep, portable diaper caddies or baskets (I call them "kits," one that travels from room to room, wherever you're nursing, and one that is in your bedroom), a monitor

[ibisgirldc]

Alot of these things you should be able to get on consignment or as hand-me-downs. There may even be consignment "events" for baby goods in your area. In the four years since you had a baby, i think it may have been a boom business? Sign of the bad economic times, i guess.

That might be a great choice for something like the boppy, where you can just buy a new cover if you'd like. (for me, a down pillow was a better choice: Maybe it's my big boobs, but he was always propped up too high when I used... like he was getting suffocated. Never really fit when I was sitting in his nursery armchair either. But since it was given to me by a friend who had finished with hers, it was no biggie and I simply passed it to another friend.) Something like the DVD or some of the books you can get used on amazon. The fisher-price chair (which we've had too - great choice over a highchair) is one that can just be wiped off if you can find it used. The only thing that i would skip is probably the car seat, but most other stuff is recycle-able from one family/baby to another.

[jazzmom]

Alot of these things you should be able to get on consignment or as hand-me-downs. There may even be consignment "events" for baby goods in your area. In the four years since you had a baby, i think it may have been a boom business? Sign of the bad economic times, i guess.

That might be a great choice for something like the boppy, where you can just buy a new cover if you'd like. (for me, a down pillow was a better choice: Maybe it's my big boobs, but he was always propped up too high when I used... like he was getting suffocated. Never really fit when I was sitting in his nursery armchair either. But since it was given to me by a friend who had finished with hers, it was no biggie and I simply passed it to another friend.) Something like the DVD or some of the books you can get used on amazon. The fisher-price chair (which we've had too - great choice over a highchair) is one that can just be wiped off if you can find it used. The only thing that i would skip is probably the car seat, but most other stuff is recycle-able from one family/baby to another.

I agree! Most of the baby stuff we have was bought secondhand and in like-new condition, for a fraction of the price. New baby things are severely overpriced, IMHO. Ours was primarily purchased locally from Craigslist ads, or swapped among friends.

My must have items were our baby carriers and my glider. (It's still my favorite chair, and DD1--now 6--has adopted it for her reading chair.)

[i.<3.cheesysmiles]

The best items for me were the moby and then ergo. Second on the list was a vibrating bouncer when I wanted the newborn/young infant to nap somewhere other than on me

[beanpop]

1 - SwaddleMe blankets with the velcro. She would.not.sleep without them until she was about 6.5 months or so.

2 - Boppy saved our BFing relationship.

3 - Moby and Ergo - I started with the Moby when she was bitty and then once she was about 3 months and it started warming up outside we switched to the Ergo and haven't looked back. I still wear her to this day when she passes out and I have to go grocery shopping! I still have my Moby and I plan on using it at the beginning with baby #2.

[handsdown]

1. My Breast Friend Pillow when I was nursing. I tried the boppy first and I could never get him in the right position with it.
2. Swing- He slept in it for most naps and nights until he was 3-4 months old. We had the My Little Lamb Fisher Price swing. It was great I just really wish it plugged in instead of taking batteries. It was horrible when the batteries would die at 4 in the morning and we'd have a screaming baby on our hands.
3. Playmat - The one we used is http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...ductId=2402051 He played on that thing multiple times a day every day until he started sitting up and crawling.

[jaycee01]

1. My Breast Friend Pillow when I was nursing. I tried the boppy first and I could never get him in the right position with it.
2. Swing- He slept in it for most naps and nights until he was 3-4 months old. We had the My Little Lamb Fisher Price swing. It was great I just really wish it plugged in instead of taking batteries. It was horrible when the batteries would die at 4 in the morning and we'd have a screaming baby on our hands.
3. Playmat - The one we used is http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...ductId=2402051 He played on that thing multiple times a day every day until he started sitting up and crawling.

Completely agree with breastfriend! Boppy worke with the twins but my singleton was hard to position on it. Then again she was also much smaller and earlier. Swing and my whisper wrap tie for second.

[GA1977]

1) sling
2) video monitor
3) portable travel swing (we would put Boden on the table while we ate dinner and he'd swing and me very content....otherwise we wouldn't have been able to eat together....evening was his grumpy time)

[KC's wifey]

The PPs have given some great ones.
I use our rocking chair (I like having an upholstered swivel rocker, just because gliders and rocking chairs make me nervous for small fingers/toes) and the boppy pillow every single night. I also often use a sleep sack, depending on how cold it is and which pj's she's wearing, since blankets in baby cribs are a no-no.

Another must have: plain cloth diapers. They are fantastic as burp clothes and whatever else you need them for. They bleach white again, they are soft, and they are cheap. I can never have enough of them.