These are a few of my favorite things.

As a new mom I have obsessed over finding the newest baby gadgets and gear. I know that most of the people who read my blog are prego, working on it, or waiting on their little one to be born half way around the world and so I feel obligated to share. Here is a list of my top 10 baby items (so far).

The Soothie
Before Aby was born we had decided not to give her a pacifier. At 1am the day she was born we paged the nurse and begged for one! The soothie seems to be the easiest for her to keep in her mouth. The nipple is also very realistic unlike some pacifiers. We tried to give her a "binky" and several other pacifiers but they just kept falling out! I love the Soothie! This is what they will give you at the hospital if you request it, they can also be found at Wal-Mart.



The Boppy
The boppy is a wonderful tool! Breast or bottle feeding this thing is great! If you don't know what it's for let me tell ya, just slip it around your waste and rest your arms on it while holding, feeding, or playing with your baby! It really helps when you want to hold your baby all day but they weigh 10lbs like my little lady. The boppy is also great for when you want to eat dinner on the sofa...it makes an excellent plate holder! lol. I would recommend getting a separate boppy and cover (instead of the all in one) so that you can throw the cover in the wash anytime it gets "wet" or "dirty"! And for all of my expectant moms they also have a boppy total body pillow to use during pregnancy. I didn't have one but it looks amazing!



Medela Breast Pump
If you plan on breast feeding you must own one unfortunately these bad boys will clean out your pocket book. That is why I went to Once Upon A Child (a children's consignment shop) and found one for a 1/3 of the price! You can replace the tubing and anything that actually comes in contact with the milk for about $30. Just ask your lactation consultant at the hospital where you can purchase those items! It is a great deal. It takes me less than 10minutes to pump 3oz of milk which is whole feeding! The reason it is so important to have is to store milk! Aby is starting to sleep through the night causing my milk to decrease and so now I wake up a couple times a night and pump a bottle and freeze it! In the future when I want to go out for the day and leave Aby at home with the hubs he will have plenty of frozen milk for her! I can also just throw on my backpack and take it with me to pump while I'm away, it even comes with a nifty ice pack and container to keep the milk cool!

The Bumbo
I have not used ours yet with Aby because she can't hold her head up yet, but I have seen this thing in action with my nephews and I think it rocks! We bought Aby the bumbo with a play tray. It enables babies to sit upright all by themselves!


New Native Sling
I have a few slings and baby carriers that I purchased or that were given to me but my absolute favorite is my New Native sling. No twisting, tying, looping, stretching or buckling, just slip it over your head and on you go! I wear Aby in it to the mall, church, grocery shopping and even around the house sometimes. It is much more convenient than lugging around the whole car seat. Which I would recommend doing if you are going to be getting in and out of the car frequently (so that you don't have to disturb the little angels sleep)!
buckling or


Glider
I spend hours and hours everyday in my glider. I love to feed Aby in it, read to her, and rock her (almost) to sleep in it. Stephen love it too, so much that he thinks we should get another one and put them side by side in her room so that we will both have somewhere to sit! Every momma needs a glider. I think they are much smoother than a rocking chair but that's just a personal preference!


Family Driven Faith
I could write an entire blog post about this book alone but I will spare you (for now). Stephen and I received it as a gift when we found out we were pregnant and we couldn't be more grateful! I love Voddie Baucham and his ideas about family worship. I think every person who ever plans on being a parent should read it. Even if you disagree with some of his views you will enjoy the conversation starters that this book offers!

Moving right along...

Dr. Browns Glass Bottles
Before I had Aby a friend of mine said "I will only use glass bottles when I have kids" and I thought "huh? I wonder why?" So I did a little research and this is what I found out. Plastic bottles contain something called BPA if you ask the makers of the products who use this chemical they would say it's harmless...if you ask me its a chemical that could not possibly do anything good for Aby so I will do without it. Unfortunately there are still many products like Tupperware, water bottles, and plates that contain it and it's not always advertised (wonder why?) so as she grows up she will use items that contain BPA and we will pray that it is as harmless as they say! Now, as for why I picked Dr. Drowns bottles, they are supposed to be the best for reducing gas and reflux. I used them when I was a nanny and decided to look into the supposed benefits when I got pregnant, you can look here for more details about how they work! So far I don't have a bad thing to say about em!

Bulb Syringe

If you haven't had your baby yet keep this in mind, the hospital has the BEST bulb syringes! My sister told me this when I was in the hospital with Aby and I didn't think much of it but oh boy was she right! I am so glad that I saved mine now that Aby has an upper respiratory infection and I am using it a dozen times a day. I have several that I got in the little baby care kits but they stink! You can't get anything out with those silly things! So, a word of advice ask for an extra before you leave the hospital and hold onto it for dear life!

and finally...

Butt Paste
When we were using disposable diapers full time (aka last week) we used this good stuff at every diaper change. I decided to try a sample of something else that I got in the mail and she instantly got a diaper rash! It is a little pricey though. Lucky for us with our fancy cloth diapers her booty is looking good and we don't have to use it very often!