Top 20

I am an unpaid product tester! After 4 years and 2 kids, I have used a lot of baby-related items. I am always on the search for products that make my life easier. I have emailed this list to quite a few friends who have had children in the past couple years, but I thought the time has come to make it a blog post.  I will probably update this list occasionally!

Colleen’s Top 20 Baby Items (In no particular order and updated to reflect items I used for Carter, too!)

1. Bellibands—elastic bands with a lacy edge that go around your waist and can keep you pants up when your belly starts to get big. I bought mine from www.mom4life.com. (I really like that website-free shipping and 10% of proceeds go to charity.)
2. I brought a nursing tank top to the hospital (Glamourmom brand, purchased at www.mom4life.com) that I wore for my entire hospital stay. It was a lifesaver—and fashionable, too!
3. A Boppy pillow--I really liked mine and used it at every single feeding for the first few months. I would take it to the hospital with you.
4. Hooter Hider--'Nuff said
5. If you pump milk and have to refrigerate it or freeze it, I would recommend a bottle warmer. Much quicker than using the stove top! It heats to the perfect temperature.
6. Hyland’s Homeopathic Teething Tabs—They work!
7. By far the best disposable diapers are Pampers. Use the Pampers Points!
8. White onesies—I had Gabrielle and Carter in one everyday in the winter under their regular clothes. So much warmer.
9. Best Pacifiers: Soothies—We got this kind at the hospital actually. Gabrielle LOVED them and never touched any other kind. Carter likes them only when falling asleep. I hope your child takes a binky!! I wish we had a WubbaNub... Soothie binkies bounce and are hard to find in a dark crib!
10. Baby Legs—perfect for crawling babies…protects the knees! Super cute on chubby baby legs. Gabrielle had pink & brown.
11. Best thing ever: Halo brand wearable sleep blanket—a miraculous thing. Gabrielle and Carter were so warm and snuggly in this that it would make them sleep longer. They come in all sorts of sizes and fabrics for different seasons. A safer alternative to blankets which never stay on anyway!
12. Another Best thing EVER-Summer brand cordless video monitor—It’s expensive but worth every penny!  Day or night you can see what your little one is up to in his or her crib.
13. Best widget—A Bouncer—I used it until the babies started really moving on their own.
14. Swing—Get a full-sized swing and not a travel-sized one.
15. Jumperoo and/or Exersaucer—Very ugly and obnoxious looking things in our living room, but both the babies really liked it.
16. Pack-n-Play—An absolute necessity for us! Ours has big a changing station attached to it. It has a sun shade, light, sound machine, music box, and vibrating mattress. WOW.
17. Get a stretchy elastic shopping cart cover that goes around the whole front part of the cart.
18. Moby Wrap and/or Baby Bjorn. The Moby is available on www.mom4life.com. The Moby is super snuggly, but there is a learning curve. Watch some YouTube videos on how to tie it, and practice before the baby arrives! Baby Bjorns are fine--just not as comfortable.
19. Best stroller-Chicco Cortina Travel System—A few friends have this one. The stroller can collapse with one hand, and the car seat snaps in very easily. I had a Maxi-Cosi stroller and it was very difficult to use for many, many reasons.
20. Best Potty—Beco Potty is the best. It is made from plant material, but it looks like plastic.