Best/Worst Baby Products

Now that Lexi is older I’ve been asked a lot lately about what products I found useful during the first six months. There are tons of products that were useful to me for many different reasons, but that would take too long to explain. I’ve decided that I would write a list of the five products I found most useful and the five products I found to be a waste of not only space but money. Just be warned my five best and worst may not be what works for every baby, but that worked for us.

Five Best Products:

1.      Bouncer: The bouncer we had was a life-saver. We were determined to not hold her all the time, but needed a safe place to put her when we were not sitting on the couch so this fit the bill. Not only did it work for us but Lexi loved the vibrating. It put her to sleep for the first few months and then became a great toy for her to explore. She loved the music, sounds, and bright colors. Once she could reach the toys she had tons of fun hitting the bird and making it go around. We used this until the end of month three before she became disinterested.  Here is the bouncer we have: Fisher-Price Bouncer – Rainforest.

2.      Swing: The swing was another life-saver. This was a great item to have for similar reasons as the bouncer. It helped get and keep her to sleep as well as provide entertainment when we needed to get things done (i.e. take a shower or cook dinner). The swing we had was by Graco and one of their older models. It has six-speeds and plays classic melodies as well as nature sounds. The seat is curved, which I later found out is to mimic the way we cradle a baby in our arms. You can recline the seat one-handed, which is really nice when you’re holding a sleeping baby. This is similar to the one we have except we did not have the toy part: Graco Lovin’ Hug Plug-In Infant Swing.

3.      Pack ‘n Play: We used the pack ‘n play in our bedroom for the first six months so Lexi could be close to us. Our pack ‘n play came with a newborn napper and a changing table so that was a giant life-saver for the middle of the night changing. It was also a great item to have when we traveled because it provided a place for Lexi to sleep. We are still using this today just without the napper, changing table, and bassinet insert. This is similar to the one we have, but we have a Classic Winnie the Pooh version: Graco Pack ‘n Play with Newborn Napper Station  LX Play Yard.

4.      Infant Car Seat: This was a must for us because Lexi was born in December. I got told by many people to just go right into the convertible car seat, but I am glad that we decided to go with the bucket seat. In the winter it was nice to be able to cover her up and go without worrying if she was too cold. We had a cover that went over the seat that kept her protected from the weather. It was also nice to have when she was little because we could go out and keep her away from all the people that wanted to get too close. During the winter you have to worry about them getting sick so this helped shield her from germs. I stopped using the seat around the end of April because she was just too heavy to carry around any longer. We used the Graco SnugRide Classic Connect Travel System. 

5.      Baby Carrier: Whoever came up with this is a genius. This was and still is my most used item. We have two different kinds. One for when she was really little and then one now that she is a little bigger. Now they make all different kinds so you may have to do a little trial and error to see what type works for you and baby. Also I assumed that the more expensive, name brand carriers would be better, but the two we have are Targets brand and they work just like the expensive only much cheaper. The first carrier we used was the Infantino Union Baby Carrier in Grey. We used this when Lexi was really young until around month 3 or so. The second carrier we bought was the Infantino Swift Baby Carrier. I personally liked this one better because if offered more support and did not seem like the baby was falling out. Now that Lexi is older it is getting harder to carry her in this one though. The support is not all that great and had I known they made a similar one to this but with better support I would have bought that one instead. We moved back to the first one because it offers more back and shoulder support now that she is heavier. Lexi loved being in the carrier especially being able to look around and see what was going on. It was nice for me too when I needed to get things done in the house to be able to carry her with me when she wanted to be held. When the infant bucket seat got too heavy to carry but we were not ready to move her to the convertible seat the baby carrier was a great alternative to the stroller.

Five Waste of Money/Worst Products:

1.      Receiving blankets: We got tons and I mean tons of receiving blankets. We probably only used about five of them. Most babies prefer to be swaddled so you should get swaddling blankets instead. The whole drawer we had full of them was such a waste of space. When Lexi wasn’t being swaddled then she was in a Onesies that kept her warm or a sleep sack at night to keep her warm. I still have no clue why people think moms need tons of receiving blankets. If you get a lot take some back and exchange them for something more useful. 

2.      Diaper Pail/Genie: Ok, I have a love/hate relationship with the diaper pail. At first I loved it then it became a pain to close and lately I’ve been back to loving it because Lexi poopy diapers smell really bad. The diaper pail is great at hiding that odor, but the refill bags are expensive and you go through them a lot. Most of the refill bags only hold at most 25 diapers, which with a baby isn’t all that much. This might be one of those products you have to try and see if you like it or not.

3.      Regular Clothes: Yes, those shirt and pants outfits are really cute and so is that dress but let’s face it most of the time babies until age three months are mostly in Onesies or sleepers. I can’t tell you how many cute dresses, shirts, and pants we got that Lexi never wore because it was way too difficult to put them on her. If Lexi went out she pants and socks put on her, but at home she was in Onesies or a sleeper sometimes even just a diaper. Once she hit four months I started having her wear more than just Onesies and sleepers, but that was more because I wasn’t so tired anymore. If you get a bunch keep a few and then return the rest for more practical things right away or get something for when your little one is older.

4.      Infant Bathtub/Bath Ring: We had both and they were the most useless items ever. Thankful we didn’t spend any money on them, but were given them. It is ten times easier to wash your newborn in the sink when you need too. Most of the time you won’t give him/her a bath every day or even every other day. I think we did it like twice a week because they don’t get dirty. Once we tried to move Lexi to the bathtub it became a lot easier for me to just get in with her because she wanted to have so much water in the tub. If there wasn’t enough she would freak out. I still haven’t heard from one person that loved their infant bathtub so it could work for some people.

5.      Play Mats:  I am probably in the minority on this one but Lexi hated the play mat. We had two different ones and she didn’t like either. She liked the silky mat but was very disinterested in the toys. I noticed that both our play mats the toys seem to be too high no matter what we did to them so for along she couldn’t even reach them. When she could reach them they didn’t do anything cool enough to warrant her attention. I still use the mat because she likes to lay on it and pull the tiger’s tail but that is it. 

Bonus:

6.      Mobiles: I am not really sure how people have success using them. We bought the Fisher-Price Discover ‘n Grow Twinkling Lights Mobile only to find out that Lexi would not sleep when it was off. She would dose off as the mobile played music, light up, and projected the stars, but as soon as it turned off she would cry. You could put it back on and the same thing would happen over and over again. This is by far the biggest waste of money I’ve ever spent. The only good part of having it was that as Lexi was older and outgrew the bouncer seat I could put her in the crib with the mobile on and she would be content for me to take a shower.  This has been the only use for us with the mobile.

I’d love to hear your opinions. What items were must haves and what could you have passed on? Let me know in the comments what you all think!