1.) "The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby From Birth to Age 2" by Dr. Sears
I purchased this book on Amazon when I was pregnant, and it's jam packed with great information. It talks about your baby's development, birth plans, nursing, nutrition, nighttime parenting, health, and all kinds of other topics. It's written by a well-known pediatrician and his wife, who have 8 kids of their own. It's a fantastic reference book, and I read various chapters constantly.
2.) BumGenius 4.0 cloth diapers
I know a lot of people are apprehensive about cloth diapers, but I wanted to try them, and I absolutely LOVE them. I researched brands extensively (as I do prior to most purchases) and ended up ordering the BumGenius ones. I could do an entire post about all the things I love about them, but to name a few, they work great, come in fun colors, are much greener than filling a landfill with disposables, and you never have to worry about a 1 AM run to the store for diapers since you can always throw in a load of laundry. They have also been great this summer as I can put Maddie in a cute top and matching cloth diaper and not have to worry about shorts or a diaper cover.
3.) Planet Wise wet bags
Instead of buying a big diaper pail, we use these wet bags to throw dirty diapers in. We have a large one that we keep at the diaper changing table, and a medium size one that we carry in the diaper bag. They come in all kinds of fun patterns and can be purchased on Amazon. When I wash diapers, I throw the bags in the washer with them. They are also a bit "green" since you don't have plastic bags full of diapers to throw out :)
4.) Angelcare Baby Movement and Sound Monitor Deluxe Plus
This is an awesome baby monitor. Not only does it have the sound monitor with 2 receivers, but it also has a movement detector. You place the pad under the baby mattress, and it detects movement (baby breathing). If no movement it detected for 15 seconds, a warning beep sounds. If there's no movement 5 seconds later, an alarm goes off. This helps me sleep SO much better as I don't constantly wake up and run to check on Maddie. There's a flashing light on the base to show movement is detected, and there's also an icon on the receivers that blinks to show there is movement in her crib. As I said, I sleep much better since we have this.
5.) a mobile to attach to the crib
I used to think mobiles were more for decoration than anything. However, I've learned that Madeline absolutely LOVES her lady bug mobile. I wind it up (it plays Brahm's Lullaby), and she is fascinated with watching the lady bugs on it spin around in a circle. Such a simple invention, but it will entertain her for a long time, as you can see!
6.) Baby Bjorn carrier
Mat read about these and thought it would be a good thing to have. As it turns out, it is a GREAT thing to have as it allows me to put her in it when she's in a "I need to be held all day" mood, and I am still able to get things done around the house. It will also save your arms and shoulders from becoming exhausted from carrying a baby around all day! As you can see, we both get a lot of use out of this.
Those are my 6 favorite baby things we have. As I said, it's purely a matter of personal preference, but I'd highly recommend these things :)
As a final note, I would also very highly recommend everyone watch "The Business of Being Born" prior to the birth of a child. It is an informative documentary that makes a lot of great points. It helped Mat and I decide to go to the Birth and Women's Center of Topeka, where we had the best experience imaginable throughout my pregnancy, labor and delivery, and postpartum care. Even if you don't choose to go the route of natural child birth, I think it is still helpful in informing parents about a number of things related to child birth in America.
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