baby gear: things i love / things i skipped

when i found out i was pregnant, i knew nothing about babies... let alone baby gear. 

i had zero little people in my life. no relatives had babies, no local friends had kids (my bff had a baby, but she lived thousands of miles away). needless to say, i was starting at the very very VERY beginning with no knowledge of anything. 

oddly, i wasn't overwhelmed. maybe i was naive with how much there was to learn. also, i had nine whole months to let it all soak in that i was going to have a baby and would need to whip my life into baby mode. i started out slowly gathering info, and then eventually ramped into doing full deep dives on baby gear. i asked any momma friends/coworkers/acquaintances what they all used, researched blogs/instagram, and then eventually went with my gut on what i thought i'd need and what would be useful. 

as with everything that i've learned when having a baby, get a game plan in place first. even though i had never been pregnant, and this was my first baby, i found i typically knew deep down my thoughts on the *big* things. i knew what an epidural was. i knew what breastfeeding was. i had heard about sleep training. i knew the 'must haves' for baby gear. and most importantly, i knew how i generally felt about it all after doing some research. 

my favorites: 

1. ergo baby 360 carrier: we use this thing all the time. on airplanes. on hikes. on walks. in the grocery store. we used the solly wrap for the first three weeks, and then just transitioned to this. i didn't love the solly wrap (it gave me back pain). this carrier has way more support. 

2. infant optics baby monitor: initially i had registered for the lollipop smart baby monitor. however, a girlfriend pointed out that you have to login to an app to view the baby. since august was sleeping in his own room form night one, i didn't want to have to grab my phone and click on an app just to see him from my bed. i wanted to be able to roll over and look at a screen. we eventually transitioned to a nest cam, but for the first three months this thing was wonderful. i will say... this monitor feels archaic and cheap. 

3. baby bjorn bouncer seat: the baby LOVES this thing. that is all. 

4. sound machines: i'm a big fan of sound machines for myself. for the baby, we have the hatch baby rest, hushh portable, and the dohm. i told you -- big fan of sound machines! :) i like the hatch because you can control the device from your phone, it plays songs and noises, and lights up. we use the music feature as part of the bedtime routine. the dohm is used while he sleeps as it's true white noise. the hushh portablei take with us when we run errands, travel (he'll sleep to this on trips), and walks. 

5. comotomo bottles: we own two of these. we didn't introduce bottles until week 4 or 5 to avoid nipple confusion, and he had absolutely no issues latching to these bottles. i know several mommas who have had to switch to these bottles with babies who had issues with other brands. these are the best in the biz IMO. 

6. spectra S9 pump: i spent a lot of time trying to figure out which pump i wanted to get (for free via insurance!). i had a mom friend in my life who swore by this pump. i decided to go for it and skipped getting the traditional giant pumps (medela, spectra S2). i am so so so glad i did! this pump is small but mighty. 

7. haakaa: i held off on this until i started to get the hang of breastfeeding. i picked this up about two months in, and have collected around an extra ounce each feeding. i use it on the opposite side he is feeding on to collect my let down. 

8. sleep sack: august was swaddled until about two months old. he began to use his thumb to self-soothe at night and did not want to be swaddled anymore. he uses this for naps and bedtimes. 

9. the baby seep solution: for sleep training, i highly recommend this book. august was sleeping 12 hours a night at 10 weeks old because of this book (and a lot of work on our end!). honestly, having a schedule kept us sane through the first few months. 

10. portable changing pad: chances are your diaper bag will come with a changing pad. but, it will be flimsy and generally not great quality. this changing pad is fantastic. big, big fan. 

what i skipped: 

-- snoo / halo swivel sleeper / bassinet: because august was sleeping in his room from the very start, we skipped all bassinets. he used his crib and it worked for us. the snoo is great (and so sleek/beautiful!), but i have heard moms give mixed reviews based on babies not being able to sleep without it. this would not work for us as we like to travel. 

-- dock a tot: we went with the boppy newborn lounger instead. this was a great alternative for us as it was cheaper and only used for the first four weeks. had august co-slept with us, i might have looked into it more. 

-- nursing pillow: i went back and forth on this. i passed on it and i'm so glad i did. i used a regular pillow when the baby was first born and i was figuring it all out. about three weeks in, i no longer needed the pillow. 

-- solly wrap: i borrowed this from a friend. i used it a little in the beginning, but then when august was four weeks old, i ditched it and began using the ergo baby carrier. i'm glad i didn't purchase this. 

we went with a more minimalist approach on baby gear. living in a two bedroom condo makes you really think about what you 'need' and what you can pass on (one of the MANY reasons i love living in a smaller space). 

photo above: from abubblylife.com