Baby Must Haves

I started this when I was pregnant with Rooney and now I am so glad I can finish it because I feel like I have a much better perspective of what I would want and wouldn’t want.

When we were registering for baby showers, we chose Amazon Baby Registry, Target, and Baby List. Between those three places I felt like we were able to register for the items we were hoping to get as well as anything extra we might want. Amazon was awesome because they could send it to your house with your prime, as well as gave you a 20% discount to buy anything you didn’t get at the end of your pregnancy.

Preparing for Baby:

Dresses: I lived in a dress my entire pregnancy. The pants would hug to tight on my belly, so I loved having something not cut my circulation off.

I bought a lot from Roolee, Forever 21, H&M, Free People, and Zara to name a few. I usually bought normal dresses and just sized up. Dwell and Slumber is another favorite local brand for the hospital, during pregnancy, nursing, and then when you aren’t feeling really hot after having a baby. I still wear these to bed almost every night. 

Stretch Mark Cream: I used the Belly Butter from Burts Bees for my belly and I really loved this one. It’s not to thick and it goes on smooth. I always buy it from Amazon here.

Body Pillow: Leacho Snuggle Body Pillow, this was the travel one , then this is the one I use daily. It helped so much with my sleep. I really love it, but I will say the bigger I got, the less it really helped but I still used it every night.

For the hospital to going home:

If you plan to nurse my link here will have all the details! http://helloemmylowe.com/2018/06/nursing-tips-and-tricks/

Dwell and Slumber Dress I loved having it for comfort on my postpartum body and ease with nursing.

Robe: I just bought this one from Target and this one from Nordstrom. QNOOR just started making robes and I love them also. They are super pretty and so comfortable.

Birthing clothes: I birthed in a bralette from Free People and nothing else. I bought this one from Free People. When I was planning on going unmedicated I knew I had to be naked bottom down so I wanted to have my boobs covered up so I opted for just a bralette.

I brought a long iPhone cord, snacks for my husband, snacks for my doula, photographer/videographer, and nurses. I don’t do slippers but I have heard a ton of people say to bring slippers. 

My Promptly Journal to write in during relaxation time during labor, I have found that writing memories of her really helps mellow me out. Side note, I had NO relaxation time during labor, but I did use it a ton during the week after we had her, if she was getting shots or things like that. 

nursing pads: I got these from Amazon and I loved loved them. They are thick and super soft: Here is the link for them

Frida Baby Washer: I loved loved having this. I also liked the hospital one but this one for sure has a better reach on it. It was really vital during recovery because the last thing I wanted to do was wipe, TMI, but it’s true.

Onesies: I really only used a few from Loved Baby, H&M, and then some kimono tops from Luvable Friends. Majority of the time we honestly kept her naked, but we were there 7 days and she was getting antibiotics every day so it was sometimes hard to have her in clothes. She also had an IV hep lock on her arm for part of the time so clothing was really hard, so she was swaddled pretty much the whole time. We also had her sleep exclusively in the kimono tops I linked above for the first 3-6 months under her swaddle.  When we had to change her diaper we didn’t have take a onesie off of her in the night so it made it a lot easier during the night.

We took Roo home in a Loved Baby onesie, it was the only thing that fit her at the time.

Bottles: We didn’t use bottles but we brought this one just in case. We loved loved Como Tomo and now we use them exclusively.

Swaddles/Burp Cloths: We brought quite a few swaddles and because we were there for a week we had to go back to our home to get a few more. We kept her swaddled the whole time we were in the hospital but here are a few of our favorite companies.

Copper Pearl. They are a client of mine, so I’ve seen the quality from the beginning and it’s amazing. They have the best prints, beautiful quality, and honestly just ran by amazing people. We have quite a few crib sheets, changing covers, and swaddles from them. We also loved their burp cloths while in the hospital and while we were at home.

KB Cute Design: I’ve been hoarding some of their swaddles for years so it was really exciting to get to use them. They also have great quality and more minimalist fabrics and then some really vibrant florals. They have an amazing thick grey one that Rooney lived in because it kept her so warm.

Nursing Bras: This has changed over the course of time for me. We started with a few from Nordstrom called the Cake Rock Candy nursing bra. I loved it for the time being but eventually it was nice to move to an actual bra.

I then was converted to the Third Love 24/7 Classic Nursing Bra. I still use these daily. I love this bra and swear by it, I have about 4. I would recommend this over anything else out there.

For Home:

Crib: We got the Baby Mod Olivia crib from Walmart and they also sell it at Wayfair. We’ve really liked it so far and it was super affordable.

Crib Mattress: We did this one, but there are quite a few on Amazon. I just did this through a referral and I’ve really liked it.

Crib Mattress Pad: We did this one. We currently only have one.

Changing Pad: We got this one and it has been great!

Love to Dream Sack: We swear by this. Rooney slept with her arms up so this was so helpful and then when she got older we used this one. We still use it every night just without the arms attached.

White Noise: We use this Skip Hop Owl portable sound machine and it has worked like a dream. We still use it whenever she sleeps.

Baby Monitor: We got the Lollipop Cam and I love it. It has been a great video monitor. We struggled with this for so long I am glad we ended up with this one. The picture is super clear, it looks nice in a nursery, and I felt like it was decently priced.

Diapers: We love the Huggies brand Little Swaddlers, the Winnie the Pooh ones. I linked them here.

Wipes: We exclusively use Kirkland brand wipes. They are the perfect amount of soft and they are really affordable to me.

High Chair: Boon High ChairSo we splurged. I asked for this from my mom for my only gift for little girl and we splurged when it was on sale.  With that said I also LOVE the IKEA one, it is like $30 and works great. I also with I would have gotten this one from Skip Hop. I will say though I love that my Boon one rolls. It has made a huge difference.

Crib Sheets: At this point I have only used Rookie Humans and Copper Pearl and we love both. They are both really colorful and bright and also have neutral patterns.

Burp Cloths: We only used our ones from Copper Pearl or from the hospital for the most part. They are so great and thick and nothing was getting through them! I would for sure recommend them over and over again.

Dock a TOT: We swear by our Dock a Tot. It is heaven. She slept in that in the hospital, in our bed when she first came home, and then whenever we travel. She really really loved it, and we loved it for convenience. We don’t use it as much but with how much we used it during the first 6 months I would say it’s worth it for sure. We also got the traveling bag and an extra cover and it was well worth the extra money.

Tubby Todd: Oh how we love this stuff. The soap is so soft and delicate on their skin, it’s the only thing we will use on Rooney. We also love love love THE DREAM CREAM. It is worth every single penny. We also have the all over ointment and it is really great for diaper rashes. I would recommend that for sure if you want something not to thick but organic. I really love all of their stuff and would swear by it all. For sure try it out.

Frida Supplies: Love all of them. When she was first born we had to use the nose syringe because her nostril wasn’t big enough but now it is perfect. We love the nose frida, we love the medicine attachment, we love the women cleaner that I mentioned above. It really has been a great trusted company to use. I also love love their clippers! They are amazing and have a little hole you can see through to see what you are clipping.

MamaRoo 4: We love this but Roo wasn’t super into it. I am hoping our next baby will like it more. I feel like it is either a hit or miss.

THE SNOO: I have talked about our SNOO a million times but I swear by it. We didn’t use it till she was about a month or so old due to her being so tiny but then we consistently used it for almost 5 months. We actually just transitioned her out of it and I could cry about not having it. A few other options I have heard are great are the Green Frog Bassinet  or the HALO .

Ubbi Steel Diaper Pail: This has been our favorite one since it doesn’t let the smell escape or linger. I have heard other moms say they don’t have one they just bring it right out but that hasn’t worked for me so I am so happy I have had this.

Natursutten Binky: She has been on and off again with a pinky but overall loves it. She uses the orthodontic ones. We also bought a Wubba Nuband my husband sewed a natursutten binky onto it so that we could still use it. So if you are crafty this would be a great option.

Binky Clips: We love the binky clips from either Ryan and Rose or NomiLu. Both are simple and basic and clean looking.

BABY WEARING

 I get asked about this a lot. I wanted to talk about my favorite wraps and why I love them.

My Wild Bird: Wild bird is a sling that is used for baby wearing. It is a way to connect with your baby and give them the constant touch while being able to get things done with both hands. Rooney didn’t do great with this type of wearing until about 2-3 months in. She was so tiny that she barely fit to be placed properly. We went to one of their photoshoots and they were amazing getting us all fitted but I have found it hard to get that exact touch. I just need to practice more.

Solly Baby Wrap:This was my favorite one for when she was tiny tiny. It wrapped her close to my body, was a soft fabric and Trent even liked wearing it. I still use my solly a lot but I for sure loved this when she was tiny.

Boppy Wrap: This is brand new and I am obsessed with it. It’s a mix of a Solly and an Ergo. It is so comfy and honestly perfect for her size. I would recommend this one for 3 months and on and for a 5-6 hour outing type day. This will be the one we bring to Europe. I would highly recommend this one.

Ergo Wrap: This one is AMAZING for football games, hiking, and any long outing that you don’t mind it not being super snuggly. We loved this one and will be using it all fall I am sure for football and soccer games. I would also recommend this one for longer outings.

Clothing and Bags

Rylee and Cru: Oh my gosh. Can’t even tell you how much I love their product. Great quality and beautiful pieces.

Rags to Raches: Darling rompers that are so comfy and easy to wear.

Loved Baby : We love love this brand. She lived in this onesie from the second she was born and now we primarily only use this for her jammies.

Owlivia Newborn Onesie: It is another easy easy onesie that is zip upped. I loved them so much as well.

Briar Handmade Bonnets: Loved these delicate little bonnets. They are so sweet and perfect for tiny little heads.

Top Knots : If you follow us you know our obsession. I love love their turbans. We use them almost daily. They sell out fast so make sure to be ready for their drops.

Bloom Headwraps: We also love love this brand for bows and top knots. They are perfect and have a lot of variety. They also sell out fast so be ready!

Baby Bling:They have the most darling bows and there are tons of variety. I love these ones as well.

Little Poppy Co is a bow subscription and they are darling! I love the variety they come up with every month!

Freshly Picked Diaper Bag: We love love this bag. The structure, and the sturdiness of it is awesome. I love this bag and how many pockets it has as well.

HAPP BAG:I also love this bag. It is so beautiful and the backpack version is amazing. This is by far one of my favorite bags.

Fawn Design Diaper Bag: Such a great bag and is so perfect for travel and day to day! We love our mini bag as well!

Her Room: 

Chair: I can’t find it anywhere but we use the Bilana Rocker and we got it at Babinski in SLC. 

Crib: We got the Baby Mod from Walmart but you can find it on Amazon as well. I linked it here, I feel like it is super affordable and really simple and pretty.

Wall paper:The bears are from Shop B Darling and I love love it. It was super easy to install and put up, and easily removable if we eventually decide to remove it.