So as such, I'm going to throw together a list of my most beloved baby purchases (besides the obvious of a good stroller, carseat etc). I don't like calling these things 'must haves' because you don't really HAVE to have them, your parents raised you just fine without them. These things are great if you're able to get your hands on them and they'll make life a bit easier, but your child won't be scarred for life if these don't make their way into your home.
1. Bouncy chair - this is heaven sent for having a place to put
baby down for just a few moments so you can, oh I don't know, brush your teeth or comb your hair so you don't look quite so frightening. We got the Baby Bjorn Babysitter Balance Air (~$220, Moms to Be and More). Now this was a very pricey purchase but it's totally worth it and here's why. This chair serves from newborn to about 2 years (or 29lbs). Many bouncy chairs don't go up so high with the weight restriction so you can't get as much use out of them. This chair folds completely flat in 2 seconds and weighs very little which makes it excellent to use while traveling (we've used it as a place for eating and napping and playing!). It's got a beautiful neutral design which means less clutter in your living room with things in primary colours, and it doesn't need any batteries. The chair bounces using baby's own momentum. If you've ever used disposable diapers on a baby and put said baby in a bouncy chair, you know that the odds of having a diaper explosion are extremely high. Having a bouncy chair that is easy to clean is imperative. The seat fabric on this chair pops off in 2 seconds flat (held down by two elastics) and comes back on the frame just as easily. The material is mesh so it's very easy to clean and dries in minutes. Excellent buy.2. Baby tub - some people say not to waste money on a baby tub and just get a sling for the sink.
I disagree. After having the baby, I had little to no energy to stand at my sink and bathe a slippery baby. Using my Whale of a Tub by Fisher Price (~$30), I was able to bathe the baby while I sat on the floor in the nursery (instead of hunched over a bath tub). The baby was comfortable in a reclined position and I could concentrate on getting into her millions of folds instead of making sure she wasn't sliding all over the place. If I could do it again, I'd seriously consider purchasing one of those foldable tubs. Those are apparently great for travel and take up less space than the whale. Monkey is just about to outgrow this tub at 8 months so I consider that to be a good lifespan of usefulness for an infant.3. Activity gym - these are great! We got the Skip Hop Funky Farmyard (~$80) because we liked
that the design wasn't over the top with colours and patterns that just make you want to vomit. The toys that dangle from the frame are well thought out and feature different things to distract a screaming infant - a cow mirror so baby can admire the baby looking back at her, a lamb that plays Old MacDonald (which never ceases to get Monkey to smile, even now at almost 8 mos!), a pig that chimes, a spotty duck with crinkly wings and a bunny rattle with a teething ring. There are a few different patterns and nice colours and I'm sad to actually put this away now that baby can crawl and would rather explore exposed power cables and rip curtains off walls.4. Toy tethers (~$8) - any kind will probably do. We have two and they have saved us mucho dinero. Monkey is at the stage where she insists on toys in her stroller/carseat to keep her occupied but then accidentally (or purposefully?) launches said toys out of stroller/carseat. If it wasn't for these tethers, we would have lost and had to replace many a cherished baby item. These are also helpful for keeping toys off the dirty floor and saving you from constantly cleaning baby's favorite chew toy.
5. Muslin - this is just the greatest fabric ever. Super breathable and absorbs quickly. We got the Aden & Anais Dream Blanket which is five layers of muslin and sometimes I don't give it to Monkey for naps because I want to horde it for myself. We also got a bunch of Boots "muslin squares" shipped to us from my brother in the UK which were absolutely awesome for use as burp cloths when Monkey was going through her projectile spit up phase (where spit up would just roll off receiving blankets and onto our clothes, these squares actually absorbed it and kept us clean. Priceless!). Now that Monkey is managing to hold her food down better (or maybe I'm not overfeeding the little bub as much), we use these for everything from baby care to dust cloths. Now THAT is multi-use!
6. Sound machine - we live in a noisy area with obnoxious, noisy neighbours which means that
after 7pm, Monkey's bedtime, every last little noise wakes the Monkey and creates a nightmare for me to get her back to sleep. The travel Sleep Sheep was an awesome gift given to us that plays soothing sounds (like ocean waves, rain, babbling stream and whale sounds (which I find a bit creepy but anyhow...)). Monkey LOVED this from the moment she was born and it's still going strong at almost 8 months. As soon as she hears the white noise, it helps lull her to sleep and also blocks out background noise such as that coming from my neighbour who loves to yell into all hours of the night. I should also mention that my husband loves this thing and, as a sailor, asks for me to play the wave sounds to help him to go to sleep :)7. Play mats - these foam mats give baby a safe place to play and learn to sit up where they're constantly falling over. I don't worry as much about Monkey hitting her head on the foam mats as I would if she was directly on the floor. We got a set by Skip Hop (~$99) which are nice but you could probably find something a bit more practical as Monk loves to pull up the joining pieces and eat them.
8. Nursing pillow - there are two favorites out there. I know the My Brest Friend (~$60) is very
popular since it has a flat top (so baby doesn't roll off) and a pocket for anything from your cell phone to a remote control. I've never actually used this one so I can't say anything more about it. I was given a Jolly Jumper pillow and I LOVED it because it worked perfectly well as a nursing pillow but also worked beautifully to help with tummy time and as a safety pillow which wrapped around Monkey while she was learning to sit up. I use it for myself to put my feet up (yeah right! Like I ever have time to do that anymore!) and for a variety of other uses.9. Baby monitor - these are essential if you have a house with multiple levels. We also found this very useful for listening in to what Monkey was doing when we didn't want to actually go in the nursery and check on her. It was so sensitive that
we could even hear her breathing which was always very reassuring. At one of our baby showers, we got the Philips Avent DECT baby monitor which has a bunch of additional great features like a temperature sensor, a visual noise indicator and most important of all; lullabies. For whatever reason, when baby is inconsolable, when the Sleep Sheep has failed to soothe, the lullabies on this thing work like magic to quiet her and put her to sleep. We often refer to this as our 'secret weapon.' We never bothered buying a baby mobile which would probably have some lullaby tunes on it so this thing was priceless.10. Hand blender - another multi-use item. These are great for making baby purees but also double for making grown up smoothies or mixing batter or what have you. I've seen things like the "Baby Bullet" for sale but really, you can get a hand blender for much cheaper (ours was ~$30 by Cuisinart), takes up less space (throw it in a drawer when not in use), it's easier to clean and will be useful well after your baby wants nothing more to do with purees.
So those are my top ten. It was really hard choosing just 10 but those are the ones that stand out the most in my mind. Some of these things are expensive so it's always good to explore other options like registering for them, borrowing them from a friend or buying them used. I find with baby things, you really do get what you pay for.
