So I meant to post my favorite baby items along the way but I took an unscripted, unplanned blogging hiatus since becoming a mom. And really, this blog is something I enjoy but as far as priorities go, it's not at the top of the list. I kept track of all the things we loved though, and I knew I'd eventually want to show favoritism to the goodies that helped us get through the rough months. Sleep. Not something we had much of from the time bunny was around 3 weeks old...then we found our groove around 4 months...then totally rocked again until about 7 months...then another regression...around 9 months we started getting some sleep after we cut our first tooth. Our baby is not one to need hours of uninterrupted sleep and she still wakes a few times a night, but at least she can put herself down again. We spent quite a bit of money on trickery that promised a decent night's rest, here are the things that we loved most.
First off...routine is key. We eat, bathe, book/nurse/pray, and bed every night. It works for us, she knows what to expect and will start to fuss if we deviate from the routine.
A good humidifer for her room, we bought this Crane ultrasonic version from Diapers.com when they had a 30% off sale. We love it so much that we may buy another for our bedroom. Cleaning it is a bit of a chore, it needs to bed emptied daily and cleaned with a water/white vinegar solution daily.
At night we like to play Pandora for our girl, we like the lullaby station but she sleeps better when the music doesn't have words - our favorite is the Piano Guys station. We also like Baby Mozart.
This bedtime book is adorable, it's called Really Woolly Bedtime Prayers and can be purchased on Amazon, though I'm not sure where our copy came from since it was a gift. Another religious favorite is 365 days of bible bedtime stories - my copy is second hand and we read several pages a night so we are already through it. We have too many favorite bedtime books to count, I try to pick things that have more words than pictures so she will listen while she nurses.
Cloud B Sleep Sheep, ours was purchased through Pottery Barn Kids. It's nice, there are five different sounds and you can choose how loud you want it. She likes the ocean sound best. We used this more when she was still in the bassinet in our room.
Halo Sleep Sack. We got a lot of use out of these - Ava had two small and two medium ones - we started swaddling arms up the first month she was born and arms down at two months. We weaned her away from them at 6 months when she outgrew them. Swaddle weaning was the absolute devil...it made for two miserable weeks of sleeplessness. Three of our four Halo's were purchased at Target, the fourth on Amazon. Since we used these mostly through warm months we either dressed her in a diaper or a onesie underneath.
The Miracle Blanket, if R and I have another we will likely go this route. A friend let us borrow hers so I'm not sure where she got it but I know you can buy them at BabiesRUs. Ava learned how to break out of her Halo around 5 months but you can't break out of the Miracle Blanket. We were able to use this longer because you can still swaddle the arms down and lay the baby down on top of the flap where a smaller baby's feet would go. We stopped using all swaddle sacks when she showed good head, neck and back support and when she could roll easily. Now she wears a regular fleece sleep sack for warmth but will outgrow them soon.
Ava is sleeping in her crib in her bedroom now but for 9 months she either co-slept with us or slept in a bassinet in our room. We liked our Graco to Go...I'm glad it's down now because we have more space in our room but it was convenient having her close by. We picked ours up at Buy Buy Baby using a 20% coupon for the best price. Pack N Play sheets can be hard to find, I picked up a two pack from Circo at Target.com and didn't even get to pick the colors. I can't say she ever cared for the toy bar but the little pouch on the end was nice for keeping her lotions and diapers for after bath time.
Our Levana Oma Snuza. I have a love hate relationship with this thing. I feel more confident at night when she wears it, especially since I know someone who had a SIDS scare but when it goes off in false alarm it scares me to death. If you don't fit it just right on the diaper you may get several false alarms and have to reposition it. I bought ours off Amazon. At ten months we are still using this.
The last bedtime favorite is this Summer Infant 5" wide digital color monitor - we purchased ours at Target. I definitely think this is a necessity but there are so many to choose from we had difficulty picking a monitor. A friend that has twins suggested this one and it has worked out well for us; it travels well and I like the big screen. It picks up even slight noises and I have no problem hearing her alarm or cries, I keep it on the lowest setting on my bedside table and I usually keep the screen zoomed in on her.
This post is one in a series, over the next couple of weeks....as long as she sleeps at night....I'll be able to complete our baby favorites.
