Maternity

How’s that picture for a throw back Thursday? Can you believe I was only around 32 weeks in this photo and this was nearly taken 2 years ago almost to the day! 🙁 So crazy how time flies!

As a first time mom, registering for a baby can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to deciding which products to spend more on and which not to. I recently asked a friend, who is expecting, what kind of things she would want to read about and one of the things she mentioned was what to spend $$ on and what to save on. And, as most of you may know, I love sharing about products that I love… so here we are. 🙂

When it comes to shopping for baby, a few questions to ask yourself are: “will I be able to use this again if I have another? Will I be able to re-sell this and get some money back? Can I find this used still in good condition? Because here’s the deal, there are some baby products that you will use for only a short period of time and they are like brand new. Then there are some that will have so many blow outs in so you will just want to toss them out. So I have put together my options of what to spend and what to save on. I know everyone probably has their own opinions on this and I’m sure I will think of more items to add to this list, but here are the big ones.

Splurge:

Stroller- Stroller shopping is very overwhelming. There are so many options out there and SO many good ones to choose from. My opinion on this is: if you plan on having another baby, get a stroller you can use as a double. The 2 options we narrowed down that you can use as a double stroller were the Uppa Baby Vista and the City Select. We went with the Uppa baby stroller mainly because we liked that it had an infant car seat that snapped right into place with it AND the basket on it was huge! I do have a lot of friends that have the City Select and they love that one too!

Nursery Glider– Ok I go back and forth on this one also because I found mine used ha! BUT, I am the “Craigslist queen” and I got very lucky with finding ours that was barely used from Restoration Hardware! And here is my opinion on this. First, always be careful with craigslist, but always check there or FB Marketplace first for big things that you know won’t be soaked in baby poo a lot -like a glider! If you can’t find a used one in good condition, I say this is an item to definitely splurge on and get something that is comfortable and cute in the nursery of course. You will spend so much time in this thing before the baby is here and then after rocking your little one, so you want to be comfortable!

Baby Monitor- This is an important one. We got an actual Levana brand baby monitor from Buy Buy baby and it died about 4 months in. SO we bought this nest camera. It is actually a security camera, but it is amazing because you can connect it to your phone or iPad so if you’re outside, have a babysitter, or at the grocery store and your husband is home, you can still check in on your baby in a remote location. Not to mention, when you don’t need a monitor anymore you can use it as a home security camera.

A Good Nursing Bra & Nursing Products- Seriously stock up mama. You will thank yourself later. You can read all about what I recommend for this topic here.

Crib Sheets- You will go through a lot of these. Since you don’t want to spend on a bumper and super nice bedding (because bumpers aren’t safe apparently – I learned this after I bought one and it ended up in the closet) invest in multiple, good quality and cute sheets. Dress up the bed with cute crib sheets! PS: My all time favorite crib sheets are these Burts bees crib sheets! Not only are they 100% organic, but they are seriously SO soft and come in so many different patterns and colors! I highly recommend them! I think we went back and bought like 5 more of these after I bought one for Brady’s crib at school ha!

Black Out Curtains for Nursery-  I originally bought white sheer ones that looked so good in the nursery, but didn’t block any sunlight. They hung in the nursery for about a month until I went and invested in some black out panels. Best money spent. Ever.

Don’t Splurge:

Bassinet – They only sleep in these a couple of months at most. I wish I would have read about this before baby. We had a couple that we registered for and though I loved them, Brady did not. He preferred the good ole pack n play! Here is what I recommend in replace of a bassinet.

Infant Car Seat – Ok I go back and forth on this one also for a few reasons. First, if you don’t splurge on this, make sure whatever you get is safe because that’s obviously top priority. Having said that, we did splurge on the infant car seat and got the Uppa Baby mesa car seat because it is so easy and just snaps right into the matching stroller as I mentioned above. And, I do highly recommend splurging and getting this IF you plan to have a baby close to your 1st and here is why. First, the Uppa Baby Mesa car seat was great for us because Brady had a very large head ha! And unlike other infant car seats, this one had a wider head cushion at the top so he was able to stay in it longer than most others. Second,  I NEVER knew, until I had a baby, that car seats have an expiration date. Though most don’t expire for 6 years, the first few months babies grow SO fast and your baby will be out of that infant seat in no time. So, if I had a redo, I may just get a less inexpensive INFANT seat and buy a $30 attachment. Even though I do LOVE our mesa car seat. Splurge on one that grows with your child and you will be able to use for a few years.

Baby Swing- You can buy used baby swings that are basically like new and here’s the thing… If you do splurge on this, you may find your baby does not like it. You definitely NEED a baby swing, but my opinion is don’t splurge on this. You can find one on Amazon for a good price if you want. new one, or find one used. Plus, they won’t use it long.

Crib Bumper & bedding- I so wish I would have listened to everyone that told me this, but when it’s your first, you want the cutest bedding you can find. I didn’t listen and ordered an adorable bumper from pottery barn, and as stated above, its in a storage bin now. haha

So there you have it. Those are my votes on where to spend and where to save. I know there are several other baby products I have missed, but those are the big ones in my opinion.

… and now I have baby fever!

Thanks for reading

Xoxo- Julie

1. Uppa Baby Vista Stroller- This stroller is amazing! It is so easy to switch from the bassinet to the carrier. The mesa car seat snaps right into the stroller and it is very smooth! Did I mention you can purchase a 2^nd seat to attach?

2. Uppa Baby Mesa Infant Car Seat – This base is super easy to install and goes perfect with the stroller. Just snap it in! After spending about 4 hours in Buy Buy Baby comparing car seats and strollers, we found that the weight of this is comparable to many others. We are so happy with this so far!

3. Premium Hooded Baby Towel & Washcloth Set– There are so many bath towels to choose from. Though we have many, this one is our favorite because it is so thick and absorbs water. Brady also loves it because of the thickness, it keeps him warm!

4. Fisher Price Baby Bath Tub – We LOVE this bath tub. After comparing bath tubs and reading reviews, we actually registered for the 4 mom’s bathtub, but Brady slid around in that one and it was a lot bigger. After using this fisher price one at my sisters, and seeing the difference, I ordered this one and wow it’s like night and day. We love it!

5. MyBaby by Homedics SoundSpa Sound Machine – We LOVE this thing! Someone bought this for us as a gift and I am so glad they did! The sounds along with the projection on the ceiling help soothe Brady right to sleep. I highly recommend this.

6.SwaddleMe Pod 2-PK – We used these when Brady was a newborn and LOVED them! It is just like a swaddle, but they zip right up. The zip feature comes in handy during those 2:00 am diaper changes.

7.Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit– Can we say game changer? This thing was really magic (at least for us it was). I heard about it through a friend and, after seeing it and reading reviews, I couldn’t order that thing fast enough. We ordered it on amazon prime and I am so glad we did! The first night using it, Brady slept 6 hours straight. The second night, 10 hours straight! It is very thick so if you get it you may want to crank down your AC!

8. Boudreaux’s Butt Paste – We have been using this since Brady was born and love it! It is a great paste to prevent diaper rashes.

9.Burt’s Bees Organic Cotton Burp Cloths – After researching and reading other blogs, I decided to register for these and I am so glad I did! They are just thick enough to absorb spit up and they are SO soft. These are hands down my favorite out of all the ones we have tried.

10. Boon ORB Bottle Warmer – If you don’t want to use the ole hot water and a glass heating method, I definitely recommend this bottle warmer. It heats up the bottles so quick and it is so easy to use!

11. My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow – I inherited a Boppy nursing pillow from a friend and received this one as a gift so I can compare both. I LOVED this one so much more because it straps right on and has a flat front cushion so baby is more stable when feeding. You can walk around with it if you are that experienced breastfeeding mom. I highly recommend this if you are deciding between the 2 pillows.

12. 4moms mamaRoo– We inherited this from a friend also and absolutely love it! We have this and the Graco swing. Though I love both, the mamaRoo is so quiet and the different motions are amazing. We use the car ride motion and Brady falls right to sleep.

Thanks for reading.  I would love to hear what some of your baby products are in the comments!