Registering for Baby

If you're reading this post, you're most likely pregnant. So, first and foremost, congratulations! I wanted to share a few items in particular that we registered for and how baby has liked/disliked them so far. I know this post was long promised, but what better timing than now? At least now I can give an honest review on what has worked for us! Hope it helps. 

*all will be linked at the bottom of this post and just FYI most are affiliate links.

First up is the Snuggle Me Organic which Sawyer sleeps in every night. I did a lot of research on the Snuggle Me Vs. the Dockatot and this is what I found:

- Snuggle Me has been in business for 10+ years while the Dockatot is brand new.

- Snuggle Me's customer service (from my experience) has been nothing but 100%, which is a must for me. Any questions I had were answered promptly and politely by the owner of the company. Dockatot recently promoted a sale and did not go through with what they were promoting, which I thought was kind of shitty to shoppers and buyers.

- There have been no reports of any infant deaths from the Snuggle Me in the 10+ years that they've been around. 

- I could not find anything on Dockatot's site showing what it is made out of. As soon as you visit Snuggle Me's site, you are told the exact materials they use. Snuggle me is organic. 

-Snuggle me has a hammock-like structure that makes baby feel secure and keeps baby from rolling. (The main reason Sawyer sleeps in her Snuggle Me is because she is swaddled at night and I want to prevent her from rolling onto her stomach while swaddled- super dangerous). 

- The Dockatot costs more than the Snuggle Me.

Disclaimer* sleeping in a lounger is not safe sleep. I am aware of this, but truly trust Snuggle Me's product. Sawyer also wears an Owlet monitor which is why I feel 100% safe letting her sleep in her Snuggle Me lounger. I will touch on the owlet monitor later in this post. 

Next is the Safari Dreams Rock N Play which we don't use AS often but it has come in handy for when I'm showering or tidying up our bedroom. the first two weeks home from the hospital we could not get her to sleep no matter what we did. We moved to the living room to change up scenery and it was just easier to have everything we needed on one level. When she did sleep, this thing was the only thing she would sleep in. Since we moved back into the bedroom and since she finally adjusted to her bassinet, we now only use the rock n play in the bedroom. Our laundry room is across the hall from our bedroom so I will also put her in this whenever I'm doing laundry.  However, I would have to say that the rock n play gets the least amount of use out of any of the baby gear that we own. Keep in mind that every baby is different. I know a lot of babies who love this thing and actually sleep in it at night. Another disclaimer * the rock n play is not considered safe sleep but that's for you as the parent to decide. Once again, I wouldn't have let her sleep in it those first couple of weeks if it weren't for her owlet monitor. That monitor has been a serious life saver for us and great peace of mind.

Next we have the Snugga Puppy Swing which Sawyer is in at this very moment. This swing is a God send! All of her naps during the day are in this swing. It stays in the living room which is where we are most of the time. It's super cozy and she loves to watch the toys go round and round. It also plays music for daytime and nighttime. If music isn't your baby's thing, it plays owl noises. I recently set up her baby monitor to point directly at her in the swing incase she's asleep and I need to run upstairs to do something. This is the monitor we chose. We haven't set it up in her nursey yet since she isn't using the nursery at this time. The monitor is actually a security camera, but we have really enjoyed using it as a monitor for Sawyer and the dogs. We can view the monitor if we are away from the house and it's protected from hackers.

We chose this pack n play (honestly because it matched our house) but also because it came with a changing table and vibrating bouncer. We traveled with the pack n play over Christmas and she sleeps well in it. Right now we have it set up in our bedroom as a changing table and it's been great! I don't have to run to her nursey every time I need to change her. The changing table wipes clean and also has storage on the side for diapers, creams, etc. The bouncer has also gotten a lot of use. It's light weight so I can carry it from room to room. At first Sawyer was not a fan of vibration, but it's crazy how baby's preferences change as they age. I like that we have a good mix of rock, swing, bounce and vibrate so we can constantly switch it up for her. If one thing isn't working at the moment, I know we have other options. 

For our stroller and car seat, we chose the Nuna 2019 Tavo and Pipa Lite Travel System. We got ours from Dillards. I honestly have to do an entire blog post on this stroller and car seat to explain all that it does (which if requested, I will do). It's the most amazing and convenient thing ever. When choosing baby gear, I was all about what's going to be easier on me and make life with baby more convenient. For starters, this car seat is the lightest car seat on the market. This was extremely important to me considering I am small, have small arms and can't lift a lot. The car seat is about 5 pounds- add an 8+ pound baby to that, and that's a lot of weight for someone my size to carry around. I love the chic style of the stroller and car seat. I love that it's not bulky like Graco car seats. The stroller does SO many things, It would take me all day to elaborate. Here's a video tutorial if you'd like to check it out. It does come with a car seat base.

We got this 4 in 1 Graco Crib because I wanted something simple that did not cost a lot and that Sawyer would get lots of use out of. The crib changes into a day bed, toddler bed and twin bed so it can grow with her. Our mattress is from Sams Club.  

Next is the Halo bassinet which Sawyer sleeps in every night. Pictured is the Snuggle Me Organic inside the Halo. We just got the basic bassinet. It swivels so that I can get in and out of bed and it pushes right up to the bed so that I can literally sleep eye level with her. We are in each others faces there's just a small mesh in between us. The side bends down easily so I can get her in and out without even having to get out of bed. I have to say this has been a huge peace of mind being able to see her any time I need to throughout the night. If her paci falls out, I don't even have to raise my head, I just stick my arm in and put her paci back in her mouth.  

The storage attachment is sold separately but has really come in handy for nightly diaper changes. I keep diapers, wipes, a toy and extra pacis in there. 

We have two separate baths for Sawyer. Your standard bathtub with newborn sling (which I don't care for) and then the Blooming Bath Lotus which we use and probably will continue to use as long as she can fit into our kitchen sink. The newborn sling makes me nervous. I feel like she could easily slip out of it. We will use that bathtub once she is old enough to not need the newborn sling insert. The blooming bath is super soft so I don't have to worry about her banging her head or slipping. I feel like the material keeps her at a warmer temperature. I also like how convenient it is for the sink. It's also washing machine and dryer safe or you can hang dry with the little hook on the back.

The Owlet Monitor is hands down the best thing on our registry that we received. I've used it every single night since bringing her home from the hospital. This is worth every single penny for the peace of mind that it brings. The Owlet monitor is a sock that your baby wears and it will alert you when your baby's heart rate or breathing is irregular. They also have an app called Connected Care which will tell you your baby's trends, such as their sleeping patterns, average heart rate and oxygen levels. If heaven forbid your baby's heart rate or breathing is irregular at any given time while wearing the sock, the charging dock and your phone will be notified with a loud sound. Also, over Christmas I forgot to connect the dock and sock to my mom's wifi at her house and was pleased to read that even when not connected to wifi, you will still be alerted if something is off with your baby. 

        

If you plan on breastfeeding, the My Brest Friend nursing pillow is a must. I took mine to the hospital with me. It wraps around your back for support and boy does it make a difference! It also has a little pocket to hold your phone or water bottle. I have two of these pillows, one in green and one in gray. I keep one in our bedroom for night feeds and one in her nursery for when I decided to nurse her in there. I also have a Boppy that I use when downstairs on the couch. I learned the hard way after about a week of thinking I didn't need these pillows any more. I completely ruined my back and my posture went to crap without these pillows. Once I started using them again, my back pain subsided.

I call this Sawyer's little corner. She has her tummy time mat and her swing in our living room to get a perfect mix of playtime and naptime. Click here for her tummy time mat. I liked that it came with a couple different toys as well as a pillow to prop her up. Also a plus that it matches our house but still has some color to stimulate her.

For our bottle warmer we picked the Kiinde which I LOVE. It heats any brand of bottle and can also thaw out frozen bags of breast milk in 3 minutes. We also have a couple of the Boon Bottle Drying Racks. I love all Boon products by the way. I have the Travel Boon on my bedside table for my Haakaa's in the middle of the night. Since I get the most milk let down in the middle of the night into the morning hours, I will keep a bottle with lid beside the bed along with my Haakaa's. I will use a Haakaa with every feed and empty the milk into the bottle with lid. Breastmilk can be kept out for 6-8 hours at room temperature (sealed) so I will just put the contents into the fridge in the morning. Because I'm constantly rinsing out my Haakaa's in the middle of the night, it helps to have the mini Boon rack beside my bed so it can dry out before the next feed. Also, the brush that comes with the mini Boon has been THE BEST bottle brush. I have contemplated purchasing another Travel Boon just to have an extra brush like that since I haven't been able to find just the brush for individual purchase. 

By the way, I plan to do an entire post on the Haakaa's and breastfeeding!! 

Bottle feeding and what bottles I use. If you have any questions or would like me to touch on something in particular in that post, leave your question in the comments section of this post!

I've gotten a lot of questions recently about Sawyer's pacis. She did not take pacis until she was around 3 weeks. Since then she has used Bibs . I love how trendy these are right now and all of the different color options. Yes, they are pricey for pacis but they are made with rubber and plastic so that your baby does not break out around their mouth. Also, as you can see, the plastic bends outwards so that it's not pressing against the baby's mouth area. These are really light weight so they do not fall out of the baby's mouth as much and I think this is why Sawyer took to them so well. They are easy to clean with boiling water but because these are made out of rubber, they need to be replaced more frequently whenever you notice wear and tear. It really all depends on how frequently you use them. If you are using the same one for a long period of time, you will need to replace it sooner than if you have 5 different Bibs that you switch from.

There was a lot more items that we registered for or use on a daily basis, but I thought these were the most beneficial. Again, if you have any questions about a particular product, I would be glad to answer if it's something that we have used. Just leave it in the comments!

Xx, 

LeAnne