A Few of Our Favorite Things

Yes, I know I've been a terrible blogger thus far. I have a good excuse, though. My laptop is off being repaired, and it has all of the pictures of Stella's first few months on it. It should be back in a couple of weeks, so I'll continue chronicling Miss Stella's life then.

Until then, though, I wanted to write a post about some of our favorite baby products. I know a LOT of people who are pregnant, and I want to pass some of my wisdom (for lack of a better term) on to them as they're making decisions about what to buy for their babies.

The first thing that I HIGHLY recommend is Amazon Mom. You can sign up for free at Amazon, and when you subscribe to receive diapers, wipes, and other baby products on a regular basis, you get 30 percent off on them, PLUS they're delivered to your door in two days with no shipping charges. I felt really strongly that I wanted to use Pampers for Stella, but it was hard to justify the expense when other brands were significantly cheaper. Through Amazon Mom, I'm able to get Pampers for the same price as Costco diapers -- for example, a box of 180 size 1 Pampers for $28!

We have used our Boppy literally every single day since Stella was born. It's such a great nursing pillow (that's what we mainly use it for), but it's also super comfy for her to lie in or for people to use to support her when they hold her. We have the cover shown below and love it -- very soft and cuddly. (We actually have three covers, and I definitely recommend getting several.)

I always thought that my favorite clothes for Stella would come from stores like BabyGap and Old Navy -- stores that I like to shop at for myself. But our absolute favorite clothing brand -- the one that fits her best and is the most durable -- is Carters. Now, I'm definitely not a fan of everything they have. I really don't like stuff that says "ADORABLE" or "MOMMY'S GIRL" all over it or that has ugly animals all over it. But Carter's has a lot of really cute stuff that's more simple and classic -- but still looks like it should be worn by a baby. I'm especially a fan of their sleepers. Get the ones with the zippers! You do not want to be snapping nine hundred snaps during those middle-of-the-night diaper changes.

Stella's favorite pacifiers have by far been the MAM brand. I definitely think they're the cutest brand out there, so I was glad she chose them. We did buy a few different brands (Nuk, Soothie, and MAM) to have on hand so that she could choose her favorite.

We have at least 30 blankets (and believe it or not, we absolutely use them all!). Blankets are definitely one thing that you will go through a lot of -- swaddling (we use Aden+Anais swaddle blankets), covering the baby when they're in the car seat, laying the baby on the floor, etc. We have a lot of blankets that we really love and use all the time, but some of our favorites are "Crib Clouds" by Colorado Clothing. I had never heard of them before, but Stella received two (monogrammed!) from different family friends, and we love them. Stella has a pink one and a white one.

We use our Fisher Price Soothe and Glow Seahorse for every naptime and when we put Stella to bed each night. She loves to look at him, and the music lasts just long enough to help her drift off. And it's only about $15, so definitely a must-have!

It's inevitable that lots of people will want to touch your baby. And if, like me, you're obsessed with keeping your sweet baby away from as many germs as possible, you must buy these Johnson and Johnson Hand and Face Wipes. They're a gentle wipe and they kill 95 percent of germs. Well worth the price -- Target had two-packs of these on sale for $5 not too long ago.

Finally, I really hope that your baby won't get a cold for a long, long time. But if they do, saline nose mist is absolutely wonderful for clearing out their little noses and helping them breathe. I recommend Little Noses brand -- and get the MIST, not the drops. I have never had such a frustrating experience in my life as I did trying to get drops into that little nose.

I hope this is helpful. We had so many wonderful people who gave us GREAT advice about their favorite baby products before Stella was born, so I'm excited to be able to do that for others, too!