Mama Must-Haves

After three babies (hopefully with more to come, eventually), I have some favorite products that I wouldn't want to mama without.

Aden + Anais Swaddle Blankets

These blankets are the best.  The BEST.  I would trade just about every other baby blanket I own for another pack of these.  I love them.  A lot.  They're the perfect daytime/night time/throw-an-extra-in-the-diaper-bag-just-in-case blanket.  Except for maybe outside during the middle of a non-California winter. But I'd probably still use one under a heavier blanket then anyway, just because I love them so.



Moby Wrap

(No, this isn't me, but this is one of my favorite things about the Moby Wrap-- baby is always within kissing range.)
I've had a few different carriers and slings over the past several years, and this one is by far the best in my opinion.  It's the easiest on my back and shoulders, Hubby can wear it (one size fits all), you can use it from birth to 35 pounds (but really, who wants a 35 pound kid strapped to them?  Little dude should be walking if they weigh that much!)  and baby looooves being snuggled close, especially the first few months of their life.  Best part: you get to cuddle AND have your hands free to get done what needs to get done.  Yes, I'm one of those crazy baby-wearers, and I love it.  So do my littles.  You should try it.  Peeeeerrrr pressure!



Hyland's Baby Colic Tablets
Hyland's Baby Teething Tablets

I don't even want to think about life with babies/toddlers without these two wonderful little bottles.  Gripe water is great too, but I like the colic tablets because they don't go bad as quickly as gripe water once opened, and they aren't as messy to administer.  Well, okay, they're a different kind of messy.  But a kind of messy that I prefer.  And really, they're only potentially messy, depending on how effective your child's tongue is at pushing the half dissolved tablet out of their mouth onto your neck or shoulder if you've put them back up there thinking the whole thing was over and done with too soon.  See?  Only potentially messy.  Gripe water is definitely messy.  At least with my kids it was.


Coconut Oil

My favorite baby (/toddler/me) moisturizer/massage oil.  What you put on baby is just as important as what you put in baby, so the more pure and natural, the better.  Plus, this makes them smell good enough to munch on-- as if you needed an excuse to do more of that. :)  It's also a great base for making herb-infused oils for skin problems, or mixed with some baking soda it makes the best deodorant I've ever come across.


Milkies

My latest mama discovery, thanks to my Mother-in-law.  This is probably extra awesome for working moms who pump and want to save every bit possible.  I love it just because I'm not using lots of nursing pads anymore, and I can always have some milk saved in the freezer for whenever the need may arise without having to make any special effort.  Bonus: some Buy Buy Baby stores carry it, which means you can use one of those $5 off $15 or 20% off Bed Bath & Beyond coupons you have sitting around (as long as it's valid.  While Bed Bath & Beyond takes expired coupons, Buy Buy Baby does not).
Be warned, it is comfortable enough to forget you're wearing it, especially if you have multiple children distracting you, which may lead to going to lie baby down for a diaper change and dumping all the milk out all over... well, everything.  It's possible I'm speaking from experience. Uhh, okay, maybe multiple experiences, but I'm not admitting anything.

On a related note, I don't always use bottles, but when I do, I use Tommee Tippees (and it's possible I love Dos Equis/The Most Interesting Man in the World commercials a taaaaad too much.)  I've only used these with the latest little dude (and only a few times, to be honest), but so far they're the best of the various bottles I tried with the other two.  Not that either of them used bottles all that often, either.



Peanut Shell Nursing Cover

I got one of these with my first, and still love it just as much with my third.  I know there are a bunch of different brands and styles out there now, and I can't say I know much about them,  but what I love about this one is the boning around the top so you can see baby-- and so it doesn't get crazy hot in there.  I usually have to give up the cover around 6-8 months, when they become convinced that it's the best and most amusing way to play peek-a-boo.  Or peek-a-boob, if some random person happens to be walking past at just the wrong time.  Ugghhh.  Your kids are probably way less ornery than mine though, so not to worry.




NoseFrida

Thanks for reminding me of this, Jolene!
ATTENTION: Parents of children too young to blow their nose-- throw that ridiculous, completely ineffective bulb syringe away immediately! (You know you've wanted to since the first time you tried to use it!)  Well, okay, order one of these first, but as soon as it arrives at your door, put that stupid syringe in the trash and enjoy knowing you'll never have to fear accidentally sucking you child's brains (but not a drop of snot) out their nose again.
All joking aside, this thing is awesome.  It's never fun to have a sick baby, but this does make the congestion wayyy easier to deal with.
It's also great for entertainment purposes if you have a husband like mine who needs to try out anything and everything new in the house.  I was not a willing participant, so he had to try it on himself.  If you can't figure out how this doohickey works from the silly little illustration on the box, basically the red part goes into the parent's mouth, the blue taper-ended tube thingy goes at the base of baby's nostril, then the parent sucks (don't worry, there's a little filter sponge between your mouth and the snot.)     Or, in this case, the red part went in Seth's mouth, the blue taper-ended tube thingy went in Seth's nose, and then he sucked and made a series of wildly entertaining startled faces along with a few flailing jumps, proclaiming, once recovered from what he'd just done to himself, that it tickled and seemed plenty effective.  (If you know him, you're welcome for that mental image.)

It looks like Buy Buy Baby, Whole Foods, and a few other retailers carry the NoseFrida now, so you might be able to run out and get one if you have a more immediate need, or a valid Bed Bath & Beyond coupon you're in the mood to use.



Grape Seed Extract (sorry, no specific link... it's available at practically any health/natural food store or website, and places like Vitamin Shoppe)

All three of our kids had this awful diaper rash around the time they were 3-4 weeks old, with red sores and terrible sensitivity.  I cut out all citrus, spicy food, flavor, and general deliciousness to see if it was anything I was eating that was causing it; I added in kefir and yogurt and other fermented stuff to try to get things balanced out if it was caused by something out of whack with their/my internal flora; we used cloth diapers washed with natural stuff and rinsed with vinegar-- when they weren't just bare-bottomed in hopes of letting things air out aiding the healing process; old, cut up T-shirts dipped in pure RO water instead of the natural, chlorine-free wipes we had been using; all the natural creams and ointments out there, and every homemade concoction you can think of... not even breast milk or egg whites worked, and those take care of just about every other diaper rash I've encountered with the kids. It wasn't until baby number three was a week or two into this horrible rash that someone at work suggested to Seth grape seed extract mixed with water in a little spray bottle (10 drops to 8oz of water), sprayed on at every diaper change.  Incredibly, the rash was gone in one weekend.  I'm a believer!




I'll keep adding things as I think of them, but in the meantime, what are your Mama Must-Haves?