The Registry Series: Nursery and Bedding

When it comes to registering for your nursery, you can keep it simple or go big!  When I mean by "go big" is registering for basically everything - from furniture down to decor.  For our registry, we kept it relatively simple and down to a few basics.  I had purchased most items for Chase's nursery throughout my pregnancy, and my parents generously bought his furniture, so (thankfully) we didn't really need much.

These are the nursery items we registered for and all but one we still use daily with our little man:

1. Motorola Baby Monitor: There are tons of different baby monitors out there and I had one stipulation when it came to narrowing ours down.  I really wanted a monitor that had wifi capabilities.  I chose this monitor by Motorola and it's been wonderful.
2. Sound Machine:  Every single night and during each nap, we use my iPad mini as a sound machine for Chase.  We had originally purchased this one, but it turns out he's a big fan of Elvis and would rather listen to him instead 😉
3. Humidifier:  This is one of those items where you might not use it every single day, but you are super thankful you have it when you need it!  Since Chase has bouts with Asthma, we need this a bit more than we probably would have and this one by Crane is a great size and super cute!  Plus, they come in tons of different colors!
4. Wipe Warmer: We learned the hard way with this one in particular.  There is absolutely nothing worse than an ice cold wipe in the middle of the night when your little one wakes up!  A wipe warmer is a God send - trust me on this!!
5. Sleep Sack: The Halo sleep sack is a favorite for moms all over!  This makes night time less worrisome because it is suggested that you don't put blankets on your baby until they are over a year old.  This also keeps them swaddled which is super soothing to most babies and helps them (and you!) get a more restful night's sleep!

As for bedding, there is one brand in particular that I love and would highly recommend to everyone and that is Aden + Anais!  We use their products all over Chase's nursery and LOVE them all!  Currently, we use the Aden + Anais crib sheet covers on top of a waterproof mattress protector.  He sleeps comfortably at night with his dream blanket that is a perfect weight and super soft (it gets softer with each wash!).

We also used nothing but the Aden + Anais swaddle blankets when he was a baby.  Once I tried them,  all the others I purchased when right back to the store!  I appreciate the breathable fabric so much and their softness!

And finally, we use and love the changing pad covers as well.  He's just a month shy of a year and a half old and I've been using these since day #1!

Next up is some baby gear I think you will all love!

MAIN POST

The Registry Series: Medicine Cabinet

I know medicines for babies can be a bit controversial but all of these items above, we've used with Chase and have discussed them and got approval from out pediatrician.  I am in no way a doctor or medical professional, these are simply items that I've found worked for us and I hope will work for you as well.

1. When Chase has a stuffy nose, nasal spray is helpful in getting the tough stuff out!  This formula is made by the same company that makes Boogie Wipes and it's gentle for sensitize little noses!

2. I had never heard of this miracle cream prior to having Chase but I'm so very glad I know about it now!  In Chase's whole year of life, he's had only one minor diaper rash when he first came home from the hospital.  I contacted our pediatrician late one night and they recommended this cream.  We ran out to get it that same night and by the next morning it was just about gone!  After that, I used it with each diaper change as a preventative measure for a bit.  It's a little on the pricier side but it's worth it's weight in gold!

3. Vick's Baby Rub was also recommended by our pediatrician when Chase had his first cold.  We used it sparingly but it definitely helped with his congestion.  It's a great item to have handy!

4. Boogie Wipes are a favorite of ours!  I have them in Chase's nursery, my car, and my diaper bag.  I like to use them over regular tissues because they never dry out his nose.

5. We have this thermometer and love that it's a noninvasive product that can be used on newborns and adults alike.  It's very easy to use as well!

6.  It's always good to have some sort of pain reliever in the house - especially when it's teething time!  We love both Infant Motrin and Infant Tylenol.

7.  The idea of the Nose Frida nasal aspirator may be very unappealing and might actually deter some from purchasing and using it but honestly, this product is amazing!  It's much more effective than a traditional aspirator and it's easy to clean.

8. This outdoor duo pack from Babyganics has both mineral based sunscreen and natural insect repellent - both very important to have!

9. The First Years American Red Cross Baby Healthcare and Grooming Kit has all of the essentials for your baby.  It's a 17 piece set that includes a nasal aspirator, digital thermometer with case, soft-tip medicine dispenser, comfort tip medicine spoon with cap, brush, comb, scissors, nail clipper, fingertip toothbrush, emery boards, and a rattle.  It all comes in a handy zippered case for easy storage.

Next up is nursery and bedding essentials!

MAIN POST

The Registry Series: Bath

Other than playtime, bath time is definitely Chase's favorite part of the day!  We've been using these items since we came home from the hospital and he could take his first bath!

1. & 2. Just Bath by Just Born Hooded Towels  and  Just Bath by Just Born Washcloths - I'm a little weird when it comes to bath towels and washcloths for Chase.  I really dislike the ones that are silky soft and tissue thin because they don't get much of the job done (in my opinion).  These Just Bath by Just Born towels have the perfect amount of weight and texture, as do the washcloths.   J.J. Cole is another brand we are fond of at our house.

3. Spout Cover: 4Moms - There are a lot of different spout covers on the market and we have two that we really love and would recommend.  The first one is this 4Moms cover.  This will give you a piece of mind when you are filling up the tub for your baby as it has a heat sensing element that will notify you by sounding an alarm and flashing bright red if the water is too hot.  If it is just right, it will stay in the green zone.  It also displays the exact temperature.  The 4Moms cover does double duty by acting as a thermometer and barrier from the metal.  We also love the Boon Flo - we recently purchased this and like it a lot!  The Flo has a bath bubble dispenser and the bottom comes out to help was soap away, all while protecting your child.

4. Bath Seat: Angelcare Bath Support - After seeing how gross baby tubs can get, I read wonderful reviews on this seat and am so glad it is ultimately the one we chose.  This is such an easy item to clean and it doesn't get moldy or disgusting.  We love that it supports your child from birth to 30 pounds.  A must have!

5. Aveeno Baby Bathtime Solutions Set - Chase has super sensitive skin and he also has infant eczema in certain areas.  We tried Johnson & Johnson products and they would irritate the eczema so we talked with our pediatrician who recommended the Aveeno Baby product line.  We currently use their bath soaps, lotions, and eczema relief products.  They have helped his skin tremendously!

6. Nuby Tear Free Rinse Pail - You can always use a good old fashioned cup to get this job done, but we love our Nuby rinse pail because it perfectly contours to the baby's head so nothing gets in his eyes.

I hope you find these items worth looking into!  Next up are medicine cabinet must haves!

MAIN POST 

The Registry Series: Playtime and Toys

This section of the Registry Series can be considered optional because it's all about playtime and toys. Some of you will not find it absolutely essential to register for toys and that is fine - to each their own.  However, those of you who would like to add a few playtime items to your registry, I've broken this list down to essentials and extras.  All of these items I've used with Chase and some he still plays with (most actually).  Here we go ;)

I think all registries should have a jumper, playmat, and walker on them which is why I've listed these three as my essential items.  You will use these relatively quickly and for a pretty long period of time.  These three items are Chase's favorites!  He still uses them all to this day - the police car gets the most use right now because he's always on the go!

1. Play Mat: Infantino Grow-With-Me Mat & Ball Pit - This was one of the first "large toys" Chase played with.  We love this in our house because it gets more and more fun with each stage.  At first it is an activity mat and it converts into a ball pit!  It's a multipurpose item that is sure to get a lot of use!

2. Jumper: Disney Finding Nemo Sea of Activities Jumper - We love this thing!  I'm talking a deep deep love!!  We purchased this for Chase over the summer and once he went in, there was no getting him out!  This jumper is highly interactive and will stimulate almost all of your baby's senses!  There's so much color, lights, sounds, textures, and tons of  toys to play with!  It has three different height settings to grow with your baby. It's just so awesome!  Chase is quickly outgrowing it now and I think it's about time to box it up - although I have to admit, I'm going to miss seeing him bounce around in it!

3. Walker: Combi Police Car Entertainer - Play time gets more fun once your little one is ready to move!  This police car walker is adorable!  It is definitely Chase's most favorite at the moment!  It has a padded seat, a little steering wheel that honks and plays melodies, adjustable height, and a snack tray.

For the extras, I wanted to include some of the items that my son has loved and used for a while.  We are going on 11 months and almost all of these toys are still played with daily.

1. Jacques the Peacock was the first toy we ever played with and from time to time now he will pick it up.  This is a great starter item!

2. The WubbaNub isn't necessarily a toy per say, but for an infant it doubles as a toy and pacifier!

3. We have both the Sit to Stand Learning Walker by Vtech and the Little Tikes Light N Go Activity Walker and they are both wonderful!

4. Our beloved Sophie has had a bit of a bad rep lately but if you use her carefully and follow the guides/instructions, she's wonderful to have when the baby is teething or just looking for something to squeak ;)

5. The Sassy Link Ring is another great beginner item - and as a bonus, you can take it apart and use the links to extend other toys!

6. This Baby Einstein ball set was in Chase's Christmas stocking and he just loves it!  All of the balls have different elements inside of them that keep him occupied and curious!

So there you have our playtime favorites from birth to the first year!  Now don't get me wrong, there are lots of other items that he plays with now, but all of these have been kept in rotation and played with over the last 11 months.  We love them all and hope you and your babies will too!

Next up is bath time - our favorite!

MAIN POST 

The Registry Series: Feeding

I hope you all enjoyed the first installment of the series!  For today's post, I am going to discuss some feeding essentials for a new baby.  Just to let you know, I did not include my nursing favorites in this section.  I am going to devote an entire post to nursing favorites at a later date.  I will also do a post on toddler feeding favorites once I get a list going - Chase is still new to eating solid table foods so we are still experimenting with products now.

1. Spoons:  Munchkin Soft-Tip Infant Spoons - We have gone through several different types and brands of spoons but these are by far my favorites.  They are sturdy, soft enough to not bother teething gums, dishwasher safe, and very inexpensive.  We also really like these spoons by Munchkin (they tell you if the food is too hot)  and Chase really loved these by Beaba when he first started eating solids (they are super soft and are great for teething gums).

2. Boon Lawn Drying Rack - This seems to be an essential item on any registry I've come across!  It is wonderful for all of the little bottle parts, pump parts, sippy cups... you name it!  It fits all shapes and sizes!  It also comes with an array of different attachments (we have this one) for extra space and is easy to clean as it's only two pieces!  I was originally going to return the lawn, which is the largest size, for the grass but I'm so glad I didn't!  It's amazing how much this holds and it doesn't take up as much space as I thought it would (which was my reason for wanting a smaller one).  This is a must!!

3.  High Chair: Peg Perego Siesta - This is one of the pricier high chair options but it's an example of you get what you pay for.  This is also a wonderful investment piece for babies because your child can use it from birth throughout toddlerhood.  It has 9 different height positions and 5 recline positions.  It also has a 5 point safety strap and lock buttons for the wheels.  There is a double tray that stacks on top of each other and each piece is dishwasher safe.  It's easy to clean and my favorite feature is that it is one of the slimmest folding chairs on the market!  I love this chair and highly recommend it!  Well worth the money!

4.  Bottle Set: Philips Avent Infant Starter Set - This is a great set to register for because you get a little bit of everything - 5 bottles of various sizes, a soothie pacifier, a dispenser, and a bottle brush.  This is also a great set for both breast and formula fed babies - my son has been exclusively breast fed and loves these bottles and I also have a niece and a nephew who were both formula fed babies and they used them as well.  For a breastfed baby these are great because they have a breast shaped nipple which helps to prevent nipple confusion.  We also have these bottles and love them too!

5.  Bibs - The amount of different bibs on the market is amazing!  There are so many different fabrics, styles, and brands out there.  For infants, I love these by Frenchie and these by Tommee Tippee because they have a neckline that prevents leaks.  We have both and love them!

So these are a few of my essential feeding items for little ones.  Like the items in the previous post, we own all of these, love them, and use them on the daily for Chase.  I hope you find this information helpful!  Next up is playtime!

MAIN POST

The Registry Series: On the Go

I'm excited to share the first post of the Registry Series with you all!  This one is all about on the go essentials.  It's amazing how many different options there are for strollers and car seats! The options I will discuss below are ones that I highly recommend.  Each item mentioned and photographed are things that I currently own, use, and love for Chase - I highly recommend them all!

1.  Stroller:  Baby Jogger City Select - There aren't enough good things I can say about this stroller! First and foremost is that it is extremely easy to use!  It has over 16 different configurations so you can literally create whatever it is that works best for your family - from forward to rear facing and from one to two seats.  It easily folds and converts into a double stroller.  It also has adapters for just about every infant carrier seat out there (including my beloved Nuna Pipa - #2).  It rides like a dream and is relatively lightweight.  Well worth the price!

2.  Infant Carrier:  Nuna Pipa - This is one of the very first items I purchased after finding out I was pregnant.  I did tons of research on infant carriers and this one was highly rated, reviewed, and recommended.  My favorite feature is the dream drape which comes down to cover the baby almost completely to shield them from the sun and elements.  It's very easy to use and install - the base is easily movable from one car to another.   You will definitely feel secure when your baby is in this seat!

3.  Convertible Car Seat:  Graco 4ever All-in-1 - The Graco 4ever seat can be used from infancy throughout childhood.  It ranges from 4-120 pounds and can be broken down from a full seat (as pictured), to a highback booster, to a backless booster.  This seat grows along with your baby which makes it a wonderful investment piece!

4. Britax Back Seat Mirror - This is simply for a piece of mind.  As your driving and prior to your baby facing forward, this mirror will allow you to see them fully.  I couldn't imagine driving without one!

5.  Summer Infant Cart Cover - You will be really glad that you have this once your baby is able to situp in a shopping cart or a restaurant high chair!  It protects your baby from directly touching the carts and high chairs which helps to prevent germs and other bacteria.  This one has a vinyl pocket for your smartphone and a positioner to help prop up younger babies.  We've only recently started to use this with Chase and it's a life saver!

I hope you've enjoyed this first installment of the series!  And I also hope those of you registering found this helpful!  I'll discuss feeding essentials next week!

MAIN POST

The Makings of a Baby Registry

The thought of creating a registry for a new baby is an exciting yet overwhelming task.  There are so many different categories and items that fit into them --- then to top it off, there are numerous brands, types, styles, and variations of just about every baby item out there!  It can definitely be a scary time because as new parents, you want to make sure you are getting the best for your new bundle of joy!  There's lots of research to do, reviews to read, and decisions to make!

If you are anything like me, you want multi purpose (or even multi baby) use items that you can use for a while and pack away for a possible future brother or sister.  I also wanted items that weren't going to clutter my house because space is not necessarily abundant - especially when most baby gear is unnecessarily large! 

Starting next week, I will be posting the Registry Series, which will be broken down into the following categories:

On the Go

Feeding

Play Time

Bath

Medicine Cabinet 

Nursery & Bedding

Gear
Extras

I will be posting one category each week on Wednesday.  I will refer to this post as the MAIN post and at the bottom of the the category posts, I will link back here where you can find them all.  For each category, I'll put essential items I feel should be included on a registry, links to easily find/purchase the items mentioned, some of my personal opinions on them, etc. 

I'm looking forward to posting this series because I did so much homework when putting together our registry!  I hope you enjoy it and find the information helpful for either your own registry, future registry, or maybe for a friend/relative!