Baby Products.

Since I'm getting to the point in this pregnancy that I'm starting to sort Nate's baby things/buy new baby things, I got to thinking about my favorite (and least favorite!) products. This is a list (in no particular order) of my most essential products when Nathaniel was a baby.....we'll see soon enough if Baby #2 follows in his big brother's footsteps (er, crawls?)!

My Favorite Baby Products:

Nosefrida Snotsucker - This product is, hands down, my favorite baby item. It is used to, you guessed it, suck the snot out of a baby's nose! It's easy to use, and way more effective than those little blue bulb suctions that they pass out at the hospital (and those are way better than the store-bought ones!). The Nosefrida is a contraption that actually allows you physically to suck the snot from the baby's nose, meaning that you have lots more control over the suction. There is a filter (and lots of space) between your mouth and those boogers. I can't imagine that many babies really enjoy the snot-removal process, but this is about as painless as it gets. And, I credit this little contraption with teaching my son how to blow his nose himself. Really. I can't express enough how useful this product has been during the last 19 months--especially when Nate has gotten a cold.

Moby Wrap - I loved my Moby Wrap, and I can't wait to use it again! I ordered mine when Nate was probably about a month old, and we used it constantly until he was about 8 months old (he didn't outgrow it, but wanted to stretch out his legs more than the Moby allowed). It was a lifesaver when he wanted to be carried around all day, and I had housework to do. It was also handy for getting out of the house easily with a small baby (to take walks, carry him around the store, etc). If you don't know the benefits of baby-wearing to both parent and child, I can't encourage you enough to read this article! After we stopped using the Moby, I used the Ergo carrier. I liked the Ergo a lot, and I would absolutely recommend it for a larger baby--but nothing beats the Moby for infant carrying!

Lansinoh Lanolin Cream - I stocked up on every nursing "essential" that I could find before Nate was born because I really wasn't sure what to expect. What I found out was simple: the only nursing products I really needed were my breasts and a baby. And, to eliminate embarrassing wet spots while in public, nursing pads (Lansinoh was also my favorite brand of nursing pads because they were the only ones that didn't appear bulky under my clothes.). It was several months before I realized that lanolin cream was a real essential! When Nate started teething, he occasionally bit me when he was finished nursing. It was after the very first tooth popped through that those bites started to HURT. Lansinoh Lanolin Cream was the only product that could provide relief when I was bleeding from that razor-sharp little tooth and needed it to heal up before the next nursing session in only a few hours.

Hyland's Teething Tablets - These teething tablets are an absolute lifesaver for us! When Nate was teething, he was an absolute grump (for good reason!), which, in turn, made me a grump. I gave him Tylenol for the pain/swelling sometimes, but I was uncomfortable using it daily. The teething tablets, on the other hand, I was much more comfortable with because they are a natural, homeopathic remedy. And, truthfully, I think the teething tablets provided faster and longer-lasting relief. If you're interested, you can read my entry here about why I will not use Orajel (or any other product containing Benzocaine).

Snappi Diaper Fasteners - I wasn't sure about this product when I ordered it because I couldn't decide how it worked, but I figured it was worth a shot. I'd been cloth diapering (with prefolds) for a few months, and Nate was getting too wiggly for my old-school diaper pins. The snappi diaper fasteners were a lifesaver! They're easy (and quick!) to use, and eliminated any risk of pin pricks. It's been over a year of daily use, and our snappis are still holding up well. If you're planning to use prefold cloth diapers, Snappis are essential!

Sophie the Giraffe - I bought this toy with much hesitation because it's expensive, and I couldn't justify spending so much money on a simple rubber teething toy. (I only bought it because I had a gift card AND a coupon!) After seeing the way that Nate loved this toy, I would pay full price for another one in a heartbeat (for Baby #2, of course). It was his favorite teether for months, and I never worried about the safety of it. Sophie the Giraffe is made of natural rubber, and colored with food-grade paint. She is very lightweight, squeaks when squeezed, and appeals to babies visually. On top of all that, she is adorable!

Most Overrated Products:

Boppy Pillow - I know that this pillow gets a whole lot of hype for being the most essential baby product, but I never really got much use out of ours. I honestly thought that it was more comfortable to rest Nate on a regular throw pillow when I was nursing/rocking him; the Boppy was just too big and bulky for me.
I will admit that I used the Boppy behind/around Nate when he was learning to sit up fairly often. But, again, as soon as he got some control of his core muscles (when he stopped falling sideways), I just used a regular throw pillow behind him (for falling backwards). Sitting him "in" the Boppy was convenient at first, but as soon as he got more confident in his sitting abilities, he starting wiggling around so that he was out of the Boppy. And, as soon as he'd wiggled out of the Boppy, it was simply a pillow surrounding the hard floor where he would fall back and hit his head. A regular pillow behind him didn't move, and he rarely hit his head that way.

Swaddle Blankets - I received several of these special swaddling blankets (in several different brands) before Nate was born. To me, they looked a bit complicated to use, but I washed them all because I "knew" they were essential. When he was born, I think I used one of them one single time. It was easier for me to simply swaddle him in a regular blanket, especially during the winter months when I wanted to use a fuzzy, warm blanket, rather than the thin cotton swaddlers. I think that the swaddle blankets are good for confining babies who fight their way out of a swaddle, but we never had that problem.

What baby products do you love? What "essential" product did you never use? I'd love to hear your opinions on these (or any other popular) baby products!
All of the above opinions are my own personal opinions/experiences. I was not compensated to write about any of these products.

Snappis!

I'm not usually one to rant about a product on my blog, but these things are way too amazing to not mention! Like, if I was cool enough to endorse a product, this would be it! Let me introduce to you....SNAPPIS!

As you probably know {if you read regularly}, we use cloth diapers on Nathaniel. I chose cloth because:
1) disposable diapers have weird chemicals in them, and I don't want them on Nate's bottom all the time {we do use disposables when we're out for long periods};
2) cloth diapers are "green" {and we try to be "green-ish" around here};
3) over time, cloth diapers are cheaper;
4) cloth diapers hold more {we have NEVER had a poop-plosion in a cloth diaper};
5) cloth diapers are way cute; disposables are not.
Notice that none of my reasons mention pins. This is where Snappis come into play...these strange little contraptions are used to hold cloth diapers on babies. They are super easy to use, and {so far} work wonderfully! Best of all, no more diaper pins! When we started using cloth diapers, I bought diaper pins because that's what my mom used (yeah, 20+ years ago). I know that there are cloth diapers with velcro (eliminating the need for pins), but the prefolds are more economical {cheaper!} and withstand washing better. The pins worked, and I never gave them much thought. But, if you've ever tried to cloth-diaper a 6-month-old, you know that wielding sharp objects around those pudgy, 45 mph legs is not easy! Nate has been scratched more than once, and I've poked my own fingers many times. {Those suckers hurt!}

I came across Snappis products online a few months ago, but they looked weird and hard to use, so I clicked past them. After a recent diaper pin jab, I hopped back on the internet and hunted them down. I read several reviews, and decided to give them a try. The package arrived in my mailbox yesterday afternoon, and Nate has been wearing a Snappi ever since!

These things are fabulous! Not only are we avoiding the danger of a sharp pin, but the Snappis are way easier/faster to use! Any product that makes a diaper change faster is cool, right? So, although my Snappi experiences have been brief thus far, I'm eagerly anticipating lots more Snappi time in this household!

*5 stars for Snappis!*

Cloth Diapers.

     We have recently switched from using disposable diapers to cloth.  Why?  Well, we have a few reasons:
A) I don't like unknown chemicals on my baby's bottom.  Seriously, what is that stuff that crunches in a dry Pampers, then solidifies pee? 
B) Disposable diapers don't decompose in landfills...or anywhere else for that matter.  Nathaniel is just a baby; he doesn't need to be filling his new world with thousands of pounds of diapers {full of the aforementioned chemicals} before he turns three.
C) Cloth diapers are cheaper.  Disposable diapers are approximately $.17 each; cloth diapers are $1 each.  It is cheaper to by 36 cloth diapers {and 7 covers at $5 each} and stop buying diapers, than it is to buy 36 disposable diapers every four days for three years. 
D) Cloth diapers appear to be more comfortable than disposables.
E) Cloth diaper covers are way cuter than disposables.