So you already know my love for the DockaTot & Rock N Play (if not, read about it here). Here are some other products that I’m LOVING right now as a new mommy.

1. Copper Pearl swaddles, burp cloths & bibs. They are amazing. The swaddles are stretchy enough to get a good tight swaddle without being so stretchy he can break free. I also love that they’re bigger so I can wrap him a little more so when it’s chilly out I don’t have to worry about him getting cold. The burp cloths & bibs are my absolute favorite things. They’re SUPER absorbent & nice a big so I don’t have to worry about milk getting on the little guy (he still spills a lot when he drinks). I also bought their nursing / carseat cover and it’s nice, but not my favorite (I’ll explain more when I get to #3). I also love that they have more trendy designs, so if you’re [like me and] not super into all the super baby patterns they have some great stuff.
2. Bottle warmer – I recommend NOT buying one until you figure out what kind of bottles your baby likes, because we got this Philips Advent bottle warmer, but Dr. Brown bottles because we figured they should warm any bottle. While this is true, the Dr. Brown bottles are soo much thinner and it requires more water, therefore, takes like a million times longer to heat up. Turns out our baby prefers the Philips Advent Natural Flow bottles anyway, so it worked out for us in the end, but this thing is a Godsend in the middle of the night when you’re trying to efficiently feed and get the baby back down to sleep. I don’t have to go to the kitchen and boil (we prefer not to microwave) a bottle and then let the bottle sit in the water. It takes us about 5 mins (typically the time to change him) to heat the bottle in the warmer and it’s good to go!
3. Milkmaid Goods Nursing Cover. So I LOVE this nursing cover because it DOES not taper and tighten at the bottom. It was great for pumping at the hospital (and now in the car). It’s soft, covers everything, and I don’t feel confined in it. The Copper Pearl one works, but I feel like with being a larger person and having big boobs prior to getting pregnant and my milk coming in, it’s just a little tighter than I would prefer. I also prefer this as a car seat cover because it doesn’t have the tight bottom and I can flip one side or part of the cover up and keep an eye on the little dude in the car or in the stroller. Of course, I bought it in a camo print because I love camo. I also bought a robe, dress & swaddle from them, and while I think they’re nice (hello matching robe and swaddle) I don’t think they’re super necessary. The swaddle is a little too stretchy for my liking and the baby can break out of it pretty easily.
4. My Spectra S2 pump – Holy moly I love this thing. I have to pump because little man is still on fortified breastmilk, so he has to be bottle fed. I was using the Medela Symphony one (the hospital grade one) and it was giving me blisters, I got mastitis, I was just in pain all the time because it wasn’t comfortable. If I turned down the power, I felt like I would never “empty” and that’s how I got the mastitis. I don’t know why, but the Spectra just doesn’t hurt as much. Now it is harder to find Spectra compatible parts, but not impossible and well worth it. I got (well registered for) the S2 because it’s cheaper, but the S1 is actually worth the extra $50 because that one can run on a rechargeable battery, so it makes it easier to pump on the go (if you need to). I did buy an AC adapter for my pump so I can use it in the car if I need, but on the off chance you don’t have a power outlet, you could still pump with the S1.
5. This Ubbi Diaper Pail is a lifesaver for us. We live on acreage… the outside trash/dumpster is a trek away. This makes it so much more convenient to just throw away the diaper and then take the whole bag out like every other day, and it keeps the odor in. The best part about this diaper pail vs others is that you can use regular trash bags with it and it doesn’t make a difference.
6. The HaloVa (Land?) Diaper backpack is the perfect size. I don’t actually know the manufacturer because Amazon says HaloVa, but the tag says Land… Either way, hubs and I love this bag. It’s not super bulky like a lot of the backpack style ones but still fits everything we need. I even used it as a pump bag when we were going back and forth from the NICU and it fit the pump and all the parts and accessories with room to spare. At first, I was worried when baby boy started using the Philips bottles instead of the Dr. Brown ones because I didn’t think they’d fit into the bottle slots in the front pouch, but they totally do.
7. Honest Diaper Rash Cream & Baby Bum Brush. The NICU started baby boy on Desitin because his bum was a little red, so they used it preventatively and we kinda just continued to do the same. Desitin is a PAIN when it gets everywhere. It sticks to everything and is soo hard to wipe up (now it’s probably the best thing for your baby if they ACTUALLY have a rash, but ours did/does not). This Honest Co cream is sooo much easier to use and the ingredients are waaay more natural so I don’t mind just using it on the daily. We were using gloves to apply it every time, but it’s such a waste of gloves and this brush is soo easy to use. I actually grabbed ours at Buy Buy Baby & Target, but I just found on Amazon a travel size version and I think I’m going to get it to replace the big one we have in the diaper bag.
8. I LOVE the Pampers Pure line. The diapers are great, we haven’t had any real leak issues (minus once when SOMEONE didn’t put the diaper on correctly). They absorb a ton, and I LOVE that it’s hypoallergenic, free of chlorine bleaching, fragrance, parabens, and just a more clean product. Same goes with the wipes. I tried Water Wipes, but I hated how they were packed in the case because I would end up with like 5 wipes when I needed 1. I don’t have the struggle with the Pampers Pure wipes (except when I get down to the last 2/3 wipes). I love that it’s 99% water and super gentle that I don’t feel bad about using it to clean little guys hands. The only downside is that they do not make a Preemie sized diaper, so we had to use the Pampers Swaddlers (which worked fine for us, we just prefer the more natural option if available). My ONLY complaint about the Pure Wipes is the clasp doesn’t work as well the Pampers Sensitive. It’s really easy for it to pop open by itself, so for the diaper bag I tend to still use the Pampers Sensitive to prevent leakage

I will say a few items that seem to be on every influencer’s “must haves” that I didn’t really find necessary are the Owlet & the Windi. With the Owlet, I purchased it with my own money, got it in only to realize that the minimum weight for the smallest band was 7lbs. Having a preemie, it wasn’t going to be useful right away and by the time he reached 7lbs, we didn’t really feel the need to use it, so I returned it. So while it’s been really tempting to use the Windi, after reading up on trapped gas in newborns and newborns struggling to poop. It actually recommends that you NOT try to help the baby / stimulate the sphincter when they’re that little. They struggle because they haven’t quite learned how to use their muscles correctly to poop and pass gas with ease and when you use something like the Windi (while it provides immediate relief to the baby) the baby gets used to the assistance and takes longer to learn how to use those muscles. Now, if you’re baby has been screaming and crying for hours, then maybe the assistance is needed and once in a while won’t hurt the baby, but since we haven’t reached that point, I haven’t really found any use for it.