This week there have been a number of reviews for various baby products that we recommend for use. Since we are all moms here at GeekMom, a week would never be enough to cover all of the items that we found most useful in raising our babies. Below you will find 10 additional items that were must-haves for us GeekMoms.
Image: Amazon.com
Itzbeen Baby Care Timer – The Itzbeen Baby Care Timer is a multi-use geeky tool for parents who have had their first child or their third. While being sleep deprived and trying to maintain a routine with a new baby, it’s nice to know for sure how long it has been since the diaper was changed. There is no second guessing if you really got 6 straight hours of sleep, and if the mom brain has kicked in it’s nice to have a reminder of which boob gets fed on next. The timer includes programmable alarms for diaper changes, medicine, feeding, and miscellaneous.
GeekMom Sarah says “I wouldn’t do without my Beaba Babycook this time around – it made it so easy to give Toby freshly made food. I could pick up my veggies at the farmstand or from my garden and have fresh purees within twenty minutes. The one time I had to give him jarred food in the airport I was disgusted! So easy to clean up afterwards and made manageable portions instead of buckets of the stuff!”
Swaddling babies is essential to anyone getting sleep in the first few months of a new baby’s life. The nurse in our new parent class told us that you can use any blanket to swaddle; it was all about how you folded the swaddle. Let me tell you, remembering the proper swaddle technique is impossible after a 2 am feeding. The Miracle Blanket and other swaddles like it take the guess work out of the swaddle and make it nearly impossible for little arms to wriggle free. This is a must-have for a restless sleeper.
No matter whether you are breast feeding or bottle feeding, you need to be comfortable while you feed. This means your back needs to be supported and you need to make sure baby is secure on your lap. My Brest Friend is the only pillow that stays securely in place and does not shift or slide like other crescent shaped pillows. I’ve also heard this is the best pillow for nursing after a c-section since it stays in place without having to hug the body too tightly.
You always need to make sure your baby is in a secure place when you aren’t holding them. The Boppy Newborn Lounger gives you a safe and secure place to put your baby down so that you can get that desperately needed cup of coffee. This pillow is designed to hug the baby so that they feel like they are in a nest. Since it is shaped like a bowl the baby’s backside doesn’t slide out of place, you don’t have to worry about coming back and finding out that Timmy has woken from his nap and decided to escape.
My circle of friends has dubbed this machine “baby crack.” I can’t even describe how important white noise is in our household. At one point I had two different Homedics white noise machines that we traveled with. This particular model plays lullabies while projecting images onto a wall so that your baby won’t notice you’ve quietly slipped out of their room while they drift to sleep.
If you are looking for a drying rack worth leaving on your counter for the duration of your child’s bottle years, you should consider the Boon Lawn Countertop Drying Rack. Its flexible blades resemble grass, and are nice because you don’t have to worry about trying to fit all your bottle pieces in their appropriate spots. Everything fits as securely as you want it to, and all of the water drips into a lower reservoir that is very easy to empty and clean. This drying rack is very user friendly not only for the hands, but also very easy on the eyes.
When you are looking for a pacifier for the 20th time in the same night while your baby is wailing, you will realize why the maker of the Paci Plushie was a genius. I had a model similar to this version for my kids, but on theirs the pacifier was sewn directly to the monkey. This left little ability to clean the paci or use different pacis with age or preference. The Paci Plushie allows you to securely connect a small, light plush animal to a pacifier so that your child can easily grasp their pacifier themselves. This product is also great for car rides where replacing a pacifier isn’t really an option. This was my second son’s lovie for the first 8 months of his life.
When you have a baby with reflux, sleep is elusive. You can pat, rock, sing, and burp your baby to sleep, but the moment you lay them down, they scream. That is where the Fisher-Price Newborn Rock’n’Play Sleeper comes in handy. This sleeper, is light and folds flat so it is perfect for transferring it to different rooms. The baby is cradled in a sling that is set at an incline. This incline is the key to keeping a refluxing baby happy while they sleep. Since this is such an easy bed for babies, it makes for an inexpensive bassinet option for parents with very little floor space. Its built-in rockers make it easy to settle a fussy baby without even leaving your bed.
With my first baby I used a Moby wrap which I loved. It was easy to wrap and my son fit right in and the fabric was very comfortable, that was until he was 4 months old and simply became too heavy for the fabric to hold securely. When I had my second child I was determined to have a carrier that I could use comfortably no matter when I needed it. The Ergo came highly recommended and I was not disappointed. I first used my ergo with the infant insert when my son was only a week old. The Ergo gave me the freedom to chase after my active toddler and still have my infant safe and secure on my chest. As you can see in the picture above, he lived in that carrier for many adventures during his first few months of life. One other tip I learned, use your Ergo to hold your infant while you grocery shop. Your toddler can stay safely in the cart and your hands remain free to grab items from the shelves.
Is there a particular product that you fell in love with as a new parent?
Tell us below and tell us why it is a must have or join us on Facebook for a discussion!
Liked it? Take a second to support GeekMom and GeekDad on Patreon!
Love the Boon Grass. I have it on my counter and use it for wine glasses now that we’re not using bottles any more 🙂
A feeding table. Like a high chair, but the child sits in the middle of it. No matter how agile, they just can’t drop anything on the floor. I don’t remember the brand, but we used that table, and I repaired it, until it was literally falling apart. For my last child, I had to use a high chair, as we couldn’t find anything like the table. I got really tired of picking up spoons off the floor.
Babee Tenda makes an excellent table. My parents got one and a Babee Tenda crib when they had my older sister. We use the crib and table for my kids now, 32 years later! My parents cleaned them up and replaced some parts very easily by contacting the company.
We roughed it with our first child — nothing too fancy. All of this stuff makes my mommy senses tingle. If we have another one, I definitely want to invest in quite a few of these items to make life a little easier. I love the diaper/feed/nap timer.
Halo Sleep Sacks are great too! Sadly I didn’t know about them until kid #3… he was a wiggler and kept kicking off his blankets and waking up. A desperate 3AM search turned up the sleep sacks. At first I thought the no-arms thing was weird but when I used a sleep sack with arms, I realized why (too much fabric around baby’s mouth) and definitely think the no-arms is safer.
I HIGHLY recommend the Miracle Blanket. My son would wake up every time he wiggled out of his swaddle, and he could escape from every type but this one.
I have a soft structured carrier (different brand than Ergo Baby) that I really like but the thing I cannot live without is my Diddymos wrap. It is made of a specially woven fabric that is much more durable than the jersey knit Moby’s are made from. I carry my 1 year old in it all the time, mostly on my back but also on my hip if he is just wanting to be held. I can also carry my 40 lb 3 year old in it. If we are going to a busy place, like the farmers market or zoo, I will take an umbrella stroller and my wrap so one kid rides in the stroller and one on my back. It is much easier to maneuver through crowds this way than with my double running stroller.
Love the Boon Grass. I have it on my counter and use it for wine glasses now that we’re not using bottles any more 🙂
A feeding table. Like a high chair, but the child sits in the middle of it. No matter how agile, they just can’t drop anything on the floor. I don’t remember the brand, but we used that table, and I repaired it, until it was literally falling apart. For my last child, I had to use a high chair, as we couldn’t find anything like the table. I got really tired of picking up spoons off the floor.
Babee Tenda makes an excellent table. My parents got one and a Babee Tenda crib when they had my older sister. We use the crib and table for my kids now, 32 years later! My parents cleaned them up and replaced some parts very easily by contacting the company.
We roughed it with our first child — nothing too fancy. All of this stuff makes my mommy senses tingle. If we have another one, I definitely want to invest in quite a few of these items to make life a little easier. I love the diaper/feed/nap timer.
Halo Sleep Sacks are great too! Sadly I didn’t know about them until kid #3… he was a wiggler and kept kicking off his blankets and waking up. A desperate 3AM search turned up the sleep sacks. At first I thought the no-arms thing was weird but when I used a sleep sack with arms, I realized why (too much fabric around baby’s mouth) and definitely think the no-arms is safer.
I HIGHLY recommend the Miracle Blanket. My son would wake up every time he wiggled out of his swaddle, and he could escape from every type but this one.
I have a soft structured carrier (different brand than Ergo Baby) that I really like but the thing I cannot live without is my Diddymos wrap. It is made of a specially woven fabric that is much more durable than the jersey knit Moby’s are made from. I carry my 1 year old in it all the time, mostly on my back but also on my hip if he is just wanting to be held. I can also carry my 40 lb 3 year old in it. If we are going to a busy place, like the farmers market or zoo, I will take an umbrella stroller and my wrap so one kid rides in the stroller and one on my back. It is much easier to maneuver through crowds this way than with my double running stroller.