Top 10 baby faves

I've had several friends give birth in recent weeks, so babies have been on the brain lately, so I thought it would be fun to do a top ten post. These are in no particular order, and I'm not being compensated in any way by any of these companies (hey, but if anybody feels like compensating me, feel free to!). :)

1. Homedics Soundspa Lullaby sound machine. We have always used sound machines with our kiddos, but the ones we used with Grayson and EC weren't very loud so I decided to try a different one with Whitt. I love this thing---it is LOUD, drowns out the noise from the other children, and has a cute projector that shines a little scene onto the ceiling for the baby to watch. The only downside is that the projector is supposed to rotate the scene on the ceiling, and the projector stopped rotating on the second day we owned it, but it hasn't been a big deal. We turn the projector at night to use as sort of a night light, and use the sound machine portion during naps and at night.

2. Green Sprouts stacking cups set Stacking cups are always a perfect baby toy, and I love this brand in particular because they are PVC, phthalate, BPA-free and made from eco-friendly materials. Stacking cups probably rank in my top three baby toys of all time---you can grab a couple when you're on the go, they can be used in the bath, babies love to chew on them, stack them, bang them...the possibilities are endless. At less than $6, these are a great gift as well!

3. Shopping cart cover. I cannot live without this thing. This isn't the one I have for Whitt, but it looks just like the one I had for Emma Claire....in fact, I'm trying to sell hers if you are interested! :) I love shopping cart covers mostly because they keep baby's hands and mouth off of that nasty shopping cart---who knows what gross germs are all over that thing?? It also provides a comfy place for baby to sit and an extra buckle when baby is still learning to sit up. I got Whitt's cart cover from Paisley Pineapple on Etsy---her products are adorable, and I highly suggest you go check her out! :)

4. Aden and Anais muslin baby blankets. There's not a whole lot to say about these blankets except that they are pretty much perfect. They're the perfect size, the perfect weight, and you can use them for everything. You can swaddle with them, use as a nursing cover, lay on the ground to put baby on top of, cover baby up in the car seat or stroller, play peek-a-boo, the list goes on..... We live in a fairly warm climate and I love that the the muslin keeps the baby warm but doesn't make the baby too warm, if that makes sense. I give these blankets as a baby gift all the time, and believe that you can never have too many Aden and Anais---AND I recently heard that Target now sells them!

5. Miracle Blanket. Oh, Miracle Blanket, I probably couldn't have survived the past four and a half years and kept my sanity without you. All three of my children had to be swaddled, and when I say "had to", I mean they could not fall asleep or stay asleep without being in the Miracle Blanket. We were hardcore swaddlers---so hardcore that poor Grayson was in the "straight jacket" as more than one of our friends/family members called it, until he was 9 months old, and Emma Claire and Whitt were in it until they were 6 months old. We were judged like crazy, but the Miracle Blanket was a lifesaver with all three children and it was our #1 baby product all three times. Love, love, love this thing, and if you have a child who likes to be swaddled, I promise you will love it as much as we did.

6. Fisher Price Papasan Swing. I'm pretty sure everybody who has a baby these days has this swing so I won't say much about it because if you have a baby you already know how awesome this swing is, but it most definitely rocks my world. EC and Whitt both slept in it more than they did the bassinet (while swaddled in the Miracle Blanket, of course!) in their first few months. The side-by-side swinging motion puts babies right to sleep---Fisher Price knew what they were doing when they invented this puppy!

7. Britax Marathon convertible car seat. One of the safest car seats on the market, super-comfy, and so easy to install/uninstall. I love that it rear-faces up to 35 pounds and forward-faces up to 65 pounds. The LATCH system is super-easy to use as well. I'm a car seat nazi and have a car seat safety post brewing in my head....stay tuned for that sometime soon. I know you all are on the edge of your seats for that one! :)

8. Summer Infant handheld video monitor. Love this thing so much that we have two--one in Whitt's room and one in Emma Claire's room. The customer service for Summer is great, too. I had an incident a couple of years ago where the screen broke (user error, not because of a faulty product), and all I had to do was call the company and they immediately sent me a new one along with a prepaid box for the broken one. I recommend this to all new moms---I've had a regular monitor without the video and this is absolutely worth the extra money!

9. Mustela Dermo-Cleansing and Baby Shampoo. Mustela is my all-time favorite baby wash and shampoo....it smells soooooo good!! The lotion is a little strong so I use the wash and shampoo, and then an unscented Aveeno lotion on Whitt. There is nothing like a freshly washed baby...YUM!!

10. Lastly, my Baby Jogger City Series Double stroller is probably in my top three of my favorites (remember this list isn't in any kind of order). I love that it's narrow enough to fit through doorways, it can handle bumpy terrain, the seats recline, the shade comes way down to block the sun, there are plenty of vents in the sides and in the shades, the handlebar is adjustable for this tall mama (not a lot of strollers work for tall parents!), and it's easy to maneuver. I have used it several times a week for almost three years and it's still in great condition. It was definitely a splurge but it's gotten so much use that it was definitely worth splurging for.

And there you have it! Next up will be the top five things that were a waste of money.... :)