As promised, I told y'all I would be sharing and reviewing items off my registry and other items we have purchased for baby once we used them! Oakley was born on August 6 so we have been getting some good use out of a ton of items that I can't wait to review for you guys!
If my review is helpful, I would truly appreciate the support by using the referral links in the descriptions below if you choose to purchase!
DOONA CAR SEAT / STROLLER
We have been loving this car seat and stroller combination. The installation of the car seat dock into the vehicle is extremely easy and the dock system allows for multiple cars to use the same car seat with ease. The YouTube video on installation is less than a minute and it takes only a few minutes to actually install the dock itself. The car seat then simply latches into the dock and away you go! It's extremely easy to convert to a stroller and back again. The only downfall to this system is that the stroller does not have any storage (but you can purchase that on Amazon). The stroller also does not have a cover that covers baby completely but you can purchase those add ons through Doona and they are actually very affordable. My recommendation is to practice the stroller to cart seat conversion BEFORE you have baby as the first few times with baby in it can be a little stressful given how tiny they are. The other great benefit to this product is travel (airports). You would simply need to pack the dock and then you don't have to check a car seat as the car seat is your stroller! So you could wheel baby to the gate and then check the car seat plane side. I would recommend still bringing a car seat travel protector!
OWLET SOCK AND CAMERA
Easily my favorite product we have purchased. This product gives us such peace of mind at night. If you're unfamiliar, the Owlet is a sock (comes in three sizes for growth), that goes on baby's foot at night and monitors heart rate and oxygen output. It then sends those numbers to an app on your phone and alerts you at any time if the numbers drop to an unsafe level. I know there are several reviews online about a false alarm but to be completely honest, I would rather have a few false alarms but nothing is wrong than have no alarm at all when something is wrong. We haven't experienced anything like that and we have been using it for almost a month. There is also a camera that comes with the sock that monitors the room's temperature as well. The body stats and camera function in one app so you don't have to check multiple apps to see or check in on baby. The camera is HD as well and does have two way functionality if you want to turn it on to hear baby or talk back. There's also a function in the app to track baby's sleep patterns at night: light sleep, deep sleep, and awake periods along with a graph of their heart rate the entire night and their oxygen outputs. If you are going to splurge on one item- it should be this one. Hands down, without a question.
DOCKATOT
We absolutely love our little Dockatot! It's great for midway naps when we don't want to put her in her bassinet and also allows us to carry her around the house to move her to where we are to monitor her while she sleeps. It's very easy to wash if a mess is made and they have beautiful prints. The end of the dock also expands so it grows with baby. This would be a great option too to bring while traveling to a hotel for baby to sleep in if you feel comfortable doing so! I do know some parents that co-sleep with the dockatot in their bed (we do not but there is no judgement from us on how people choose to parent or sleep).
ELVIE HANDS FREE PUMPS
I have personally had my own battles with breast feeding but that doesn't take away from my experience with the hands free pumps. During my time pumping, I needed to rent the hospital's pump to see if it made a difference (as all pumps suck in different ways). The hospital pump is NOT a hand's free pump and I also wasn't going to buy a specific bra to hold the suctions to my boob without knowing if I was going to continue to use it. Having the experience for a few weeks of being immobilized while pumping made me appreciate the Elvie that much more. The Elvie is very user friendly and easy to clean. The app is also very helpful as it will track the amount produced each session. It also has a timer built in which is extremely handy when timing pumps. I do recommend a high quality nursing bra to hold them in place but the fact that you can walk, drive, eat, etc while pumping is a life saver. I can't tell you how many times I pumped in public or in the car with the Elvie because let's be honest- life doesn't work around the whole "pump every 3 hours" rule, especially with a newborn. You do have to spend some time getting used to the settings as there are 7 settings on the Elvie and more is not always better. I found myself producing the most on levels 4 and 5. If you are going to pump and you don't want to be a slave to the manual pump and the couch- this product should be on your list.
SLEEPEA SWADDLE
Oakley loved this swaddle the first few weeks of her life! She is very strong so trying to swaddle her with other swaddles was just not happening. The velcro on this makes it very easy to swaddle their arms to their sides. If your baby like being swaddled in this way- you need this product! We found out she slept best with her hands by her face so we did switch swaddles (as you will see below), but this is a great option for so many! Plus, the prints are very, very cute.
BOPPY
Breastfeeding can be a real pain! Even holding an 8lb baby while bottle feeding or falling asleep can be a pain. The boppy makes it super comfortable to hold your baby in those weird positions while they are comfortable. Josh and I can both use it too which is great- plus, it's very very easy to wash.
HATCH SOUND MACHINE
One of two products we attribute Oakley's amazing sleep habits to. Over the first new nights, we learned what sound, level, and night light color she enjoyed. This product is super easy to pack and travel with and I am very excited to see how she does while traveling with it. Again, controlled with an app on your phone and so many different combinations to choose from to determine what works best for your baby. There's also a timer feature on it if you want it to turn on and off at certain points throughout the night. We really enjoy the product as well and I think it also helps us sleep better over the noise of a fan.
SNOO BASSINET
The #1 product everyone asks me about- I assume due to the price and the fact that all new parents want to sleep better. The first week of bringing Oakley home, we did not turn the SNOO on and just used it as a bassinet to see how she would do. We then used it the second week she was home and she slept so much better at night. Now, on week 4 of her life- she only wakes up 1-2 times during the night and the SNOO does an amazing job at rocking her back to sleep if she wakes up in between feedings and gets a little fussy. If you are unfamiliar, the SNOO was created by Dr. Karp who conducted 20 years of research and is a renowned pediatrician. It has been proven to emulate the womb and will adjust as your baby cries more. It will shut off if the SNOO cannot calm your baby, letting the parent know they need to either feed, change, or hold the baby. We have yet to experience this as the SNOO can put her to sleep in about 5 minutes by going through the different sound and rocking features that it has. I will say that I do follow some on social media that said the SNOO did not work for their first baby but did for their second or vice versa. Their customer service is very helpful as well if you have questions! This would be a great product to have on your registry to suggest people pool their gift money towards! The system built into the SNOO is also great piece of mind for parents as it would be almost impossible for baby to turn over and lose the ability to breathe. The sides of the SNOO are also breathable if something were ever to happen where baby had their face against the side of the bassinet.
SOLLY BABY WRAP
This wrap is great! It does take a few times to get used to how you wrap it but once you get the hang of it, it takes less than 30 seconds to do. It would be great to wear through the airport as you can wear baby right through security as there is no metal in it. Very easy to wash and pack in a diaper bag. This is also great at restaurants if you want to wear baby but still have the ability to remain comfortable and eat. The only downfall is there is no neck support so unless baby is old enough to hold their head up or laying right against your chest, you do have to support their neck with one hand.
BABY BJORN CARRIER
My favorite carrier for active moms. This is the carrier I wear when we go on walks and when I absolutely need two hands doing things around the house. It's pricey but worth it as you can use it from birth to 36 months. It's very comfortable and provides a ton of back and hip support for mom. Not one I would wear through the airport as you would have to have the item checked through security and have to take baby out of their wrap.
MAMO ROO
Oakley really enjoys this little swing as it has different settings to choose from compared to your traditional back and forth swing. It also adjusts as baby grows to be used for years. The dangling toys are also a great stimulation as baby is swinging.
SWADDLE UP SWADDLE
Oakley's favorite swaddle, hands down. It allows her to have her hands by her face which is her absolute favorite sleeping position. Theres also a 3 part system with this company for babies that start to roll and the ability to unzip the sleeves on the swaddles made their older babies. The dual part zipper makes changing here diaper in the middle of the night super easy as we don't have to completely take her out of the swaddle to do so.
SNUGGLE ME ORGANIC
An alternative to the Dockatot above. It's a little less rigid and a little softer, super easy to wash. I wouldn't feel as safe moving baby around in it as it doesn't have as supportive of a base as the Dockatot. This would be much easier to pack if you are looking for a solution to pack in a suitcase for overnight travel (if you choose).
HUMIDIFER / DIFFUSER
The last week Oakley has been fairly stuffy during the day so we decided to start using her humidifier at night and it is AMAZING! No more stuffy nose during the day and I also think she has been sleeping better as well. It's very quiet, you can add oils to it to diffuse, lasts about 2 nights on the highest setting, the nightlight is a perfect tone, and the design is very sleek and aesthetic.
BABY BATH TUB
Little miss absolutely loves her bath time, we call it her spa day. She lounges around in this tub like it's the most comfortable thing in the entire world. It fits on the countertop next to her bathroom sink and the drain is perfectly situated over the sink for rinsing out.
BOOGIE MIST
No one ever told me how difficult it would be to suck boogers out of my kids nose but here we are! The saline solution mist makes it so nice to loosen up any boogers and makes getting them out even easier!
BOTTLES
All babies like different bottle nipples and these are Oakley's favorite! I also really like the mint color, that seems to be her theme with a lot of her apparel and sheets! Nothing too fancy about these but people have been asking so I wanted to link them if you are in the market for bottles.
BOTTLE WARMER
If you make bottles ahead of time to keep in the fridge, this is a must to warm them back up. The water gets warm in a few minutes and there are a few different settings depending on how much liquid you are trying to warm up in the bottle. So much better than warming up in the microwave too!
STERILIZER
Again, no one ever tells you how much work goes into formula! This is an absolute must for parents who are bottle feeding children. Bottles need to be sterilized after each use to ensure no germs or bacteria live inside the bottles or nipples. Again, it also is much safer than trying to sterilize them in the microwave. Just be sure to not overfill the bottom container with water as it will leak. Fits up to six bottles and six nipples at a time so you shouldn't have to run it more than once per day.
FORMULA
I am sure I will hear something about the formula we are using from the professional parents out there but this formula is the same one that her chiropractor and doctor both recommended as she does seem to have a sensitive stomach. Since switching to it- we have noticed much less gas and fussiness. I really don't need the opinion of anyone on the formula we have decided for our daughter, thank you in advance.
BABY BREZZA
This little wonder has been one of my favorite purchases thus far. It gets the formula container off the counter and mixes your formula and water for you at a perfect temperature. The box claims to save you 30 minutes a day and I can 100% attest to that. It's also very nice that you can use it with one hand as majority of the time, I am carrying Oakley around by the time I am making her a bottle. You can use any bottles that you have on hand and any formula as well. This is one of my top baby products!
ELECTRONIC SNOT SUCKER
Let's be honest, there's nothing wrong with the suction things the hospital gives you but this just makes snot sucking that much more fun. There are three different suction settings on this and the batteries last forever!
