Favorite Baby Items
Approximately ~5~ people have asked me for baby product recommendations, so naturally I have decided to dedicate an entire blog post to it. One of my goals last summer was to write more…and then we found out that I was pregnant, and I was simply trying to survive/not throw up every day lol. So here’s to writing more! Is this a mommy blog now? No, but it is a lifestyle blog, and being Kassel’s mama is now a huge part of my life. I promise I’ll return to writing food + travel content as well!!!
When making our baby registry, I honestly didn’t have the slightest clue what to register for. My friend Courtney helped me fine tune it since she already had a baby and was pregnant with her second, and she was able to guide me towards which products were great/NICU nurse approved, and which products are not good for baby development. Now that we’ve had Kassel at home for nearly 4 months (time flies!!), I want to document which products we actually love and use, and which products we didn’t use at all. I’m hopeful this will be helpful to any parents-to-be, but also to Colin and myself whenever we go for Baby Smith #2 and can’t remember what we used and why. The products below are ALL products that I love and use, and these ARE commissionable links, meaning if you purchase one of these products after clicking my link, I’ll make a (very) small commission.
These are certainly in no particular order, and there are other products that we love (like our dock-a-tot and owlet sock, but I think I’m going to include those in a later post), but here are a few of our favorites:
We love and use our Boppy Pillow a ton, and I think there is a reason literally everyone I know has put this on their registry or purchased one. I love that it has a removable cover so we can wash it, and it’s also just super comfortable and makes holding your baby easier on your arms.
Our favorite brand of wipes and diapers are, by far, Huggies. Maybe it’s because they used Huggies in the hospital where I delivered Kassel, but we just never had any luck with Pampers products. We also really like Costco’s Kirkland brand diapers (I don’t love their wipes…they smell funny in my opinion). Supposedly, Huggies and Kirkland diapers are made in the same factories and are very similar. Either way, we are definitely Team Huggies for the newborn/early infant stage. Every baby is different, though!
We’ve used our Hatch sound machine since day one of bringing Kassel home from the hospital. He is still sleeping in his bassinet in our room, and honestly…this thing puts all of us to sleep. I love that it has different light and volume settings, and that I can control all of that from an app on my phone.
This product was recommended to me by a motherhood blogger I follow on Instagram that a friend (can’t remember who!!) recommended that I follow. The blogger is on Instagram as @Karrie_Locher, and has a website called Karing for Postpartum that I found to be an absolute godsend in the first weeks of being home with Kassel. Karrie recommended Tubby Todd All Over Ointment to treat cradle cap, and it worked like a charm for us. I love that it’s plant based, fragrance free, and good for sensitive skin. It is on the more expensive side, though, but we use it sparingly and still have a ton left.
Another product that the nurses at our hospital used. Kassel’s first ever pacifier was a Jollypop one, and we’ve had great luck with them since the get go. They come in unscented and vanilla (why you would ever want or need a scented pacifier…I have no idea) but are made with safe products according to their website. We love them!
We used the Hushh portable white noise machine on the car ride home from the hospital and use it in the car anytime we are traveling more than 10-15 minutes. The battery life is incredible and it is rechargeable.
We tried both the Diaper Genie and the Ubbi, and we like the Ubbi better. Both equally hold the smell inside of the pail (except some of that diaper smell does escape when you open the Ubbi to put the diaper in), but we found that we were changing the little diaper bag rings in the Diaper Genie SO frequently, and those bags ain’t cheap. The Ubbi doesn’t require specific bags, and has a childproof lock on it. It is more expensive, but we do like this one better.
We tried several different types of bottles, and Tommee Tippee bottles are our favorite. Kassel just seemed to like the nipple better on this one and took it really well from day 1 of formula feeding.
We have had great luck with the Zip Up Swaddleme swaddle (for the first few weeks of being at home…but Kassel was almost 9 pounds and grew out of those quickly) and the velcro swaddles. They hold up well through the wash and really help suppress the startle reflex.
We love all of our Fridababy products, but I really like the Fridababy 3-in-1 true temp thermometer. Our pediatrician recommended checking Kassel’s temperature rectally for the most accurate results when we all came down with COVID in April, and this thermometer is created in such a way to ensure baby’s safety when using it rectally so that you don’t insert it too far.
A classic staple that is affordable! Can’t go wrong with Johnson products. Love them.
