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Our Favorite Baby Stuff

I am a research-aholic and I did a lot (well, way too much) of 'shopping around' for our baby. So I put this page together hoping that I could help other expectant parents hone in on the very best baby stuff! With most things, I had to try more than one before finding what worked best.

This is not a comprehensive baby supply list (here's a great one). This is simply a list of things which really stood out to us as being exceptional, and which should work for any baby.

This list reflects the baby market of 2008. Things are always changing and new products are always coming out, so if you find something newer that works better, great! Let me know about it in case we try for Baby #2!

Conception/Pregnancy

Birth

Baby care resources

Gear

Really nifty unique stuff

Breastfeeding

Diapering

Safety

Postpartum mood disorders

Conception/Pregnancy: 

  • The Mother of All Pregnancy Books – I can't imagine anything this book does not cover. It has tons of accurate and detailed pregnancy and delivery advice and information. It even helped us conceive! And it's very friendly in tone, often humorous, and not clinical or scary. Your Pregnancy Week by Week and the What to Expect series are okay, but not as good.
  • Babycenter.com - This has gobs and gobs of pregnancy and baby care information and useful tools. I still use this now for any toddler question I have.
  • National Geographic In the Womb DVD - My husband and I rented this while I was pregnant and really enjoyed it. It was so exciting to “see“ what was going on in there, and get an idea of what it's like in the womb and how our baby was developing.
  • Treat yourself to a spa day (manicure, facial, massage, pedicure, etc) when you're around 6-7 months pregnant. I wouldn't have thought of it myself, but I actually won a spa package in a contest, and it was the BEST thing I did my entire pregnancy!

Birth:

  • Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin – This is the highest recommended birthing book. I didn't read any birthing books, but I read a lot of reviews and excerpts from the most prominent ones, and this one far outdid the others.
  • The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin - Highly recommended for whoever will be with you during labor and delivery.
  • BirthingNaturally.net - This website was very helpful to both me and my husband, and despite the name, it is not judgmental about using medication, just very informational.
  • Attend birthing classes offered through a hospital with your birth partner. This is the best thing you can do to prepare for birth, no matter whether you plan to use medication, go ‘natural,' or get a C-section. Insurance often reimburses the cost of these classes.

Baby care resources:

  • Pediatricians and their on-call nurses can teach new parents everything they need to know about baby and toddler care! They will help you a ton, so don't be shy about using them as a resource. Before your baby is born, make sure to find a pediatrician practice you like and trust. And then pick their brains incessantly after the birth!
  • Trust yourself. Ignore any advice which doesn't sound right to you... including what's in these books or from any other source including this page or family or friends. I wish I'd had more faith in myself early on instead of getting caught up in what I heard and read and so insecure about doing the wrong thing; I would have been much less stressed and enjoyed my new baby more.
  • Most baby care books have lots of erroneous information and unnecessary advice which can actually be damaging to your baby or your family. So please be very, very careful about following any of the current baby care “fads“ that are in most of these books (and they are wildly different from each other). Below are the only two baby care resources I recommend.
    1. Baby 411 – This is the only baby book I read in which all of its advice is absolutely medically sound and holds true in real life. For those who say babies don't come with instructions, I say they don't know about this book. This book is the 'Complete Baby Owner's Manual.' It's a must-have for all new parents. It is basically like picking your pediatrician's brain for two weeks... it's solid, factual, and practical and covers every baby care issue you might face, from health to feeding to sleep and more. And it's easy to read and understand; the writing is clear and conversational (yes, they use the word 'poop'). Toddler 411 is great too. You do not need any other baby care book. This one really does cover everything accurately and in a balanced manner.
    2. Dunstan Baby Language DVD – This video is nothing short of miraculous! I suddenly could understand exactly what my baby was saying and do exactly what she needs! I really wish I'd known about it earlier (I didn't watch it till my baby was 3 months).

    My take on some other currently popular baby care resources:

    • Your Baby's First Year by the AAP - this one is like Baby 411 but not nearly as user-friendly.
    • The Happiest Baby on the Block was somewhat helpful, but some of it didn't work for our baby. Save money and just rent the DVD and see if it works for you. Also keep in mind that this is by the man who believes that you should communicate with toddlers by acting like a monkey.
    • The Secrets of The Baby Whisperer has some seriously erroneous stuff in it that contributed to my postpartum depression and my baby's failure to thrive! You can read my review of this book on Amazon.com.
    • The Baby Book by William Sears, M.D. – This book is a mix of basic baby care advice along with a 'how-to' guide for attachment parenting. Attachment parenting is very popular right now, but it can be taken to an unhealthy extreme. The people who seem to have the most success with it are those who don't feel they have to do exactly everything the book says to do. I personally know several parents who were extreme “AP"ers and ended up regretting it. On parenting forums I see a lot of parents wondering how to get away from this method as their children get older. If it fits your family and values, great... just beware of becoming fanatical about it. "Moderation in all things...”
    • Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth, M.D. – This book has solid, science-based information about sleep, which is good. But it is very long (450 pages), wordy, repetetive and disorganized. Baby 411's chapter on sleep says everything it says in a small fraction of the time. Also, it pretty much only focuses on the 'cry it out' method for teaching a child to fall asleep on their own, but there are other methods.
    • The Baby Sleep Solution by Suzy Giordano – This book's methods do work in helping your baby learn to sleep and get on a good sleep schedule. We used this book for our baby. However, since then I have learned a lot more about babies and I no longer recommend this book. First, it is tied in with their feeding schedule, which is not only unnecessary but can be detrimental to your baby's health and cause “failure to thrive.” (She has you work toward a feeding schedule of every 4 hours, which is longer than the AAP recommends.) Second, most babies sleep about 12 hours a night by 3-4 months old anyway, without having to get on a rigid schedule. If your baby has problems doing this, there are many other sleep 'solutions' which are healthier and safer. Third, this book covers only putting your baby on a sleep schedule. It doesn't really address other sleep issues in any good detail. But, you could probably follow the methods in the book except for the 4-hour feeding part, to get your baby on a good sleep schedule.

Gear:
(no, we aren't getting paid by Fisher-Price... they just have great stuff!)

Really nifty unique stuff:

Breastfeeding:

  • Get a video and/or attend a class before the birth. You'll get plenty of free literature, and the nurses and lactation consultants at the hospital will help you as much as you need it, even after you go home.
  • If you do want a book on it, the very highest rated one is The Nursing Mother's Companion by Kathleen Huggins. I haven't read it.
  • I don't recommend the La Leche League's book The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, the 2nd highest rated one. (Read the 1- and 2-star reviews of it on Amazon.com if you want to know why. I wrote a 2-star review as “newinocean.”)
  • As for the LLL itself... although some of my friends call them “Breastfeeding Nazis” because of bad experiences with them, I know that there are many, many moms who swear by them and have had great experiences with their local chapters.
  • NursEase Breastfeeding Shawl - very elegant!
  • Gel Pads - a must-have!

Diapering:

We use cloth diapers. They are not the horrific experience people think they are. They use snaps and velcro, not pins. Someone saw me using one the other day and said, “wow, that's really different from what I thought cloth diapers were!“ I don't use a washing service; I just throw them in the washer straight from the wet bag. They leak less than disposables (we know this firsthand), are much cheaper, and are better for baby's skin and the environment. And our daycare is okay with using them too. The only time we don't use them is on trips that are longer than a day.

To use or not to use? The articles on this page will help you decide.

These are the diapering supplies we use:

  • Crickett's Diapers - The top-rated cloth diapers
  • Swaddlebees wet bags - Get 2 or 3, and 2 pail liner bags. (We use a large step trash can instead of a diaper pail. Works great!) The small ones come in very handy for dirty clothing and bibs too. Just think of all those plastic bags you aren't using!!
  • Flannel baby wipes and a Prince Lionheart Ultimate Wipes Warmer if you want to also use cloth wipes—estimated to save you about $700! (NOTE: Apparently the “norm“ is to soak cloth wipes in a soap/oil solution, but when I did that it irritated her skin, even when I used much less than the recommended amount. So I soak mine just in water, and then store them in the warmer to keep them saturated. My mom did the same thing with me!)


Safety:

These are the best web pages I've found regarding child safety. They are very thorough yet concise. Read them yourself, and also share them with any family members or friends who will be caring for your baby without your supervision.

Added note: Postpartum mood disorders

It doesn't seem right that one could get uncontrollably depressed or anxious after such a joyful event as bringing a new baby into the world. But about 13% of new moms get a postpartum mood disorder; it is believed to be a physical/hormonal response to childbirth exacerbated by postpartum physical stress like lack of sleep.

I did end up getting it, and I was amazed that almost every woman I talked with about it either had had it themselves, or knew someone who did! That in itself was comforting and validating. Brooke Shield's public discussion of her experience with it has really helped alleviate some of the taboo surrounding it, which is great, because there is a social expectation for new moms (and dads) to be nothing but completely blissful, but that isn't always the case. Apparently about 80% of women with PPD go untreated, mainly because they don't realize they have it, are ashamed of it, or are blaming themselves for it. But it can be life-threatening for both moms and babies, so getting checked by your doctor if you have any symptoms is very important.

  • WebMD - Symptoms of PPD - Both you and your husband should read this before you give birth. Even though I knew I was at risk for PPD and knew the symptoms, I still had trouble recognizing and admitting it in myself; it was Justin who was able to first see that something was wrong.

Besides medication, counseling, and support from family and friends (the three most important aspects of treatment), these resources helped me the most:

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