My Favorite Baby Things

So many people have asked what my favorite baby items are, so here's my annotated list of things we cannot live without.

My Brest Friend - The most awesome nursing pillow ever. It's comfortable and gives more support than a Boppy. I do feel like a hot dog vendor at a ball park when I wear it, but that's OK.

Muslin bibs - Catherine spits up. A LOT. These bibs are the most absorbent ones available.  Aden & Anais are the most common ones, but any brand works.  If you're looking for a gift to give a new baby, know that one can NEVER have too many bibs. Even if you do laundry 5 times I week...there are never enough bibs. Also snaps > Velcro when it comes to anything baby related. Unsecured Velcro in the laundry = disaster.

Baby Jogger City Mini GT stroller - I love how easy this stroller is to collapse and how easily it stows in my small trunk.  It also has air-filled tires and a grippy handlebar. It rides so smoothly and has a super tight turning radius. It's a pleasure to drive Catherine around in this.

BumGenius 4.0 Cloth Diapers - Using cloth diapers isn't for everyone, but I have really enjoyed using them with Catherine. How much I like them is one of the most surprising thing about having a baby.  I enjoy how sturdy and soft they are, how dry they keep Catherine, and I enjoy the beautiful colors. I also enjoy that I haven't spent any money on diapers since we started using them when Catherine was around 8 weeks old.

Halo Sleepsacks & Summer Swaddle Me Wraps - I cannot say how much I love these things. They help Catherine sleep through the night and that is worth ALL THE THINGS. They're worth a try, since getting more than 5 hours of sleep in one night has helped me return to "normal" more than anything.

People also ask me what is the biggest surprise about having a baby.... My silly answer is SO. Much. Laundry. I have to do laundry at least every other day since MOLD grows in wet laundry (another lesson learned there). You also realize how few baby clothes you need since you're doing laundry every few days.

My serious answer is I now realize how much my parents my love me.  How much any parent loves their child. And how having a child is simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary at the same time.