Life as Kyla

When I was registering for items for my daughter before she was born I remember feeling two major things.

1.) I felt like I needed everything, especially the most expensive versions of everything (I mean they must be better, right?)

AND

2.) I felt overwhelmed by all of the baby products. What was even necessary? What was worth my money/other’s money (lol)?

I will be the first to admit I got way too much and I fell in the “aesthetic” and “everything must be instagram perfect” Mom trap. Sometimes those items were actually really helpful, but a lot of times they were just for looks and show and the fisher price version was better. My baby is now 4 months old and I feel like I have a pretty firm grasp on what was actually worth my money.

So without further adieu let’s get into my top 10 baby registry items (in no particular order) that are actually worth it.

As you can maybe tell from the first picture the angelcare bathtub is fully worth the hype. I got one of those super cute and adorable blooming flower baths, and my did she hate it- actually scratch that, we all hated it. She was squished, it was difficult to wash her, she was not well supported. It was so cute, but not functional, sadly. We immediately switched to the angelcare tub and never looked back. It’s easy to clean, easy to store, and she is perfectly supported throughout the bathing process!

2.) The Leacho Baby Lounger

I knew that a baby lounger of some sort would be essential for us. I registered for a boppy baby lounger, but got gifted a different brand, the Leacho baby lounger. I had used the boppy baby lounger when I nannied, and it was great, but WOW this lounger that we were gifted was even better. I am so grateful we got it because at 4.5 months old we are STILL using it! I really loved that it really snuggled her and helped her feel secure. She also was fairly elevated which really helped her tummy and reflux. We used this thing constantly a newborn for naps and we still use it for lounging now. Seriously I don’t know what I would have done without it. I vouch this is way better than boppy.

3.) Snuggle Me Organic & Halo Bassinet

The Halo Bassinet that we had saved my life. I had a c-section due to the fact Elsie was breech, and I was able to get her out of the basinet easily with the push down side. I also really loved how the stand was adjustable and she was bed height. Elsie slept really well in her lounger that I just mentioned, but she struggled, hard, in the bassinet. One night I was desperate for a 3 hour stretch of sleep and I read that the snuggle me organic would snuggle her and help her feel secure like she did in the womb (we we already swaddling, but that wasn’t enough.) I know that it is not technically safe sleep, please don’t come for me (we had the owlet on at all times to monitor her.) When I tell you that thing worked, it WORKED. She went from 1-2 hour stretches to 4 hour stretches immediately. I swear by it, and it fits in the bassinet!

Now personally if you aren’t going to have the Owlet on the baby monitoring their oxygen and heart rate I might skip on it out of fear of SIDS or suffocation, however we also ended up using a newborn insert that fits into the bassinet, which is safe for sleep and it worked BEAUTIFULLY! So check both out and decide what is best for you and your family. Bottom line, if your baby is like mine, they will want to feel snuggled and not just be floating around in a big bassinet.

4.) A Playmat for Tummy Time

We started out with the Skip Hop silverlinings playmat and Elsie, my 4 month old, NOW loves it because she can finally reach the toys overhead. That being said it did not provide much encouragement for tummy time, it mainly entertained her when she was on her back. I ended up purchasing the Fisher Price deluxe kick and play because I needed my daughter to be motivated to lift her head during tummy time. The piano at the end of the mat plays fun music and lights up and was just what she needed! I would recommend the Fisher Price the most, however Elsie LOVES rolling around on the Skip Hop, which has more room so I would suggest taking a look at both, either are good options.

When all we had was the Skip Hop I did purchase the Baby Einstein tummy time mirror and contrast cards! Elsie really does love that too. Even when she was itty bitty the high contrast cards caught and kept her attention!

5.) Velcro Swaddles

Starting in the hospital we use Swaddle Me velcro swaddles, and they are a life saver. They are way easier and safer than regular blanket swaddles, and you can get them way snugger! A couple nights we (very stupidly) tried to go without swaddles and had her re-swaddled before the end of the night. Newborn babies just crave that snuggled feeling and they need to be swaddled to stop them from having the Moro Reflex too hard and startling themselves awake every few minutes! Once Elsie hit about 3 months we moved to the Halo Sleepsack Swaddle because felt like it gave her lower half more room to move and we knew it would be easier to transition her out of. I can make a post about how we successfully got her out of the swaddle once she started rolling a lot if you would be interested!

6.) The Hatch Sound Machine

Ever since we brought her home we have use the Hatch sound machine. We keep the volume at 50% and we keep it on the white noise setting. I have had other sound machines and have always returned them because I could hear the loop and they bothered us more than they helped. This was so highly recommended I was scared it would be overhyped, but I was wrong. This thing is amazing. I sleep better and so does my daughter. It really drowns out background noises and also just helps mimic the sound of the womb for her. I had tried laying her down without it and without fail her naps are like 20 min instead of 2 hours! It is amazing and such a difference maker. I also love that it has the light function when you need to do those middle of the night feedings, but don’t want to turn on a bright light and wake everyone up. Also I love that it is controllable from the app on your phone and completely customizable (color, sound, volume, etc.) Do yourself a favor and get it.

7.) Plain Muslin Burp Cloths

Everyone got me adorable patterned and even embroidered burp cloths, and wow, they completely sucked. They were so small and not absorbent at all. Don’t get me wrong they were ADORABLE, but not functional. When you have a baby just spitting up everywhere the last thing you want is an non-functional but cute towel. Lol. Trust me. I ended up going back and using an amazon gift card to buy some plain white muslin burp cloths (which are actually old diaper inserts) and let me tell you, they absorb everything and are seriously awesome. Not to mention they are fairly inexpensive compared to the “cute” ones. Win win.

8.) Baby Bum Brush & Aquaphor

Okay listen. This seems silly, but the little baby butt spatula is a lifesaver, at least in my book. Who wants to be spreading stick creams all over a baby’s bum with their bare hand? Not I. Also, Elsie got an open sore on her bottom despite us constantly changing her diaper as a newborn. Our pediatrician told us that’s very normal with how acidic baby poop is mixed with their sensitive skin! My friend suggested aquaphor when nothing else was working (we tried all the butt pastes) and WOW it was a game changer. She had the sore on her bum for about 2 weeks, but within 1 day of using the aquaphor her sore was almost gone! Please just skip the diaper creams and get aquaphor. It also has so many other uses so it’s multi-functional!

9.) Bottle Cleaning System

We have the Boon system with the Boon bottle brushes, and they are so cute! We also have the infamous Boon grass. It is all it’s hyped up to be. I love that you can also throw the whole system in the dishwasher every once in a while for a refresh! We also just got a microwave sanitation system and it works perfectly and I don’t feel the need for the expensive systems!

10.) Owlet

Finally, the Owlet. Look, I know it’s a hefty price, but it is 12314324325% worth it in my opinion. I struggled through infertility and loss before having my daughter and also have anxiety. Once my daughter was here I had so much fear about sleep. I did not want to close my eyes in fear she would stop breathing if I stopped staring at her. The Owlet gave me the peace of mind that I needed to actually shut my eyes and “sleep when the baby sleeps.” I also love that you can keep track of their sleep cycles and how long of stretches they are sleeping! Despite the price, the Owlet is worth every penny. Also, side note- put that thing out of reach of your dog. My pug somehow get ahold of the sock and tore up the sensor. We love it so much though we bought a $100+ replacement sensor, if that tells you anything about how much we love it!

There are so many products out there, and they are not all created equally. I can maybe make a post about the registry items I would NOT recommend or that are a waste of money in the future. There were definitely a few of those.

I hope this list and descriptions were helpful! If they were please comment and subscribe!

Love,