Heading to the Baby Registry? Take a Look at These Products!

My son is now 20 months old. I'm past that baby stage and onto toddler hood. When I was registering for my son ( who is my only child as of now, so therefor, my first), I followed the advice of the few Mom friends I had at that time, and also the advice of Babies R Us, the store that I registered at. Now, I love Babies R Us. Even though my son has basically outgrown the store, I still enjoy browsing around at all the adorable clothes and baby products. That being said, there is so much to choose from when you are going to be a new Mom. Where do you start? What do you get and what is not needed?

Now it's my younger sister's turn. She is pregnant with her first, and I recently took her to Babies R Us to help her with her registry and I found myself saying things such as "this was wonderful," or "you need to get this!" Here's a list of products that I found to be essential for the first year.

Little Noses Saline Drops.
When my son was an infant his nose would often become congested (as many babies are). Our pediatrician recommended we take a look into non-medicated saline drops, and thus, we tried Little Noses Saline Drops. They worked wonders. We would just squirt a very small amount into either nostril and he was good to go! They were inexpensive, which was great. And a little most definitely went a long way. We used them all the time and I don't even think we went through more than a bottle...ever!

Dr. Brown's Bottles.
When I wasn't breastfeeding my son, he was getting milk in a bottle. I tried almost every bottle out there and it all came down to Dr. Browns! My son was very gassy when he was an infant and it pained me to see him so uncomfortable. Dr. Brown's bottles were the only bottles that truly seemed to make a difference in the level of gassiness my son exhibited. They were a bit more work to clean than other bottles, but it was well worth any trouble cleaning. I wont hesitate to use Dr. Brown's bottles again with our second child...they'll be the first we try!

Bumbo.
The Bumbo has been recalled for safety reasons (parent's placing their child in the Bumbo seat on a counter or table, leaving their side, and the children wiggling their way out of the seat and falling down), but Prince Lionheart makes a model extremely similar to that of Bumbo. For us, the Bumbo was a lifesaver! We placed our son in the Bumbo seat when he was four months old and it helped him to sit up straight. We would then give him a toy to play with. We would also take the Bumbo with us on trips to our parent's homes as it was extremely lightweight and portable. This way we knew he would have a safe and comfortable place to sit when needed and we could also feed him solid foods in the seat instead of in our arms. This made it not only more comfortable for the both of us, but allowed for some great interaction, too. I'll admit I'm keeping my Bumbo for our next child, even though it has been recalled. As long as it's used as a tool with me right there and on the floor, I know my child will be safe. If Bumbo ever comes out with another model, I highly recommend it!! If not, then I would most definitely recommend looking into the Prince Lionheart version. It even comes with it's own tray for playtime.

The Floppy Seat.
I'm not a huge germaphobe, but I did want to protect my son from all those germs on such things as shopping cart handles. The Floppy Seat was amazing! I'd place it in the shopping cart and it covered the entire seat and anything his little fingers would come in contact with. There were even loopholes to place toys on for him to enjoy while I shopped for groceries! The shopping cart seat belt fits through the Floppy Seat so you know your child is safe and secure, and it's plush fabric made for a comfortable ride. When it came to washing time, I simply threw it in the washing machine and then the dryer and it was good to go! I used it from the time my son was able to sit unsupported until he was about a year and a half. You can also use it in a restaurant highchair if you so desire. I'm not giving this one away. It's in storage for our second child!

Pack and Play.
I would recommend a pack and play to anyone who travels a lot! For my son's first year, we did not live in the same state as our parents and so, when it came time to visit, we would have to make a weekend trip, and thus, our son needed a place to comfortably sleep. During the day at home, I would place him in the pack and play repeatedly to sleep. He was right beside me, and safe. When going to our parent's homes, we would fold it up, and bring it along. A makeshift crib of sorts. Even now, if we're to spend the night somewhere other than home, he sleeps in his pack and play. A definite must even past the first year.

A Front Carrier.
Ahhh...I can't tell you how often I used our front carrier! It was absolutely wonderful! I began using it when he was a few months old. I'd face him towards me, and this is how we would walk around the store, or even at home. At times I'd even put him in it to walk down the driveway to fetch the mail. He loved it. He was close to me, and babies thrive on human contact. If we were shopping, there were times he was in his infant seat and would begin to cry. The moment I'd strap him into the front carrier, he'd calm down and drift off to sleep. So nice! As he got older and had better head stability, I'd face him forward and he would become so excited. His little legs would flail up and down and he'd begin to bounce, just looking at everyone and giggling. I used the front carrier until he was just too heavy for me to carry. My husband was able to use it also as the straps were adjustable. Some nice Daddy bonding time.

We definitely used a whole lot more products during our son's first year, many of which we'd recommend to others. These are the products that we got great use out of and will absolutely use with our second child, though. To anybody looking for baby registry ideas, I hope this list has helped.