Must-Have Baby Items

Since becoming a mom, I know there are many things I have and don't use, yet there are a lot of things I don't have and wish I did. We are all surviving, though! Here is my list of top items to have.

Hudson Baby Swaddle Blankets

These swaddles are my ABSOLUTE favorite. They are extra stretchy, large, and soft! They are my favorite swaddles by far, and we still use them even though he doesn't stay swaddled. Some swaddles are not as flexible and almost feel scratchy, but these I LOVE.

Keekaroo Changer

In a few words - WORTH THE MONEY. My sister had this, and my mom begged me to also get it. I thought it was too big of an expense, but Cash LOVES this bad boy. I put him on it and he will talk, smile, giggle, and is comfortable enough on it that I can put together his cloth diapers while he is busy looking at the wall/peeing on the floor. Negative side - it is rubbery in texture, so it's a little cold on his bum/feet/back when changing and it's cold in the house. We have a few receiving blankets dedicated to being put on this, and we also keep a cloth diaper insert under his head for spit ups.

Munchkin Bottle Drying Rack
We go through so many bottles now that I'm back at work, and this bad boy never gets put up. It is functional enough for me, and I'm happy with it!

Leachco Lounger

My niece had one of these, and OMG LOVE. We affectionately call it "The Pod" and it's a great resting place. We put it on the couch next to us when we watch TV, he naps in it, and just hangs out and talks to us in this. It's great!

Graco Pack N Play
Although there are SO many brands of this, we got the Graco one for the price, and it does its job just perfectly. Cash has slept in it since he was about three days old and didn't take to the Rock N Play. It's super easy to pack up and take with us anywhere, as well!

Boba Wrap

I love my Boba Wrap! It was a lifesaver when traveling by plane, because you don't even have to take the little toot out of it to go through security. Downside? It gets VERY hot, especially when you have a furnace like I do. I think that's a common complaint with the Boba Wrap and a lot of soft wraps, but we also have the Infantino 4-in-1 carrier that Blake can use if he ever wants to and is a little more practical/functional for Dad.

Infant Optics Monitor
This is great! Blake enjoyed putting it together. We use it for naptime now, but we are almost ready to move Cash to his crib full time, so we will get more use out of it.

Munchkin Wipe Warmer
Not sure if you should get a wipe warmer? Get one. But- No, really. Get one. It makes it better on you and the babe. I'm so glad we ended up getting one.

Fisher-Price Sit Me Up

We love this! I know not all babies love this, but we have used it a lot. I don't love the toys that come attached, so I added a rattle and a teething toy and attached them. No biggie. This really is awesome, though!

Nose Frida
Just get it. Don't think about it when you use it. It works miracles. (Pair with saline spray.)


Cloth Diaper Must Haves
Osocozy Insert
We use this brand and the Dandelion brand (black stitching in Osocozy, dark green in Dandelion) to stuff our cloth diapers (we use pocket diapers.) These are the most absorbent!

Ikea Octopus
Makes drying cloth diapers so easy, plus it just hangs up in his closet.

Planet Wise Pail Liner
We just bought a new trash can (seriously, like $5 at Walmart,) and put this in it. We usually get about a week out of it (washing diapers every other night,) and then it just goes right into the wash with teh cloth diapers and hung up to dry. No touching poopy diapers!

Sprayer
Have not used this yet, and won't until solid foods, but don't forget your sprayer!

Natural Butt Paste
Great brand, and can use on cloth diapers!


Things We Got But Never Took To
Turtle Bath Thermometer

We loved this for about a month, but then the screen stopped working, so it just shined as a color. Now the color is even off. Just wasn't the best quality. I probably wouldn't get a bath thermometer again, because just feeling the water is good to find a comfortable temperature to me.

Swaddler
I'm not sure we ever had this exact brand of swaddler, but we had multiple brands, and Cash HATED being swaddled from the beginning.

Boppy
I WISH I loved my Boppy as much as I wanted to. I'm not sure why I never took to it. Cash uses it as a pillow sometimes, but for breastfeeding, it never worked for me. I always just used a fluffy pillow.

Nursing Bra
I have some nursing bras I love - this is NOT one. The armholes are too small to me. Just uncomfortable. The end.

Snuza Hero
We bought this, have this, never used it. Not sure why. We just changed his diaper SO much when he was small that it was just another thing to add. Also, he loves sleeping on his belly.

Other must-haves
Lanolin (if breastfeeding)
Gripe water (Not sure if it ever worked, but maybe gave me some ease of mind?)
Infant tylenol
Gas drops
Burp cloths
Small rags (we have extra cloth diapers, as well as homemade cloth wipes that we constantly use)
Lots of jammies (we go through these like crazy)
Socks and MITTENS (his poor hands would get so cold, so he wore these for like 2 months!)
Sea-sponge bath sponge (super soft!)
Bath sling
Breast pump (I have only tried Medela, but I love it and Cash took those bottles immediately!)

Thanks for reading! I may make an updated post once he is a little older!

It's Not Okay - Andi Dorfman

This would be the perfect book for a woman who likes to drink wine and is freshly broken up with. Seeing as I'm neither of those things, I didn't enjoy this book, even though it was time for me to read a nonfiction book. I had tried to start this book two times before, so it wasn't REALLY easy to get into at first. I only finished it because I was committed AND because I love The Bachelor and its franchise.
Would I recommend this? Probably not. I am interested to read Courtney Robertson's telling of her time on The Bachelor, which will be within the next few months!

Next on my list - The Hate U Give! Very excited about this one!

Attachments - Rainbow Rowell

Another easy read, so I finished this one pretty quickly as well!

Attachments is a story about a man whose job is to scan the people who work with him's email, to flag and notify people when their emails cross company ethics line. Yet he continues to find himself sucked into reading the emails between two women, and find himself attracted to one of the women who he has never met.

This book was VERY easy to read, just like Rainbow Rowell's Oliver & Park, which I read last year and I LOVED. I probably liked Oliver & Park a little more, because this book was a little more predictable and even though it was written about adults, it seemed to be written for young adults. Didn't take from the story any, because it was still a really good read!

I Regret Nothing - Jen Lancaster

I believe this is my first non-fiction of the year! I actually got this book at her book signing in Dallas a few weeks ago, and I really think this is my favorite of ALL the memoirs I have read by her (which have been A LOT.)

I Regret Nothing is basically Jen's story about how she decides to live without regrets, and starts that with making a bucket list. She checks things off her bucket list as the story goes on, but that's not the part that got me.

I guess that for as long as I have read her books, I have been a "kid" for the most part. Not really an adult, or figuring out how my life is supposed to work. This is the first book of hers that I have read as an adult about an adult. It really resonated with me that this is a woman as well, who is deciding to live her life without regrets. The passages about living in the moment, trying new things, going new places - that is something I need to do in my life! And I really think that a lot of women could benefit from her story of living without regrets!

A+, would recommend!

We Were Liars - E Lockhart

I actually finished this book two Fridays ago, but seeing as I'm almost done with the next book on my list, I figured I better post this one now to give me a little time between this one and the one I'm almost done with!

So I ready We Were Liars by E Lockhart. I really didn't know much about this book when I started it - I had seen that it was on the "Popular" page on my lending library, and Carrie had told me a little about it, so I jumped right in.

As a warning, this book is young adult. I didn't even know that it was young adult until I started reading it and found out the age of the narrator, and she doesn't really get much older through the whole book.

With that being said, I think I needed a young adult book, because it was SO easy to read! I read it in three days, and the story was really great. For most of the last half in the book, there is information that the reader and the narrator don't know, but everyone else knows. I was DYING to know what had really happened!

Young adult books are so easy to read, which is why I'm glad I chose this one after the long haul of Serena. This was a great book, and if you need an easy read over the summer while you lay out to get tan, I would definitely recommend this one!

Serena - Ron Rash

Ohhh Serena. The book I have been working on for TWO MONTHS.

At least I finished it. At the 24% mark, I lost steam (obviously) and it was definitely a chore. From there, I struggled to the 50% mark, and I hit there about 3 days ago, if that tells you how the second half of the book went.

I was not interested AT ALL in the politics and business of the timber companies, so those parts bored me a little, but the relationships in the story are what ultimately led me to finish the book, and I was happy that I finished the book.

Definitely the worst part of this book for me was that I read it after I read 2 very spectacular and fast paced books, and this was MUCH slower. So now I will get back to reading a fast paced book, and hopefully I can get back on track for my 24 new books plus Harry Potter goal for the year!

Jillie - post 3 months & life updates as of late!

Hey y'all! Been a while since I updated the blog, and what better time to do it than when I'm supposed to do something really annoying at work that I don't want to do!

So remember when the vets gave Jillie a 3 month life expectancy? YEAH. She blew that out of the water! She is doing as great as she was before. She still has no/limited vision in that eye (even though SOME people tell me she can see, they didn't see her slam her head into Blake's truck the other day...) It also seems that she doesn't realize when that eye is closed/barely open. Her left eye will be open and alert, and her right eye will look droopy. It's not always, but I notice it now and then. She's still happy and all that. Here's us at her 3 month mark.

 

See? She's great :) Okay, it was bright outside and she sits like an old man, but that's old news!

 

I had a great time at Andy and Kourtney's wedding - especially loved the photo booth! It's great to have a new Waggoner in the family!

 

Blake and I also went to the river to ride the RZR the weekend before the wedding - it was great but a little cold! I'm ready for the warmer weather to come around so we can go riding more!

The week after Andy's wedding, I got my wisdom teeth taken out :( I had a really hard time dealing with it, but I suppose Jillie remembered all those times I laid by her when she was sick, and she was more than happy to cuddle up with me to watch TV and sleep!

But let me tell you, she has never been happier to have Blake home! She was attached to his hip the whole weekend - very sweet :)

Jillie has been coming to work with me occasionally, she stays very busy up here!

She is pretty much working just as hard as me.

She can just barely make it through the work day.

The poor thing just never signed up for this!

Blake and I celebrated our anniversary (with a steak dinner... That I didn't get to each much of because of my teeth!)

But it was sure a fun year :)

And last weekend we celebrated Blake's birthday with a HUGE party! We are so lucky to have such great friends and family who came to celebrate with him! Other than fighting off a few scattered thunderstorms, it really was a great evening!

I should be posting some book reviews soon! And until next time...