Finding out you’re going to have your first child is an amazing feeling.  It can also be incredibly overwhelming.  Take for example the baby registry.  You’re suppose to pick out items for something you’ve never done before and there are 8,000 choices for everything.  And everyone has an opinion as to what you absolutely must have and what is a waste of money.  The problem is, everyone tells you something different.  One person tells you their baby screamed every time they put them in a swing.  The next person tells you the only place their child would sleep was in a swing.  Basically it’s a crap shoot.

After a year on the job, we’ve come to adore some baby products.  Here are some small things we couldn’t have lived without the past year.

First up are Seventh Generation Diapers.  When I was pregnant we had a grand plan to use cloth diapers, but that was quickly abandoned after our first couple tries at using them (I know, we give up easily).  Instead, we have come to love Seventh Generation diapers.  They’re free of chlorine, fragrances, latex, and petroleum and Olivia almost never get’s diaper rash.

Then we have BabyGanics baby wipes.  We use these for everything.  Diaper changes, snotty noses, dirty hands, cleaning up after a meal…you get the point.  Livie even loves the crinkling noise the package makes, which is a great distraction when we change her.

Another thing that has a hundred uses is prefold cloth diapers.  We never use them for what they were intended for, but as burp clothes, changing pads, to clean up spills, on and on and on.

When it came time to use bottles, we stuck with Dr. Brown’s.  While they’re a pain to clean since they have so many parts, Juice hardly ever spit up so we considered it worth the effort.  On a side note, we also broke down and bought the Dr. Brown bottle warmer and it was worth every dime for all those 2am feedings.

Then we have our favorite lotions and potions.  I’m a Burt’s Bees girl so I stuck to the same with Livie.  She has pretty sensitive skin and it keeps her skin in pretty good shape.  We also love Boudeaux’s Butt Paste diaper rash ointment.  One of our friends swore by this stuff and gave it to us at our baby shower (thanks Brittany!).

And when it comes time to put Juice to bed, we always play her Sleep Sheep.  While some of the sounds are a little creepy to me (heart beat), the ocean noise puts Juice right to sleep.

We thank you products, for making our first year of parenthood a little bit easier!