Baby products that make my life easier

Here's a list I've made of baby products that people have excitedly discovered from me or that I've excitedly discovered from other people. I don't think these are very common in other lists, because I've just stumbled upon them since becoming a mom. While they aren't necessary, they definitely make my life easier and I'm so glad I own each of these things!

So here they are in no particular order (click on the link to see the brand name, where you can purchase, and a picture):

Battery powered nasal aspirator Matt found this at a drugstore back in October when we were in Charleston and Evan had a really stuffed up nose. We hadn't had luck with a manual aspirator but this one helped so much! It was a little scary to use it at first because I was afraid we'd suck Evan's brains out, but it isn't that powerful. ;-) I thought it was funny that this particular brand's aspirator plays music to "soothe" babies while you are sucking their boogers out...but it's actually come in handy. We didn't need to use that until recently when Evan hasn't wanted to stay still long enough for us to do the job, so we play the music and it distracts him! He also likes to lick the clear little "booger catcher" while we do it. lol!

Saline spray I had never heard of using this to help loosen up nose mucus until asking around, but this stuff is awesome! We use it almost every day along with the aspirator. My pediatrician recommended it as well.



Saline wipesThis is my newest discovery. I had heard moms on the message boards talking about them before, but I didn't think they were necessary. Evan had a cold a couple of weeks ago and I could tell his nose was sore from all the wiping I was doing with tissues and wash clothes. I saw these in the store and bought them on a whim. I'm glad I did because they clean the nose better and it's gentler than using a wash cloth.



Pacifier wipes A friend of mine has these and I was stoked that they exist! Like all moms I have problems with pacifiers falling on the ground when we're out in public and I can't always go wash it with soap. So I just pull out one of these to wipe it off and we're good to go. You can also use this to clean toys and other things that are dirty and that will immediately go back into baby's mouth.



Biodegradable disposable diaper sacks - My SIL used these when she was at my house one time. She mentioned her bags were biodegradable. I would never buy plastic sacks that weren't biodegradable because I think there's enough plastic bag waste out there as it is. Now I know these don't immediately break down in the landfill, but at least they won't still be polluting the earth in a thousand years. I use these fairly often, mostly to put dirty diapers in before I throw them away out in public or at someone's house, but I also put wet clothes and dirty burp clothes in them too so that they don't make a mess in my diaper bag. In that case I can always use the bag again after I come home and remove the clothes. It's a shame that BRU and Tar.get don't sell biodegradable sacks, but all the drugstores I've been to sell them.



Gripe water A lady who works at my chiropractor's office told me about this. Once again, I didn't think it would be that great of a product. However, it's amazing! When Evan gets the hiccups (and it seems like he always does around naptime or bedtime), we give him this and they immediately go away! I don't even give him the full recommended dosage. The best thing about this is that it is all natural, so I don't worry about giving it to him regularly. This also helped when he had bad reflux and would sometimes cry when we laid him down. I don't give this to him every time he has hiccups or gas, but I do if it's interfering with his sleep or if he seems in pain.



Diaper bag with stroller attachment I have the diaper bag that is pictured and I get compliments on it ALL the time. Many of my mom friends seem fascinated with the stroller attachments. I just leave the stroller clips on the stroller handle all the time so that all I have to do is snap the bag on after I unfold the stroller. Then I have the bottom pocket compartment of the stroller free for other things and my diaper bag is easily accessible. This diaper bag is a little expensive, but in our case it was completely worth it!