Baby Essentials- Anniston's Favorite Things (0-6 months)

I've seen a few other people do this and I love reading what they find to be must haves for their baby.  Everyone is different and I found that I agreed with some things and disagreed with others.  It's interesting to see such diverse lists out there.  I thought I would do my own because, hey, it might be nice to look back on and reference for baby #2!  I'm grouping the first 6 months together for the first post.

Bright Starts Infant Activity Mat

We loved our tummy time during the first 5 months or so.  After that this wasn't enough space for her to play on.  We are about to put this up and I've ordered one of the bigger playmats with the interlocking pieces.  I can't wait to put it down so that Anniston will have plenty of room to roll around and play with her toys.

Tommee Tippee Bottles

When breastfeeding didn't work out so well we went in search of a bottle that was good for acid reflux and gas, since she seemed to have problems with these the first couple of months.  I know Dr. Brown's is a very popular choice, but we decided to go with these and I think they worked pretty well.  They have a vent in the nipple to help with air flow which, in turn, is supposed to help with gas and colic.  We are still using them now.  They are a little on the expensive side but we use our coupons at Babies R Us and watch for when they run a 20 % off discount on Tommee Tippee items.

Medela Pump in Style Breast Pump

I exclusively pumped for the first 6 weeks and I am so glad I had this pump.  It was amazing!  My sister gave it to me as a baby gift at one of my showers.  I loved this pump- actually pumping though was a different story!  Ha!

Pacifiers

Anniston would take the soothie pacifiers for the first month or two.  After that, she lost interest in them.  She seemed to need something to suck on in order to satisfy that urge but she didn't like any of the ones we tried.  I FINALLY found one she would take.  Actually, her babysitter is the one who found it (gotta love her!)  Of course, it is so hard to find the Playtex Binky pacifiers in stores.  I have to order most of them.  I think she likes this one because of it's straight nipple.


Graco Pack n Play

We decided against buying a changing table for her nursery because I wanted to go ahead and buy furniture that could grow with her instead of buying something that we would only get a little use out of.  I bought a pack n play that had a changing station attached to it.  I LOVED this.  First of all, I set this up in a corner in our living room and it was very convenient to change her diaper there instead of having to go back to her nursery every time.  We still use it now.  I love that it has a place for her diapers and two compartments to keep diaper changing essentials close by.  Now we use the pack n play as a play yard and she loves getting in there and rolling around with her toys.  Also- this isn't the exact one I have, but I do have a black and white damask print to match the decor in my living room:)

Fisher Price Snugabunny Swing (aka the Magic Swing)

I cannot express my love for this product enough.  It is truly a MIRACLE worker.  Anniston absolutely loved this starting from about 3-4 weeks on.  This is the only way I could get her to sleep for more than 20 minutes at a time during the first couple of months.  She still uses it.  The wiring got messed up in ours about a month or two ago and I about had a panic attack.  I couldn't get it to turn on!  Thankfully, my mom had also bought one to keep at her house, so she gave us theirs.  Whew!  It's going to be a sad day when she outgrows it!

Pampers Baby Dry Diapers

A friend told me about these super absorbent diapers when Anniston was about a month old.  I had no idea they even made these!  I love these for night time use.  They absorb more so she doesn't get as uncomfortable when she wets in the middle of the night!

Zip Up Sleepers

Anniston wears these to sleep in at night.  I only buy the ones that zip up- not the button down kind.  I cannot imagine trying to line up the snaps in the middle of the night while you change a diaper.  Surprisingly, these are hard to find.  It baffles me.  When I do find some, I stock up in several different sizes!

Fisher Price Rainforest Jumparoo

A LOVES this.  She loves to bounce so this is perfect for her!  I love the sounds and the activities that come with this.  Great product!

Munchkin Soft Tip Spoons

I found out real quick that A is picky with her spoons.  These are her favorite because of the soft tip.

Baby Genius Favorite Nursery Rhymes

Brandon and I can sing every song that is on here.  That is how much we listen to this.  The songs are great.  The graphics- kind of cheesy.  It alternates between a cartoon and live filming.  It's weird and at first I couldn't see Anniston liking it.  She LOVES it.  She smiles when we turn it on and she hears the music.  She giggles when mommy and daddy sing along with the DVD.

Snap n Go Stroller

This stroller has been awesome for us.  It's lightweight and small- perfect for strolling around the mall and in stores.  I have hardly used the stroller that matches our carseat.  It's just so bulky and hard to get down aisles in stores.  I wish I had just bought this and my jogging stroller.

So there you have it!  These are just a few of the things that we could not have lived without!