The Carlsons' Must Have Baby Products (and Some We Can Do Without...)

When I found out I was pregnant, and in the months leading up to Linnea's birth, I can remember being completely consumed with the world of baby products. Bottles, swings, bouncers, carriers, toys, furniture, strollers, etc. What did I need? What could I go without? What's the best brand? Etc. I was overwhelmed and rather obsessed.

In hindsight, I've been pleased overall with the decisions Jeromy and I made about baby products. I think we've approached things with a good balance of price, quality, usefulness/necessity, etc. There are definitely things that we made the right decision on, and some things that we can improve on next time (at this point we are assuming there will be a "next time"). At the very least, perhaps this post can be useful for readers who are expecting.

Must Have Products

• The Fisher Price Space Saver Highchair: We are pretty short on space, so anything that can serve the same purpose, but take half the space as its traditional counterparts earns HUGE points in our book. Jeromy was super pumped about this baby purchase, and it has not disappointed. It's easy to attach to any chair, and doesn't take up much more space than the chair itself. It's easy to take off and take with you if need be. Even though we haven't started solids with Linnea, she will sit in the chair from time to time when we are eating or otherwise busy in the kitchen. Linnea seems very comfortable and content in it. It also adjusts into a booster seat for when she's older. AND it's half the cost of a lot of full size highchairs. ROCK. ON.
  
• Generic Diapers: Although they may not work for everyone (read: babies with sensitive tushies), generic diapers have been great for us! We use Target brand. We had several friends who swore by them... We used Pampers in the hospital, and I for one was nervous to switch to generic. But they worked great! There was a short time where Linnea was having lots of blowouts where we doubted the quality. We switched to name brand, and had just as many problems! Back to generic for us, and we haven't looked back. Again, HUGE cost savings. Like almost half the price cost savings. For future kids, I might consider doing cloth diapers. But for now, Target diapers (and wipes too!) do the trick for us!
  
• And really...Generic Anything (for the most part): We (mostly me) try hard to be pretty frugal. It's hard, because obviously I want to provide "the best" for my child...but I also want to be financially responsible. I think there is still a bit of a social stigma that generic products are not as good as brand name. I catch myself thinking that when it's time to purchase things like ointment, breast milk freezer bags, and medicines. But for each of those things, we bought generic, and they were just fine! My thought is that if they serve their purpose (i.e. storing milk safely), then why pay more than you have to?
• Dr. Brown Bottles: Granted, we did not try any other bottles, but we haven't needed to! We have been super happy with these! Linnea took to them right away, and hasn't had any problems. The nipple doesn't collapse like other bottles I've seen, and they are apparently vented a certain way to mimic breastfeeding and reduce gas. Linnea's never been super gassy, so I guess they've done their job!
• A Good Breast Pump, BUT...: This was another thing that I worried about. I knew that I wanted (if possible) to breastfeed Linnea, and to continue to do so once I went back to work. This, obviously, meant pumping at work. I had it in my head that it was absolutely necessary to have a breast pump before Linnea was born. However, in conversation with some others, I realized that unless I had a problem, I didn't need a pump right away. In fact, having a pump and feeling like it was necessary to use right away would make things even more complicated. I DID end up needing a pump right away. Linnea was tongue tied at birth, and had jaundice. Those two factors made it important for me to pump in order to establish my own supply and supplement Linnea with colostrum that I was pumping.
  I got a Medela pump a couple days after Linnea was born. I pumped for about a week until Linnea was better, and then into the closet the pump went. Since going back to work, I use the pump 4 times per day during the week...that's a lot of times! I haven't had any problem. I had a scare that the pump was breaking down. I called Customer Service, and got GREAT support and realized there wasn't anything wrong at all. The Medela pump was more than other pumps, but it's really worked great, and I certainly am getting my money's worth...
  
• Summer Video Monitor: I remember hearing about video monitors before Linnea was born, and thinking they were complete overkill. Why on earth would someone need a video of their child like that? Isn't hearing the child enough? Once I talked with a few of my closer friends, and once Linnea was born, I totally understood. Linnea can make all sorts of noises in her sleep (and on the flip side, can be completely, scarily silent). There would be no way of knowing what she was up to unless you were to actually go in and see her. Particularly because we are on a separate floor from Linnea, it definitely is reassuring to be able to take a quick peek at her without having to go into her room and risk waking her up. We have the Summer Slim and Secure monitor. We have been super happy with it. The quality of the video is very impressive. We don't have too much problem with a signal. The monitor is a good size, and comes with a handy clip to carry it around. We definitely recommend it!
  
• Frame Stroller: The stroller was another thing I completely obsessed about. So many choices...we didn't want to end up with a million strollers, so we really wanted to make the "right" decision. The "go to" stroller always seems to be the travel system that goes with your car seat. But Jeromy and I talked about it, and decided we were really not interested in that. It seemed too big for basic, everyday use and not sturdy enough for heavier use. After doing a looooot of research, we decided to go with a stroller frame. Basically it's just that - the frame of a stroller without much more. The car seat plugs into the frame, and serves the same purpose as a much larger system. Plus, it's a fraction of the cost! We paid about $50, and have gotten so much use out of it! We did end up getting a larger running stroller, but the frame stroller suits us just fine for most quick trips, and definitely was enough to get us through the first few months.
  

Things We Did Without (or COULD Have)

• A Bottle Warmer: We didn't end up getting one, but it was definitely something I thought would be a must have. I thought we would end up feeding Linnea a lot more bottles than we do, but more often than not when we are home, I am breastfeeding. Jeromy does feed her the occasional bottle when I am working/gone/etc., but in those few instances, it works just fine to heat water, and warm the bottle "the old fashioned way." If we WOULD have ended up feeding Linnea more bottles, it may have come in handy...
• A Changing Table: We took the tip from others to not get an actual "changing table," and opt instead for a dresser that can serve as a changing table. We got a nice dresser from Babies R Us, that should be able to serve Linnea long after she's out of diapers!
  
• A Swing: Now this is likely just a matter of personal experience, because I know many who live and die by their swing. We ended up borrowing one, because they are so stinkin' expensive. We tried it a couple times when Linnea was itty bitty. She never really seemed to like it, and we just quit putting her in it. I'm glad we didn't spend the money to get one of our own! We wouldn't have gotten our money's worth.
• Travel System: See Frame Stroller above. I'm really glad we didn't spend the money to get the "go to" travel system. The frame stroller works just great.

As I said, all in all, I'm happy with our decisions. And through it all, I've realized that a whole lot of love, a few basic clothes items, and a safe cozy bed is pretty much all you need! :-)