baby faves

It's April, it's April, it's APRIL! 

That means winter is for the most part...OVER! Little blooms are coming up on the trees and I have a mega-itch to plant some flowers. Spring break is next week and the weather looks like it will finally live up to what "spring" should be. Wee! It makes my heart happy. 

Also, that means we are having this baby NEXT month. Weird?! My mom keeps reassuring me that having a newborn is like riding a bike- it just comes back to you. Let's hope so. I've been in toddler-mode for so long I had to google search a list of newborn necessities just to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything...aye aye aye. I partly mostly blame pregnancy-brain on that one though. 

At least this time however, I do know that ripping her arms off while trying to change her onesie is pretty much impossible...something I was legitimately concerned about when Jillian was a tiny, fragile little human. Ohhh the joys of being a first-time mom.

Speaking of which- I'm excited to bust out some of my old favorites for this new little tot. I would consider most of these essential, especially to my sanity:

1. Boudreaux's Butt Paste. Not only does it have a great name, it actually works. Don't even waste money on Desitin. I had 2-3 tubes of Desitin leftover from Jillian I ended up throwing away because really there isn't even a comparison. 

2. Full-coverage nursing cover. I love these! No wardrobe malfunctions and you don't always have to worry about wearing a nursing tank or shirt because you're still covered. They have lots on Etsy, either the infinity scarf style or poncho style. I have the one pictured above from this Etsy shop. Also if you're crafty you can just make one...doesn't seem too complicated (but I suck at sewing so...there ya go). 

3. Oh bless ye sound machine. I love this one because it has 6 different sound options, can be battery-operated, and has an optional timer setting. Jillian STILL uses hers to this day and it helps block out noise if we're being noisy elsewhere in the house. Granted it's not as cute as the little stuffed animals that have the sound machine in them, but this one has way more options and will last into the toddler years. I'd even use one in my room. 

4. Backpack style diaper bag. Seriously the one-shoulder thing just isn't practical. Trying to juggle a baby and/or car seat with a loaded diaper bag constantly falling off your shoulder isn't fun. I have the Ju Ju Be and love it (chose it over the Petunia Pickle Bottom for several reasons), but either way, two straps for the win.

5. A Solly wrap! With Jillian I never used a baby carrier, but with now having a toddler AND a newborn- I need my hands. Moby wraps are popular but I've known several moms to prefer these over Moby wraps because they're a lighter, more breathable fabric, which for a summer baby- I'm all over. So technically I haven't used this yet, I'm just going off of other recommendations.

6. Poopy pail (aka diaper pail). Babies poo so much it's unreal. It's nice to have a contained little bag 'o poop that's sealed off smell-wise, so you don't have to take a poopy diaper to an outside trash every time they gradoo to keep your house from smelling like a giant toilet. Especially for those nighttime loads...nobody likes waking up to the smell of stale diaper-doo.

7. Aden+Anais swaddle blankets! They're light, stretchy, and big- which other cotton swaddle blankets aren't. Worth. It. 

And now I'm going to go open my windows and enjoy the first evening of spring break. :-)