3 Babies in 3 Years :: Baby Items I’d Recommend Again & Again (And Ones I Would Skip)

3 Babies in 3 Years :: Baby Items I’d Recommend Again & Again (And Ones I Would Skip)

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We had 3 babies in 3 years. My youngest recently turned 2, so we’ve been “in it” for a while! When my cousin was expecting, I created this list for her to use while building her baby registry.

diaper pail

Diapering

The Ubbi Steel diaper pail is worth the money. We registered for one and then bought more as needed. Yes, it reeks when you open it to throw a diaper in, but that dissipates and it 100% traps the smells while it’s closed. Our original Ubbi turned 5 years old over the summer, and we’ve had at least one kid in diapers ever since we got it. It’s never disappointed me! It also uses regular trash bags, no need to buy their brand.

We have a 2-story home and I’d recommend at least one changing station on each floor. We skipped changing tables in favor of changing pads on dressers. I like the Skip Hop changing pad, but we also used the cheaper standard rectangular foam ones. We have a changing station set up in our bedroom downstairs and also one(s) upstairs in each kid’s room. You could also do a changing basket with a pad, diapers, wipes, and diaper cream that’s mobile and can go from room to room. (I’d also recommend this same theory for a nursing/feeding station too.)

Sleep

We sleep trained our babies using a basic EWS (eat-wake-sleep) framework. We weren’t very strict and we focused on habits — like swaddling and sound machines — more than a rigid schedule from the start. While our bedtime routine has evolved to include books and songs and the like over the years, all three of our kids are still great sleepers.

We swear by the Hatch Rest sound machine/nightlights! We had the first generation ones originally, but I’ve since upgraded to the newer versions because they have battery back-ups and continue to work when the power goes out. There are a variety of nightlight colors and sounds to choose from, so it’s very customizable and easily controlled by touch or through an app.

Our favorite swaddle (after trying at least half a dozen brands) is hands down the Happiest Baby 5-Second Swaddles. We brought them to the hospital for when the babies were first born and the nurses loved them too. They’re quiet and SO QUICK AND EASY!

Once they started rolling over, we transitioned from the swaddle to the Zipadee Zip zippered sleep sack. All three of our babies LOVED these. I still have one kiddo in them and none of them have ever crawled out their cribs, probably because their hands were covered. (Of course, now that I’ve said this, I’ve probably jinxed myself and that feisty third kid will prove me wrong!)

Medicine & First Aid

New and expectant mamas: stock your baby medicine cabinet now because you’ll be grateful you have that Infant Tylenol at 3:00 in the morning! (Also, we do mostly generic medicine now.) The MediFrida is great to have on hand as well. It’s a little pacifier with a hole in the tip that you stick a syringe of medicine into. My babies eventually all took straight from the syringe, but the MediFrida was a lifesaver those first few times with each of them.

Feeding

If you’re pumping and producing enough breast milk to freeze, don’t just lay the bags down flat, press them flat so they’ll freeze thinner and store better. I could fit 12 6-ounce flattened frozen milk bags in 1 gallon-sized freezer bag (we called that gallon bag a “brick”). And the “bricks” stacked nicely in the freezer. You can find more tips on pumping here.

Even though I didn’t register for a sterilizer, we were gifted a secondhand steam sterilizer and dryer. Instead, I’d registered for bottle drying racks. As time went on and we were drowning in bottles and breast pump parts, the racks simultaneously seemed too small to hold everything effectively AND seemed to take up too much valuable counter space. Plus, they needed to be cleaned constantly to prevent mold. I much preferred the sterilizer route for this reason alone: I could put all the bottles and pump parts I wanted into the sterilizer and in less than 90 minutes, they were dry and could be put away. I had one contained eyesore on the counter and freed up so much counter space while cutting the drying time. And bonus: it sterilized everything!

In the Car

As a brand new mom, I wish I would’ve known of the existence of the video car monitor! I believe it may have helped ease my postpartum anxiety a bit. Most of them are less than $50 — I know that may seem a bit steep, but to buy those baby car mirrors for both of our vehicles was nearly $40! It’s a tiny camera you mount on the seat of the car near the headrest pointing at your rear-facing baby and it connects to a screen you keep with you in the front seat. Genius!

Things I’d Skip

  • All 3 of my kids HATED the Mamaroo, so I was grateful I got it secondhand and didn’t pay full price. Pricey baby items are always listed on Marketplace, so check there.
  • We never used a wipe warmer because so many moms said they were a waste of money.
  • Swaddle blankets were gifted to us in spades but were hardly ever used. Now that they’re older, my kids use them during car rides and with their nap mats at school.
  • Those bottle drying racks that look like grass were sooo popular 5 years ago when I was pregnant with my first. But once we had ours, we realized they took up so much valuable counter space and needed to be cleaned constantly to prevent mold. I much preferred the sterilizer route.

Bonus Tips:

  • Layer a mattress protector, a fitted sheet, a mattress protector, a fitted sheet as you make the bed. In case a fitted sheet gets wet from potty accidents or spit up, you can easily pull off the top layers of fitted sheet and mattress protector and have a fresh set underneath. We still do this with all our kids. It’s a lifesaver at 3:00 AM when your potty-training toddler has an accident or your older kid gets a stomach bug.
  • Do this same layering trick with changing pads and layer a disposable puppy pad between the covers.
  • Use a pizza cutter for cutting just about any food! We did baby led weaning for all 3 kids and a good pizza cutter is invaluable! It cuts pancakes, chicken breast, fruits, etc. so quickly. Buy a second one to have available when the first one is in the dishwasher!
  • Along the pizza cutter route — buy a pair or two of kitchen shears to cut food quickly.

What were your must-have baby items?

Joey Yearous
Joey is a New Orleans native, Dominican alum, and LSU grad who joined the ranks of motherhood in the summer of 2019. She and her Colorado born-and-raised husband, Phil, left their Mid-City apartment for a house on the Northshore about ten days before they welcomed their son, Sam, into the world. A short 19 months later, their daughter Sloane arrived and their caboose Nicholas completed their family 17 months after that. Though she’s always had a passion for writing, it’s her work in whole-home generator sales that pays the bills. Her 3 kiddos keep her busy, but when she’s got a free moment, you can find her cooking, trying new restaurants, and listening to true crime podcasts. A consummate Pinterest fanatic, she’s always looking for her next DIY project or recipe to try. She believes good senses of humor and random acts of kindness make the world go ‘round.

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