I love polling you all on Instagram when I’m in need of some advice. I’ve joked about it before but I’m so serious – you guys are like the older sisters I never had with all of the amazing newborn advice! Here’s me passing along the info to you if you’re expecting or for you to share with one of your friends!

ALSO! PSA, I go into some details here and share my experience, which may be completely different than yours. There are some newborn products I was prepared with that I never used and then products I realized I needed that I had to order afterward. All of them are below 🙂

Double zip onesies

Trust me! Having to snap the buttons in the middle of the night – heck! Really, at any point in the day – is a lot with a squirmy one. We find ourselves always picking out double zip jammies at night time when we’re getting him ready for sleep. I didn’t know to look for these before he was born so I’m sharing this goodness with you! Also, when I asked about your favorite products for babies, y’all recommended magnetic onesies, which I had no idea existed! There are so many cutie options here! These double zip jammies are the softest you’ll ever feel – we love!

Wipe warmer

It seems silly, I know! But, there’s a difference to our baby between a cold wipe to the bum and a warm wipe in the middle of the night. He doesn’t make a peep when the wipe is warm but lets us know he’s uncomfy when it’s cold. This one is super inexpensive, sits next to his diaper changing station, and makes the wipes perfectly warm for those changes.

Diaper Basket 

We have a home with two stories and we’d be constantly going up and down the stairs to grab burp cloths, diapers, wipes, diaper cream, lotion, etc. throughout the day if it weren’t for the diaper basket we carry around. In the morning, before we come downstairs, we load the basket with what we may need throughout the day and carry it downstairs with him. This one is really cute and it’s not a complete eyesore and has so many compartments!

This Swaddle

People have so many swaddle opinions and ideas of what makes a “good swaddle.” So take this one with a grain of salt and do what works best for your baby but Maddex is a ninja and breaks out of almost every swaddle. We use the Halo Sleepsack swaddle and love the fact that it zips and velcro’s and makes it nearly impossible for him to escape! He was also a super small newborn and the fact it fits him then and still works for him now as he grows is great!

The Hatch

We love this! The Hatch is a sound machine with so many different sounds that also acts as a nightlight with several colors to choose from! You can control it using Bluetooth + an app on your phone, set schedules and control volume and the brightness of the light. We have one in our room and one in his nursery. It’s great for now but can also upgrade with him as he grows up. I have friends with toddlers that use it as an alarm clock – “don’t get up until the light turns green” sort of thing. Genius!

Doona Carseat/Stroller

You may have seen Thomas break this down and set it up on Instagram but just in case you missed it, let me tell you about this wizardry! The Doona car seat turns into a stroller with a few clicks. No attaching it to another stroller, no extra parts or pieces! Seriously! The wheels basically tuck up and under the car seat when sitting in the car and then pop out from underneath when you’re ready to stroll. I wouldn’t use it as a walking stroller around your neighborhood or to the park (there isn’t any storage). But, it’s great for quick errands! I use it all the time when I go to grab a coffee with a friend, want to walk around TJ Maxx, or have a pediatrician appointment. It’s incredible! Highly recommend!

Elvie Pumps

These are the breast pumps that I use and wowie! they’re amazing! They don’t have tons of tubes and parts, they break down easily, they’re extremely quiet, I can pump in the car and they connect to an app for easy turn on/off and tracking your supply. I have two so I can pump both sides at once and have loved them. A full review is coming but just trust me – they’re a 9/10!

Keekaroo Peanut Changer

We use this changing pad and love it! It’s easy to wipe down, you don’t have to use a changing pad cover, it’s large enough to grow with him and it doesn’t slip and slide all around the table. It’s super squishy, too, so I know it’s comfy for him!

Travel Sterilizer 

Say you drop a paci while you’re out and about and have nowhere to clean it off or make sure it didn’t pick up any nasties – this travel sterilizer comes in handy! Pop in anything you’d want to sterilize, press the button, and with UV Lights, it cleans and sterilizes whatever is inside in 59 seconds! Great to keep in the diaper bag!

Nail Filer

Those little sharp nails have to get cut but I was terrified of cutting his nails and accidentally cutting him. This nail filer is so efficient, silent, and doesn’t hurt him one bit! It slowly files his nails down to whatever length, gets rid of those sharp little ridges without cutting him or making him bleed at all!

Baby Brezza

This brand has so many incredible baby products but we use the sterilizer for bottle and pump parts! In 45 minutes, it sterilizes and dries the pieces. It fits tons of parts inside and is so convenient over having to boil water, twirl each individual piece inside, and drying it on a rack.

Sterilizing Bags

Another great sterilizing option for on-the-go is these sterilizing bags! Pop in your pieces and put in a little water inside the microwave and it kills all of the bacteria! Great for hotel rooms if you’re traveling!

These Burp cloths

These are super cheap, really great! Don’t invest in fancy burp cloths. Mmkay?

Portable Sound Machine

This is a lifesaver! Whether we’re in another part of the house without his sound machine and we want to soothe him or we’re in the car or on a walk, this portable sound machine hooks onto his stroller or car seat and keeps him calm! Its white noise is great and can get really loud if needed! It uses a charge instead of batteries which is a plus, too!

Stroller Fan

You can attach this fan onto anything: stroller, car seat, chair at soccer games, etc. It charges, doesn’t need batteries, and has several levels of air! Perfect for a hot day/walk.

Owlet Sock

We get so much peace of mind from this handy invention! The Owlet Sock is a sock that your baby wears while they sleep. It keeps track of their sleep progress, heart rate, and oxygen intake. You can view it on an app or check the base station to see if they’re sleeping well and safe. If something were to go wrong, their heart rate or oxygen level fell outside of the normal range, you’d be notified with an alarm to go and check on them. The camera can be added with it and allows you to hear, see and be able to speak back to them through the camera using the app. It also keeps track of the temperature inside the room and notifies you if it’s too cold or too warm. We don’t personally love the camera, though. Because it’s on your phone – you’re limited to what you can do while having the monitor available. If you take a call, for example, you lose the ability to see the monitor as well unless you have them on speaker phone… just tricky for us. So we went with a different monitor. Check out my monitor post, comparing different ones, here.

Shusher

Okay, I’m about to sound so silly but hang on with me. Shushing Maddex has worked so well with soothing him. But, I get tired from shushing after a few minutes (especially if I’m having to compete with him when he’s crying ). But, this little thing literally “shushes” for you. You can change the frequency of the shushes and the volume. I hold it next to us when I’m rocking him and he’s upset or I’m trying to help him fall asleep. It has worked wonders!

Pacifier Box

You don’t really know what kind of nipple your baby is going to take in bottles or pacifiers until they let you know. So, try not to invest in cutie pacifiers until you know which one they’ll like (if they like any at all). You can get a few in this box to help you figure out which one they’d like. A great investment!

Bottle Box

Similar to the pacifier box (above), this is the same for bottles. This box includes a variety of the most popular bottles for babies to help you figure out what’s going to work best for your family.

If you’re reading this because you’re a new mama, you’re doing great! You’re loving your baby so well. I know it’s hard and nights are late and long, and you wonder when we’ll ever sleep again. But, remember this – we’re in this together! Giving you a huge virtual hug from here. Xoxo sister!