Real Moms Favorite Baby Products – Kendra

What else can get you through this almost-to-the-long-weekend Wedneday other than a great real mom Wednesday?  We’ve got an excellent one in store for you today.  Totally a list I read through saying “uh-huh” to – especially to the jeggings pick, see below!  And see below for all of Kendra’s other favorites, I think not only will you enjoy reading but may just find some new favorites yourself.  We always need more volunteers so if you’d like to share your most loved baby products, here are are all the details!

Hello! I’m Kendra, mama to a precocious 7 month old named Phoebe. My husband, Phoebe, and I live in Boston, Massachusetts in a one bedroom apartment. There are so many products out there and I was definitely overwhelmed (continue to be?!) by what you “need” and what you don’t. Being a busy working mama (teacher & I blog at Imperfectly Poised), it’s nice to have this go-to website that helps me figure out what’s what. And in our house, we love our Fisher Price Rock n’ Play, Solly Baby Wrap, anything Aden + Anais, and so many other Real Mom faves.

Without further ado, here are the products I couldn’t get by without for the wonderful, exhausting first half a year of Phoebe’s life:

1.  40 Watt A19 Red Light Bulb:  Once baby arrived, I knew we would be sleep deprived, but I was determined to figure out ways to maximize the sleep we would get. Enter: the red light bulb. I learned all about the importance of light exposure and sleep. Apparently, the light coming from a red light bulb does not wake your brain up the same way blue lights (iPhone light) and bedroom lights do, instead it creates something called circadian darkness—you can see, but your brain doesn’t think that it’s daytime. Result? Less disruptive nighttime feedings, letting everyone get back to sleeping ASAP and in our household that $3 lightbulb is worth its weight in gold.

2.  Manhattan Toy Wimmer-Ferguson Infant Stim Mobile To Go Travel Toy – This little beauty became indispensable as we exited the newborn—sleeps all the time in the car— phase and entered the infant—I hate the car and will cry the whole time—phase. It clips right onto the handle, folds flat, and has reversible pictures so baby doesn’t get bored. Another car savior? The Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes (another Wise Mama favorite for good reason!).

3.  Inglesina Fast Table Chair – When we dare to go out to restaurants (early bird special style), it’s amazing to have this with us. Some might say this is not necessary, but I love how it includes baby in the food action (great training for future sit-down meals) and it sets my mind at ease when it comes to germs.

4.  Zutano Booties – Everyone told me I would love these little booties and I do! These souped-up socks are warm, secure, and come in cute cotton and fleece colors/patterns. They seem expensive for “socks” but trust me, they’re worth it.

5.  Stokke Steps All-in-One Set – File this one under expensive. But this high chair is meant to last. It turns from a bouncer into a highchair into a seat. But my favorite feature is that you can place the bouncer onto the chair base bringing baby up to table level during meals before they can join you sitting up.

6.  Carter Jeggings – People love putting babies in jeans. They’re adorable, but no fun to pull up and down for diaper changes—and am I the only one that feels a bit guilty that they’re in those stiff, uncomfy jeans all day? Jeggings are comfy and go with everything, just like jeans.

7.  Keekaroo Peanut Changer – The traditional changing pad is great and comes with adorable covers and patterns…that the baby pees and poos all over. So I set out to find a changing pad that didn’t need additional covers and liners to protect it. The Keekaroo’s solid shell is made of Dura-Soft material that limits bacteria growth and makes clean up a snap.

8.  Lifecake – Unloading Phoebe photos on this website/app that documents my little one’s life moment by moment is great. You can invite family/friends to join the account and they are given realtime updates whenever you upload videos, photos, etc. They can love pictures and add comments too! It’s the easiest way to share updates with family and I love that Phoebe will be able to look back on these pictures whenever she wants.