The registry items that made their debut for number two.
You are probably not a first time mom if you follow my page, so the concept of a registry and what you have decided was an absolute waste of money likely still stands. However let me be the first to inform you that so much has changed and the new stuff is epic! Just act like a newbie and enjoy the hunt.
For starters my biggest upheaval in veteran “momming” was the absence of stores like “Babys-r-us” and that scanner, which you used to make your registry are no longer things. Get out your phone and scan barcodes, pictures, or heck you don’t have to go to the store. I built my entire registry on the couch with the help of Amazon, I will share all my links with you. There are obvious benefits and convenience to that - unlimited time to research for example; pinterest’s many “best of lists” (yes like this one). Then the downfall that you didn’t get to see it, touch it, try it out- granted I was pregnant during the height of Covid, nobody was going to let you put your grimy hands on anything in a store anyway.
So let me share with you those items that either drastically upgraded since my eldest or the newest go to gadgets I loved.
The video baby monitor! This was actually so unreal to me that you have to try REALLY hard to find a baby monitor without a camera. I went with the owelet and sock - and my daughter just turned 3 I still have the camera up. It is great when I am out of town to do a little spying or just to see why noises are coming from her room, when she should be sound asleep. 10/10 recommend the owlet camera. The sock while should have been a great piece of mind, and I used it until she started rolling all over and kicking it off - I found I was far more anxious wondering if she was ok and chicking it then I probably would have been without it. I mean I know for a fact I wasn’t that worried about my eldest and seeing her every vital - funny how we adapt our needs to what information we could have. https://amzn.to/3T6sBnR
The Halo bassinet https://amzn.to/3P9LZiM or any version of a bassinet that basically becomes a tiny extension to your bed. Truly why did it take so long to invent something this simple. The ease of night time feeds after this, no more red eyed zombie mom! You still won’t sleep, but those minutes start to add up - I could just slide her right over to breastfeed and that was amazing. I couldn’t bring myself to purchase the actual HALO, and got a cheaper version. https://amzn.to/3wC8INS I ended up really liking it better, it had 3 sides, so while I couldnt use it if I wasn’t in bed it was really nice at night. Whatever method of sleep you believe in is pretty much easier this way.
While we are talking sleep - the various new versions for swaddles, and weighted swaddles. I remember having my hand on my daughter and ever so slowly lifting one finger at a time to escape her room - just to have that last bit of pressure being removed wake her up. Get the Nest! https://amzn.to/3P9MnxK I know what we did last time worked but seriously you will thank me later.
The Dock a Tot - for all of us that just put the baby in bed with us, pediatrician recommendations be damned. Well they made a compromise for you. Now I use the phrase “dock-a-tot” which became like “q-tip” there are multiple brands and I found there were some super cute options and patters on Amazon, still in concept 10/10. We took the baby camping when she was little a lot and that became her perfect sleep space. https://amzn.to/3P9Ms4s
As you probably are noticing a lot of stuff about how to get the baby to sleep… my daughter had so many tummy issues and horrible gas. She was breastfed, so I manipulated what I ate and nothing really worked. I was given the windi by Frida, and it took me probably 3 months to give it a try - I mean it just seems awkward. However.. WOW that thing works amazing. https://amzn.to/3V7VWRn I have grown to love the brand and nearly all their gadgets. I still use the nose sucker, which also feels weird to do but works way better than the strange ball I used on my eldest.
Moving from sleep to milk - there really isn’t that much else at this stage. I had three different bottle warmers, they are relativly cheap we had a two story house so one in our room, one in the kitchen and a to go one. Since bottle warmers have improved but seemed like an unecessary area to try out the latest upgrade so I did not. However the idea I could warm a bottle on the go meant I could travel more freely and I jumped at that idea. https://amzn.to/3P9PLJ1 I had the baby brew, it could be used with different size / brand of bottles and after dumping just one full bottle I figuered out how to properly use it. Truly that was on me, and not an issue with the intuitive design.
The last gadget they invented was the cordless breast pumps. I loved them so much, I had two. Not sure if they invented them for us and our ability to get off a couch or the social pressure for us to keep working, get back in shape etc. Whichever is your driving force you will thank me later. I had the Medela freestyle https://amzn.to/48KWn7F It had a cord to its pump but I didn’t have to plug it into a wall or anything. Now, the Elvie was full on no cords and even fit under a shirt. https://amzn.to/3uYKI7k it was pricey but honestly I felt so much calmer just being able to clean up the house.
I hope that you find this list helpful, as technology evolves and the good idea fairy brings us all the newest gadgets to make our life easier. This list surely doesn’t include all the new items but in my humble opinion these are the ones worth having. For a quick list of the tried and true oldies but goodies I have provided that below.
Diaper Genie - https://amzn.to/433zMSt (nobody wants smelly diapers, even if you have to walk the diaper to the other room, be real just because you changed the baby on the couch- your not leaving that poopy thing there).
Sound Machine - https://amzn.to/3T8uXm3 (this is the Hatch, and that is new but I had a sound machine for my eldest and it hasn’t changed all the much really). Still good to have.
Car Mirror - https://amzn.to/4389Sgn (its a mirror, needs not to have extra bells and whistles)
Baby Swing - https://amzn.to/48GCe2l (while I have met a baby whom couldn’t sleep in the car, I havent met one who dislikes a good old fashined swing - the new acrobatics of some of these is highly over rated)
Pack n play - https://amzn.to/4c5Gawp (for all its multiple uses, still a must have).