A friend of mine recently listed her top seven baby products and it got me thinking about some of the things we could do with (and without).

1. SwaddleMe Adjustable Infant Wrap in Organic Cotton: This straight-jacket was great in keeping Ethan’s arms from flailing all over the place and helped him sleep longer/more peacefully.

2. bumGenius 2.0 and 3.0 one-size pocket diapers: These are our work-horse, day and night time diapers. Goes on and off easily, the fabric against baby’s bum is soft and wicks away wetness. Even though Ethan didn’t really fit into them until he was at least 8lbs, I think it’s great that they’ll fit him until he’s ready to potty train.

3. goodmama one-side fitted diapers: Like our bumGenius dipes, these are also one-size so they’ll grow with Ethan until he’s ready to potty train. I only use these at home since they normally require a cover, but they’re so lovely that I don’t like covering them up. (Wetness will seep through, which is OK, because by then Ethan’s onesie is usually covered in spit-up and needs changing anyway.)

4. Cloth wipes: I keep a stack of cloth wipes wherever I change the baby along with a spray bottle of water with a bit of baby wash. I either spray the cloth or spray the baby directly (usually after #2s). Our wipes come from a variety of sources, including Sewing Mom Just Accessories Etc. and Fussybutt, as well as STACKS from other mamas who no longer need theirs through Diaper Swappers.

5. method squeaky green baby hair + body wash and lotion: I’m a big fan of method products, and I just LOVE the scent of their baby wash and lotion. While there are a few things in the list of ingredients that I have no clue about, they do claim that they are free of phthalates and parabens.

6. Nature’s Touch™ Baby Papasan™ Cradle Swing: Not green, but oh, what a lifesaver at times! It’s where Ethan naps during the day.

7. Unbleached Indian Prefold diapers: We use preemie-sized prefolds with covers (Imse Vimse and Bummis) when Ethan was still too small to fit into his one-size diapers. Now they serve as great burp cloths and rags! We also have some larger, infant-sized prefolds that we sometimes use as diapers, but mostly they also get used as burp cloths as well. We got ours from Little-Lions.

8. Summer Infant Color Handheld Video Monitor: Also not green, but we put Ethan to bed in his own room as soon as he came home from the hospital, so having this around is an absolute necessity. Having color isn’t all that useful right now since we only use this at night when the lights are off in his room, so the image will be in night-vision mode.

9. Electric water kettle: This isn’t really a baby item as I had it before even getting pregnant, but it’s become so much more useful since. When Ethan was getting mama’s milk, I would use this to quickly heat up some water so I could make a warm water bath for the bottle of milk since our tap takes waaaay too long to warm up. Now that Ethan’s on formula, I use this to boil the water to mix with the powdered formula.

10. BornFree bottles: One of the most-trusted BPA-free plastic bottles out there. Ethan transitioned to these bottles as soon as he could eat more than what those itty-bitty bottles from the hospital could hold without any problems. Ethan also doesn’t seem to have any problems with extra air intake from using these bottles.

I also find the wide-neck SO much easier to clean using a bottle brush. They now also come in glass, which we might try when we need to get more of the bigger sized bottles.

Filed by Maria in baby, diapers, gear, shopping