For my soon-to-be and new mommy friends: What you'll want and what you don't need.

Because I have SO MANY friends expecting their first baby, I decided to make a list of things we loved with our new baby, and baby products that we could have done without so, here it is! Keep in mind, these are all my opinions, and there are people who will disagree with me on what you really need/don't need. Honestly you can get by with the SUPER basics, but hopefully this list helps you weed out the things you won't really use so you don't waste your money!

For Breastfeeding:

What we loved

1) A good nursing pillow. I had 2 nursing pillows. The super popular Boppy, and a Cuddle-U. Which one did I prefer? Honestly, I liked the Cuddle-U lots better than the Boppy. Why? It is thicker, fluffier, and it propped baby up more than the Boppy did. I used it a lot more than the Boppy. It is also nicer for early sitting babies because it has a strap that can go around the baby so they are secure (not that I was worried about my young baby flying out of the pillow) but it's nice for peace of mind. However, it was nice to have two nursing pillows so I could use one strictly in the nursery, and the other lived on the couch. If you have two levels of living space, you'll probably want two so you aren't running up and down the stairs going to get the pillow!

2) Good nursing bras. My favorites come from Motherhood Maternity. They are comfy, supportive, and made of good materials. Wait to buy them until AFTER your milk comes in. For those early days, just get a sleep bra. I doubt you'll be out and about running around needing a good supportive bra. You'll be engorged and wanting to just wear your PJ's so don't worry about it until you settle down...I bought some right at first before my milk came in, and they never fit again and they sucked and were uncomfortable (partially because of the place I got them/brand they were)

3) Breast pump. Because I returned to work when baby was only 7 weeks old, I needed a really good pump to pump multiple times a day while I was gone. I got the Medela Pump In Style Advanced and I LOOOOVED it. I actually used it a lot before I went back to work to relieve some engorgement and it was so great to have. After I stopped working, I used it on average at least every other day, if not more to keep up supply, and have extra milk for any time I wanted to go out. If you need to buy a pump, wait for it to be 20% off at Babies R Us when you sign up for their rewards program. You'll most likely get the best price during that time. If you don't plan on using one daily, or even more than a few times a week, you probably can get by using a single manual pump. It's really just up to you and what your needs are. Even if I wasn't going back to work, I would have bought the pump I have because it's just that good and it is SO great to have. Is it weird that I'm looking forward to using it again? lol!

4) Nursing pads. I know some people don't need these, but man oh man I would have been in trouble without them! My favorite are Lansinoh. I've tried others, and they just don't compare. If you buy them on Amazon in a 4-pack, that's usually the cheapest way, especially if you subscribe and save. You can ALWAYS cancel subscribe and save, but it's nice to get a little bit more savings by using it.

5) Bottles. If you plan to leave baby to get out of the house at any point in his/her life, you'll need bottles! We liked the Avent bottles best, but I know many people like Dr. Brown's. Because we knew our baby would need to take a bottle once a day when I went back to work, we followed the advice of our pediatrician and started giving her a bottle once a day when she was a couple weeks old. Why? So she would take one, but still breastfeed. Also, it's important that you let daddy give baby the bottle so the baby will take the bottle from someone other than you. Trust me, if you train your baby to take a bottle but also breastfeed, you'll be SO GLAD because it comes in handy SO many times, even for non-working mommies!

6) Lanolin. This was nice to have for the beginning when you're cracked and sore. Again I prefer Lansinoh. You can buy your own tube of it (and it will last you through the eternities...I have one that looks like I never used it, even though I did) and the hospital will probably give (meaning charge you like $1 something ha ha!) a small one to you while you're there. I hated the Medela brand. Ick. Just trust me. In addition to Lanolin, as your OB/Midwife about a concoction called Newman's Ointment and if you can get a prescription for it. This stuff SAVED MY LIFE! It's a special mixture of anti fungal/anti bacterial cream you use to not only prevent thrush, and other nasty infections, but to treat mastitis as well. And trust me, I had mastitis 3 times so I totally know what I'm talking about here! If you get mastitis, I'm really sorry, but know that there is an end and you can get through it!

7) Rocking chair/glider. I cannot emphasize this one enough! The one we have is LOVELY, and I don't know what I'd do without it. It is SO COMFORTABLE and for all the late night feedings you'll go through, you won't be sorry you splurged on a really nice chair! Test them out at every furniture store and find one you really love.

8) Nursing cover. There are SO MANY BRANDS of nursing covers, or you could even make your own. Mine is a Bebe Au Lait and I LOOOOVE it. Why? Because it has this great pocket on the inside made from terry-cloth that can hold nursing pads, binky and can double as a clean-up method if you don't have a spit rag on you. I also loved the size and the boning in it to make it arch so you can see baby and baby can see you. Not everyone uses a nursing cover in public. I personally believe it is up to you. Do what makes you feel comfortable, because that's what matters. People are weird and will even scoff at you for nursing a baby in public WITH a nursing cover, so don't let this get you down. Nursing is natural and beautiful so people who think otherwise can just stuff it. :)

OK, I think that covers breastfeeding. There wasn't really a product I had and didn't use/didn't like. Obviously you'll want a bottle brush to clean your bottles :) I also really liked having the micro-steam sterilization bags to clean my pump parts in after each use. Super quick and handy.

Baby Gear:

What we loved

1) Car seat. Obviously! We opted to go with the Chicco KeyFit 30 and I LOVE everything about it! It's got excellent crash test ratings and is SO EASY to install. It's also the best option if you've got a smaller car since the base is narrow and it fits into small cars well. The other one I'd recommend is the Britax B-Safe. It's pretty much just as awesome as the KeyFit 30 and I think it's actually a bit cheaper than the Chicco now. For after baby grows out of the infant carrier (if that's the route you're going) you'll want to purchase a good quality combination seat that can be installed rear-facing and forward facing as well. For this stage I would recommend the Britax Boulevard 70. It is amazing, and it keeps your little one rear-facing until they are 40 lbs! Rear-facings is ALWAYS safest, no matter the age of the person, but especially from birth to at LEAST age 2! Our little chika is only 24 lbs and still rear-facing, and I'm going to keep her that way until she reaches 40 lbs. She's not going to know any different if I never turn her around, so if you do the same with your little one, you should have the same results. The Boulevard is also a great choice if you want to just buy one car seat and not spend extra money on an infant carrier, since you can use it with an infant who weighs at least 5 lbs. FYI I have bought both the car seats we use from Albeebaby.com and I am 100% satisfied, and I don't think you can find them anywhere else for as great of a price! They've got fabulous customer service, too! Look for another post later ALL about car seats/safety/ random info!

2) Stroller. We just went with a travel system for our Chicco, and we liked it a lot. I'm not a runner/jogger and neither is David so this wasn't important to us. I don't have a lot to say about the stroller, other than it's really nice to have one that either goes with your car seat and can just click and go or that has an adapter to make it a click and go stroller. The other stroller we own is a Chicco lightweight stroller, and we love it for quick trips/traveling.

3) Baby swing. For our little one, we used a hand-me-down swing that was almost ready to die, but ALWAYS kept working for us. It was just a simple open-top swing and it worked well for us. After we were done with it, we got rid of it, because it wasn't very reliable, and for baby #2 I wanted one that plugged into the wall. So, for our twins, we bought the Fisher-Price My Little Snugabunny Cradle 'n Swing. It looks awesome, so hopefully we like it! FYI, we bought it from Amazon and had it on a wishlist until the price kept creeping down :) I hate paying full-price for ANYTHING so I would recommend this method of attack!

4) Bouncy seat. 1 BILLION percent necessary for us. For the days when baby would just scream and cry at David, he stuck her in the bouncy seat and it soothed her at least somewhat. I don't think it matters what kind of bouncy seat you use. Ours is a hand-me-down and it's made by Fisher-Price, and it's most similar to this one. It's awesome and we love it. You can't go wrong with any of their bouncers.

5) Bassinet/Pack 'n Play. We have a Bassinet, and we used it for the first few weeks to have baby in our room with us, or to move it to other rooms in the house. After she was a few weeks old, she slept in it in her own room so she would get used to sleeping in her room, not ours. It's nice to have so baby isn't in that big huge crib at first. We'll be getting this Pack 'n Play for the twins to keep downstairs since we've got two levels of living space.

6) Jumper that goes in the door frame. Holy moly, our child LOOOOOVED this! We're so glad we had it! It's not necessary, but it's nice to watch baby be so happy (and be contained) so you can get some things done. You won't need this for 4 or 5 months, but it's nice to have when the time comes.

7) Highchair. Any kind will do. It's 100% up to you. Ours was a hand me down, and we didn't love it, but we used it because it was free. Now we use one that sits on one of our kitchen chairs because we wanted something that saved space and it turns into a booster for later. For the twins when the time comes, I have no idea what we'll do, as we'll probably be living in a different house by the time we need to get these.


8) Baby carrier. There are a lot of opinions on what kind to use, but we really loved our Baby Bjorn and got a TON of use out of it when we lived in NY last summer. Totally worth it. Find one you like :)

Things we didn't love/didn't NEED

1) Play mat. Our little one didn't really love playing with the one we had, but maybe yours will. You don't really need one, as baby will most likely be entertained by something you got for free/your keys, sunglasses/anything they aren't supposed to play with lol!

2) Bumbo. I know people SWEAR by these, but we didn't get one, and we were JUST FINE! We borrowed one, and our child quickly learned how to escape from it, so it wasn't a super great option for us, and she just didn't like sitting in it (until she was 1 and wanted to sit in the neighbor's Bumbo...). Totally optional in my opinion. If you get it at a shower, great. If you don't get one, save your pennies. I don't think it helped my baby "learn" how to sit or anything like people claim. She was sitting on her own at 5 months old because she's a fast learner and totally independent.

For the Nursery:

Aside from the obvious like a crib, here are the things we liked/didn't like/need:

Things we liked

1) Changing table. Ours doubles as a dresser, and I LOVE it. It kept us from having to buy a dresser since all the clothes we had for baby fit in the dresser. Also, I loved having a basket to organize diapers in. For the twins, since we're going to use cloth diapers, I plan on using the top drawer of our changing table for all the diaper supplies and the other two drawers for clothes.

2) Small lamp. This was nice for late night feedings, but we ended up using the light in the hall a lot, too. Some people prefer night lights.

3) Wearable blankets. I inherited some, and we loved them for the winter and when our little one wasn't walking yet.They are really easy to make, and you don't need to spend a fortune on the HALO brand ones. Seriously over-priced!

4) Baby monitor. This is nice to have, but you don't need anything fancy shmancy. A basic monitor will do. If you live in a big house you'll really want one, but if you're in a tiny apartment, it's probably not necessary. Trust me...you'll hear your baby cry at night, and you'll wake up. It's just a mom thing that will automatically come!

5) Diaper pail. We loved having this, but could have done without if someone didn't give it to us. Ours is the Diaper Dekor Plus and we liked it a lot, up until baby was eating solids and had gross stinky poo. Now we use ours for our cloth diapers and it works great for that.

Things we didn't use/didn't need

1) Wipes warmer. Over-rated in my opinion. I never had one, and will never need one.

2) White noise maker. We did have a humidifier in baby's room, but I didn't find it necessary to always have a noise going while she was sleeping. I was able to vacuum while my baby was sleeping, and she'd sleep right through it. But, she's a GREAT sleeper, so that may not be the case for everyone!

3) Mobile. I never got one, and I felt like my baby was sufficiently stimulated, as she was always ahead of the curve with milestones. Also, I wanted to keep the crib a place to sleep, not to play.

Bathing & Safety:

1) Baby bath tub. I am somewhat indifferent to this one because you don't really NEED it. Seriously. A big bowl or your clean kitchen sink is fine for when baby is tiny. Plus after you are finished using the baby bath tub, it's really annoying to store since it's such an awkward shape! I really liked having a little seat thing for the tub for when I started bathing baby in the big bathtub. It's handy and small and easy to store. I can't find the link, but it's just a small little seat for baby to lie down on and it's mesh.

2) Those cutesy tiny baby towels. They are only good for the first few months then you'll find they're really thin and small and not very useful. Instead, I would suggest making your own hooded towel out of a normal sized towel and a hand towel. This is wonderful for when baby is bigger and can be used through the toddler years and many years after that!

3) Outlet covers, drawer locks, toilet locks and so on come later when baby is mobile and you need to baby proof. They're nice to have, especially the outlet covers.

4) Baby gate. We never got one, but we've never had stairs before. Maybe we'll get one this time around?

5) Little baby nail clippers. These are great! Any brand will do. You'll love them because baby's nails grow SUPER fast and are razor sharp. Just make sure you cut the corners of their nails so you aren't leaving a sharp corner to scratch both you and the baby.

6) Baby first-aid kit. We got one of these at my shower and the only thing I ever used from it was the nail clippers and the thermometer. The bulb syringe you get at the hospital is the best one you can find. The ones you get at the store are crappy.


Random tips of advice/misc. products:

 1) Read the book, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" It should be your go-to for any sleep problems/training. I read just part of it one day when baby was about 4 months old, and the things I learned started working THAT DAY! It's been a great resource for us, and I thoroughly believe we have such a great sleeper because of this book.

2) We DO use a binky and we did when baby was small. I am personally not a fan of the ugly green one they give you in the hospital and I don't agree whatsoever with the nurse in our Lamaze class that claimed they're better for baby because if you have a different shaped one baby will clamp down on you and it will hurt. Lies. Breastfeeding is a learning curve and at first it just hurts. Period. End. The binky didn't cause baby to latch on differently. We really liked the Avent binky because that's what our baby took really well, and I especially loved that it had a snap on cover for when it's not in baby's mouth. Now, our little monster will suck on anything...including outlet covers. (ugh!) but she likes both Avent and Nuk binkies.

3) If you are having a girl and you want her to look cute and keep her headbands and little bracelets on, put them on her DAILY from the time you bring her home. I'm not kidding. She will learn to leave it alone because it is always there. This is also true when it comes to doing her hair. Start doing something with it even when it's super short and she barely has any. She'll learn that it's normal for you to do her hair and she won't try to pull it out. I started putting our little one's hair in pig tails as soon as she had enough hair for them! Sorry, I have no advice on boys! ha ha!

4) If you're going to make your own baby food (I made some but not all) you don't need a specific "Baby food steamer, maker, etc." They are a waste of money and just take up space. Just buy a food processor since you can use it for lots of other things as well. Steam your fruits and veggies, or bake them. This is a GREAT website for baby food recipes. I am planning on making 100% of the twins' baby food since I know I will be able to do that. Last summer, we were in NY and I didn't have my whole kitchen with me so I opted to buy it. If you do buy it, I really loved Beechnut. I did a lot of research, and when comparing Gerber to Beechnut, Beechnut always came out on top. You can do your own research though, and use what you think is best for you, your budget and your needs. Baby will be OK no matter what route you choose so don't stress too much!

WOW that was a lot of info, and I hope that at least SOMEONE benefits from it!! Other mommies, please feel free to chime in and comment on what you liked/didn't like or if I missed anything. Good luck new and soon to be mommies! You'll all do GREAT!