Many of the items recommended are available to buy through my Amazon aStore. The proceeds for my aStore (and the ads located on this site) go to a fund to support a child we hope to possibly adopt in the future. If our adoption does not come to fruition, the funds will be passed on to Shaohannah’s Hope to help another family who is looking to adopt.
Baby Essentials in Our Home
1. Boppy Pillow- I don’t know too many breastfeeding moms who don’t love this nursing pillow. I have survived without it, but it is one luxury that I would pick above many others. I wore my first one completely out and bought a second!
2. Organic NursEase Shawl- I prefer to keep myself a bit more covered when nursing in public and this nursing shawl was a great find for doing so. So many nursing shawls are like blankets where they only cover your side or front. This one covered me all around and never shifted or fell off. Plus it is made of a nice lightweight, organic material. (Available in a variety of sizes in my aStore)
3. Bebe Pod (or other brand)- Elijah spent hours in his Bebe Pod. He spent hours sitting at the toy bin just playing in this. We used to also travel with it and use it as a high chair when we went on car-trip vacations.
4. Baby Bjorn or Bumkins Bibs- Either of these two kinds of bibs are wonderful for catching all the food your newly trained self-feeder will drop. They are durable and easy to clean too. After I got my first, I never purchased another kind of bib again!
5. Lansinoh Lanolin Cream- If you know a new mother who is going to breastfeed, buy her this. It was a lifesaver for me all four times I breastfed. I don’t know a breastfeeding mom who has survived without some type of lanolin cream.
6. Lovey Duds Baby Wrap- There are lots of baby wraps out there, but this just happens to be the one I use and has worked great for us. I like how it can be rolled up into just a small space when traveling as well.
7. California Baby Products- These natural baby products are so wonderful. I use them on myself sometimes. (More available in my aStore)
8. FuzziBunz Cloth Diapers- We made the switch to cloth diapering in February 2006 and it was one of the best decisions we ever made. Not only have we helped the environment, but our pocketbook benefited as well. Even if you think you could never cloth diaper, check these out before you decide.
9. Kushies Flushable Biodegradable Cloth Diaper Liners- I spent a year cloth diapering without these, and I don’t know how I did it. They are a necessity for us and something we stock up on and bring overseas.
10. Hyland’s Teething Gel- A natural way to help your little one through the pain of teething. It doesn’t always work miracles, but it does seem to take some of the edge off.
Our Favorite Kid Products
1. New Balance Shoes- Since meeting with a podiatrist in July 2009, we have all been wearing sneakers more. All of our kids are fitted with New Balance sneakers. This is one area where health takes a priority over style!
2. Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace Junior- This is a great product to teach kids about the responsibility of money and work. The books are enjoyable for the kids and the system gives you a good idea of how to help kids to learn how to be responsible stewards of God’s money.
3. Melissa and Doug Products- I just love everything about Melissa and Doug products. The toys are simple, yet beautiful. And there are ton of really practical things they sell too. We have the responsibility chart and the calendar, which are both beautiful re-usable charts that we have gotten a lot of use out of. (A few more selections are available in my aStore)
4. School Zone Products- For educations workbooks and games, I really like the School Zone products. There customer service is superb and their product selection is great.
5. Sovereign Grace Children’s Music- The children’s music albums from Sovereign Grace Music are our favorites because not only do the kids enjoy the quality music and good lessons taught in them, but they are enjoyable for adults to listen to as well.
6. Children’s Desiring God Fighter Verses- For Scripture memory, the straight forward system of the Fighter verses can’t be beat. And you can memorize right along with your child too.
7. Cedarmont Kids’ Products- Our kids have loved all the music we have from Cedarmont kids. We have around 6-7 of their CDs and the kids don’t seem to get tired of them. Most have split tracks where you can sing along with just the music too.
8. Blackstone Audio- Abby loves listening to audio books and Blackstone has a huge selection of unabridged titles. You can search for a book or browse their many genres.
9. Peltor Kid Ear Muffs- Being a communication disorders major in college, I was never comfortable with the noise level the kids were hearing at Joe’s games. These ear muffs block out much of the harmful noise, while still allowing the kids to hear me when I speak in a normal voice to them.