Noah's (and mommy's) favorite things!

Since I have so many friends expecting, I wanted to put together a list of what I consider 5 *star* "must haves" for every mom-to-be!

Noah Ryan was born January 30th, 2009. That's right, in the middle of WINTER! We had our fair share of sniffles and congestion, chapped skin, fussiness, and gas!

You know how you prepare for the baby and you buy the bottles you think will work, you stock up on binkies that you think your baby will like, the shampoo that you love the smell of, cute burp clothes that have fun designs. THEN your baby arrives! Our sweet noah would have nothing to do with the mams pacifier that we bought, he preferred the soothies that they gave him in the hospital nursery! What do I do? I send my sweet husband to the store to stock up on soothies because we know what happens to binkies in our household!!! (they disappear...usually in the hands of a then sweet 2 1/2 year old girl to use with 'her' babies!!) Noah was 'tongue tied' and they had to clip his lingua frenum in the hospital. The nurses decided to give him a bottle, with a NUK nipple!! Our sweet baby took to the NUK nipple immediately so on the way home from the hospital nana stopped by Target to buy some NUK pacifiers and that is what he prefers to this day!! Halle wanted nothing to do with a pacifier. Oh how each child is different! We did learn with Halle that Dr. Brown bottles are by far the best bottle that WE have ever used (highly recommended, and no I don't get any kickbacks for my free advertising =).

We should have purchased stock with little noses because this is the best stuff ever (even though I could make my own solution at home...this is much easier!!) They now make a mist spray that works wonders!!! Of course I recommend the bulb suctioner, especially the blue ones they give you at the hospital ("borrow" as many as you can!!!) You'll need one for the nursery, the diaper bag, the living room, the car...everywhere!!

Winters + baby skin = sad dry baby skin. Aveeno sensitive skin hair and body wash + aquaphor = happy moist baby skin! Aquaphor works wonders on the skin! Not to mention, it can kick the nastiest diaper rash ever in no time at all! Luckily Noah hasn't had much of a diaper rash at all, but Halle had several nasty rashes. The only thing that worked was aquaphor, definitely a 5 star rated product! I love my cute burp cloths...mainly because they are made from cloth diapers! They absorb everything! I tried those thin gerber terry cloth burp cloths...hmmmm not so much for absorbing anything AT ALL!! I prefer babies r us organic cloth diapers!

(Sigh) Vicks vapor rub is so amazing!! When your baby is up every hour because he/she can't breath out of their nose and you've tried suctioning, you've tried the saline, you've tried the humidifier (which is another favorite...Noah's is a penguin)....and nothing works....rub vicks vapor rub on your babies chest and feet, cover with socks, and enjoy a peaceful, easy breathing baby!!

The doctors found out that Noah had reflux, which ended up being pretty severe.  While trying almost every medication on the market for reflux, and other stomach issues we found our favorite item of all time!!  The nap nanny!!  We have the crib wedge (which we currently use because he outgrew the nap nanny) but it doesn't elevate the way the nap nanny does.   We also tried the inclined to sleep with halle, but this is by far the best item we have purchased!

We have also tried every formula possible from enfamil to similac, regular and soy, even the pricey nutramagin.  We finally found a winner.... the cheapest formula on the market (I think)...

Here are a some other favorites:

Protect yourself during bath time if you have a boy (keeps the baby warm too!!!)  =)

to soothe the baby all night long with the softest sounds from rain to lullabies.  It even projects different animations on the wall for the baby to see!  A must have!

another soother....Noah loves the swinging monkey!

The best towels we've used from babies r us.  A thick towel is a must have for any child.  I don't even know why they still make those sheet thin towels anymore (you know, the ones sold at target that say "mommy's boy" etc.)

Now being a mother of an almost 10 month old, this is a necessity for any peaceful trip to a restaurant!! (when we are brave enough to go!)  I don't care if Noah eats them, throws them, or sticks them up his nose....if it keeps him entertained so I can take at least three bites of my meal i'm happy!  (okay I actually don't want him to stick them up his nose!)

Soft stroller blankets...a must for any winter baby!  These are two of Noah's favorite blankets!!

Toy gyms: great for any baby who is stationary to pretty much one area (oh this was when it was a little easier to have two kids!!)  I wonder how my friends that have three kids do it!! =)  Noah has both of these gyms, however he is way to busy to stay in one area and play so these have been packed up in the attic for now!

Noah's exercauser is the farm evenflo one and he loves it!!  I do too!! I can stick him in there when I actually get a chance to take a shower and he is entertained for at least five minutes!  But seriously, he loved it when he was younger...I think now he would rather be on the ground going.   Who needs an exercauser ;)

Car toys...stock up and keep plenty handy to toss into the back to the baby!  THESE are great because they have hooks and even when your child thinks it's funny to throw his toys for the thousandth time....he can't with these...HA HA! mommy won! =)

Every baby needs his own phone!!    Amazing that Noah already knows to hold it to his ear and say "haaaaa" (hi with country slang, I think)  I wonder if that's a sign that mommy uses her phone to much?!

We are just now to the cruising stage!  Noah loves to take a few steps holding on to the couch!  These are his two favorite walking toys!

I almost forgot three of my favorite things!!!  My husband is a germaphobe (sorry honey!).....so when I found these at Target I shreaked out of sheer joy!  I knew he was going to be so proud of me!!!

TAH-DAH--------------->Pacifier wipes!!

Noah is constantly dropping (or throwing) his 'binkies' on the ground and I usually just do what I can to clean it with what I have, but now I have these wonderful wipes with me at all times!!  I might add a pacifier clip is also a great purchase and works well unless you keep it clipped to them while they are crawling and the pacifier just drags on the ground (yes, I've seen it happen)!

This next item can also fall under the 'prevents germs' category!  Inch bug labels (available in different colors) are great to label bottles and sippy cups!  If your child has allergies it is a great warning for child care providers.  I wish I had known about these when Halle was little.  She was lactose intolerant and was SUPPOSED to only have Lactaid to drink.  I would always catch someone giving her regular milk and she would have the worst stomach aches.  I understand it is hard to remember when you are taking care of many children, but this would have helped tremendously.  I use them on sippy cups to keep Noah's cup separate.  Halle has tried his formula on accident more than once and she is definitely not a fan!  And yes, it's sad, but Noah does drink out of princess and minnie sippy cups and will continue to do so until I buy some for him!  I think I do have one lightening mcqueen cup but Halle likes to claim that one too!

I hope you enjoyed my favorites!  Please share if you have any goodies that worked wonders for you!