Rochester MN Moms Blog Favorites: Baby Products

{This post is not endorsed or sponsored in any way.  All opinions are each contributor’s own.}

We’re pleased to continue our new series: Rochester MN Moms Blog Favorites. This time with our favorite baby products! Who doesn’t love to hear about products that make life easier? We all have products that made bringing home baby less stressful.  Here’s our favorites!

My favorite time of the day when my kids were little was bath time.  I would throw them in a tub full of bubbles and read books aloud while they “washed up.” Out of all the bubble baths, Aden + Anais was my favorite.  It has a great smell, is free of all those pesky chemicals, and left my children with kissable soft skin. –Allison

We loved our Fisher Price Auto Rock ‘n Play sleeper. It was really helpful with naptimes, especially when our daughter was a newborn and had the Moro reflex. The automatic feature allowed us to use it without having to stand by it and rock it. We didn’t have this on our registry but if we could redo the registry, this would be one of the top things! –Mamisoa

Baby Carriers! We’ve used Moby wraps, Ergo, and Tula.  For the littlest ones, I always liked using a wrap carrier like a Moby wrap best.  Once they got a little heft to them (12 pounds or so….didn’t take long with my youngest!) I used an Ergo with the infant insert.  Now that my baby isn’t quite a baby anymore, we use the Ergo without the insert or a Toddler Tula carrier. –Heather

ZoLi Gummy Sticks were the best for my twins while teething. My husband (a dentist) loved that they were a good introduction to having a toothbrush-type gum massager to start a positive association with tooth brushing. –Megan

Teething is tough! I tried everything and eventually came across these Licorice Teething Rings by AppleTeethers. They were the only teething rings my son liked and even now, at 17 months, he still uses them! I liked that I could wear them as bracelets when baby was little–they were always accessible. –Shari

Easy to wash, angled for baby’s grip, and it kept my babe from gassiness. One more thing: the price is right. –Amarilys

Versatile and useful! Can be used as an extra layer under clothes in the winter months but especially handy while out and about. No pants makes diaper changing fast. As a babywearing mom, you can make a deep seat since they don’t constrict leg movement. They’re also just plain cute! Both my boys (2 months and 2 years) rock these frequently. The paper airplane and the rockets prints are our favorite. –Brittany

I can’t say enough about this product. It works so much better than a suction bulb because you have control of the air pressure. What I also like is that the tip doesn’t invade the baby’s nostrils. And don’t worry, the filter blocks the gunk; you won’t suck anything into your mouth. Now, when I go to baby showers, if this item isn’t on the list, I bring it in addition to a gift on their list. –Mamisoa

We’re a cloth diapering family. We have been so pleased with a lot of different brands that we’ve tried, but two noteworthy ones are Bumgenius and FuzziBunz.  We began diapering with Bumgenius Elementals (because we were both employed and could afford that kind of investment.  But trust me, they’re worth it!)  Bumgenius diapers retain their value.  I sold my used diapers on eBay for more than I paid new.  We were gifted a bunch of used FuzziBunz, and we still have a couple that are holding strong after diapering five different children for ten years.  When I became a stay-at-home mom, our income was drastically reduced, so I started using WAHM-made diapers and diapers from other sellers.  On the occasions that I’ve had to buy disposables for convenience while travelling or for grandparents who babysit, I’ve been so grateful for the monetary savings over the years. –Heather

No new mom should be without Planet Wise Wet Bags! They come in 3 sizes–small, medium and large–and have a ton of really cute fabric choices. The bags are completely waterproof and smell proof! They’re also washable and reusable. You can’t say that about plastic grocery bags. They’re great to throw in the diaper bag or keep in the car in case baby has a blow-out! They also work fabulous for toddlers and older kids to keep messy/wet clothes contained. –Shari

The Solly Baby Wrap is dreamy soft and breathable. They come in multiple on trend colors and pack up small enough to keep in the diaper bag.  Unlike other similar stretchy wraps, I do not get hot and I do not find it cumbersome to put on in public. I am looking forward to using my Navy Shibori wrap with my newborn this summer!  Babywearing benefits mom and baby, as it can help create a secure attachment during the 4th trimester. Plus, hands free?! –Brittany

You will get plenty of use out of these. They’re soft, come in adorable patterns, and the key to a perfect swaddle. There are multiple brand so the must-have details are 100% Muslin Cotton and dimensions of at least 44″ x 44″. After the swaddle stage, they’re useful for a light blanket or I even used one as a scarf once after baby spit up all over my shoulder and I was without an extra shirt!  —Amy

(Also recommended by: Megan, Sara M, Shari M, and Becky)

As a nursing mom, I would have been lost without my Chewbeads silicone necklace. I wore it EVERYWHERE (and when I wasn’t around baby, my husband wore it!) until my son quit nursing. He could use it to chew on when he was teething and it also worked wonders when he’d become distracted while nursing.–Shari

It is so nerve-wracking when you go to trim your newborn’s super sharp fingernails for the first time. We’ve all been there…nervous that the inevitable will happen and we’ll accidentally clip their tender skin. Enter the ZoLi Buzz B baby nail trimmer.  This tool safely files tiny fingernails without harming surrounding skin. Total peace of mind! –Becky

I don’t know what we would have done without the bumbo chair! We used it for everything! I brought it to wedding receptions so I knew my babies could sit and eat, I loved having it in our kitchen so they could be next to me while I meal prepped. I put them in the bath while sitting in it, or let them sit in it in our yard i the summers to have them safe but still play with water. I loved how easy it was to wipe down and held their little bodies! –Christy

If you find baby books difficult to keep up with but you cringe at the thought of forgetting the cute things your children do, the Mom’s One Line A Day might be for you!  With space for 2-3 sentences per day for 5 years, I find it quick and easy to write a special thought or memory from the day. It only takes 60 seconds and I have incorporated it into my night-time routine.  It is so fun to look back on the years and read the memories! –Becky

My son was a very bad sleeper. He’d wake as soon as he was laid down and wanted to nurse constantly. If it wasn’t for our Snuggle Nest, I would have never had any sleep! The Snuggle Nest is a portable co-sleeper that we could lay between my husband and I in bed. We felt very comfortable using it and never felt he was ever in any sort of danger from sleeping with us. I also liked that it folds up really compact so I could bring it along when we traveled. –Shari

The Fisher Price Sit-Me-Up is probably the single most-used baby item in our house. Cate started using it around 3 months and even now at 6 months she still happily sits in it for a few hours every day. It folds down for easy portability and I even use it outside in the yard. Love it! –Sarah B

For so many reasons, these are a necessity! My favorite use for these is on-the-go snacks, but they also work during dinner time as veggie insurance when a certain two-year-old won’t eat their carrots in actual carrot form. I usually puree veggies and fruits together (applesauce and sweet potatoes is an easy combo), but you could also use baby food or anything already pureed. They’re also economical, reusable, and super easy to clean!  –Amy

I love this multi-use baby product.  It is a nursing cover, car-seat cover, scarf and shopping cart cover all-in-one.  The jersey fabric is soft, stretchy, resilient and they come in fun patterns and colors.  My favorite use is as a car-seat cover…it’s easy to pop on and off, does not add bulk to the already heavy seat and it’s easy to peek in on the babe! –Becky