Also to be honest, after chatting with a pregnant friend who was feeling isolated and down while self-quarantining, she told me that she decided to think of something positive and do something positive by setting up her baby registry. And that further inspired me to write this post. I hope that it helps any mom-to-be’s out there and allows them to focus on the joy in their lives right now, which is their soon to be little baby in her arms while creating their registry. Plus keep reading because Hello Bello is giving away a years worth of Hello Bello diapers and wipes.

 1. HELLO BELLO “POOP PRINT” DIAPERS

For full transparency, Walmart has sponsored this post, but all of my reviews for each of these products are my own! I chose all of the products simply because they helped me raise my kiddos. In my opinion this list is the best of the best and the things that without a doubt I could not have gone without during the first couple years of my kiddos lives. And some of the things we still use to this day!

So for those of you in my Facebook group that of us have been asking about baby registry items, I hope this is super helpful for you! And for anyone who just stumbled across this blog post who might be expecting, I’m glad you’re here and I hope this helps you so much and takes your mind off the craziness in the world right now! Or maybe you already have little ones and you’re reading this post, and in that case there are some items that I think are worth getting even if you have toddlers! Starting with my #1 item for getting your kiddos to sleep longer!

Hatch Baby Rest

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while than you know I talked about the Hatch Baby Rest a dozen times! Whether it’s on my blog or my Instagram stories, I cannot sing the praises of this product more! We started using it I believe when Molly was about 1 1/2, but I could be remembering wrong. But I do know we started using it with Riley around 8 months old. Did he understand the light completely eight months old? No, it took a little bit of getting used to. But he learned very quickly.

1. HATCH BABY REST

Okay, okay. I’m getting ahead of myself, so what is the Hatch Baby Rest? It is an ok-to-wake light that basically turns on at whatever time you set it to and it lets your child know it’s okay to wake up and get out of their bed. Or if they’re in a crib, it lets them know it’s okay to wake up and start calling for mommy and daddy. Actually you can manually change the light from an app in your phone or you can set it turn on at a certain time every morning or a certain time after every nap. I used to have Molly and Riley’s automatically turn on at 6:30 AM every morning but, now I’ve actually changed it so that when I hear them making noise I’ll wait a few minutes and then turn it on and go get them. Only because now they’re great sleepers so I don’t even really have to worry about it!

I swear both of my kids used to either yell for me in the morning to come get them or talk loudly asking for me to go get them in the morning and then after this light they are almost completely silent until the light turns on. Molly is almost 4 now and she will quietly talk to herself in the bed and even sometimes ask the fairies to come in her room to turn the light on when she wakes up in the morning. But that girl will not take one step out of her bed until the light turns on. I recommend you start using it when your child is young just like we did with Riley – I say it’s never too early to start. A baby can understand the process of the light coming on and then a parent coming in the room well before they can talk.

 1. HATCH BABY REST

Joovy Double Stroller

So I haven’t had the stroller since the kids were infants, but I just think it’s a game changer for parents so I had to add it to this list. To be honest we’ve had a few different double strollers. And the reason I ended up getting this one even though we already had one is because we were going on a trip and I knew I needed something really light weight and super easy to fold up for the plane. This stroller did not disappoint! I love it so much that we now use it even when we’re not traveling!

1. DOUBLE STROLLER | 2. SLIP-ON SNEAKERS

It is so lightweight, super easy to collapse and unfold, and has a strap so you can easily throw it over your shoulder to carry when it’s folded up. In the picture below you can see Molly and Riley in it when we were on a trip to Indiana. While I don’t have any pictures of our of them in it on our trip to Hawaii, we also brought it to Hawaii. So if you have two kiddos and you need a good double stroller, I highly recommend this one! Or if you have one child and you’re expecting your second definitely put this on a registry if you have one for your sprinkle!

 1. JOOVY DOUBLE STROLLER

Joovy Spoon Baby Walker

I know this post is about items that we used when our kids were infants that we still use now, but I really want to add the J00vy Spoon even though Riley doesn’t use it anymore just because I was just talking about their stroller which reminded me of the Spoon and how much we loved it. I want to start this with the caveat that there’s been some discussion online that walkers like this are not safe because a lot of kids end up in the hospital from injuries related to baby walkers. And the reason for that is that these walkers allow kids to reach things that they normally wouldn’t be able to reach when they’re a baby and it also makes it easy for a child to fall down the stairs. So I want to start by saying baby proof your home! We used this Joovy Spoon walker with both of our kids, and you guys know because you saw in my Instagram stories all the time, and we never had one injury! And that’s because we made sure the stairs were and still are blocked off with a baby gate, we made sure that objects that were not safe were out of reach of our kids, and really we just made sure to keep an eye on the kids whenever they were in it. Now let me tell you I love it!

 1. JOOVY SPOON BABY WALKER

When your baby is around the age where they can sit up but not really crawl well, life can get a little bit frustrating for them! They want to get to things and they want to explore, but they can’t because they don’t quite know how to yet. That’s where this baby walker comes into play! We would pop Molly and Riley into the Joovy Spoon and they were able to use their little legs to push around the house and explore everything. It made them feel more apart of what was going on in their environment. Riley would have so much fun pushing this thing back-and-forth around our house laughing and smiling. I have the best memories of it! We also fed the kids in this a lot. Because of the tray it’s so easy to put food down in front of them and let them eat while exploring. Although keep your eyes on them in this case for, because those little sticky hands will get all over your furniture and walls while they’re exploring while eating. Ha!

There’s also been some talk about how putting babies in a walker like this can delay walking. I highly disagree because Riley walked at eight months old. And we used this thing all the time! So do your research, baby proof your house, and decide if it’s right for you. For us, we used this every single day multiple times a day and it just made our lives so much easier.

 1. JOOVY SPOON BABY WALKER

Diapers

Back to things use used from infancy until now! I want to talk about diapers next because you’re obviously going to need a lot of them! But the reason I’m mentioning it here is because Walmart is doing a really cool giveaway with Hello Bello diapers right now that I want to tell you guys about. You guys may know that Hello Bello is Kristen Bell and Dad Sheppard’s brand and to celebrate the brand turning one years old they are giving away a years worth of Hello Bello diapers and wipes to families in need throughout the month of March. So to check out that giveaway go here and find out how you can enter via Instagram stories. Given what is going on in our world this giveaway couldn’t be more important.

By the way, how cute is Riley in this little poop diaper print that they have? That’s one thing I absolutely love that their diapers is that they have the cutest designs for different holidays or occasions or just funny ones like the one Riley has on now!

 1. HELLO BELLO DIAPERS | 2. OVERALLS

Real quick because these overalls are also from Walmart, so I definitely recommend adding them to your cart if you’re doing some shopping right now. Usually what I do when I buy clothes from Walmart and I want to get free shipping is I will add diapers or soap to my cart to make the total over $35 so I can get the free shipping. They are items I need anyway so I legit never pay for shipping when I order from Walmart. Even if I’m buying a $9 shirt.

Anyway, these overalls are ridiculously comfy and perfect for any mom or any woman! I would say they’re true to size. I got a medium and I’m normally a medium and they’re not made of denim. I think they’re made of cotton. It’s a super soft material whatever it is – and they are only $29! Also, they are a great option for moms who are still nursing. Because you can easily unclip your overalls to nurse with a nursing tank underneath.

Organic Bedding

One of the biggest stresses about as a new parent is getting your child to sleep! I’ve written dozens of blog posts about sleep training or ways to set up your kids room for the best night sleep so trust me I get it that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to get those precious Zzz’s! Not only for yourself but for your baby as well. One of the things that I found very important to me when both my kiddos were infants was to have organic bedding, but it’s not always affordable to buy organic bedding and that’s unfortunate. So I wanted to quickly share Little Star Organics with you guys because they have really cute organic clothes and bedding that is really affordable for everyone. I am absolutely obsessed with this crib sheet that has hearts on it. I almost bought it for Riley’s bed, but then the second sheet that comes in the pack is pink and didn’t really fit with the decor in his nursery, so I decided to get this moon print instead. I’ll link the hearts below for you to see! Honestly Riley is so obsessed with the moon and he loves this crib sheet! I know you might think I’m full of it saying that my 22-month-old is obsessed with his crib sheets, but I am telling you the honest truth! He gets so excited to show me the moons every morning!

 1. ORGANIC MOON SHEETS | 2. CRIB 

And we’ve been a fan of the brand for a while. As you can see in this picture of Riley below, he is snuggled up with one of their blankets. I’m not quite sure how old he is in this picture. I think maybe 14 or 15 months? He’s about 22 months now. It’s crazy how time flies. I just realized that this pajamas are also from Little Star Organics and they are still available in a lot of sizes.

1. ORGANIC BLANKET | 2. PAJAMAS

4mom Pack n Play

We own two of these pack and plays. And we have use them so many times! Not only for kids when traveling, because there was a point or both of our kids were in cribs, but also when friends come over to visit. My friend Stef and her family visits as often here in Los Angeles. She has three young boys, which over the last few years have been in cribs. Her youngest is just two weeks younger than Riley so he still in a crib. And every time they visit it’s so nice to have a safe and comfortable place for her kiddos to sleep. We just pop up at the pack and play and it’s her little guys bed! And when we travel down to San Diego to visit her, we just throw the 4Mom’s pack and play in our car so Riley has a place to sleep down there. Last time we went down there both Molly and Riley were still sleeping in cribs so we bought brought both of our pack and plays.

I remember before we had them, we visited my mom and sister in Massachusetts when Molly was just a baby. My sister had one of those old-school pack and plays that is absolutely impossible to figure out how to open or breakdown. I think it took Kevin and I an hour and a half to figure out how to set it up. Ha! But the 4Moms one, you literally just push out the middle of it and it opens and then you pull a little loop in the middle of it to close it when you’re done. It cannot be easier and literally takes less than two seconds to set up. Put this guy on your registry for sure!

 1. PACK AND PLAY

4moms High Chair

Sticking with this brand, I also highly recommend the 4Mom’s high chair. Riley has this chair and he’s been using it ever since he could sit up. I can’t remember exactly what age that was, but it was early on and he still uses this high chair and will for quite some time. The reason I like it so much for younger children/infants is because the chair slightly leans back so it makes it more comfortable for your child and they’re really young. What I also love is that uses magnets not only to secure the tray to the chair, but there’s also magnets within the tray so that your child can’t push their bowl or fork off of the tray as easily as they normally can. It won’t work with just any bowl. 4Moms has a special bowl that I believe has either a magnet or metal somewhere in it that makes it stick to the magnetic tray. But any metal fork or spoon will work with it. I just really loved it and highly recommend it because you will use it for years.

 1. HIGH CHAIR | 2. LEARNING TOWER

Floor Foam Mat

Whatever you do – do not buy a play mat that comes in those jigsaw pieces that you put together. They will never stay together because your kids will rip them up and I feel like so much little pieces of dirt and debris gets in between them. I know this because we got one like that for Molly. And by the time she was mobile she was ripping it up and pieces were just all over the place. However, we got this foam mat for Riley. I can’t even tell you how many of you guys sent me messages asking for details on it. I don’t know if this is the exact brand we have, but I think it is. I just liked it because of the subtle gray and white pattern on one side. It is reversible and has a fun pattern on the other side. But you guys know me I like my white and neutral colors. Ha! It’s definitely pricier than the jigsaw foam mats, but I think it’s worth it. And once again if this is an item you can get somebody to get you off your registry, you’re golden. We still use this everyday, as I am sure you know from the many “birthday parties” on my stories.

 1. FOAM MAT

BONUS: Dress Pants

Ha, this definitely isn’t an item that was used from infancy to now, BUT I just got in this amazing pair of dress pants from Walmart. They seriously just arrived as I was writing this post, so I didn’t even take a photo yet. But they are seriously so comfortable, flattering, and affordable. They were seriously $20, which is incredible for a pair of dress pants! I highly recommend adding them to your order if you get any of these baby items. And if you don’t love them as much as I do, Walmart has the best return policy. It is so easy!

Let’s Help Each Other Out

I’m trying to think of more items that I used from infancy until now with Molly or Riley and I can’t quite think of anymore. There’s other items we’ve actually loved over the years and I’ve written tons of blog post about my favorite baby registry items that I definitely recommend checking out – I will link a few here, here, and here, but you can also search under Motherhood on the top toolbar, but I think these are the main ones that stick out to me today.

However, the whole point of this blog is for us to help each other so I would love to hear the items that you felt you got the most long-term use out of with your kiddos. I feel like hearing from me and hearing from all of you will really help moms out who are deciding whether or not an expensive item is worth purchasing or putting on the registry. Sometimes it’s not worth it if it’s something you use for a few months. But I think if it’s something you use over the years it’s definitely worth it if you can afford it or if you can convince someone to get it for you on your registry! So let’s share in the comments below and hopefully help some moms out there who are sitting home right now and trying to see the positive in all of this madness by setting up their registries!

The post My Top Picks For Infancy that Last Until They Are Toddlers appeared first on Ali Manno (Fedotowsky).

Naps.

No naps? I wasn’t too alarmed because this happened in the past when she was 2 1/2. We thought it was a rough patch but quickly she started napping like normal again. But this time turned out to be very different. At first, she was fighting it here or there or even for 10 minutes beforehand. Then, she was fighting it every single day and for a good hour beforehand.

 1. FLORAL BLOUSE | 2. JEANS | 3. SUEDE BOOTS | 4. MOLLY’S DRESS | 5. MOLLY’S SHOES

I feel like we tried everything. We tried letting her know one hour before so she had plenty of time to mentally prepare for it. And we tried only 30 minutes before and then only 15 minutes before. And then we wouldn’t tell her until five minutes before and then that turned into an hour because she would fight and scream as soon as she found out and it would be impossible to get her in her crib.

Some days we tried the really calm approach of trying to hear her out and assure her that she needed a nap and everything was going to be fine. We also tried just telling her she didn’t have to nap and she could just have quiet time in her crib and she thought that as well. And then there were days when we tried to be more strict and put our foot down and not take no for an answer. I felt like a total, complete jerk on those days but I knew I needed to try something else. And then, of course, there were some days when she would scream and I would scream right back and then those days I felt like a complete failure. I’m human. It happens to all of us parents.

There are so many different scenarios so I want to try to lay out most of them because as any parent knows, when it comes to figuring out a sleep schedule for your child, whether they are a  newborn or toddler, there are so many different scenarios. Anyway, if we were able to get her in her crib for quiet time, it was usually after an hour of arguing and by the time we actually got her in there,  not only was she exhausted but we were mentally and physically exhausted at that point.

Essentially we put Riley down for his nap at noon and then try to put her down afterwards and couldn’t even get her in her crib until 1 PM. Then usually from 1 PM to 2 PM she’ll just sit there and talk to herself and then start screaming at some point for us to come get her. And meanwhile, I would just anxiously sit next to the monitor watching this all happen and get absolutely nothing done. So then I go wake her up and about 15 minutes later Riley would be up. Nobody was getting any rest! It was beyond frustrating. Let me rephrase that, it is beyond frustrating!

 1. FLORAL BLOUSE | 2. JEANS | 3. SUEDE BOOTS | 4. MOLLY’S DRESS | 5. MOLLY’S SHOES

Dropping the nap.

So about a month into this happening, Kevin and I just decided it was probably time for her to drop her nap. So we did. It was so much easier just to let her sit on the couch quietly and read for an hour because she would totally do that no problem! The issue is is that sometime around 4 PM she starts getting really cranky because she is so over-tired. And often the last hour of our day, which used to be our favorite part of the day because we would dance and sing as a family, has now turned into Molly being fussy and throwing fits about 50% of the time. She’s totally fine the other 50% of the time, so it’s really hit or miss.

Sleeping at School?

And the bazaar thing throughout all of this, is that she never actually stopped napping at school. This all honestly started happening around the time that she moved up in classes and started napping at school. So for the first week we actually started picking her up from school at noon instead of 1:30 before all the kids were napping because we didn’t think Molly would nap at school. I mean why would she nap at school when she for sure as heck doesn’t nap at home? Then after a week of her continuing to be a nightmare during her breakdowns at home, we decided to let her stay at school until 1:30 during naptime just to see what would happen. And we were both absolutely astonished to learn from her teachers that not only does she nap but she does every single day. How?! I just don’t get it.

And lately she’s been so tired at home that we will try for the nap sometimes and it will be unsuccessful and she’ll be so exhausted that we end up having to take her for a car ride because we know she will knock out in her car seat. This is happening way more often than I care to admit. Well, it’s happening every time she actually naps during the day.

How Bedtime Has Changed.

I have to mention bedtime, since that is important when thinking about all of this. The days were she does nap at school or get an hour to an hour and a half car nap, she does go to bed a tiny bit later. We will put her in her crib about 10 to 15 minutes later and then maybe it will take her 20 to 30 minutes to fall asleep. Whereas on days that she doesn’t nap, she falls asleep pretty much instantly. But it’s not like it’s a huge fight at bedtime to get her to sleep when she has napped. Granted her naps aren’t 2+ hours. They’re really one hour, tops, I would say. Even at school it takes her a little while to fall asleep and she usually gets a good hour in.

So grateful for all of you!

Anyway, I’m writing this blog today in hopes that anyone has some sort of magical advice for me! Or maybe you’re here looking to read the comments and hoping you’ll get advice as well. And if you don’t have the magic solution! Anything that even helps you a little bit would be so useful for me! Thank you guys so much, I adore all of you, and I’m so grateful to have you all as part of my tribe. This shit is hard. We need to stick together!

Oh, and I thought I would link a few old blog posts here about when it was the good ole days and she slept so well thanks to her sleep training! I wrote a post all about the items that I think are best in the kiddos bedrooms to help get them the best sleep (some items were recommended by our sleep trainer!), and also another post about if I think sleep training is worth it or not! I definitely recommend checking both of these out, especially if you’re an expecting or new mama!

The post Time to Completely Drop My Toddler’s Nap? appeared first on Ali Manno (Fedotowsky).

 1. RILEY’S 2-PIECE PJS | 2. MY PJ TOP | 3. MY PJ BOTTOMS | 4. LETTER BOARD

Anyway, over the last three years I’ve definitely collected lots of tips and tricks to prepare my kiddos rooms for the best sleep possible! Whether it’s things I’ve learned on my own, suggestions I’ve learned from all of you, or tried-and-true tips I’ve been given by sleep experts – all of the things I’ve compiled in this blog are things that have worked for me and my family! So, I’m sharing them with you guys in hopes that your babies (or toddlers!) get some good sleep too! And as always, please feel free to share your experiences and tips in the comments below. I love it when we help each other by sharing all of our own experiences. That’s my absolute favorite thing about this blog. Mamas (and daddies) coming together!

My first two posts in this series were geared more toward parents of infants or expecting mamas. But this one is really for any parent who needs some extra sleep! But if you are expecting, I HIGHLY suggest creating a baby registry at Walmart and adding these things now. You should also check out my other two blog posts in this series – 1) General Must Haves and 2) Must Haves in the Kitchen. Then use this link to create a registry and easily add all the items! If for some reason you get a product that you need to return, you can easily do it online or bring it in store! Which will be a lifesaver for larger items that are harder to ship. Plus, if you want to add anything that I didn’t talk about, search for it on Walmart’s site and I swear there is a 95% chance it will be there! I was shocked but how many items they have and how many retailers/brands they work with. Ok let’s get into this!

Blackout Shades

This seems like a super obvious tip. And in some ways it is. But the tip I’m about to give you is one that Riley’s sleep coach told us that I thought was some of the best advice I’ve ever gotten! Sure, it’s important to have blackout shades in your children’s rooms. Molly and Riley both have them in their rooms. Not only do we use the blackout shades but we have blackout blinds to to make the room extra dark! And we will even push furniture up against the sides to make sure no light is peeking through along the edges. We’re serious about our dark rooms! And when you’re traveling, most hotel rooms, unless you’re in Vegas, don’t have blackout shades. So this is what the sleep expert Kimberly told us! Use black garbage bags and tape them over the windows. This was mind blowing to me when she told me this! Genius! Now every time we pack for a trip I make sure we pack black trash bags and painters tape so we can put them up over the windows. This is especially helpful when you’re changing times zones and want to keep your child on their schedule. For example, when we travel from the west coast to the east coast, we put the kids to bed at 10pm (which is 7pm west coast to keep them on schedule) which means they should sleep until 9am (6am PST). Without the trash bags over the windows they would NEVER be able to stay on schedule since the sun would wake them up well before 9am.

 1. BLACKOUT SHADES

Honestly, you could totally do this in their bedrooms! And even though it won’t be the prettiest in your child’s bedroom – it works! Who cares about what it looks like when your kids are SLEEPING! Sleep! Ahhhh glorious sleep! Ha! Just take the time to cut the bags out nicely so they fit perfectly over the windows and it won’t be so bad. Plus, in the first year of your child’s life, you pretty much never go in their nursery unless they’re going to sleep. At least that was the case with both my kids.

Sound Machine

A sound machine is an absolute must in a child’s bedroom. Not only because white noise/brown noise has been known to help not only children, but adults sleep as well. But also because you don’t want your kids being woken up by other noises in your house. For example, we’ve put white noise in both Molly and Riley’s room since they were born and I remember one time when Molly was 1 we actually had a party at the house. And even though it got pretty loud she never woke up! Our house was on the smaller side at the time. It was about 1400 ft.² and all on one level. Her bedroom was about 6 feet away from our living room where all of our guests were. I’m confident that’s because of the white noise. And in general, you just want to be able to live your life when your kids are sleeping. When they’re napping during the day you want to be able to get things done around the house and not have to worry about tiptoeing around everywhere. And it helps Kevin and I! I honestly can’t sleep without it! There are a few good machines you can use. Kevin and I use this one. I LOVE it because it can get really loud. And I like my white sounds LOUD! I can’t even tell you how many we went through before I found this one. And in Molly and Riley’s room we use the Hatch baby rest. I did Instagram stories about this thing multiple times because I SWEAR by it. It’s an OK to Wake light and sound machine all in one! It is the BEST THING EVER to help teach your kids how to sleep later if you have very early risers.

We have this one in our guest room. It’s a much softer/natural white noise (similar to a fan) which many people like. I also recommend a travel one for when you are out and about for car naps or stroller naps!

Air Purifier

I almost didn’t wanna recommend this one because it’s so expensive. And I know a lot of people can’t afford it. But in you’re in the position to be able to get this air purifier for your child’s room I highly recommend it! But not for the obvious reasons which is to purify the air. Yes, that is a great benefit of having one – and if you only need one to purify the air, there are ones under $100 that will do just that which will absolutely help your child sleep better! (This one has GREAT reviews) Especially if they have seasonal allergies, which I’m pretty sure both my kids have.

 1.AIR PURIFIER | 2. HATCH BABY REST | 3. PJs

But the biggest reason I can’t live without ours is because it also helps with temperature control. I don’t know about you guys but I literally have had so many sleepless nights because I’m constantly worrying about the temperature in my kids rooms. Kevin thinks I’m insane. I’m constantly waking him up in the middle of the night and asking “Do you think it’s too hot in here? Too cold?” Mostly I’m worried about Riley since Molly is now older and can use blankets and easily pull them on her or take them off her as she pleases. But we have this air purifier in Riley’s room because even though he sleeps in a sleep suit that keeps him warm and cozy throughout the night, he can’t take the sleep suit on and off like you or I could do with the blanket. If we get cold in the middle of the night we pull the blanket over us. When we’re hot, we kick them off. Riley can’t do that so I’m constantly worried about him being too hot or too cold. Goodness, I cannot wait until I can put a blanket in his crib!

Anyway, even though we have a nest thermostat to help control the temperature in our house. Sometimes when the AC is on it can get really cold in his room since it’s smaller than our master bedroom. So even though I had it set to 72° at night. Sometimes it will still feel 75 in our room but feel 69 in Riley’s room. So what I love about this air purifier is that you can choose for it to blow hot air or cold air. And it’s not like a standing plug-in heater that would be very unsafe to put in your child’s room. Just being able to control the temperature in his room with this thing gave me more peace of mind at night. And instead of staying up all night fussing with the air conditioner for the entire house I can just set the temperature in his room to a certain degree and feel good about it.

The only caveat is, I’m not an expert and definitely would consult the website for this purifier or any purifier to make sure that it’s even safe to do this. I’ve looked and haven’t seen anything saying it isn’t but you should look too!

A Sleep Suit

I just mentioned the sleep suit above and I’m going to make it it’s own entire point because I think it’s crucial for good sleep! This is the way our sleep coach described it to us. How comfortable would you be sleeping in just your pajamas in your bed? With no blankets or sheets or anything to keep you company? Sounds so not great right? Well the same goes for a little ones. They want the comfort of a blanket. But as you guys know it’s not safe to put blankets in your children’s crib until they’re at least 1 and I believe some people even recommend waiting until 18 months. But I just never felt comfortable leaving my kids in their crib and just pajamas for an entire year of their life. I wanted them to feel “comfy and cozy”. I keep saying those words because that’s what me and Molly always say. Comfy and cozy! So by wearing a sleep suit you basically get your little one the comfort of a blanket but in a safe way.

 1. SLEEP SUIT

We’ve used a few different brands throughout the years. I really love this lightweight one when it’s warmer in our house. And they have heavier ones if you live in colder climates or keep your house really cool. But I tend to like this one the most because it’s not too hot, not too cold, as Goldilocks would say. It’s just right! This one is great too! It’s a little more on the lighter side. And we try to keep the temperature in our house around 70 to 73° regardless of what time of year it is.

A Lovey

I talked about Lovey’s in my past post about sleep training and I have to mention it again here. Putting a lovey, which is basically a small breathable comfort toy, in your child’s crib is a must in my opinion. Again, I’m not a doctor so you have to check with your pediatrician to make sure this is something they recommend depending on your babies age. But we started putting one in Riley’s crib when he was four months old. His pediatrician thought he was plenty strong enough to be able to move it away from his face if needed and the material of the lovey we used was very breathable. But there’s something about having something to cuddle at night in their crib that just provides comfort for your kids. Molly, of course because she’s almost 3, has a dozen stuffed animals in her crib now! Ha! If it were up to her she have five dozen in there! But having something in there to snuggle in the middle of the night I found definitely helps him sleep better. Please consult your pediatrician before you put ANYTHING in your child’s crib, even a lovey!

A Bassinet

When your little baby comes home from the hospital you’re going to want a safe place for them to sleep in your room. It’s recommended that you sleep in the same room as your child for the first year of their life. I didn’t do that with either of my kids. Molly stayed in our room for the first six months and Riley only for the first four months. But however long you decide to keep that kiddo in your room with you they’re going to need somewhere to sleep. You could just put your babies crib right in your room if you’re budget is really tight. And if you have a room big enough to fit an entire crib. If you don’t though, a bassinet is a great option.

 1. HALO BASSINET SWIVEL SLEEPER | 2. SNOO SMART SLEEPER

We use the Halo bassinet swivel with Molly and this new SNOO Smart Sleeper with Riley. Both are great bassinets but the Snoo is going to cost you a pretty penny. Riley slept great in the SNOO for the first three months of his life. And then he went through a sleeper aggression at three months and things kind of went downhill from there. And then we transition him to his crib at 3 1/2 months because we knew we wanted to start sleep training at four months and we wanted him to get used to his crib. But for that first three months we thought we had the best sleeper in the world on our hands! So if you can afford it, I definitely think it’s helpful. However, it’s really expensive! And I think that the Halo bassinet is a great option. I like it because it swivels over the edge of your bed which makes it easy to pick your baby up and breast-feed in the middle of the night and the side of it pushes down so you can easily get your baby out of it. Both are great options

A Mobile – But Not For Sleep

A mobile in the nursery can be a lifesaver! And no, not for hanging over your babies crib. In fact, I think a mobile of her crib is actually just distracting your baby from doing what they should be doing in their crib and that is sleeping. But what I think mobile’s are absolutely great for distracting your baby during is a diaper change. So if you can hang one over your diaper changing table do it! Molly wasn’t really this way, but oh my goodness does Riley hate getting his diaper changed! It is a constant struggle to try to get him to stay still or even on his back so we can change his diaper. When we change his diaper in the living room we resorted to putting the TV on for 60 seconds to distract him so we can actually change his diaper. But in his nursery we hung a mobile above his changing table recently and it works so well! I don’t know why I didn’t think of this so long ago! And Walmart has a bunch of super cute ones. I’ll link a few of my favorites below.

Zipper PJ’s

Oh my gosh, make sure you have zipper pj‘s! Because I’m telling you those first few months of your baby’s life when they are waking up every hour to hour and a half throughout the night you are going to want to easily be able to unzip their PJs to change the diaper and then zip them back up. Trust me when I say you are not gonna want to mess with buttons! My best friend Stef gave me this advice before Molly and it was some of the best advice I ever got! Again Walmart has some extremely affordable pj’s. This set of three is only $13 and comes in a girl set and a boy set. That’s four dollars a pair. Gotta love that!

 1. ZIPPER PJ’s(3 pack for $13!)

Two-Piece PJ’s

And once they get older, two-piece PJ’s make life so much easier. Like the pair Riley is wearing in these photos. I also just like a light weight cotton PJ so they aren’t too hot or cold. I also prefer long sleeve PJ’s. It always stressing me out that Riley can’t pull a blanket up over his arms at night and I always worry about him be too cold. Whether it’s because it’s winter or if it’s summer and the AC is running. Oh the temperature struggle is real!

 1. RILEY’S 2-PIECE PJS | 2. MY PJ TOP | 3. MY PJ BOTTOMS

Changing Table

Of course you’ll also need a changing table in the nursery – the photo below is of Riley’s! BUT at least for the first few months of your babies life, you are changing a ton in the middle of the night. And I think that for a good night’s sleep, you are definitely going to want a changing table in your bedroom for the first few months of your babies life. I think this one’s really cute and pretty affordable, either to have in your room as a secondary changing table or even to have in your little’s ones room permanently!

1. CHANGING TABLE

Changing Pad

And if you don’t want to put an entire changing table in your bedroom then a changing pad on top of the dresser in your bedroom works just as well! And then you can move it into the nursery once your baby moves in there. I don’t really have a preference one one changing pad over the other. I think this one with the Chevron print is pretty cute. But if you want something more high-tech we actually have the Hatch Baby Grow Smart Changing pad and scale. I feel like this is especially helpful to people who give birth to premature babies. It’s really important that those babies gain weight consistently especially at the beginning of their life and this changing pad doubles as a scale and tells you how much your baby weighs. I didn’t have any issues with Riley’s weight ever in his life. But we got this because it was just fun for me to see how much he weighed from week to week rather than waiting to go to the doctor every couple months.

Lavender Oil

Using lavender essential oil to help my babies sleep was advice that my friend Suedy gave me a few years ago. She’s pregnant with her first baby now but she wasn’t back then and she told me just because it something that her mother told her! So she actually got me a bottle as a gift and we use it on the bottoms of both Molly and Riley’s feet the first year of their lives. Actually with Molly I think we use it the first two years of her life. And I’m not even kidding you that one bottle lasted us with both kids. Anyway, lavender is a really calming scent and helps people relax and it definitely does the same for a little ones! We just put a drop on the bottom of each of their feet before they went to bed and let the lavender will work it’s magic!

I feel like there has to be things I missing but I can’t think of them right now! So can you guys help me and share any products that you think are essential for helping your little one sleep?! We JUST ordered a new mattress for Riley because his current one is ROCK hard so I will let you know what I think of it after we get it! Hope you guys loved this Must Have Baby Registry Series. I had so much fun writing it!!! Here’s the link again to start your own baby registry from Walmart! I can’t recommend it enough. And I really hope these products help so many parents out there!

And a HUGE thank you Walmart for sponsoring this series!!!

The post Baby Registry Must Haves – For Getting Precious Sleep! appeared first on Ali Manno (Fedotowsky).