I was thinking about this last night and decided it was worth interrupting the 30 days of poetry. So every mother-to-be has a list that people share of things you can NOT live without. Bottle warmer, wipe warmer, special baby tubs that will play music or clean your baby for you, j/k, but I have come up with my own little list, 22 months later, of things I still use and they have made all the difference in my everyday life as a parent.
Here goes:
OXO Guardian Candela night light:
I’ll be honest when I was looking for night lights I wanted something different. That’s it. That’s about as far as my brain went with that search so when I came across this guardian candela I thought, “OH my GOSH this is so cute!” Once I received it and my late night slumber parties with my son began I thought wow this thing is more than cute, it works better than I imagined. In parenting 101 research, you learn that the best way to teach your baby the difference between day and night is to do all things normal in the day time; open the blinds, speak in normal tones, vacuum, play upbeat children’s music, wash clothes, watch TV, etc. but at night you don’t do any of this. Instead you whisper, you play soothing music and you use very minimal light. I must admit trying to change a diaper, half asleep, in the middle of the night can be difficult without light but this is what I immediately loved about the Guardian Candela Nightlight. You can take it with you wherever you go, the light lasts for up to 12 hours before needing to be charged, it provides enough light to change a diaper without waking your baby, it has an automatic shut off, and the charger gives off a little bit of light as well. I still use it, if for whatever reason I need to give the kid a change at night, and I still follow these same guidelines in my nighttime routine. It is also easy enough for my son to use; taking it off of the charger and putting it on his changing table. Here is a video of him at 10 months putting the nightlight on the charger:
[When I tried to link where to buy it I found out OXO discontinued it *SUPER SAD FACE* however the Roomi Nightlight has the same charging station so the night light might work in a similar fashion]Egg thermometer:
Again, in my pregnant mind, I only searched for things that I thought were cute and not necessarily because of what they could do. Nonetheless this was another one of those random decisions that I still love and use. When I had the baby bear I was THAT mom (I might still be but moving on). You know the mom who is slightly OCD about every THING and environment their kid is in. Well this egg was my “assistant” in informing me when the “environment” was not “adequate” for my precious baby. As you can see from the picture, according to the temperature in the room that the egg is in, it will illuminate one of 4 colors. As well as giving you a facial expression for each temperature. (This is really why I bought it) Side note: I face timed my mom over the weekend and told her how cold it was where we live. To place emphasis on my story I said, “Yes it’s so cold the egg was BLUE this morning with a sad face.” She says, “I still don’t know what you mean by sad face.” So I took the iPad to the egg to show her the face on the BLUE egg. She says, “Ya know, when you had him and you’d be running around the house flipping out saying OH NO the egg has a sad face I NEVER saw a face on that egg. I just thought you were making it up but now I see it. Interesting.”
*side eye* don’t be like my mom; if you get this egg you can send your people to my blog for the egg thermometer break down. LOL! I LOVE this egg. I’m still very particular about the temperature in my son’s room as he gets hot easily so I like to keep his room in the yellow range year round. It also adds a little bit of light to the room which again is helpful when you are in the zombie trance of newborn life.
[Another discontinued product in the U.S. but I did include the link to their home site in the UK if you are really interested]
Take and Toss set:
I bought this set before I had my son. It was some UBER cheap price, for all that you get, and I refused to pass it up. By the time my son was 5 months I was encouraging him to drink out of a sippy cup (from this set) and that was the first cup he learned to drink from. I use these bowls for snacks and for his food when we travel and have leftovers. They are the perfect size for him to hold and use and easy to clean. Don't toss it! I love it!
Probably before we decided to start trying my husband expressed that he would NOT be willing to use one of those traditional diaper bags that look like purses. Since I have learned after almost 6 years of marriage you MUST pick your battles I said okay. So I went on a hunt for a solid back pack diaper bag but with comparable compartments as the traditional diaper bags and this bag has been awesome! It has amazing storage; It has served as a diaper bag/overnight bag/purse etc LOL! There are pockets on the inside where I keep ointment, water bottles (because as I’ve stated momma needs to stay hydrated), socks, mittens (when we were in that stage), bibs etc. One negative about the bag is the wipe holder. Mine didn’t stay snapped and I need/use wipes like they are going out of style, so I needed something bigger anyway. Therefore inside of my current bag is a regular sized (not travel size) plastic wipe container. Yes… this 
and I still have a ton of space for extra clothes, toys, books etc.
Canvas Bookshelf:
I am an advocate for books over toys. If my son never had a toy in his possession (which was my plan) I was determined he would have an extensive library. So at the tender age of 1 it was necessary for me to get him a bookshelf. I wanted one that he could use to get his own books and put them away himself. But I also wanted one that was cute (go figure). After much research I found this bookshelf which I fell in love with primarily because of the personalization. I put it together myself which means it wasn’t difficult and it was a great price. (Here's the kid at 17 months)
Closet organizer:Again I’m THAT mom and I prefer an organized closet (however with our downsize we lost a lot of closet space which means my side of the closet is FOOLISH but I digress). I wanted my son’s closet to have order so that I would not be as crazy as I could be as a first time mom without some organization in his room. His is the bedroom I spend the most time making sure everything is in its place. He’s not a messy kid, which makes it easier, but this organizer definitely helps me keep my head on straight. It has compartments and pockets (clearly I love pockets) and it came with hangers built in; which totally rocked my world. I keep his shirts hung in the organizer according to short sleeve, long sleeve, sweaters, hoodies, button ups etc and you know I thought it was cute!
Wicker baskets:
Another organization must have for me were these baskets. The colors in his room are green, cream, and chocolate and these baskets went great with the look I was going for. (Side note: The set I received came with a wicker tissue box so I’m not sure why it’s not pictured) I used the baskets for the small stuff that new moms receive in abundance: pacifiers, travel sized toiletries etc. I used the basket with the handle as my around the house basket. I kept a few diapers, bath stuff, ointments etc that I might have needed in those early months but didn’t want to keep going to him room to get. I hope you new mommas or mommies to be enjoyed this post and if any other first time moms have some products you never thought you’d love and use as much as you do drop me a line and let me know! I will say that I need storage bins for the clothes my son can no longer fit; that's another project for another day! Check out my fellow blogger buddy Deidre at Wife Mom Superwoman for her list of unique registry items that new moms need.
#nomakeup
All my love,
Caneeka
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