life savers for the new (and anxious) Moms and Dads…
Porcsha and Leilani sharing a special moment during their family photoshoot. LeiLei was 6 weeks old!
Parenthood. You hear so much about what it’s like and yet in still, it’s reality will hit you like a ton of bricks. Or at least that was my experience after welcoming my first baby girl, Penelope, in 2018. I’m not sure how many of you can relate, but for me, Motherhood has me somewhere at an intersection between uncontrollable nerves, worry, fear and unimaginable joy, gratitude and excitement. As a working mommy of 2 under 5 (plus my bonus baby), there’s not much time in the day to wallow in the hard moments – though the me in my youngest daughter, Leilani’s, colic season couldn’t be convinced otherwise.
Nevertheless, after a second wave of experiencing the ups, downs, ins and outs of the 4th trimester and the first year of raising a little baby human, I’ve found the best baby products that have made managing that first year and beyond so much easier. After using these baby products (some twice over) with both my little ladies, I’m a confident believer in their baby “magic” and I’m so excited to share the life saving goodness with you!
The Owlet Baby Sleep Sock
What’s the one thing that keeps new parents awake when they should be asleep? That’s right, you guessed it my friend…a sleeping baby! Quite the conundrum, really. For me, it was something about the quiet room, their soft whimpers, and my new mom fear that had me checking for the rise and fall of their chest every 5 minutes. Especially if they surprise me and sleep through a feeding. With Penelope, the anxious worry was so bad, I literally had her sleeping on my chest every night her first 4 months of life. And if I was sleep, my husband, Lj, wasn’t allowed to be because someone needed to always have eyes on the baby (God bless him!) When Leilani was born I knew we couldn’t sustain another season of that type of sleep deprivation and that’s where the Owlet Dream Sock changed our world. It slides right onto baby’s foot, tracks her heart rate, oxygen levels and sleep patterns and sends alerts via the docking station and our phones when something falls out of range (we had a scare once that proved this to be true, I’m so grateful the app notified my mom). The app is extremely user friendly, allows for multiple users and gave me, her daddy (and even grandma aka her Gigi) a peace of mind I didn’t know was possible. Though we didn’t use the owlet camera in combination, my understanding is that together they’ll provide an even richer experience. Nonetheless, I 10/10 recommend the owlet sock! Though the price tag is steep, the benefits are priceless – we got more sleep, worried less and learned so much about our babies needs from this one product alone. Fun fact: we still use it daily and just invested in the toddler “Dream Sock Plus“! If only I’d had Owlet with my first baby, i probably could’ve avoided a bout of ppd. #youliveandyoulearn
Infant Optics Monitor & Camera Set
Now once you’ve gotten comfortable in your parenthood journey and are ready to give baby a little independence, it’s time to invest in a really good baby monitor (because a certain level of helicopter parenting will always be warranted in my book – for both baby’s safety and your peace of mind.) I did A TON of research while pregnant with Penny for the best baby monitor on the market and originally wanted one that connected to an app and could be accessible from anywhere. But after deep diving into reviews, we landed on the Infant Optics brand and have been more than satisfied for almost 4 years now – and we haven’t had to replace anything but the battery! The monitor is local so it doesn’t connect to wifi. The pro to that is it’s protected from the internet invaders but the con is that you have to stay within range for it to pick up your cameras. Not to fret, we can move within every part of our 2800 sqft home and pick up a signal so the range is generous. What I love most is the capability to add multiple cameras to the system! So we have cameras in both our bedroom and theirs, a camera covering each girls bed and we can watch them both sleep when we toggle on the scan feature – IT’S SO CONVENIENT. Bonus points for all of the accessories you can purchase to make mounting and traveling with the system super easy.
Baby Bathtub Seat
What’s one thing you were most excited about after becoming a parent? When we brought Penelope home we couldn’t wait for the moment her umbilical cord stump fell off so we could finally give her a real bath! Now I’ll be honest, she hated the first bath. Actually she hated the first couple of baths lmao But she eventually grew into a little water baby and her sister has followed the same trend. Bath time is so much more fun with two kids splashing around in the tub. Simultaneously, its a whole lot more work keeping both a toddler and an infant safe from each other and the water. That was until we came across this infant bath tub seat. Can you say game changer? It keeps Leilani secure and slip free-ish but still allows her to sit and play independently in the tub with Penny. WE LOVE THIS LITTLE INVENTION! And it makes bath time with baby much easier and a little less nerve wrecking.
Digital Car Seat Camera
I think that first year of life, baby has more doctors appointments than I’ve had my entire adult life. And that means baby is in the car seat and out of view for the drives to and from the doctors office. With Penny, we purchased a car seat mirror that we mounted to the seat and it allowed us to keep an eye on her from the rearview mirror. But when I was pregnant with LeiLei, a high school friend of mine shared a digital car seat camera in her instagram stories and I couldn’t pass up. The camera is extremely easy to set up, connects into your auxiliary power outlet and the cord is long enough to mount to both the second and third row of an SUV, should you need it to! We loved the product so much that we put one in both cars and just recently gifted my sister two of them to keep her new set of twins in view while driving. My favorite feature is the night vision! Even once the sun goes down, our view is still perfect!
Portable High Chair
One thing I’m always going to do is eat good. And I told myself in embarking in my motherhood journey, I wouldn’t rob myself or my babies of exciting experiences with food. But as many of you may know, eating out with children peacefully is a fine art. And one that took us a few tries to master at that! One thing that really helped me and Lj get more comfortable with going out with littles in tow is this portable high chair! When I tell y’all I’ve used this seat a many times, I am not exaggerating! We take it to parks, restaurants, family gatherings and everything in between. And although it takes a minute or two to install, once its secure, baby has their own private little secure space to enjoy the experience with you. It was also super important to us that we avoided as many germs as we can once our girls started getting curious with their hands. With this seat, we never have to worry about whether or not it was disinfected or neglected like restaurant high chairs and booster seats often are. Can you imagine the peace of mind?? The seat comes in tons of colors so you’re sure to find one you and baby will love! Pro tip – add the table tray and thank me later!
Alright mommies and daddies, I’m going to pause there as I know that was a lot of goodness to digest! My list continues but I’ll share my other recommendations in a separate blog post soon! In the meantime, did you see anything you liked? Which item did you add to your registry or decide to buy now? Looking forward to hearing from you in the comments. Happy shopping!
And while I ask that you remember, what works for our family may not work for others; it is my hope that something on my list rewards you with a parenthood “win” just as it’s done for us!
Friends, please know though this isn’t a sponsored post, some of the links listed above are affiliate links meaning, at no additional cost to you, our family will earn a small commission for your purchase(s). Though this is a blessing, we would never seek it at the expense of your trust. All opinions we share are our own genuine recommendations that we also send our siblings, family and friends. Every product I’m sharing today is one we use at home regularly with our girls, purchased and reviewed personally.
