It’s going to be a really busy but really fun week here at Chez Gummerman—it’s my shower weekend!! I have a bunch of special friends that I’m so excited to see coming to celebrate our little one at Elsie’s house as well as a full house of rotating guests over the course of the next week. I’ve been working on my registry for literally months now (I can’t “just pick” anything, I have to research every choice so it takes forever!!) so I thought I’d share with you a few of my favorite items on the list!
1. I’ve actually been able to find a good deal of organic or wooden non-toxic baby toys so that’s been a big plus. I figure this little guy would be good to pack in the diaper bag or keep Bebe busy in the carseat for a bit…
2. My registry has maaaybe 50% books on it—there’s so many that I loved growing up, I just put every one I could think of on the list! Lots of Madeline books since she was one of my faves (maybe the start of loving all things French?) and I can’t remember what happens at the end of this one, so I’ll be excited to read it too.
3. This 100% cotton bunny blanket seems perfect for tummy time and I see other moms lay their babes on this size blanket at the “baby-friendly” barre classes I’ve been going to—so cute!
4. Got lots of recommendations for these Undercover Mama nursing tanks when I asked you all for advice on Instagram so I’m gonna trust the experts and see if they become one of my faves too!
5. Since I’m planning on being a breastfeeding/working mom, I got an electric pump to use most of the time (the Medela Freestyle was recommended by my midwives) but I’ve heard a hand pump is really, well, handy too. Our breastfeeding class teacher swears by this one…
6. Most of my registry is made up of basic onesies, but I did add a few sweet summer outfits for Bebe. It’s actually a bit hard to find cute summer outfits for under 3 months, so I’m hoping this one will fit her while it’s still warm out. That pom-pom trim is the best!
7. This highchair is probably the registry item that I’m most excited about. I mean, look at it, it’s beautiful!! I would probably have that in my house if I didn’t have a baby around and it matches our dining room chairs almost exactly so that’s a big plus too. It is more expensive than most other ones I’ve seen, but it’s something I’m going to have to look at for a looong time so it’s worth it! My mom said she had a rather impractical antique high-chair for us just because it matched her dining room set—it didn’t even have a tray on it, they had to push us up to the table so we wouldn’t fall out!
8. This diaper pail came highly recommended by a friend of mine with a new baby. I love how sleek it looks and you can use it with a cloth diaper bag too once we switch over to cloth diapers a few months in.
9. I love these wipes because they are 99.9% water and 0.1% fruit extract! I may try making my own wipes eventually to see if I like that process, but I may just stick with these if we love them.
10. Are you surprised I have cat related clothes on the registry?? Didn’t think so. Can’t wait to see this one on her and it’s organic as well.
11. This brand has some adorable bath toys that are made from natural rubber and are free of BPA, PVC, and phthalates—YAY!! I also got their sweet turtle too.
12. There are a lot of ugly baby items out there, but the sleek design of this bouncer is something that I can totally see around our house. I’m really trying to pick out things as much as I can that blend in with our decor (like the highchair) the same way I do with all the cat necessities around the house.
13. This portable highchair was also recommended to me by a new mama. I had actually already pinned it to my baby board so I was happy to see that someone I knew liked it. It’s a great option to take to restaurants or other people’s houses and I’ve seen people using them when we eat out here in Nashville.
14. These diapers were the top recommendation for a more natural/eco friendly option by one of the Mommy blogs I’ve been reading (Mama Natural) and they have great reviews online as well. Like I said above, I’m wanting to try cloth diapering eventually, but using disposables for a bit will make our giant life change a bit simpler for the first few months.
15. I just love little newborn hats!! I love babies with lots of hair but Todd and I didn’t have much so she may be a hat baby for a while.
16. Mama wears muscle tanks in the summer almost every day so I thought Bebe should have some too! I don’t think I have one in that shade of pink yet though—lucky girl!
Chances are you are either making your own registry (or will be in the future) or have a baby shower to attend soon so I hope you found something that you love too! I’ve been working really hard on what feels like juggling a million things at once lately, so I’m looking forward to kicking back and hanging out with friends and family for a few days to just breathe again for a bit. Can’t wait!!
That IS a gorgeous high chair! Regarding the hand pump, your insurance might cover that — worth looking into.
Hmm, they did cover most of the electric one but I didn’t ask about that! Good tip!
Laura 🙂
Cloth diapering from day 1 is SO easy! And much less intimidating in practice then in theory. I started cloth diapering with my third and clothed from birth with number 4. I will be clothing from birth with number 5 in august too. Newborn poop, even meconium is water soluble so it all goes straight in the wash and will come out sparkling! If you want to chat more about it I’d be happy to help you navigate it! (It can seem overwhelming with brands and options!). Little girl is going to be here so soon! And it’s such an exciting time! Soak it in and treasure the moments and memories. Enjoy your shower!
Thanks! I’ll let you know if we start earlier and I need some advice! And yeah, breast milk diapers being water soluble is definitely a big plus if you are cloth diapering! Which brand do you guys use?
Laura 🙂
Hi!
Congratulations! Cloth diaper LOVER here…that diaper pail & corresponding cloth bag is a dream for cloth diapers. We use OsoCozy prefolds and Thirsties snap covers. You can YouTube ways to roll/fold & wear the prefolds to see what works best for you. If you’re into that. When we’re out, I like the Best Bottom covers and pads…they’re super easy to use and you can pop them into a wet bag when dirty. Charlie’s Soap for washing and there are specific diaper rash creams not to use because the oils are tricky to get out of the cloth.
Our second is due in May and I’m so excited to cloth diaper again…and so grateful to have all of them from our first baby!
Best wishes!
Also, a cloth diaper toilet sprayer is awesome…it clips to the side of your toilet tank and rinses tooters right down before you machine wash!
Yes! Once we start solid foods I was going to add one of those in. Thanks!
Laura 🙂
Thanks so much Karen! I do have a few second hand Thirsties to try (along with some Fuzzy Buns and Bum Genius) to see which we like best. It seems like everybody loves one kind and hates another for whatever reason so it seemed like a good idea to try a few before buying a lot more of one system. Thanks for the tips!
Laura 🙂
We use GroVia. And we use a combo of their diapering options. My daugter uses the hybrid shells with snap in soakers. My son uses the hybrid shells with prefolds. And we use their ONE diaper for overnight. New babe will go in newborn AIO’s. They have a great little trial kit that you can purchase that allows you to try out a couple of their options.
I had a low supply issue with my Daughter and the Medela one didn’t do anything for me, and i bought Spectra s2, OH my gosh! it was a miracle. So in case low supply become an issue (I don’t wish that upon you or any mother) try Spectra s2. And Regarding the hand pump, i swear by that Product you listed (Lansinoh), i am a photographer, so when using an electric Pump isn’t possible, hand pump is a good option. And as i stated earlier, i had a low supply issue and using Lansinoh hand pump keep my supply regulate.
Congratulations!!! Being a mom is one the most challenging thing for me but it has brought so much Joy like you never feel before 🙂
Great! I’ll keep that in mind if this pump doesn’t work. I know it’s different for everyone so I just have to try it and see how it goes but that’s good to know!
Laura 🙂
Great list! You have the best taste! I’d also add a Haakaa, a Rock n Play or DockaTot and a babywearing wrap of some sorts (if you’re into that sort of thing!). All of these things have made my life infinitely easier. I’m about to have my third baby in two years, so I needed all the help I could get!
Yes, I do have a rock n play on there and a ergo baby on the way as well! Good tips!
Laura 🙂
Super cute and practical stuff! Not doing cloth right away is smart, we switched at 3 months and haven’t looked back! 15 months now and still going!
Yay!! What brand did you end up going with?
Laura 🙂
I looked into getting that high chair and I’m so happy I didn’t. It’s very impractical because the tray doesn’t move, it just sits awkwardly to the side and looks pretty. 10 months later, I would go nuts if I didn’t have a nice big tray in front of my messy baby. I ended up getting the white plastic Ikea high chair, mostly because I went for a pricier stroller and furniture on my registry. It’s so simple and washable, but I’m sure there are some gorgeous higher end ones that were actually designed with a child in mind..
Yeah, the tray does only swivel just on the side I believe, but I think I’m going to give it a shot anyways and use a mat under the chair if needed. I just have to try it! 🙂
Laura
Invest in a nipple guard…it hurts the first couple weeks! ?
Yay! I love all of this! I love love love the little muscle tank onesie!! I have been buying iron on letters and buying plain onesies for my kid since she was born and just “making” her all kinds of personalized stuff. Hooray for breastfeeding and yes to the manual pump, def comes in handy. I always kept mine in the diaper bag for when we were out and maybe she wouldn’t nurse and I needed to just pump a little to relieve pressure. Also, coconut oil! Hopefully someone will get you this! It is the only “lotion” I used for my girl. And if you put it on her bum BEFORE she has the meconium poop, it’s easier to clean! So excited to see your nursery and of course, Bebe! Best wishes and have a great time at your shower! Just enjoy getting all the love!
Yes, we just heard that tip about the coconut oil at our baby class! Good reminder. It’s definitely something we have a lot of around the house, so that’s good! 🙂
Laura
I tried the Bambo Nature diapers and there was a constant leakage issue so we had to switch. I think the leakage issue is really dependent on the body shape of the baby, but if you have similar issues, I can say we had no more issues after switching to Naty. They are also eco-friendly and have the sweetest designs printed on them (hearts for size 0, suns for size 1 etc …)
Thanks Margo! Good to know. It does seem like all diapers (cloth and disposable) work better on worse on certain babies so I may just try one pack of the bambo then and see how it goes 🙂
Laura
That hand pump saved my life. I have a two year old who is still nursing, but he plays with that pump to this day because it was such a big part of our early lives together. I had excessive milk production, which doesn’t sound like much of a problem, but sometimes I had to pump just so he didn’t choke on my extra milk. Needless to say, I wasn’t about to get the electric pump out every time and clean it. Pain in the ass. I would pump with the hand pump throughout the day and store it in the fridge when I wasn’t using it, then clean it once at night. My sister copied me and she swore by this method, too. Breastfeeding is so hard at first, but it’s so worth it. Good luck!
Great tips Julia! Thank you!
Laura 🙂