I love being a mommy! It is truly a huge honour and blessing to be a mom but also a huge responsibility and one that is not taken lightly. It is crazy to think that as a parent you are shaping the future character and the kind of person this little one will grow up to be and how they will influence or be influenced in the world. They are the next generation! Because my road to becoming a mommy was a lot different than others I had time to be able to dream about all the things I would want for my babies when the time came. I had spent lots of time researching car seats, strollers, baby accessories you name it I checked it out. It can be such an overwhelming thing because there are so many things out there. The one thing I would tell any new mommy to be is that remember just because your friends baby like it or because it worked for them it may not be the fit for you. Even  with my own two babies I have noticed some things my daughter likes my son doesn’t. No two humans are the same and babies are no different.

Here are my top 5 “Must Have’s”

1. Stroller: I had the Bugaboo Chameleon with my daughter and loved it but when it came time for number two I upgraded to the Bugaboo Donkey and absolutely am so happy I did. I chose to go with the limited edition all black and love it. One of the many awesome things about this stroller is it is narrower than most double strollers so even when I have it in duo mode I can still fit through a single door without trouble. I just love the versatility with this stroller from using it in the Mono form (as a single with the shopping basket) or when my son was a newborn I could use the bassinet or leave him in his infant car seat by just popping my adapters on. I really can’t say enough good things about this stroller. It is well worth the money I spent on it. I love that if I ever get tired of the all black I have the option to always switch up the colours of my fabrics.

 

 

2. Car Seat: I used the Peg Perego Sip 30/30 for my daughter as her infant carrier and loved it and felt she was well protected and safe in it. Now she has graduated to a convertible and we stuck to the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio Convertible and went with it in the Licorice. I like the fact that part of the seat is leather making it easy to clean. For my son we had to purchase a new infant car seat because the Bugaboo Donkey doesn’t have car seat adaptors for the Peg so we ended up with the Britax B Safe and are enjoying it. It is a lot of a lighter seat to carry then the Peg and I like how easy it is to use with my stroller and I like that it fits easily in my SUV with my daughters car seat as well and there is still room for someone to sit in the back as well.

3. Noise Machine: My babies are both like me and are light sleepers so we introduced the noise machines from a young age to help drown out the extra noises when they were sleeping. They both really like just the “white noise” sound and we don’t leave home without their machines. We went with the Graco Sweet Slumber machine because of the fact you don’t have to have it on a timer like many noise machines are. You can plug this machine in and turn it on and it will stay on all night if desired plus it has a little night light that you can use as well. It has different sounds effects that can be used or you can plug in your iPod and have a playlist played if desired.

4. Monitors: This is one of those things that I did a lot of research on before we purchased ours. We were one of the first in our group of friends to go with video monitors and at first everyone though it was kinda ridiculous and silly but since then some of them have even switch over and are now using the video monitors. We went with the Summer Infant Baby Zoom and love all the special features with these monitors. My husband wasn’t a big fan of the wifi option so we have chosen not to use it but its nice to have the option if we needed it to be able to use our phones as the screen to watch our babies. There are many great features with these monitors and when baby #2 came along we just purchased another camera for his nursery.

5. Mamaroo: With my daughter I used just a swing that was both a cradle or a swing and she seemed to enjoy it. I know some babies who don’t enjoy swings so I am very thankful both my babies like the movement of them. Right before my son was born we purchased the Mamaroo and we have enjoyed using it. We joke that its the “Cadillac” of swings but it really is a great swing with lots of options and unique movement. You also can hook your iPod up to it and use your playlist to sooth your baby. We purchased the newborn insert as well that you can use in the swing to make it more comfortable for your baby when they are so tiny. I liked also that you can change the balls on the mobile from the black and white to the coloured side as your baby gets old enough to see the colours.

 

Well there you have it 5 of my “Baby Must Have’s”! What would you say is one thing that you couldn’t live without when it comes to your little ones? I always love hearing other peoples suggestions so give them to me!