My Top Baby Essentials

While I was pregnant I spent a ton of time reading baby essential roundups and I found them so helpful.  After having two kids I have a few favorite products of my own that I wanted to share with you! 

no. 1 I buy most of my baby clothes at consignment shops like Kid to Kid.  Since babies grow out of their clothes so fast it's hard to justify a whole wardrobe of expensive clothes. I do like to spend a little bit more on the essentials like H & M onesies. Their onesies are so soft and made of 100% organic cotton.

no. 2 Babies don't really need shoes until they are walking but it's still fun to have the "look" of shoes which is why I love Trumpette socks. We used them with Jett almost every single day and we always got tons of compliments on them. They stretch out so we were using them forever.

no. 3 Jane got a cold before she was even two weeks old and the NoseFrida plus Little Remedies Saline Spray saved our lives. It was the only way I could get her nose cleared. The NoseFrida is pretty gross the first time you use it. I had to close my eyes or I thought I would gag but now I love it! I feel like it gets out a lot more than the bulb syringe.

no. 4 All of our bedrooms are on the upstairs level and we are super close to each other. We can hear every single noise that is happening in any room which is why we couldn't live without our noise machines. We have the Homedics SoundSpa. Jett and Jane both have one in their room. It's really easy to take places with us so we always travel with it.

no. 5 Now that my office is in the basement I rely a lot on our baby monitor. We looked at a lot of different options and found that the Sony Baby Call was the best for the price. So far it's worked great.

no. 6 With Jett we only ever had a bath cushion for bathing. I really liked it because we didn't have to deal with storing a bulky bathtub. With Jane we also wanted something we could use in our sink while she was so little. The people at Puj sent me one of their tubs to try and I've really loved it. My favorite part about it is how compact it is. We just keep it under the sink. Jane seems to really like it as well.

no. 7 There are so many amazing baby lotions out there. They all smell heavenly but my favorite one is Noodle & Boo's Super Soft Lotion. It smells so good and is seriously as soft as silk.

no. 8 I'm sure you are aware of how great aden + anis blankets are. I love how big and lightweight they are. We take them everywhere.

no. 9 There are so many great play items out there for babies. Two things we could not live without are our bouncer and exersaucer. We have the Fisher Price Rainforest Bouncer. I found it on Craigslist for $15 and it has been awesome! I love how lightweight it is so I can move it from room to room.

no. 10 I researched diaper bags for months and months. Since it's something you use SO much I really wanted to invest in something I loved. With Jett I had a Petunia bag and it was really great. There were a few things that I really didn't like about it though like the stiff shoulder strap. I wanted something that was going to be big, flexible, wipeable and also a bag that I loved the look of! I came across the MARC by Marc Jacobs Pretty Eliza bag and I was sold! The price tag is really steep but for something you use everyday I was willing to spend more money. Plus if you do your research these are popping up on ebay and for sale on different websites all the time. So far I have loved this bag. I can't think of anything negative to say about it and I'm so glad I bought it.

no. 11 For our bottles I've been using the OXO Bottle Drying Rack. I was actually able to find it on sale at T.J. Maxx for $5! I really like it and we literally use it everyday.

no. 12 Stroller shopping is so hard on me. There are way too many options and it took us way too long to decide on one. It's hard to say what the best all time stroller is because it really depends on the person and their needs. With Jett we had the Chicco Keyfit Cortina Travel System and it was great! If you are looking for a single stroller I highly recommend it. The search for a double stroller was really hard. We tried out a lot of different options and finally decided on the Baby Jogger City Mini. It's really easy to maneuver and I like that both seats recline. Ideally I wanted a tandem and not a side-by-side but all the tandems that I liked felt really bulky or they were too expensive. So far we love the City Mini.

no. 13 I honestly haven't tried that many bottles. With Jett we used the Playtex Drop in Bottles and I honestly wasn't a huge fan of having to replace the liner each time. So with Jane we have been using Philips Avent bottles and so far they have been great.

no. 14 I love the Ikea Antilop highchair for when your baby is ready for solids. It's such a good deal, modern looking and so easy to clean.

If you have any "can't-live-without" baby products please share! I love hearing about which products work for people and why.