A few of my favorite (baby) things

After being a mother for 5 weeks, I thought I'd share the things that make parenting an infant easier (at least for me!)

Boppy Pillow - The boppy is a must-have for breastfeeding. It is so helpful in supporting the baby and your arms while you're nursing, which allows you to relax more instead of being tense while trying to hold up a baby. Whenever I have to nurse without the boppy it reminds me just how much I love this pillow! I pull the pillow up tightly to my stomach and then lay my baby on it. She knows when the boppy comes out that it's time to eat! Be sure to buy at least 2 slipcovers though, as my baby is a sloppy eater and gets milk on the pillow a lot.

Boppy Pad Liners - I don't know what we'd do without these. They are waterproof pads that go on the changing table, so whenever she poops or pees during a change, we can swap out the pad and not have to take the entire changing pad cover off for washing.

Fleece Sleepers - These are not a specific product, any fleece sleeper will do. Jillian hates blankets, and these are actually warm enough to keep her asleep when she kicks her blankets off.

Playtex Drop-Ins Bottles - I love these because they require very little cleaning. There are only 4 a few pieces - nipple, ring, drop-in liner and the plastic bottle liner holder.  The nipples and rings get washed in the dishwasher in a bottle dishwasher basket, and the bottle liner holder can be reused without washing if needed since all the milk is in the disposable liner.

 Fisher Price Beautiful Garden Comfy Time Bouncer - Another item that I don't know what we'd do without! Sometimes this is the only place we can get her to sleep. I just wish we could remember to turn off the vibration on it when we take her out of it so the battery doesn't get run down as quickly. The vibration is so quiet we forget it's on.

Johnson's Nursing Pads - These are one of those necessary things that you need if you're going to breastfeed. I like this brand the best because the pads are VERY absorbent and they are contoured to the shape of your breast and even have a little indentation for the nipple, unlike a lot of other brands (including the reusable ones) that are just flat.

Fisher Price Rainforest Baby Gym - Jillian loves to watch the lights and listen to the nature sounds. She also plays with the hanging elephant and toucan. Often this will occupy her attention for up to 20 minutes. Also worth noting is that I bought this in great condition for $20 from someone on craigslist (it retails at $69.99).

Graco Travel System - I pretty much don't go anywhere without the stroller anymore, unless there is a cart that I can put Jillian's car seat into. Shopping with her is so easy with the travel system, she usually sleeps in the stroller and when she fusses, pushing her around is usually enough to make her happy.

Medela Symphony Breast Pump - I originally picked up the Simplisse manual breastpump, which I really like, but it's slow to use. After a couple weeks, I ended up renting the Medela Symphony electric pump. It's super easy to use, and lets you pump both sides at once. It takes just 10 minutes for me to pump each morning to get 3 bottles worth. I've been keeping 4 pumped bottles in the fridge for Tom to give Jillian when I'm either asleep or away from home, and freezing any additional milk pumped for future use.

Nursing Shirts - I love nursing shirts. Being able to nurse without having to lift up the whole shirt is so nice. I highly recommend picking up at least a couple nursing shirts if you're going to breastfeed. I have 2 and I am thinking of picking up a few more.