December favorites

So, this is the last day of December (and of 2012!), so I figured that I would do some Mommy and Baby favorites! I've planned on doing these for a long time (mostly in video form, but my system is too outdated, so I can't upload until I update), but just never have. But now I finally am! Considering I have a sleeping baby on me right now, I'm not going to get up and take pictures of every single thing that's my favorite. SO, instead I'll just include stock images (aka, I don't own any of the product images, and I would like to thank Google for leading me to them). In the future I plan to take photos of the objects myself, but we'll see how that goes. :) Anyway, let's go ahead and jump in. By the way, these are in no particular order.




First, I'll start out with the tiny gDiapers. I plan to do an in depth review on these eventually, so I won't go into a large amount of detail at this time. But, what a life saver these have been! I LOVE them! So trim, so she doesn't have a huge butt that doesn't fit into anything, and does a great job at staying clear of her stump (and now belly button). Plus, super cute, and fit soooo well. A couple of times I've used a prefold and a cover the "normal" way with a snappi, which did the job, but was ultra bulky (newborn prefolds are still a bit big on her, as were the covers), but for now I like her tiny g's sooooo much better! I just usually use them with a preemie prefold tri-folded into them, and works like a charm. :)


Next, I would have to say the aden + anais blankets are definitely a favorite. I went the slightly cheaper route and bought the Target exclusive ones (because I'm budget savvy aka slightly broke), but they are still very nice blankets! Very soft, large, breathable, and seems to keep her warm very well, even in the winter. Not that winter is all that harsh here in Florida, but still, I call it cold! And, to top it off, these blankets are pretty darn cute. :) The one in the pack with the birds all over I'm not such a huge fan of, but I liked the other three (plain white, stripes, and elephants). If I could afford it, I would get a whole slew of a+a things!


Sophia's swing has been another favorite. I don't use it all that often (I tend to hold her more than anything), but it's been so helpful for when I need to squeeze a shower in or am trying to put away her laundry. For most cleaning chores I wear her, but I do a lot of bending over with her clothes and such, so it's easier to not wear her for that. She seems enjoy it though, which is nice, and it does a wonderful job of keeping her asleep.


I can't do a favorites without mentioning her Moby wrap. This thing is awesome. I loved it with Blake, and I love it with her. She loves it too, and will let me get SO much done, so long as she's in this thing.


So I know I mentioned this before, but I'm going to do it again. Her blooming bath flower tub thing. This thing is seriously awesome. She loves baths sooo much! And I am really convinced it's all thanks to this soft, squishy tub thing. Worth every penny to not have my newborn bundle of joy screaming at the top of her lungs while I'm just trying to clean her up. She's so relaxed during, I just love it! I got a gender neutral color because a) I liked it and b) I want it to be cute in photos for her and the future boy baby.


So to go with the previous favorite, my next would have to be the Burt's Bees Baby Shampoo and Wash. This stuff smells sooo good, plus it's natural. Of course love that part. :) I'm not sure exactly how sensitive her skin is, but if it's anything like mine, then super sensitive, and I'm proud to say that this hasn't irritated her skin at all. So, two thumbs up from me!


I would have to say a favorite for both of us is the Medella Nipple Shield. Although it is kind of more a pain in the butt to use rather than just my own nipple, it has preserved our breast feeding relationship. Without it, I'm not sure I would have been able to get her to latch well enough to feed. So, over all, I'm entirely thankful for it.


Now let's talk about my diaper bag. And how in LOVE with it I am! Besides the fact that it's sooo super cute, it's also able to hold everything I need (with room for more). As if that's not enough, it's also super light weight, which is awesome since toting around any and everything a baby could possibly need can get pretty darn heavy (who knew?). It doesn't even really look like a diaper bag, which I really like. Not that I'm against things looking babyish, but I felt like I really did the whole baby-looking diaper bag thing with Blake, and now I wanted something that I wouldn't get tired of. I felt like with the ones I had with Blake I would just get so tired of looking at them and would need ANYTHING to change it up. This one is so classic and stylish, I think it will be a LONG while before I get tired of it. There are so many pockets in it, which I am a huge fan of (I like to try to stay organized), and the inside is a fun bright blue, which makes looking for things less like searching through a black hole. I'll probably do a "what's in my diaper bag" blog soon. I love watching those videos/reading those blogs, so may as well join the crowd! Oh, and since I didn't say before, it's the Skip Hop Versa bag in black.


Last but not least, would be the Christmas present from my husband: my new Vera Bradley wallet in Happy Snail! It's so cute! The print is discontinued, but I had been eying it for a while, and the only place I saw it still available was the website. It fits great in the diaper bag too. :) I had a wallet like this before for a few years but in a different print, and while it's still holding up, it has definitely seen better days. I looked at new wallets all the time, but loved the design of mine so much that I never wanted to switch it up. Finally I did over the summer, but I started to miss the old design. So this was perfect!


And that does it for our December favorites! Now I'll leave you with a totally cute/funny picture of Sophia that I took today!