Best Baby Stuff » Postpartum

Wet Happened? Wet Bag

Maisie — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:46:59 +0000

Product Overview
The Wet Happened? Wet Bag is made with a stylish designer cotton prints, then lined with a thick and soft Polyurethane Laminate. The two layers sewn are separately and closes with a zippered top that secures contents and keep smells where they belong. The bag is double sewn to help prevent wicking. It is easily washable and re-usable. The wet bags are available in two sizes: 11 x 14 (about 3-5 diapers) & 14 x 17 (about 6-8 diapers).

Why I like It
When using cloth diapers on the go, it’s hard to know what to do with those dirty diapers. I originally used plastic bags, however the odors permeated though the plastic. This wet bag is perfect for my diaper bag first because it’s super cute and because it helps to keep smells contained. I love that it’s easy to wash and re-use. The PUL lining is attached to the cotton exterior so that the two layers will no separate in the wash. Purchase two wet bags, one to use and one to wash. I like the larger size because I can fit more diapers in there. The wet bag is also perfect for dirty clothes or wet swimsuits.

Where to Buy
Mom4Life ($17.95 for reg, $21.95 for lg + free shipping)
WetHappened.com ($17.95 for reg, $21.95 for lg + 15% off with code WETBAG + free shipping) Best Price

milkscreen™

Maisie — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:24:42 +0000

Product Overview
milkscreen™ is simple and accurate way to let a mom know if her breast milk contains a level of alcohol that may negatively impact her baby. This is a simple, two-minute test that detects for volume of alcohol that is concentrated in breast milk. The milkscreen™ test will show a color change at .02% alcohol concentration.

Why I Like It
In the past there have only been general guidelines for drinking alcohol when breast feeding. With this test moms can know for sure when their breast milk is safe for a baby and can also use it as a guide to know how much alcohol will be affecting breast milk.

Every woman metabolizes alcohol differently, so guidelines can sometimes be incorrect for a woman. This test will put your mind at ease by giving you the tools to know when your breast milk is safe for your baby.

Where to Buy
Amazon ($9.99 and up + shipping)
Babies R Us ($19.99 for 20 tests + shipping)
Mom 4 Life ($4.99 and up + free shipping) Best Price

iPod Classic 80GB

Maisie — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 01:35:13 +0000

Product Overview
This sleek version of the Apple’s most popular music player lets you enjoy TV shows, movies, video podcasts, and more. With Cover Flow, you can flip through your music to find the album you want to hear and flip it over to see the track list. This 80 gigabyte version can hold up to 20,000 songs, 25,000 photos or 100 hours of video. The iPod Classic features a 2.5-inch LCD screen, which is 320 x 240 pixels. The rechargeable battery plays up to 30 hours of music, or 5 hours of video on a single charge. The iPod Classic is available in black or silver.

Why I like It
My husband purchased this iPod for my birthday right before I gave birth to my daughter. I took the iPod with me everywhere! I loaded it up with episodes of Friends and all my favorite movies. It was perfect for killing time at the doctor’s office. I watched movies on it at the hospital while I was being induced since the TV in my room was really fuzzy. I created a “Relaxing” playlist and filled it with free podcasts of relaxing music tracks and listened to that while I was in labor.

Now I use it while I’m breastfeeding. It helps pass the time and gives me a little more patience to let my daughter feed as long as she wants.

Compared to the other iPods, I feel like the Classic 80GB is the best deal. The screen is better for watching movies on than the Nano, and the storage capacity is better than the Touch. There is a Classic with 160GB of storage, but I never have that much music or video on my iPod. I can always remove old items from my iPod and refresh it with new music and videos if needed.

Where to Buy
Amazon ($237.49 + free super saver shipping)
Apple ($249.00 + free shipping + free engraving)
Best Buy ($249.99 + shipping)
New Egg ($244.00 + free shipping)
Overstock ($219.99 + $2.50 shipping) Best Price

Standard Body Pillow

Maisie — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 01:15:03 +0000

Product Overview
Standard body pillows are similar to a regular pillow only it is longer which provides full body support. Body pillows come in a variety of different fills from memory foam, down to synthetic fibers. Pillow cases are available for standard body pillows which allow you to match your bedding.

Why I like It
The standard body pillow is a simpler version of the pregnancy body pillows. The pregnancy body pillows usually wrap around your back and between your legs, however I found that using a standard body pillow with two regular pillows worked just as well. I placed one standard pillow behind my back, hugged the body pillow resting my belly on top of it for extra support and use the last pillow under my head.

After pregnancy I am still able to use my body pillow to sleep at night. My husband will even try to steal it from me in the middle of the night because it’s so comfortable to sleep with!

Where to Buy
Amazon ($26.99 and up + shipping)
Overstock ($24.00 and up + $1 shipping)
Sears ($9.98 and up + shipping) Best Price

Secret Fit Jeans by Motherhood

Maisie — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:36:55 +0000

Product Overview
Motherhood Maternity developed a revolutionary patent pending belly fit which uses seamless technology for the most perfect fit ever. Available on jeans, pants, and skirts the Secret Fit provides smooth comfort all day long. Jeans are made with cotton and spandex giving it the extra stretch you need for your pregnancy.

Why I Like It
It is important for me to have clothes that I am comfortable in and that I look good in. That is sometimes hard to achieve during pregnancy since you are just getting bigger by the day. My favorite jeans during my pregnancy was the Secret Fit Jeans by Motherhood. Before my belly got too big, I was able to roll the belly panel down. Then during my third trimester I pulled the belly panel up for extra support and coverage. The jeans have a little stretch in them as well, which was helpful when I felt like I was growing out of all my other maternity clothes.

You have to love your maternity clothes, because you will be in them even after your pregnancy is over since you’ll be losing your pregnancy weight. The Secret Fit Jeans will still look good on you after you give birth and there is no noticeable waist line that will show around your belly.

Where to Buy
Motherhood.com (prices vary depending on style)

Boppy® Pillow

Maisie — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:00:41 +0000

Product Overview
The Boppy® pillow is a must-have item for every mommy-to-be. The pillow features a new Miracle Middle® stretch panel to fit every waist size, so that every mom and dad can feed their baby in an ergonomically correct position. It provides support for arms and necks and is a great product for babies to lay, play and learn to sit. There are a variety of slipcovers, ranging from everyday material to designer fabrics.

Why I Like It
This should be the first product you purchase! It is so easy to use and provides great support while breastfeeding or bottle feeding. I can rest my arms on the pillow and my baby has a comfy, cozy place to feed. I use this pillow along with a firm standard pillow behind my back which allows for correct posture when feeding. This makes meal-times much more comfortable for both my baby and I.

I also use the Boppy for tummy time. I just place my baby on her tummy, with the pillow under her armpits and she’s able to reach the toys in front of her and hold her head up high.

Be sure to purchase two slipcovers, one to use and one to wash.

Where to Buy (without slip cover)
Amazon ($24.99 + shipping)
Baby Center ($24.95 + shipping) Best Price
Target ($24.99 + shipping)

Rainbow Light Prenatal One

Maisie — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:59:06 +0000

Product Overview
For those mothers-to-be and nursing moms who only want to take one tablet per day, this 100% natural and pure formula delivers evidence-based potencies of essential vitamins and minerals such as iron and folic acid, necessary for mother and baby. This formula protects against an upset stomach and provides gentle support using herbs such as red raspberry and fresh ginger juice. Rainbow Light Prenatal One is guaranteed 100% natural and animal-free for absolute purity when moms and babies need it most and is appropriate for vegans and vegetarians.

Why I Like It
Most mothers-to-be experience some sort of morning sickness to a varying degree. Some prenatal vitamins can actually increase the amount of nausea felt by women because of the amount of iron contained in them. Rainbow Light Prenatal One is all-natural and gentle on the stomach because of the herbs used. All the essential vitamins are included in just one of these vitamins, so it limits the amount of pills you have to swallow.

I was taking Stuart Prenatal at the start of my pregnancy and noticed that my nausea was much greater after I took my dose of pills. After reading about the affect of iron in prenatal vitamins in relation to nausea I decided to switch vitamins. I love Rainbow Light Prenatal One because I just have to take one pill a day, and I don’t have to take it with a meal because it is gentle on my stomach. It is also great that it is all-natural and contains no animal products, making it an absolutely pure product.

Where to Buy (150 tabs)
AllStarHealth.com ($20.40 + shipping) Best Price
Drugstore.com ($42.99 + shipping)
iHerb.com ($20.62 + shipping)
MotherNature.com ($28.39 + shipping)

Flip Video Ultra Series

Maisie — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 21:26:52 +0000

Product Overview
The Flip Video is a portable digital camcorder with built-in editing software, which allows you to edit video, capture still images from video and easily share your movies online at websites such as YouTube and AOL video. The Ultra Series comes built with 2GB of ram which holds approximately 60 minutes of video. The pop out USB connector allows video files from the camera to be transfered to your PC. There are a few simple buttons which allow you to easily record, delete, play and zoom plus an LCD viewing screen and built in speakers. A TV out port lets you view video clips on your TV.

Why I Like It
When my husband and I found out we were expecting our first baby we knew a video camera was going to be one of the “must-have” items since we don’t live anywhere close to family. We looked at MiniDV camcorders, digital video cameras with memory cards, DV-R recorders, and all of them were priced beyond what we were willing to spend.

The Flip Ultra is a very basic video camera with very basic functions. It records low-resolution video which is perfect for online viewing. For baby videos, that’s all we really needed. All the higher priced cameras just seemed to have way more functionality than we were looking for. The Flip Ultra is affordable at around $160.

The software that comes with the Flip makes it easy to edit your videos and upload them to the web for online sharing. I just had to make sure that the software was the most current version before using it.

The only con that this camera has in my opinion is that you cannot expand the memory on it. However, if you continually download video files onto your computer and keep your camera “clean” you won’t run out of memory.

Where to Buy
Amazon ($129.99 + shipping) Best Price
Best Buy ($149.99 + shipping)
New Egg ($149.99 + shipping)
Target ($149.99 + shipping + $5 off $50)

Tucks Medicated Pads

Maisie — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:05:53 +0000

Product Overview
Tucks Medicated Pads, are dye-free, hemorrhoidal pads with the astringent Witch Hazel. Witch Hazel helps relieve irritation and burning due to hemorrhoids. These pads can be disposed of in both septic and sewer systems. Tucks Medicated Pads are available in 40’s, 100’s and Take Along 12’s which are individually packed for convenience.

Why I Like It
If you deliver vaginally, more than likely you will be incredibly sore for at least a week. These pads are great for providing cooling relief. Just line your panties with two or three of these pads and you will feel instant relief from your pain.

I received a little package of these pads at the hospital after my difficult delivery and after putting them on, I literally said, “AAAHHH….” I felt so much better. I still had a hard time walking, sitting or standing, but these little pads provided much needed relief. When I went home from the hospital these pads were the first things I asked my husband to get me.

Stock up on at least one 100 count tub of Tucks Medicated Pads for after your delivery. You won’t regret it!

Where to Buy
Amazon ($6.99 + shipping) Best Price
Drugstore.com ($7.59 + free shipping on orders over $25)