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Someone very close to me is having their first baby. I don’t know if I am allowed to say who but— you know who you are! SQUEEEE!!!!! (I never squee.) Let’s hope this new baby is as cute as the baby up top. That’s Harlow, by the way, doing her “book jacket” pose. SQUEEEE!!!! (Oops, I did it again.)

Anyway, this person has been calling me, morning, noon and night asking for my recommendations. I guess she thinks I’m some kind of parenting expert or something.

She emailed me a list of about 1000 baby items recommended by her incredibly thorough friends, asking if I would cull it down and I had a flashback to my first time at Buy Buy Baby, when I nearly had a panic attack at the sight of an entire wall of pacifier options and ran out of the store screaming.

So, I can’t really go through this list because I haven’t used everything on it and it’s starting to make me feel totally inadequate and like maybe I should have hired a lab to personally test every baby product out there before making any concrete decisions.

Instead, I am going to share the few baby items I absolutely cannot live without. They aren’t the big ticket items like strollers or carseats that are usually researched to death because they can set you back if you make a mistake; they are the smaller items that happened to make a big difference for me.

Below is my “Must-Have Baby Stuff” List. It’s not pretty (it contains a woman pumping on the phone for god sakes) but at least it won’t leave you curled up in the bottle feeding section of Babies ‘R Us trying to rock yourself into your safe place.

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1. aden + anais Burpy Bibs – the shape lies perfectly over your shoulder and they snap around your baby’s neck for much more coverage than a regular bib. Particularly great for a baby with acid reflux.

2. Cloud b Sleep Sheep – cute sheep that doubles as a sound machine. Harlow definitely sleeps better with that thing turned on.

3. Medela Easy Expression Bustier – a handsfree pumping bra is absolutely necessary if you want to check your email while you pump; strapless means you don’t have to fully disrobe to get it on.

4. Boon Naked Collapsible Baby Bathtub – This newborn to toddler tub has a simple slanted setting perfect for infants and it folds practically flat to hang on back of a door.

5. Philips AVENT Soothie Pacifiers – Some people don’t like to use pacifiers. In my experience, those babies end up sucking on their fingers which are a lot harder to take away later. We took Mazzy’s away at 18 months and it was surprisingly— NO BIG DEAL. We like the Soothies because they are easy for babies to hold in their mouths. If you are someone who loses your keys often, buy about 10 of them.

6. Ergobaby Organic Baby Carrier – There are a bunch of great soft structured baby carriers on the market but the Ergo is the only one I’ve found with a front pocket, allowing easy access to a pacifier and a credit card and the possibility of walking around your neighborhood diaper bag free.

7. Nosefrida Snotsucker – If a Nose Frida went against a generic hospital grade aspirator, that aspirator would be cowering in the corner, covered in it’s own snot.

8. Boppy Pillow – The Boppy beats My Breast Friend because it doubles as a lounger for the baby.

9. Gerber Prefold Cloth Diapers – Whether you cloth diaper or not (I do not), Gerber cloth diapers make the perfect cheapo burp cloths. They are more absorbant than most burp cloths and come 10 in a pack— we go through all of them daily.

10. Boba Wrap – The most comfortable, easy-to-use wrap I’ve seen to wear your baby in your house in those first few months.

11. Gerber Long-Sleeve Onesies with Mitts– those mitts are important. They’ll keep your baby from scratching their own face plus, they are way easier to keep on a kids’ hands than gloves. Also, I have found that a baby in a onesie in addition to pajamas sleeps a wee bit longer due to the added warmth.

11. The Miracle Blanket Swaddler – My favorite swaddle and I do believe I’ve tried them all. They’ve got built-in arm wings so your baby has a much harder time getting out and no velcro which I’ve found can disturb the baby during a diaper change or a midnight feeding.

Did I miss anything?

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Finalist_laughWell, hello! It’s me again, reminding you to vote for Mommy Shorts in Parents Magazine’s Blog Awards for “Most Likely to Make You Laugh”.

You can vote once a day up thru February 24th by clicking here. Thank you!!!!