| 1. Lorena Canal reversible, machine-washable rug | 2. One-A-Day Women’s Prenatal Vitamins | 3. The Body Shop Coconut Body Butter | 4. Belly Buds by WavHello | 5. Chicco Bottle Starter Kit | 6. Dockatot | 7. The Honest Company Baby Arrival Starter Kit | 8. Hatch “For The Hospital” Bundle | 9. Chicco Key Fit 30 Zip Infant Car Seat | 10. ToteSavvy Tote Insert | 11. Bugaboo Cameleon Stroller |

I’ve had more than a few people ask me about products that I have purchased while I’ve been pregnant – either geared towards the pregnancy itself or items that I have stocked up on prior to our little chick’s arrival….which is only a month away now…WHHHHAAAAAT?! So I figured I would put together a little list of both kinds of products, but focused on the items that I would most strongly recommend to other expectant mamas. [And for anyone headed to a baby shower…any of these would make a great gift, with the exception of the vitamins].

Below I have explained why I would so highly recommend each of these items, and I have linked to both the site where they can be purchased AND the reviews for any of these products that had reviews posted on their website. Obviously not everything works the same way for everyone, but here are the reasons why I love these and why I stocked up on them before the baby comes:

Lorena Canal Reversible, Machine-Washable Rug – well…the biggest reason is right there in the title. Helllooo, you can throw it in the washing machine!! Now I have never had a baby before myself, but having babysat for babies since I was 12 years old, I do know that they are prone to projectile messes of all degrees, and having items around that can be easily cleaned is a huge plus.

I’d been looking for a rug that I could put in front of her crib that is soft enough for her to lay on and I came across this brand through some of my favorite mommy bloggers like Jennifer Stano David and XO Mrs Measom! These Lorena Canal rugs are 100% cotton, they use non-toxic dyes, it’s handmade AND, like I said, machine washable. Wins all around. I found some beautiful rugs whilst I was looking though. I was thinking about buying one for our living room from Bazaar Velvet but I haven’t decided which one to buy yet!!

One-A-Day Women’s Prenatal Vitamins – The day that Nick and I talked it over and decided to start trying, we drove to the grocery store to buy prenatal vitamins. I was determined to take them the moment we started trying – which, thank goodness I did because we got pregnant in about two weeks! Never once did these cause me to feel nauseous. I felt nauseous a good amount of the time during that first trimester, so I would always take the vitamins with a little bit of food and plenty of water. My doctor gave me other prenatal vitamins and I tried taking those – immediately puked. A friend gave me another brand – I immediately puked. These proved to be the most gentle on my body and they’re the same brand that our pediatrician recommends and uses herself!

The Body Shop Coconut Body Butter – I had an unused jar of this body butter before I got pregnant, and so the moment I found out, I started using this on my belly – (like at 5 weeks pregnant I was going to get stretch marks haha). Since then I have been gifted a few types of belly butters/oils, but this stuff has been my favorite. Plus it smells amazing. Here I am at nearly 35 weeks with no stretch marks anywhere…Hopefully I can maintain that status over the next few weeks. I hope I didn’t just jinx myself.

Belly Buds by WavHello – I had always wanted to try these, but when I first got pregnant I had heard that they were expensive. I should have researched them myself because that is hardly the case. Around 28 weeks we found out she was breech and I reached out in an Instagram post about suggestions for what I could do to safely coax her to flip. A few people recommended Belly Buds and that I wear them down low on my belly. Apparently this causes the baby to want to position her head closer to the music. She has yet to flip around, but it has been cool to listen to music around the house with her, (the Belly Buds come with a splitter so that you can use your own earbuds and the belly buds at the same time). You get a free app to download so that you can have family or friends who live far away record a message that the baby can listen to and begin recognizes their voices!!! Isn’t that the sweetest thing?! Check out the REVIEWS online as well.

Chicco Bottle Starter Kit – This starter kit was actually gifted to me first and THEN I did the research on bottles because I was so lost about what to even look for in a bottle. Which ones are the best? What size bottles should I buy? What size nipples? What about air flow? There’s so many questions. I got on a ton of different sites and read about a million reviews for all different brands. Chicco bottles were consistently among the highest rated, and I loved that you can use this starter kit to see if it is a good fit for you first. The set comes with 4 bottles in different sizes, 5 different nipples, 2 silicone pacifiers, 1 microwave sterilizer, 1 cleaning brush and 1 teether. Read some of the REVIEWS here.

Dockatot – We travel a lot. Nick’s family lives all over the country, so I knew that it would not be long after the baby arrives that she would be on a plane, whisked off to visit her relatives. In fact, our first family vacation is scheduled in mid June, so she will only be 2 months old at that point. I knew I needed something that would be small and snug enough to keep her comfortable and could also fit in our luggage. These Dockatots popped up ALL over my Instagram feed posted by mommy bloggers who seemingly couldn’t love them any more. They have passed countless different tests and inspections, (all listed on their website), and they’re washable, hypoallergenic and coolest of all – you can breath through them. When ours arrived at our house, I buried my face inside it and could still breath just fine – it was amazing and made me feel so much better. I think this will make traveling so much easier!! These REVIEWS will make you fall in love as well! But be advised, these sell out so fast. Here is a great article on why every mom needs a Dockatot.

The Honest Company Baby Arrival Starter Kit – Everybody always talks about how amazing the Honest Brand is, which is intriguing and obviously means that the products work wonders, but it is hard to tell whether they will work for YOUR baby until your baby gets here and is able to use them. Similar to the Chicco Bottle Starter Kit, this Baby Arrival Starter Kit gives you a few Honest Co. products to try out without buying a ton of products first. And let’s be honest (no pun intended I swear) Honest Co. is not the most inexpensive brand on the market. But between the REVIEWS online, the recommendations I’ve gotten from mommy friends of mine, I knew that I needed to try out their Starter Kit once our girl gets here. The kit comes with face and body lotion, shampoo and body wash, Hand Sanitizer spray, healing balm, 7 diapers in assorted sizes, wipes, and hypoallergenic teether.

Hatch “For The Hospital” Bundle – I have been so preoccupied with what I need to buy/get organized for the baby that I completely forgot that I would also need to pack some things for the hospital. I have our hospital bag sitting on the bed in our guest room and so far it has the Short Term Disability Insurance forms that my doctor needs to sign for my maternity leave, and tons of stuff for the baby to wear, but I had forgotten that I would also need to be clothed at some point as well. Hatch, one of my favorite motherhood brands, offers curated bundles that you can buy. One is for the baby’s trip home from the hospital, another is for mommy to wear both during pregnancy and afterwards, and the third is for mommy to wear while she’s at the hospital. Since this was an aspect of “getting organized for Baby Brunotte” that I had not conquered yet, I took advantage of a package that someone had already put together for me. The package comes with a pair of cashmere socks, their “perfect fit” undies, a T-shirt nightgown and matching robe. Now I have something to wear in the hospital before and after delivery and I know I will be comfortable. Now I just have to figure out what I’m wearing home from the hospital…..

Chicco Key Fit 30 Zip Infant Car Seat – I read tons of reviews and about 100 blog posts on which infant car seat to get. There are a number of great ones out there, so as long as you get any of the ones that routinely hit the Top 5 or Top 10 lists online, I think you’ll be fine. The prices vary and you have to make sure that the car seat you choose will work with the stroller that you pick out. My recommendation is to read reviews and blog posts like this: 2016 Mom’s Picks: Best Infant Car Seats, and then go to Buy Buy Baby or Babies R Us and just look at them in person. Pick them up, see how heavy they are, imagine putting a baby in them, and have the store clerk show you how to use it with the base. I loved this one, in black, because it’s lightweight, attaches and detaches from the base really easily, and works well with the stroller that we registered for.

ToteSavvy Tote Insert – I never thought I wanted to buy a diaper bag. I have so many tote bags, I always felt I could just use those and then I’d be able to rotate bags whenever I wanted to. Rather than throw all the diaper bag items haphazardly into my tote, I decided to buy one of these ToteSavvy inserts. This way, the insert always stays organized, everything is easily accessible, and I can easily move the insert from one tote to another whenever I want to change them. REVIEWS can be seen on their website. I initially heard about these tote inserts from blogs like Pink Peonies and Venzedits.

Bugaboo Cameleon Stroller – Just like what we did with the car seats, Nick and I went to a few different stores and just started looking at strollers. I got online and read reviews and looked through blog posts. We walked around the stores pushing the strollers, tried to fold them down and open them again – the whole 9 yards. We were gifted a used Bugaboo Bee by a friend of ours, and this one we gave to my parents to use, since they will certainly need a stroller also! Nick and I absolutely LOVED the Bugaboo Cameleon. It checked off nearly all of our boxes. The one downside is that it is not the most travel-friendly, but the Bugaboo Bee is, so when we take her on the plane we will be taking the Bee and leaving the Cameleon at home. Full disclosure, we added this stroller to our registry, and we have not received it yet so I cannot attest to how easy it is to initially put together. But I will update you guys after we use it with her for a few weeks. Read some REVIEWS online here.