Some Baby Must-Haves

So as far as being a new parent, a lot of things are trial and error.

As far as bottles/nipples go, I've come to really like the orthodontic Nuk brand by Gerber. The first bottles we tried were the Breastflow ones by The 1st Years but Jay didn't seem to like that particular nipple. Knowing he liked sucking on his binky, which was by Nuk, we decided to give their bottles a try which seem to work great for us!

Some of the highlights of the Nuk bottles:

• Airflow nipples to help reduce colic
• Orthodontic nipples promote healthy teeth formation
• The nipples are clear silicone (no worrying about a possible latex allergy)
• They simulate and support breastfeeding so you don't have to stress too much about nipple confusion if you're also breastfeeding

They also come in various colors and designs and in a 5oz bottle and 10oz bottle which you can buy individually for around $5 or in a 3 pack for $12.97 (at Walmart).

The pacifiers comes in different colors and designs as well - Jay has the standard Nuk "boy" set which includes 1 blue one with sailboats and 1 green one with butterflies, as well as one of the sports sets which has one with a football design and another with a baseball design.

The benefits of the Nuk pacifiers:

• Conforms to baby’s mouth just like mother’s breast during feeding
• Orthodontic design gently exercises tongue, palate and jaw 
• Promotes proper teeth alignment
• NUK Air System allows nipple to self-adjust for proper fit
• Grooves in the pacifier shield allow air to circulate helping to prevent skin irritation

Another baby must-have I've found is the Baby ESP app for Android.

This handy app makes it easy for you to keep track of when your baby ate and how much, when their last poop or pee was, when they slept and for how long, among other daily baby things one would keep track of. It's really come in handy, especially with Jay's growth/eating issues as I can keep track of how much he's eating daily to see if he's eating enough as well as if he's "stooling" enough so when the doctor asks I can easily give him an answer. It also creates a profile for your baby, showing you exactly how old your kiddo is!

Rather than spend money on other trackers, if you have a smartphone, it's worth the $3.99 for the full version of this app if you have a baby and need to keep an eye on that sort of stuff.

You can find it in the Android Market or get it from their official site - Baby ESP.