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Vicks Early Defense hand sanitizer kept us healthy all through January, when everyone in the universe had a cold or the flu. It is supposed to kill the germs on your hands PLUS any germ you come into contact with for 3 hours or so. Just long enough to get us through the Children's Museum.

I could not live without my Kangaroo Korner sling. Those folks should pay me commission, because I sing its praises wherever I go. My only regret is that my little one has outgrown it.

Amy @ http://prettybabies.blogspot.com

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Personally I love the sleep sacks - like this one on Amazon - they were ideal for putting my son to sleep during the newborn stage when blankets are a no no. I also love the baby gowns for that age range during the day - so easy for diaper changing!

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We could not have survived without our Baby Papasan Swing. I'll admit that our son napped in that thing for the first seven months of his life when nothing else would work for us. It was definitely a life saver, albeit not the most aesthetically pleasing item to have in our living room.

I have to second the glowing recommendation for the Miracle Blanket. Did I mention he was often swaddled while swinging? You do what you have to do at that point for a few hours of shut-eye.

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Vibrating chair. This is how I took showers every morning. Yes, seriously, I had a shower every day when my little one was an infant. I put him in a Fisher Price vibrating chair with music and all the bells and whistles. He couldn't resist sleeping in it and, by placing the chair in the bathroom with me, where I could see and hear him easily, even in the shower, I got the much needed refreshment of feeling squeaky clean that helped me face the day.

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Baby sling and mei tai baby wrap (didn't try the mei tai until my baby was four months old, but wish I'd tried it sooner). With my baby securely strapped to me, I felt like I could finally get out of the house which made such a huge difference in my mental state.

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I love the Aden + Anais blankets - they are muslin wraps and perfect for swaddling. They also don't allow overheating. They are so soft and light - just perfect. They make other products that are nice as well, but the muslin wraps are perfect.

http://pregnancy.about.com/od/babyproducts/gr/adenanaiswrap.htm

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I couldn't live without my Swaddle Me blankets. My baby hulk could bust out of the tightest swaddle that anyone could possibly construct- and somehow would manage to do it JUST...as I was... drifting...off to sleep ...for the first time in 12 hours! The swaddle me allowed me to jail him long enough for us both to get some decent shut eye. Plus, he would love it in the morning when I would rip the velcro back and say "I reLEASE you!" in that goofy voice!

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A friend recommended the My Brest Friend nursing pillow -- it's amazing. I was able to have a free hand while breastfeeding for the telephone, remote control, a sandwich, even typing on the computer.

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With our third I couldnt have lived without
1) The Miracle Blanket - he couldnt sleep without being swaddled, and this was a life saver. If we have another baby, I will get two.
2) the Sleep Sheep - a white noise stuffed sheep that plays four different soothing sounds. When he was very new, it was the hearbeat, then he graduated to the ocean with whales. I admit it lulled me to sleep on more then one occasion. Plus, the noise machine can easly slip out and be put into the car seat for drives. Perfect!
3) my Hotsling. I could plop him down in the sling and actually accomplish something. He was also protected from random strangers grubby hands while out and about.

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Word to the papasan swing!

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All I could say is "BOPPY PILLOW" It worker wonders!! I was able to do so many things with her in that thing!

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I second the Boppy! It came in handy for breastfeeding, then bottle feeding, helping my husband get used to holding the baby... I also have to second the vibrating chair; I also put the baby in it in the bathroom with me while I showered and he usually went to sleep, until he got older and started playing with the toys that were attached.

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American Red Cross Hospital-Style Nasal Aspirator made by The First Years. Specifically this one because it's the large bulb type and the plastic seems softer for easier compression and expansion.

The second is not any product in particular, but for both our kids my wife breastfed/pumped. While we were on the go, we'd bring bottles of milk with us. Automotive warmers are horrible, so often times for our first child I had to look for a store that would sell me a cup of hot water to warm his bottle. When my daughter was born I decided to but a thermos large enough to fit the bottle in. So any where we went where there was a possibility of not finding hot water, we'd bring the thermos with us. Hindsight of course is 20/20 and my daughter cries alot less on long road trips.

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Swaddle Me blankets - We had 4...2 at home and 2 for daycare. She loved supertight swaddling until she was like 7 months old and these were so easy and closed securely so grandma, daycare, etc. could handle them. I had the Miracle Blanket, too but it was too confusing for most of them.

Hotsling - holy crap I can DOOOO SOMETHING! I remember that feeling of freedom when I was finally brave enought to try a sling. Many hours of sanity-saving blog surfing and mall walking (it was winter) were accomplished with that thing. And I still use it now that she's almost 2. No moving parts or yards of fabric to wrap. I never went anywhere without it.

White noise - it was the only thing that allowed her to sleep through the noise of our creaky wood floors in our old house. Not to mention the "click, click" of our dogs claws on those floors. We just downloaded an hour long track to an old iPod with portable speakers and she slept through everything. We still use it when we travel to block out new noises.

(can you tell the book "Happiest Baby On The Block" was a lifesaver in our newborn days? Maybe add that to the list, too!)

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I am just coming out of the brand-new-baby stage (my son just turned 3 months) and there are a ton of things I couldn't live without. Since this baby didn't love the Miracle Blanket with all his heart, like his brother did, I can't list it as my #1 favorite things anymore.

But one quirky thing that my husband and I have used throughout every day since baby was born is the Itzbeen Timer. I *love* that thing! It marks how long they have slept, been fed, changed, and another random button that I use for timing pumping. It was a lifesaver in the early weeks when we had to monitor how often he ate. But my favorite part is the soft little light - it makes diaper changes and everything else easier at 3 am. It turns off after 10 mintes, so you don't waste the batteries when you pass out with the light still on. I would give this to any new parent - it helps replace the brain you lost the day the baby was born. :)

Our best Itzbeen moment came this morning when I saw baby had slept for 8 hours and 41 minutes. Ahhhh... such sweet numbers!

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When I was prego, we were so excited we bought everything possible before he was born. When he came, we realized that nothing we owned could soothe him, he wanted to be carried all. the. time. So my BF bought us the Fisher Price Aquarium swing. Why didn't we think to buy that? It's the best invention ever. It gave us a half hour break three times a day. Only bummer is it only used batteries, four D batteries at that. It was WELL worth it though.

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I think my experiences are just a little different from the typical new Mom's in that I never had one baby at a time. I always seem to have litters of children. With my first pregnancy, I had triplets, efficiency was key. I just wanted to get things done in as quick a time as possible and then go to sleep/eat/shower.
I found the Bottle Bundle http://www.twinsmagazine.com/little_wonders.html to be a huge help. It helped me to prop up the bottle at a great angle, so that I could move around, burping, wiping, and adjusting all the other babies. It was kind of like that second set of hands we all wish for. I also used Boppy pillows for EVERYTHING. Nursing, playing, sitting, propping, tummy time... You name it, we did it on the Boppy.
With my second Litter of kids, I found things to be slightly more manageable b/c it was only twins this time. Having one LESS child made things easier. However in those 13 months between litters, innovative new developments were made on the baby front. They now had Swings that ::GASP:: PLUGGED IN. No more digging in a drawer at 4am looking for 4 D batteries. God Bless the Woman who thought of this... I also worshipped Haba's Pacifier Clips http://www.barebabies.com/haba1047.html . I didn't like the plastic clip on styles that I could buy at my local Target. I wanted something a bit more hip... These were perfect. Totally affordable, and very sturdy. We love them and have every style now!

www.jbrooke7.typepad.com

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My absolute biggest life saver was the Halo Sleepsack swaddle wearable blanket https://www.halosleep.com/ I could not swaddle a regular baby blanket to save my life, and with this you put on the sleep sack and it has the swaddle swatch of fabric with velcro that you bundle them in...perfect and so easy! My other life saver was the Dr Karp book "The Happiest Baby on the Block"

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herman miller scooter stand with wood top:
http://www.hermanmiller.com/CDA/SSA/Product/1,1592,a8-c1345-p156,00.html
i was able to read and surf on my computer while nursing the baby and holding her while she slept. saved my sanity in the wee hours of the morning.

the moby wrap and ergo baby carrier gave me two free arms to get stuff done around the house.

the boppy was absolutely essential

and finally, my nursing necklace (mommynecklaces.com) protected me from getting my face clawed by a very active and curious baby.

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