baby gear

Registry Update: Health & Safety

by erin |

Yay – it’s the last installment of my registry update! Today I’m sharing which healthy & safety products I loved, hated and have purchased in multiples over the past nine months. I hope this series has been helpful for you, and for those of you embarking on your own registry experience – I wish you the best! I’m sure you’ll have your own list of must-haves and regrets, but know that no list of products can ever top a parent’s love! Now on to the list…

1. DISH SOAP
For handwashing baby bottles (and more!), baby-safe dish soap is a great idea. BabyGanics natural dish soap received great reviews for its all-natural ingredients.
Update: We love this in a crazy way and have been through multiple bottles. I highly recommend if you’re looking for a more natural dish soap option. A+!

2. SAFETY KIT
A health and safety kit might not have the highest quality of baby products included (nasal aspirators, thermometers and nail clippers are two items I’d invest in), but it’s great to have everything on hand until you find out what works great for you and baby – and what you truly use.
Update: I love that we had such an inexpensive set on hand, because we quickly realized which products we didn’t need (emery board, gum massager, medicine syringe, alcohol swabs, finger toothbrush, pacifier medicine dispenser, comb, forehead thermometer) and which ones we did (digital ear thermometer, nasal aspirator, nail clippers, brush). Speaking of nasal aspirators (we’ll get to the thermometer later!), a kind reader sent us the Nosefrida and I’m a believer! It sounds incredibly gross, but works like a charm. A+!

3. LAUNDRY DETERGENT
For baby’s sensitive skin, a special laundry detergent is in order. I love Mrs. Meyer’s Baby Blossom laundry detergent for its fresh scent and gentle ingredients.
Update: You guys, I love, love, love the smell of this. It’s fresh but not too perfumey, and we now wash ALL of our clothes in baby detergent. A+!

4. BABY THERMOMETER
A rectal thermometer generally gives the most accurate reading for babies, so it’s a definite bonus to include on your registry.
Update: Holy crap. I have no earthly idea what I was thinking registering for a rectal thermometer when I knew I wouldn’t be able to stomach using it (I’m such a softie when it comes to Bee’s tears). My husband quickly purchased this one instead and it works great. F for me!

5. GAS RELIEF DROPS
Babies are prone to swallowing lots of air, which can lead to an upset stomach. Gas relief drops are a must for a well-stocked medicine cabinet!
Update: Another kind reader sent me Gripe Water when I mentioned Bee was fussy, so we never used the above gas relief drops (I didn’t love all of the ingredients listed!). Gripe Water didn’t quite work for Bee (she vomited the first few times we gave it to her), but she also wasn’t abnormally gassy, either. Either way, I’m giving myself a D for this pick, simply because I didn’t research each of the ingredients before picking the above. I will note that although we are super picky about any remedies we give to Bee,  I’m not a health professional and we’re just doing our best to read the labels and use our own judgment. So far, we haven’t had to give Bee any medications, thank goodness!

6. NOSE DROPS
Saline spray/drops are great for babies who might be prone to allergies or stuffy noses. A great idea to have on hand when traveling or during seasonal changes in weather.
Update: We never used these; Bee’s a pretty healthy baby! F for this pick, although I could see it would be nice to have on hand if necessary. (I’d recommend these drops now that I’ve done a bit more research!)

7. BABY-PROOFING NEEDS
Cabinet locks and outlet plugs won’t be needed for a few months, but they’re nice to have on hand a bit early. Time flies, right?
Update: We still haven’t ventured into cabinet lock territory, but the outlet plugs have definitely come in handy! A+.

8. DISH DETERGENT
Baby-safe dish detergent is a good idea if you plan to machine wash those bottles, nipples, teethers and more. Again, I like BabyGanics dish washer detergent because it’s organic with all-natural ingredients.
Update: You know, this detergent did a pretty bad job of actually cleaning the dishes, so we hand-wash anything Bee uses with the dish soap I shared above. But for our dishes, we like this detergent!

9. BABY MONITOR
We’re actually using a hand-me-down monitor from years ago, but for an affordable, high-quality model, try Angelcare’s baby sound monitor. The screen is digital and transmission is super clear so you can lay your worries to rest. (Lord knows we’ll need all the rest we can get, right?)
Update: I can’t speak to this particular monitor, but I do know that we love having an oldie monitor without a video screen. I can’t even imagine how hard it would be to watch Bee crying from her crib (it’s hard enough to listen to!) when she’s fighting sleep. Personally, I give traditional monitors an A+!

10. FEVER REDUCER
When baby is sick, the last thing you want is to take a trip to the drugstore. Have fever reducer infant drops on hand for those just-in-case moments.
Update: Again, we’re pretty wary of giving Bee any medication, and luckily, she’s never had a serious fever. I can’t speak to the above, but I do think it’s likely good to have on hand (although I hope you never have to use it, Mamas!).

11. ANTIHISTAMINE
Another just-in-case medication to keep on hand, Benadryl syrup is great for seasonal allergy relief.
Update: I’m a broken record here, but Bee’s pretty healthy, so we haven’t needed this either (but I do feel good having it in the house just in case!).

Happy registering, Mamas!!!

  • I was skeptical of the video monitor before we were gifted one when Glory was born…and it has turned out to be one of our favorite baby items! It really helped us pause and not rush in to her room, which I feel ultimately helped her start sleeping through the night early on. You can also turn the screen off and use it like a traditional sound monitor.

    I’ve been enjoying your registry updates! :)

    -Whitney

    • Oh I didn’t realize you could turn the screen off! So smart. And I think you’re right – there are definitely times I’ve wondered if it was a “real cry” or a fake cry at the beginning – and a video monitor certainly would make for a fun activity to watch her chew on the side of her crib (you’d be amazed at how many teeth marks are on that thing!). :) I don’t know if I could restrain myself some watching her nap and feeling warm and fuzzy(!), so I’d likely have to keep the screen off. Ha. Thanks for sharing, Whitney!

  • I love this series, at my playgroup yesterday all the mamas were talking about registries and what we would change! :) One thing to note with medication is that, in my opinion, it really isn’t that useful to keep it on hand unless you live far way from a store. I think it is much better to drive out and get the medication when you need it rather than discovering that the Benadryl you registered for is past its expiration date. Like you, we avoid medications whenever possible–my son had Tylenol once, and then I discovered that it had been recalled in the big Tylenol recall a few years ago, and I’ve been especially wary since. Thankfully he is so healthy! When he has an earache I’ve always treated with garlic oil and he’s never had to have antibiotics!

    • OH, that is an AWESOME tip, Martha – thank you! (I think you’re right about having these on hand, yes! It’s kind of pointless to buy them when we live 2 minutes from the grocery, right?) :)

  • We have a Vic’s forehead thermometer but I don’t like it and have been wanting to switch that up – we’ll try this ear one. We’ve given Forrest baby tylenol at Dr.’s ok, just a tiny dose for teething pain and fever reduction, with no bad side effects. He actually seemed to like the saline spray up the nose when I’ve used it. Babyganics is a great line and I just switched to their Healin Groovy diaper cream (LOVE!!), but we’ve been using 7th Gen dish soap. Love our old fashioned, no video monitor. And I would recommend cuticle scissors for clipping baby nails – Forrest’s seem so thin that the baby clippers wouldn’t really clip, so we switched to scissors. = )

    • I love your tips so much, Jamie! Such a smart tip re: the scissors! (I’ll admit that I’m still terrified to clip Bee’s nails, so Ken has that job!). :)

  • We’re very into finding the “natural”, minimal ingredient alternative to medicines as well, but I have to tell you, I’ve bought two of those Babyganics saline nose drops now from two different locations and both times they were contaminated! The liquid was brown and smelled like maple syrup right out of the box. I now only get the Little Noses kind because I just don’t trust the quality control of the BG ones. We live in MN and have been through a LOT of saline drops this winter!

  • I did giggle when I read about the rectal thermometer last summer! ;-) But I knew at the time that you wanted to do what is best and that’s what gives the best reading! (I knew you would learn that one on your own.) But yea, once that baby comes the idea of using one goes out the window! (It’s hard enough to hold it under their arm!) Can you believe our moms actually put those old mercury glass thermometers “you know where?”

  • Now that Luke is 4 and 1/2 (how the hell did that happen!?) I sometimes wish I had a video monitor to watch him after I shut the bedroom door at night because he is allowed to keep his light on until 8.00. When I check on him at 10.00 or so, his bed is always littered with books and toys that were not there when I closed the door at 7.30. It would be hilarious to watch him. Excellent series!

    • OMG seriously – how DID THAT HAPPEN?!?! And man, that would be so heart-warming to see, yes!

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  • I LOVE LOVE LOVE Babyganics. It’s a bummer that the gal above got some bad nose drops. I’ve bought them several times here in Alaska and they’ve always been helpful. I use their dish soap and sunscreen for my (now) 6 month old and even use the sun screen for myself!

  • I would add the NoseFrida nasal aspirator, it works so well. gets stuffy noses a good clean.

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