There are a million products out there that are "must-haves" but that changes for each family. There are things my friends swear by that we hated or things I love that they hate. I wanted to put together a list of five items I use on a daily basis as a stay at home mom of two boys three and under. Having these things make our days run significantly smoother!
Video Baby Monitor-
We've had 3 different video monitors but the one we got most recently has been my favorite. I wish we had just spent a little more initially to buy this one! It pans the room, between the boys' beds, which saved us from having to buy two cameras. I use it every night and every naptime to check on them without going in the room. Once I go in the room its game over for naptime so checking the monitor to see how they're acting first saves their naps at least once a week. We had a camera we could check over wifi but it glitched a lot and both cameras broke after a year. When we need another camera for future kids, I plan to buy an extra camera to use with this monitor.
Cheerios-
No joke, we go through family sized boxes of cheerios constantly. They're great for breakfast, snacks, on-the-go, tide the boys over when supper isn't quite ready. I love to have the Honey Nut variety on hand but when we're going through baby-led weaning we keep the multi-grain kind because they can't have honey before one. We just recently tried the banana nut kind and those are delicious too! In all honesty, this could say any kind of cereal because we branch out sometimes but I prefer cheerios over anything else!
Ring Sling-
We have 3 kinds of baby carriers including a wrap, a soft structured carrier, and ring slings but slings are my favorite for every day use. My favorite brand is WildBird! We also have a Sakura Bloom and a Beachfront Baby for use at the pool. Once I got over the learning curve to using them I pull them out at least once a day. They're great for nursing hands free, settling Jax during the witching hour, keeping him contained while chasing Mav, and holding him while running errands. I love that I can easily stuff it in my diaper bag and it takes me less than a minute to put on or take off. I know it can be done but I don't know how anyone with more than one kiddo gets through their day without babywearing!
Pandora-
We have Pandora playing pretty much from the time we get up for the day until the kids go to bed. Every. Single. Day. I should honestly pay for the upgrade so we don't have to listen to ads but I'm trying to save money! Our playlists range from Disney to Christian to club music and lots of stuff in between. Chances are if you stop by our house we will have to turn the music down because it's usually blaring! It can shake us out of any funk or motivate us to get things done. Music is powerful! It also keeps us from having the tv playing all day long as background noise which is a bonus.
Kitchen Timer-
This is such a random one but I use our kitchen timer so often. I had been looking for an old school timer for a long time and was ecstatic when I found this one. I hate the timer on our oven so I use it whenever I cook or bake. I use it for the kids, when Mav needs to clean up or finish his food, when Jax was doing tummy time. I even use it when I'm speed cleaning the house. There's nothing wrong with the timer on my phone but I love using a physical timer! This one has held up being dropped and tossed, splashed with food and water, and being cranked over and over by a certain toddler. It didn't cost a lot and I love the simple look of it. I'm tempted to buy another one just in case it ever breaks down the road!
Some of these items you may have seen on must-have lists before and others may have thrown you for a loop. It will be fun to see if this list is still the same in 6 months or a year! Hopefully this some of these can help your day run a little smoother!
What are a few items you use on a daily basis? I'd love to know!
