9 purchases that make parenthood easier (that aren’t specifically baby/toddler/kid items!)
Of course I’ve spent my fair share on products/items/subscriptions/etc that ARE specifically baby/toddler/kid related, but I wanted to share some non baby items that have made my life easier as a parent. Most of which are pretty versatile and obviously can be used whether you have kids or not! And (the biggest bonus!) you’ll be able to continue to use them after you’re out of the baby/toddler/kid phase!
we use these to put some snacks in for Ruth. They’re airtight but she can very easily open and close them on her own. this way she can get herself a snack by herself (not every snack but if she wants something that’s in one of these containers she can get it herself. more on how we encourage healthy, age appropriate independence in an upcoming blog post!) so it’s a double bonus, keeps food fresh AND makes it so that we don’t have to get every single snack for ruth.
unless you’re 1028294% hell bent on never having your babies / toddlers / kids sleep in your bed with you (even if you are hell bent on this it still might happen - which is why I recommend knowing how to practice safer bedsharing juuuuust in case) I highly recommend a king size bed so there’s amble room for everyone. we bought this crib (because it’s low tox and very affordable!) and this nontoxic crib mattress and maybe used the set up….20 times? I’m glad we have it and I plan to bring it back out for baby number two but seeing as Ruth has slept in our bed majority of her life, I’m definitely glad we upgraded to a king size before her arrival! we went with this brand since it’s GREENGUARD Gold Certified and CertiPUR-US Certified, making it a relatively affordable low tox mattress option!
okay to 99% of you this might seem like an obvious no brainer but Edgar and I have been STRICT french press only people for probably the past 8 years or so and have rarely brought ourselves to use a drip (coffee snobs I suppose you could say.) but for awhile during Ruth’s first year of life we got a cheap drip machine to save a little time/make life a little easier. using a french press really isn’t that labor intensive but it does take a little more time/effort than a drip machine and sometimes that little bit of time/effort saved makes all the difference when you’re a busy parent! the cheap drip coffee maker we had broke so we went back to the french press (ruth was also a little older and it didn’t seem like as big of a deal to spend the extra time to use the press again!) and while we really do love our french press (highly recommend a double wall stainless steel to help keep it warm…and less likely to break!), I just ordered us this coffee maker that has a 12 cup pot option OR a single cup option which I think will be ideal for when I’m home alone with two kids and just need one more cup of coffee in the early afternoon. it’s also pretty aesthetically pleasing to keep on our countertop! it’s also programmable so that Edgar has one less thing to do in the morning (he gets up before everyone else to start getting ready for work so he makes our coffee every single day!
I specifically LOVE the fitness app I use because it has strength, cardio, and restorative workouts for all conditions. pregnant, postpartum, or not.
fitness & meditation app subscriptions:
making time to go to the gym just isn’t in the cards right now (lol who am I kidding, I’ve always been an active person but I’ve never really been a gym person, anyways.) having an app with pregnancy & postpartum safe exercises/a variety of types of exercise/etc. is SO handy. It helps me stay active around the needs of my family (and take good care of my pelvic floor and abdominal muscles pre/post baby!) as far as medication apps - I find them to be SO helpful in guiding me during a mini meditation. for me, meditation is usually only 2-10 minutes max because I just can’t make more time than that for it but that’s okay! In the past I’ve set an alarm to remind myself to actually do it and more recently I’ve habit stacked it into my day- every single day I put Ruth down for a nap so when I leave after she falls asleep, before I do anything else I do a little meditation/mindful/deep breathing. (bonus if I bring out grounding essential oils too!)
I don’t expect my house to be spotless 24/7 but being able to quickly vacuum up crumbs/dirt/sand/play doh/whatever and not have to haul out the big heavy vacuum. it’s also more effective than sweeping most of the time. I feel weirdly obsessed with our cordless vac but I can honestly say it’s well worth the investment! Ruth loves using it too! It can shorten to be more of a handheld vacuum size and comes with several different heads for all your cleaning needs. the ONLY downside is that the battery only lasts about a half hour or so.
similar to the cordless vacuum, a steam mop is the easiest (and least toxic!) way for me to keep our floors clean. (also it’s SO satisfying and such a mood booster, for me anyways!) the one I got is aesthetically pleasing because I’m that person. just add water (I add a cap of thieves household cleaner too because it’s such a natural cleaning powerhouse AND it smells delightful!) and sanitize your floors in no time! highly recommend if you have babies crawling around or toddlers who aren’t the cleanest of eaters.
between the spit up, milk leaks, leaky diapers, bed wetting, etc etc etc these have been SUCH a lifesaver since becoming parents. just toss it in the wash and you don’t have to worry about trying to scrub/clean any liquids out of your mattress! we bought ours through tuft & needle and recently also picked up these washable/reusable incontinence pads for Ruth’s bed and for our king bed. long story short, Ruth has been “potty trained” since she was 18 months or so during the day and mostly at night too! but, she’s been having an overnight accident every 1-2 weeks lately (and REFUSES a pull up/diaper) so these are nice to not have to wash all of her bedding! I got one for our king bed too because I’m planning a home birth in a couple months (not sure that I’ll give birth in our bed or not) and because postpartum/life with a newborn is….wet…and messy.
if you haven’t heard of thrive market yet you’re missing out! they offer 1000s of food and household items hat are clean/organic/low tox/diet specific (gf, vegan, raw, paleo, etc!) at a pretty significant discount from what you would pay at the store! we became members 4 years ago (btw you can apply for a FREE membership if you’re a teacher, student, nurse, first responder, veteran, or family in need!) the monthly subscription is totally optional but it makes the most sense for our family. you can also just place orders whenever you want! so not only does it save us money, getting as many things delivered to my house as possible (and not having to do as much grocery shopping with a toddler in tow) is a HUGE bonus! we get lots of pantry staples from them, some household/personal care products and such from them. I’ve heard great things about their disposable diapers which we also might grab for our next baby when we aren’t using reusables. you can become a member and order sporadically or opt into their subscription (which saves a little extra money and has no strings attached!)
young living membership/subscription:
another subscription/membership that we’ve had for many years now but has proven to be even more convenient with a toddler running around. if you don’t know about young living, they’re the world leader in quality essential oils (they do very rigorous testing, grow everything without pesticides/chemicals, source from the best farmers, use regenerative and sustainable farming practices, harvest and distill at the best times/ etc.) so of course they make a huge range of essential oils with many uses but they also make a whole line of household cleaning products, personal care items, etc that are all low tox/clean/SAFE AROUND BABIES/KIDS/TODDLERS/PETS/YOU/ME/ETC. we get lots of staples from them like our cleaning products, ruth’s bath wash, lotions, deodorants, etc. both the membership and subscription options save you money (the subscription saves you more money/gets you rewards and has zero strings attached!) a super simple way to get non toxic household items shipped right to your house (because WHO has time to sit and read ingredient labels when they’re out shopping to make sure the shampoo you’re about to buy won’t cause cancer or headaches or hormone disruption or liver problems or or or???)
they have a HUGE product line and the peace of mind knowing everything I buy from them is non toxic is 100000% worth it.
there ya have it! I’m sure there is more I could add to this list but as of right now, these are my tried and true purchases that have in little and big ways made me life easier as a parent. I hope they help you too!
