Best of Baby Things : Asheville Baby Must-Haves by mother of two and Designer Lex Layton

I'm taking some time off from client work as I tend to my baby River James, born on September 8 of last year, which makes him one year old on Sunday! While I'm home with my little love, and often with my big little love, my daughter Hazel, I've had time to ruminate on how and what I want to share with folks.

Last year, I intended to create a blog where I shared multiple times a month about DIY and client design projects with some personal lifestyle stuff sprinkled in. My desire to share came from both excitement about what we are doing at LLI, and craving connection-I've found becoming a parent and solo business owner in a new place where I hadn't planted roots or established deep friendships was leaving me feeling isolated and lonely at times. I wanted to carve out a little corner of the web-verse where I could share and anyone who wanted to listen and join the conversation was invited. What I did not anticipate was a booming business year with a workload that was both incredibly fun and full, a very physically and emotionally challenging pregnancy, and deepening connections with friends filling our schedules. All that is to say, suddenly keeping up with a blog felt like a distant dream evaporating with every new chaotic day before me.

So, over a year after my fist blog post I have finally arrived at my desktop-baby asleep for a nap and my eldest at Kindergarten-to share some of my tried and true picks for parents of babies, and for the postpartum mama.

When I was pregnant with my first child back in 2018 I was, as most new parents are, pretty clueless about what I actually needed. It's a whole new universe to shop. And of course in the beginning you learn that you really don't need much. More meals delivered and help with laundry, less cute-but-impractical baby outfits please! There are some tried and true winners to assist in getting through and -dare I say even smiling through?!- the beauty and often madness of new baby parenting. Here are my go-to's after trying a lot with my first baby and learning so much in between baby 1 & 2. My hope is to save any new or returning parent the headache of searching endlessly on baby registry sites, which I found super overwhelming-and if you have a friend, niece or daughter etc that is pregnant- this list may be helpful for gifting. You can click and add to your registry if you have one, or simply add to your own shopping cart.

Lex's Tried and True Favorite Baby Items

1. Weleda Baby Calendula Diaper Cream clean, safe and it really works on those cute lil bottoms.

2. Percale Cotton Changing Pad Super cozy, high quality made from natural fibers- easy to wash, will last for years.

3. The Original Marpac Dohm White Noise Sound Machine A tried and true classic, the original, the best IMO. We have 3!

4. Ergobaby Omni 360 All-Position Baby Carrier I have tried s o m a n y baby carriers, and this right here is the tried and true favorite for both myself and my kids' dad when it comes to baby-wearing with comfort and ease. They are often available on your local Marketplace or consignment store- locally we love to shop The Littlest Birds!

5. Solly Baby Wrap Sooo helpful for those early months with a newborn. Beautifully made in USA, high quality and again easily found on consignment.

6. Hatch Rest Go Portable Sound Machine A portable sound machine is a newborn baby must IMO. Give me a product that works really well, the battery lasts a long time, and it's aesthetically pleasing.. sold.

7. Elevate Utility "Diaper and Beyond" Bag Arguably the most complimented item I own. This bag is a workhorse, she's beautiful, she's timeless, ethically made and transitions into a perfect travel or work bag you'll use long after the baby phase has passed.

8. Plan Toys Sailboat Toy I haven't met a Plan Toys product I haven't loved, and these little water (and land) toys do not disappoint.

9. Jellycat Touch and Feel Board Book A household favorite for both babies.

10. Manhatten Toy Soft Baby Photo Book I love this book and our little guy loves looking at photos of his family and himself.

11. FRIGG Natural Rubber "Binkie" or Pacifier Made in Denmark, so many cute color and style variations. The only "binkie" our guy will take. We use the nightlight ones that glow in the dark and they are a middle of the night lifesaver!

12. The Original Silver Nursing Cups a Godsend.

13. Legendairy Milk Lactivist Drops When my little guy was 3mo we all came down with the most awful flu. My milk supply plummeted and I tried e v e r y t h i n g to increase my supply to no avail. A midwife friend recommended these drops and they were the only thing that gave me the results I so desperately needed!

14. Mushie Waterproof Bib So many cute colors & patterns, easy clean-up.

15. Baby Bathtub Digital Temperature Thermometer-Whale Takes the stress out of making sure the bathwater is a safe and comfortable temp for babe.

16. Dimmable & Portable Nightlight for Night Feeding and Changing So helpful!

17. Stainless Steel Warm Mist Humidifier Easy to clean basin and won't get moldy.

18. Baby Nail Trimmer, Electric Didn't know I needed this until I had it. It is an absolute game changer. I accidentally snipped my son's skin when he was really little and it scarred me for life. This product takes the terror out of nail trimming.

19. Muffy Baby Ear Protection for Babies & Toddlers - CE & ANSI Certified These have come in handy for many occasions- 4th of July fireworks, live music events, sitting on dad's lap while he mows the lawn...

20. Molly's Suds Baby Laundry Detergent Great for all babies, including those with extra sensitive skin.

21. ECOs Stain Remover Powder Tried and true, this stuff works (and you're going to need it).

22. Miss Mouth's Messy Eater Stain Treat Spray Can you ever have too many clean stain treating products as a parent? This came recommended by a fellow mom and again, it works really well- particularly for food stains.

23. The Honest Company Clean Conscious Diapers For our first child we went the cloth diaper route- and it was honestly a good experience. But I didn't save our cloth collection and so we decided to use disposable with baby no.2. Honest diapers have been our go-to favorite. They are soft, and we rarely have leaks or blowouts, and I feel good knowing they are not made with harmful chemicals that have the potential to harm the tender reproductive parts of my little one. Oh and the patterns are super cutie!

24. Huggies Natural Care Wipes These wipes are perfect for babies bottoms before they start eating solids.

25. Water Wipes My go-to wipes for the transition into solid foods and into the toddler years.

26. The First 40 Days:The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother A beautiful book!

27. The Mama Natural Week-by-Week Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth My pregnancy bible for both kids.

28. No Bad Kids:  Toddler Discipline Without Shame we are big fans of Janet Lansbury's work!

29. There's No Such Thing as Bad Weather: A Scandinavian Mom's Secrets for Raising Healthy, Resilient, and Confident Kids (from Friluftsliv to Hygge) I loved this read when I was pregnant.

One of many walks with my crew last autumn, River nestled in the Solly baby wrap.

Lex's Favorite Asheville Area Baby Goods Stores

1. The Littlest Birds, 3 S Tunnel Rd, Asheville, NC 28805

2. Nest Organics, 51 N Lexington Ave, Asheville, NC 28801

3. Playdate, Temporarily Closed

4. Duncan and York, 33 N Lexington Ave, Asheville, NC 28801

5. Dancing Bear Toys, 518 Kenilworth Rd, Asheville, NC 28805

   
   

Do you have a favorite baby item that you wouldn't want to live without during the first year? Share in comments, I'd love to hear!

Warmly,

Lex