Honesty Hour: The newborn phase is brutal. Nothing has tested me more than bringing home my tiny little bundle early this year. What did make it easier was having access to quality baby products. My little guy is only four months old, so I am by no means an experienced mama, but I know a good product when I see one. Today, I'm sharing with you my top 10 favorite baby products that my family has used and loved. They make life easier and they make my baby happy, which makes me happy! These products aren't sponsored, I just truly love them and want to share them with you!

These zip-up swaddles were given to us by my best friend as a shower gift. Her exact words to me were, "You don't know you need these, but you need these." They were a godsend. No more complicated swaddle blankets at three in the morning with your squirmy newborn in the dark. Just a quick zip and you're done! Bonus, my guy liked to have his hands up and these pods allow for that. 

This portable sound machine has saved our lives more times than I can count. It goes with us everywhere - and I mean, EVERYWHERE. We use it in the house, in the car, when we're out at a store or a restaurant. I'm not sure how people live without portable sound machines and this one is the best. It has several different sounds to toggle between. It holds a charge for an impressive amount of time - we probably charge it every other day or so and we use it constantly. The best part - It charges with a USB port so you're not messing around with batteries.

I thought this product was ridiculous but it's actually amazing. It's essentially a silicone spatula to apply butt-paste. Yes, it's silly, but you also need it. I don't know about you but I HATE applying diaper cream. It's messy and frankly, kind of gross. This saves you from the mess. Plus, it suctions right to your dresser or changing table. Just clean it with a baby wipe when you're done, stick it back to the table, and go. 

Trimming baby nails is terrifying. I've read one too many horror stories of mamas cutting off the tips of their sweet one's fingers or trimming too short and causing baby to bleed. I wasn't interested in that particular adventure, so I bought the ZoLi electric nail trimmer. Trimming Cal's nails is fast, easy, and stress-free. It comes with several emery board grits to change out as baby grows. I know we'll be trimming nails this way for quite some time. 

We were on the fence about a travel system, mostly due to cost. I'm so glad we pulled the trigger and I'm really happy with our selection. The Chicco Viaro Travel System is compatible with the Chicco KeyFit30 car seat. Choosing a car seat and stroller was such a stressful and daunting task while I was pregnant. I latched onto what the salesperson at Buy Buy Baby told me like a life raft - "The orange buttons all do something." This travel system is safe, easy to operate, lightweight, and convenient. I liked the Viaro over the Bravo because I found it easier to maneuver with three wheels vs. four. 

I was recommended this baby bath by many people, but I was skeptical for several reasons: this bath is plush and it gets extremely heavy and drippy. Ideally, you can wring out the bath and toss it in the dryer after a kitchen sink bath. Our laundry room is on our second floor, though, so I wasn't sold on the idea. We ended up registering for the Puj tub, which we thought we would love, but ended up hating. After rage-selling the Puj, I finally broke down and bought the Lotus bath and we love it so much more! It is comfortable and cute and fits perfectly in our kitchen sink. It ended up not being a big deal to bring it upstairs to dry it so I'm very glad we decided to go this route after all. 

I want to shout from the rooftops how much I love the Hatch! This sound machine has eleven different sounds to choose from, along with colors to select. You can program up to six "favorites" to customize sounds, colors, and volumes. Additionally, you can schedule "programs" for time to rise, naptime, and bedtime, in which Hatch will automatically turn on to your selected preferences. One setting I am looking forward to using is the "safe to wake" feature when Cal is a little older - The light shines red when it's quiet time, and changes to green when it's time to get out of bed. Best of all, I love that you can control the Hatch from an app on your phone. 

I will be the first to admit that I fought this purchase tooth and nail. My husband is a techy guy, but I was very resistant to spending $300 on a baby monitor. He finally wore me down and we bought the Nanit. Begrudgingly, I love it. I really do. The parent unit is an app on your phone, which can broadcast audio from the crib in the background whether you're looking at the video stream or not. It tracks nighttime and naptime insights and stats, so you can see what kind of night your little one had - How long it took to fall asleep, how long they were asleep vs. how long they spent in bed, plus how many check-in and out of bed visits there were. It also generates a day and night summary every day, in addition to a movement map. A lot of the technology is honestly over my head but I'm happy to say this purchase was worth the price tag. Nanit also has a line of breathing wear to track breathing and movement, but we have not delved into this yet. 

These products have made my day-to-day life with a baby easier and I hope they do the same for your family! Share these products with an expecting friend or add them to your own registry. Be on the lookout for my next post later this month, where I'll be sharing my favorite postpartum products!