Since baby girl was born, my favorite, I can’t-live-without-you products have changed! For instance, my makeup bag has had a drastic makeover along with my beauty regimen. Let’s put it this way, I worked full time and always dressed to the nines, jewelry included. I was never without heels, lipstick, my nails were always done and my hair was either flat ironed or curled – never in a pony. Now, I wear the most minimal of makeup if I remember to put it on, or better yet, remember to bring it with me in my diaper bag to put it on in the car. And while I am at home, I don’t wear anything. Seriously – I don’t have any time at all to put on make up. If I open the door to the bathroom, Mattelyn pulls all of the toilet paper off the roll, shuts her finger in the vanity door and has her hand in the toilet while looking up at me with a piece of dog food in her mouth, because yes, I left the kitchen to walk to the bathroom – all in a matter of one minute and she is only ten months old.
This is what’s in my new makeup bag AND my simplified beauty regimen (if you can believe it). I am tired because of a huge lack of sleep with a new baby and sleep deprivation takes a toll on my face, specifically lines and under eyes. That’s why I include at least these whenever I can. While it looks like I have an apparent lack of brand loyalty, actually, these brands are all my favorites that I have been using religiously for YEARS – I just believe certain brands are better at certain things. Simple. I can do it all in two minutes. And on special occasions, I will add eye brow pencil (MAC) and mascara (Maybelline – the pink and green Great Lash Waterproof Mascara bottle we all used in high school – still my favorite and works the best). For my face care, I use what I have for years, Clinique’s Repairwear Laser Focus Cream and Oil of Olay Regenerist Microsculpting Cream. I wear these both everyday, no matter what. On all of my face but specifically on my neck and under my eyes – when I wake up and before I go to bed. The Clinique BB or CC cream has 30 SPF in it and offers minimal coverage so that you don’t have a “cakey” look. I love the MAC shimmer blush in a dewey peach color and my favorite go to Revlon Color Stay Lipstick in Endless Spice (it is effectively a shade darker than my natural lip color and it DOESN’T come off!) I have been using it since it came out, sometime in the mid-90’s!!! I even wear it to the dentist and I have had everyone from clients to my hair salon specialist ask me what I wear. Always the same answer for years.
According to my husband, I was apparently picky when it came to the high chair for our house. I felt like the big fluffy plastic highchairs (that remind me of car seats on a stool) would always be in my way in the kitchen and nothing I wanted to look at. Not that it wasn’t a necessity – she needed a high chair. I just wasn’t in love with all of the big sellers out there. I mean, there are at least twenty lined up at every store we went to and they all looked the same – nothing I loved. I wanted something that looked more like actual furniture. Matt wasn’t sold on that. And then we saw the Peg Perego Siesta in this unique orange color that would look awesome in the kitchen. And it wasn’t like an inflated plastic car seat, but rather designed. I liked it instantly and was surprised when he asked me if I liked it because he did. It is a great chair – I love the color, I love that it reclined when she was really little and would fall asleep in her chair. I love that it folds up and lowers to below table top and goes between our table and the wall (watch the video on their Website). It was perfect.
I was the perfect candidate for the Keurig when it first came out. But I didn’t get one until I had the baby. I say I was a perfect candidate because I am the type of person that would make a pot of coffee and end up drinking the entire pot not realizing that I had until I had a splitting headache I couldn’t figure out how I got and was buzzed out of my mind from caffeine. And lets be honest! When you have the baby everything is literally taken away from you – but you can at least relish in a good cup of Joe!
A trendy little wristlet purse is such a necessity! My best friend got me this Coach for Christmas and before this one, my hubby bought me a beautiful leather yellow Coach wristlet. The point is, everything is about the baby – nothing is about you. Make this one little statement piece about you. This is one piece that doesn’t have to be affected by the fact that you just had a baby (other than the downsizing of the purse from a statement bag to a wristlet insert in the diaper bag!) 
This little clutch is perfect for every occasion and fits perfectly into the diaper bag and when baby is asleep and you’re out, you can easily grab it from the diaper bag and go. It’s stylish and a little bit the old you. I keep my wallet, lipstick, a small bottle of baby lotion and iPhone in the wristlet purse.
The Infantino Fresh Squeezed Baby Food Storage Line was how we decided to freezer store Mattelyn’s homemade baby food. We stood in the baby store for probably half an hour staring at all of the baby food storage containers. Just like with everything else you buy as new parents, it is by complete trial and error that we ended up with this over any of the others. I mean, shopping before a baby is born, registering for everything you will need for a baby you have never had or experienced, is just ludicrous. We were the blind leading the blind. We actually chose the Dr. Brown’s Bottle kit and everything else Dr. Brown because it was our last name. 
There is no way to read about every brand and there is no way to know what you really should get unless you have someone telling you what they used – and even then, they probably only used the one product and brand that they decided on the same way. Anyway, we chose this because it seemed to answer what I wanted which was to store the food I was planning to make and take up minimal space in the freezer. And that is true. It has also been convenient taking it with us to grandma and grandpa’s. Since I make a lot of her food, this ended up a really good buy that I use weekly.
The Electrolux Ergorapido Lightweight Vacuum Cleaner is the COOLEST and smartest product for a new parent. I am not kidding – this takes the cake. My sister-in-law told us about how she uses hers everyday and we witnessed it at Christmas. Matt ordered one as soon as we got home. It is super lightweight, it stays plugged-in in the kitchen where it is always accessible and it swivels. It picks up EVERYTHING including Cheerios and dog food. Yes, dog food. Three really cool features, one – it comes in a ton of colors, we bought the orange one that matches the high chair perfectly, two – it has a built in “dust buster” that you can remove and vacuum your high chair and table top, three – it vacuums really, really well on hardwood, tile AND carpet. Now, I go around the house everyday sometimes twice a day with this little vacuum spot cleaning where the dog was, after people that track nature into the house, and anywhere the baby is going to be crawling. This is one of my favorite things.
A guy friend of ours from college (and a fellow dad) recommended that we get the Shark Steam and Spray Mop to steam clean the hardwood and tile floors in our kitchen and living areas. And wow does it WORK! The floors are so clean after I use it it is actually ADDICTIVE. It is such a great idea with a baby crawling around since it doesn’t use harsh chemicals or cleaners. It just uses steam to clean and sanitize. It swivels 180 degrees and has a “headlight.” Couldn’t agree more this was another must have for new parents. We love it. And I feel less guilty about what she is putting in her mouth all day (a little less guilty).
I have rambled long enough and realized I am really just going through my day listing off everything that I use now that baby is here – and everything that I use differently since her birth! I have about twenty more products but will save that for another installment of my exciting blog…
If there are other new products you think would make my life easier or better or something you found you just couldn’t live without, please do share! Next time, I am going to share my camera, my iMac, stroller blanket, teething cover for expensive wood crib, digital photo frame and carseat canopies…get excited…
Until next time I get the urge to share my life!
XO ~ Stephanie
My Brown Baer Cub 