Baby products! There are a lot of them out there. As a new mother it is difficult to decide which ones to buy. What will be useful and for how long? What are the pros and cons of the different varieties?

So here I am going to share my experiences with various baby products and what I found useful. These are only my personal opinions from personal experiences.

My favorite and most used baby product is the strap on baby carrier, so I have done a separate article on it. Here is a list of the rest.

Diaper Changing Station

This is probably the second most useful baby product I bought. I bought it from mothercare. The surface can be easily cleaned of all baby made stains with just a wet cloth or baby wipe. It can be easily disinfected with hand sanitizer or a cloth dipped in Detol/Savlon. It takes only minutes to dry up after cleaning. It has raised edges unlike a rubber cloth so urine does not flow off it. It is soft enough to be used on the floor or on the table-top. It can be folded up and is quite portable. I keep one at home and one on the car. I use the one in the car to change my baby at a friend's house or when visiting the grand parents. The changing station makes diaper changing very convenient and mess free.

Baby wipes: These are great for cleaning all baby messes and a few adult ones too :) I like the ones made by Johnson's best as they seem a little more moist and soft that some others I have tried.

Plastic foam mat: This is great for putting in the crib for new born babies to sleep on. It keeps the crib mattress from getting messed up. It is smaller and stiffer than a rubber cloth. It can be covered with a cotton cloth for the baby's comfort.

Rocker

This rocker from fisher price is particularly useful to calm your baby in the first few months and to help them sleep when they are cranky. You can easily rock it with your foot while you work on your computer or eat your meal. The cloth material is synthetic so it may be a good idea to cover it with a cotton cloth. After your baby can turn it is safer to use the seat belt. The rocker has a rocking chair mode as well which my toddler really enjoys. The also rocker has a vibration mode that runs with batteries when switched on. My kids did not care for this feature so I did no use it.

Coconut oil: Though not technically a baby product, it is extremely useful both as a preventive against diaper rash, and as a relief and cure for very mild diaper rash. The oil creates a barrier protecting your baby's skin from constant exposure to the moisture in the diaper. If your baby is going o be wearing a diaper continuously for a 4 or 5 hour stretch or longer it is a good idea to apply coconut oil all around the area to be covered with the diaper before putting it on. This is good to do especially if your baby wears diapers all night. This has worked wonders for me.

Here are some that I personally did not find useful.

Bath tub: I bought one of these but never used it. I sit on the bathroom floor and put my baby on my legs and bathe her using a hand shower. Personally I think putting the baby on the legs is very stable, safe and easy to control specially given how slippery a wet baby is.

Baby powder: I don't know if this is useful but I never used it even though I had it. I preferred using coconut oil for diaper changes and nothing at all elsewhere. I never liked powder myself so I never used it for my baby either.

Baby bar soap: I prefer using the Johnson's 'Top-to-Toe' wash which is a liquid soap for babies. I used the Johnson's solid cake soap for a while but I found it messier to store and use.

Hope you found some of this information useful and please comment with your own experiences with various baby products.