Erin Davison Photography is Cleveland’s best newborn photographer, offering a truly full service experience for maternity, newborn, and family sessions. With a studio located in the Merriman Hills area of Akron, service areas include but are not limited to Cleveland, Chagrin Falls, Fairlawn, Canton, Hudson, Medina, and Wooster. Erin offers a high-end, full service experience including a pre-session consultation, exclusive access to the carefully curated Studio Wardrobe and cozy bright and airy studio space, an online viewing gallery to share with loved ones and download your included high-resolution digital files, in-person viewing and ordering sessions, and an array of stunning artwork such as beautiful albums, prints, custom framing and more. If you are searching for the perfect newborn or family portrait photographer in Cleveland and are wanting MORE from your portrait experience, we can’t wait to hear from you and help create your own beautiful heirloom memories! 

Having a new baby is wonderful and exciting, but it can be overwhelming with the constant flow of items on the market geared towards making motherhood easier or better. When I had my babies, I was very minimalistic in the items that I purchased and used. Truthfully, you don’t need all of the hottest items to take care of your new baby, but it’s true that some things really do make a great difference. Today I’m sharing 10 of my favorite items that I would recommend for expecting moms!

Spectra S1

With my first child, I had a very nice (and expensive! Pre-insurance coverage days) Medela pump…but I was never able to get ANYTHING from pumping! I was convinced it was just me. When I was expecting my second child, insurance rules had changed and I was able to try another pump. The Spectra was still fairly new to the market but I had heard a lot of good things, so I decided to give it a try! I highly, highly recommend going with the Spectra S1 over the S2, so that you don’t have to be plugged into an outlet while pumping (the S1 is battery OR outlet!). I was able to pump so much more milk with this pump than my previous Medela pump, even the hospital pumps! BUY HERE

My Brest Friend

This was another one that I learned the second time around. With my first, I had a Boppy and HATED that thing. My baby was always falling through the crack, it didn’t fit right around my belly, and it was more interfering than helpful while nursing. I gave the My Brest Friend a try with my second and OH MY GOSH. I wish I had this thing with my first, too! The back support is amazing, you can get up and walk around without it falling off of you, the flat surface is worlds better at supporting a good nursing position, and it has a handy little pocket to store lanolin or a water bottle! BUY HERE

Basic Pack and Play

I love, love, loved my pack and plays. I had the very basic ones, with none of the extra attachments which make the entire unit much larger and heavier. I used it so much with my first child, that I had to get a new one for my second baby because the bottom had a hole worn into it. It’s so convenient to take along for outings at a friend or family member’s house, baby can nap in a safe space when needed (even in a home that isn’t child-proofed), and it also always came in handy to keep a crawling baby contained when pool-side or in the yard. BUY HERE

White Noise Machine

My first baby had a Sleep Sheep, which was the most adorable little stuffed animal with a noise box inside. The downside was that it only played white noise for a half an hour. We got a white noise machine for our second baby, so that the white noise could play non-stop. This came in super handy to not wake the baby when my husband had to get ready for work at 5am! BUY HERE

Frame Stroller

As a c-section mama with a difficult recovery stemming from pregnancy complications, it was impossible for me to carry around the infant car seat. However, I also had my babies in the dead of winter in Pennsylvania and Ohio, so taking a newborn in and out of a convertible car seat and stroller wasn’t a reasonable option. A frame stroller is so nice to just lock the infant seat into and push around like a regular stroller!

Rocking Chair

For my daughter’s girly, bright and airy nursery, it was important to me that I had a chair that was practical and comfortable for nursing, but also looked beautiful in her room and eventually somewhere out in our home. I purchased the Paisley Rocking Chair by Best Home Furnishings and it still looks and feels brand new, over 3 years later! Because I am on the shorter side (and again, the c-section thing!), I did choose to use a little stool to elevate my feet for extra support. I recommend the My Brest Friend stool, which can tilt to different angles to support you. BUY HERE BUY STOOL

SwaddleMe

Who has time to swaddle in the middle of the night, only to have your baby bust out of it within 10 minutes? No thanks. I discovered these with my first baby and they are a lifesaver! Forget having to twist and turn and wrap and tuck. These are held securely into a swaddle position by velcro so that you can spend that extra time sleeping. BUY HERE

Moby Wrap

I admit I didn’t use my Moby wrap with my first baby because it was just really intimidating. I used my classic Ergo carrier through his toddlerhood, as well as with our second when she was a little older. However, with a second baby, you have about 1/6 of the amount of time and 600 times the amount of responsibilities as with the first baby. I needed to carry my very new baby, for much of the time. Somehow when I gave it a second try, the Moby was super easy to figure out and I much preferred it for that newborn stage! Although I still can’t say enough good things about the Ergo for an older baby and toddler. We still use it with our second now that she’s a preschooler! BUY HERE

Extra Car Seat Base

This probably isn’t a MUST have, it really is more of a luxury. However the idea of having to constantly switch bases from car to car was enough to make me not ever bother. If you have two vehicles that your family uses interchangeably, I highly recommend purchasing an extra car seat base so that all you have to do is pop the infant seat out of one car and into the next.

Baby Shusher

If you’ve had a newborn session with me before, you’ve seen this in the studio! The reason this made my must have list for new babies is for car rides! I was not blessed with babies who love the car. Mine will stay awake for hours upon hours, screaming endlessly, rather than just taking a nice little car nap. The baby shusher is tiny but powerful and perfect for on the go white noise. I used to hang it from the handle bar above the car seat and it would calm my babies right down (sometimes even to sleep!). BUY HERE

See my list of Must Have Toddler items here!

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