Baby Gear

*This post will probably be boring to most. And right when I finished it, I got the sneaking suspicion that I have done a similar post before. So if I have, forgive me.

My friend Elizabeth asked me to put together a list of baby items that I liked so she can have some ideas going into registering. I have several other friends who are expecting, so I thought I would go ahead and make a blog post out of it, that way it may help other people out as well. And I thought some of you could comment and throw in your two cents, too. I have seen other people do this on their blogs, so if you want to leave a link to your post in the comment section, that would be good too.

I will have to admit that I am a SUCKER for baby gear! I cannot go into Babies R Us without coming away with something I really don't need. But I am going to limit this list to the "big items". I tried to buy mostly gender neutral prints so I could reuse the big items with future children.

Pack 'n Play: Obviously we travel a lot, so this was a must. Really you can go as simple or as fancy with this as you want. Ours plays music and has a vibrate function that we used some when she was really little, but I probably wouldn't feel like I had to get it again if I did it over. It also came with a mobile we never used. One thing I love about this one, though, is that is has the removable changing table. This was really nice when she was smaller and we could leave it attached all the time! Also, the mattress can be at bassinet level and then lowered once the baby gets older {I'm sure most models have this feature though}.

Swing: This was really the only gender specific print we got. I loved having a swing because for a while it was the only thing Curran would nap in. This one plays music, and I used that feature all the time. It also has 6 different speeds and the seat can recline back pretty far. I think all swings are probably pretty comparable, but I would recommend one with the features I just mentioned.

Was she really ever that small?!?

Bouncy Seat: We also used this a ton, especially when Curran was a newborn. She napped really well in this, and I could move it to whatever room I was in. I always cut her finger nails when she was sleeping in this because it was easy for me to maneuver her hand however I needed to without waking her up. Once she got older and started eating solids, I fed her in this until I felt like she was ready for the high chair.

I miss those little newborn diapers with the yellow stripe. :)

First taste of rice cereal.

High Chair: It is the only high chair I have ever used {obviously} so it's hard to list the pros and cons of it since I have nothing to compare it to. I did have a friend tell me that she had one and hated it, so with her second child she got a new one.  But I liked the look of it {not really a reason to buy something, but oh well}, and we generously received it as a shower gift, so we kept it. I really don't have any major problems with it. Food gets everywhere no matter what high chair you have, but the seat and back on this one wipe down easily. It comes with two removable tray covers that can "go in the dishwasher", but they are really too big to fit. John can never seem to get the tray to go on easily, but I usually don't have a problem with it. You do have to use two hands though.

We also bought this small hook on chair to keep at the beach. The cover is removable and machine washable, which is a huge plus!

Car Seat/Stroller: I picked this car seat because it was #1 rated for safety, and of course that is the most important thing. I also liked the way it looked. :) The only con is that it is very heavy to lug around! But at least my arms got a good workout! :) We got two bases, one for my car and one for John's. Then when we got C a big girl car seat for John's car, we were able to put the extra base in my sister's car.

Headed to her first doctor's appt at 5 days old.

We actually got the whole travel system, and while I have really enjoyed the Chicco stroller, I think I would do it a little differently next time. The Chicco stroller is bulky and doesn't pack well, but other than that I have no complaints. I also have a jogging stroller that my sister got at a yard sale for like $15.

I bought this lightweight stroller before we went to Phoenix, and also used it occasionally while running errands around town or when traveling, but that is about it. 

This is what I would do if I had to do it over: I would get the car seat alone. And then I would get a nice jogging stroller and get that bar attached so you can put the infant seat on top of it. I would also get the lightweight frame stroller {like the one above} for running errands, to take on trips, etc because the jogging strollers are too big to be taking them in and out of the car. Then when the baby was older and no longer needed the infant seat, I would get an umbrella stroller.

Bumbo seat: We used ours some, but not a ton. I would recommend getting one though, because I think they can be really useful. I think I'll plan on using it more the next go 'round.

Sling/Baby Carrier: We used our sling {not pictured} a good bit when C was small, but the kind we had was not as good as she got older, I don't think. We really didn't use our Bjorn too much, but I think it will be nice to have when we have another baby and are trying to keep up with a busy toddler.

 Exersaucer: C loved ours and we started putting her in it at 3 months! It usually kept her entertained for a while. I think these are probably all created equal though.

Activity Mat: I tried to pick the least ugly one at B-R-Us and don't think I succeeded. Oh well. It served it's purpose. This was really nice when C was younger and was learning to reach out for her toys. She loved the little bear that played music.

It was good for tummy time.

And entertained her as she got older...

And she could practice sitting up and reaching for toys.

Breast Pump: This was a necessity for me since I am a working mama. This was so generously given to us at my work shower, and I think it was my favorite gift! :) There are lots of different styles of pumps {manual, electric, hands-free, etc}, but since I planned on pumping numerous times a day, it was important to have an efficient and reliable pump. I loved this one and have no complaints about it {of course I have nothing to compare it to}! It worked well and hopefully will still be working well when I have children again one day. If you are going to be staying home with your child and only need to pump occasionally, you may not need one this fancy, and may even do ok with a manual one, although in my opinion I think that would be a pain in the rear.

Baby Monitor: We got this monitor as a shower gift, and I seriously could never live without a video monitor! It brings such peace of mind to be able to look over at my bedside table and see what she is up to, especially when she was younger and I worried incessantly {ok, well I still probably check the monitor no less than 20 times a night, but I don't think I am quite as anxious as I used to be}. The picture has gotten a little grainy lately, but it still works just fine. I think one of the reasons for this is that we had to move it off of the crib and onto the wall, so it's further away from a light source {her nightlight} which it needs in order for the picture to be clear. But I think it was getting kind of grainy before we moved it. Not sure if it will still be working when we have another bambino, but I think I read somewhere that you can just buy another camera and still use the same hand-held part, just switch back and forth between channels. So it will be nice not to have to buy a whole new monitor.

Ok, I think that about takes care of the big ticket items. We also have things like the Boppy pillow and Diaper Genie that we love. We have about 85,000 other baby items around our house that I could probably live without, but a lot of them do make life easier. We didn't register for a wipes warmer because I knew there would be plenty of times that we had to use cold wipes, so I didn't think there was a point to have the warmer, but some friends of ours gave us one they weren't using some time after Christmas. I have to say that it was nice to have during the winter time because C's room gets kind of cold. But now that it is hot I haven't been using it.

So there you have it...all you ever wanted to know about Curran's baby gear! You're welcome! :)