Show Us Your Life--Baby Gear!
Every week Kelly over at Kelly's Korner hosts a blog carnival highlighting some aspect of women's / mom's lives. This week the theme involves showing your baby gear and explaining what worked and didn't work for you. So here we go!
One thing we did not have to buy for our girls was a bassinet because we had this gorgeous cradle handmade by my grandfather! He actually made it 27 years ago for me when I was born so it was incredibly special to have my daugthers spend their first nights at home in the same bed that I slept in. Here is Sienna on her first night at home in the cradle:
It was very important to us, as it is to most moms and dads, to have a small bed for our infants to sleep in right next to our bed. Because this cradle is larger than a bassinet, our daughters could sleep in it for several months (although they did not sleep in our room past 4-6 weeks at nighttime). It also was a great place for them to nap while I showered and got ready for my day!
In the cradle at first, and later in their bed, I loved having this sleep positioner. It provided extra security which equaled a better night sleep for mom and dad while they were tiny. With the sleep positioner our babies couldn't accidentally roll over or move around much which could lead to suffocating. We're grateful for the positioner! Here is Sienna sleeping soundly in it...
We had a Graco travel system that we used for both girls which included this carseat (pictured with my little Jaden in it!):
The seat worked great for us, and when they were really tiny, we put these comfy headrests inside to help in keeping their head positioned and not falling to one side (that's Jaden again!):
For our freezing cold Cleveland winters we added this must-have for cold climates:
It's like a built-in coat / blanket and as Sienna shows above, it was super comfy for them! This way I didn't have to bundle them up in a bulky coat or snow suit every time we left the house in the winter. I would just put their hat and mittens on and on really cold days I would add another blanket. I highly recommend purchasing one of these if you live in an area that has a harsh winter because it will save you from all the dressing and undressing of layers when you go in and out of places this winter!
To go with our super convenient carseat we had this wonderful stroller...
Ha! Okay, we did not use that as a stroller, but we did use this one:
That's Jaden as a wee tot in each of the stroller photos. I loved my single Graco stroller and would highly recommend the Graco brand to anyone shopping for baby gear. The carseat clipped right into the stroller when they were tiny and as they got older they sat in the plush stroller very comfortably!
When Jaden was about 6 months old we invested in this jog stroller:
We used it often for walks in the park, but we traded up this year for a double jogger now!
The boppy pillow was something that I used quite a bit with Jaden, but less with Sienna. When breastfeeding didn't work out for me, I stopped using it for feedings, but I did prop Jaden up on it all the time as you see here:
And I used it to help her learn to sit up:
I would definitely recommend the boppy if you plan on nursing, but it isn't a necessity if you are bottle feeding.
With Jaden, I had a swing that just went back and forth, but when I was pregnant with Sienna, we purchased one that also swung side to side in a rocking motion. Fisher price makes these and I have to tell you, they are a MUST HAVE! Here is Sienna during one of her first rides in the swing:
Because it's a little hard to see the whole swing in that photo, here is my friend Carla's daughter trying out our swing (and you can see the whole thing a little better):
That swing has been worth every single penny! I think it's been used for a thousand hours or more combined when you count all of the hours that not only Sienna was in it, but also friends babies. It was where I put her when she wouldn't sleep, where she napped sometimes during the first few weeks at home, and where she would hang out while I was playing with Jaden or cleaning up around the main part of our house. I only wish I would've thought to buy one like this when we had Jaden!
Another baby item that we "upgraded" for Sienna after our experience with Jaden was the bath tub. Jaden had a very standard tub which worked pretty well, but with Sienna we received one that had a sling in it which worked very well for those first days when sponge bathing and the whole time she was a tiny peanut. Once she got a little bigger we took the sling off and it became a regular tub for her. I definitely would recommend the sling!
Not every single thing we used for soothing our babies was from the baby department. I saw in a catalog that you could purchase a large ball with a stand to bounce your baby on during really fussy times, so I took my large exercise ball and made do with that! During the first 4-6 weeks of her life, Jaden had to have constant motion, so this ball came in handy. Here you see my brother bouncing her on the ball:
If you have a colicky baby or experience any fussy time when you just can't figure out what's going on with him / her, get one of these balls and start bouncing! You won't believe how it calms them! Plus, it's good for mama's legs and tummy as you start to get back into pre-baby shape :)
(That is Jack, our Olde English Bulldog looking in at his newborn 'sister' when we first brought her home! I'm planning to introduce Jack to those of you who haven't met him sometime very soon!)
I actually picked the papasan chair on our baby regsitry thinking that it bounced, and then when it didn't I used my sister's bouncy chair!
When it comes to exercaucers/ jumperoos / walkers, I highly recommend the first two. Both kept our girls very happy. I have to admit that Jaden seemed to like the jumperoo more, but perhaps that's because she loved the bouncing motion as an infant and still to this day is always bouncing off our walls! ha! Here is Jaden showing off her exercaucer & jumperoo:
That is Sienna playing in it one day when we were at the lakehouse. Both girls have napped in it as babies and it provided a great "play pen" by the pool when needed. It's great for the beach too!
One thing we did not have to buy for our girls was a bassinet because we had this gorgeous cradle handmade by my grandfather! He actually made it 27 years ago for me when I was born so it was incredibly special to have my daugthers spend their first nights at home in the same bed that I slept in. Here is Sienna on her first night at home in the cradle:
It was very important to us, as it is to most moms and dads, to have a small bed for our infants to sleep in right next to our bed. Because this cradle is larger than a bassinet, our daughters could sleep in it for several months (although they did not sleep in our room past 4-6 weeks at nighttime). It also was a great place for them to nap while I showered and got ready for my day!
In the cradle at first, and later in their bed, I loved having this sleep positioner. It provided extra security which equaled a better night sleep for mom and dad while they were tiny. With the sleep positioner our babies couldn't accidentally roll over or move around much which could lead to suffocating. We're grateful for the positioner! Here is Sienna sleeping soundly in it...
We had a Graco travel system that we used for both girls which included this carseat (pictured with my little Jaden in it!):
The seat worked great for us, and when they were really tiny, we put these comfy headrests inside to help in keeping their head positioned and not falling to one side (that's Jaden again!):
For our freezing cold Cleveland winters we added this must-have for cold climates:
It's like a built-in coat / blanket and as Sienna shows above, it was super comfy for them! This way I didn't have to bundle them up in a bulky coat or snow suit every time we left the house in the winter. I would just put their hat and mittens on and on really cold days I would add another blanket. I highly recommend purchasing one of these if you live in an area that has a harsh winter because it will save you from all the dressing and undressing of layers when you go in and out of places this winter!
To go with our super convenient carseat we had this wonderful stroller...
Ha! Okay, we did not use that as a stroller, but we did use this one:
That's Jaden as a wee tot in each of the stroller photos. I loved my single Graco stroller and would highly recommend the Graco brand to anyone shopping for baby gear. The carseat clipped right into the stroller when they were tiny and as they got older they sat in the plush stroller very comfortably!
When Jaden was about 6 months old we invested in this jog stroller:
We used it often for walks in the park, but we traded up this year for a double jogger now!
The boppy pillow was something that I used quite a bit with Jaden, but less with Sienna. When breastfeeding didn't work out for me, I stopped using it for feedings, but I did prop Jaden up on it all the time as you see here:
And I used it to help her learn to sit up:I would definitely recommend the boppy if you plan on nursing, but it isn't a necessity if you are bottle feeding.
With Jaden, I had a swing that just went back and forth, but when I was pregnant with Sienna, we purchased one that also swung side to side in a rocking motion. Fisher price makes these and I have to tell you, they are a MUST HAVE! Here is Sienna during one of her first rides in the swing:
Because it's a little hard to see the whole swing in that photo, here is my friend Carla's daughter trying out our swing (and you can see the whole thing a little better):
That swing has been worth every single penny! I think it's been used for a thousand hours or more combined when you count all of the hours that not only Sienna was in it, but also friends babies. It was where I put her when she wouldn't sleep, where she napped sometimes during the first few weeks at home, and where she would hang out while I was playing with Jaden or cleaning up around the main part of our house. I only wish I would've thought to buy one like this when we had Jaden!
Another baby item that we "upgraded" for Sienna after our experience with Jaden was the bath tub. Jaden had a very standard tub which worked pretty well, but with Sienna we received one that had a sling in it which worked very well for those first days when sponge bathing and the whole time she was a tiny peanut. Once she got a little bigger we took the sling off and it became a regular tub for her. I definitely would recommend the sling!
Not every single thing we used for soothing our babies was from the baby department. I saw in a catalog that you could purchase a large ball with a stand to bounce your baby on during really fussy times, so I took my large exercise ball and made do with that! During the first 4-6 weeks of her life, Jaden had to have constant motion, so this ball came in handy. Here you see my brother bouncing her on the ball:
If you have a colicky baby or experience any fussy time when you just can't figure out what's going on with him / her, get one of these balls and start bouncing! You won't believe how it calms them! Plus, it's good for mama's legs and tummy as you start to get back into pre-baby shape :)
Here is our pack n play--another Graco item we purchased (it matched the stroller / carseat / etc.) It has a bassinet topper for when they're very tiny and then the bottom part is used later when they are bigger. I loved having this for our family room when the girls were tiny and we've used the big bed below hundreds of times for vacations, day trips to my sister's, to have friends' children nap in, etc. It is getting a little beat up now because we've loved it so much!
(That is Jack, our Olde English Bulldog looking in at his newborn 'sister' when we first brought her home! I'm planning to introduce Jack to those of you who haven't met him sometime very soon!)
Two seats we had for the girls to sit in are the baby papasan seat (looks just like our swing, but it's just a seat) and a bouncy chair. If I were to purchase just one, I would go with the bouncy chair because both vibrate, but the bouncy chair has toys that can go across it and it bouces with their movement. Here is Sienna showing off both seats:
I actually picked the papasan chair on our baby regsitry thinking that it bounced, and then when it didn't I used my sister's bouncy chair!
For Jaden we did not have a bumbo seat, but for Sienna we received one and it was pretty cool! It's not 100% necessary, but I do think the babies who cannot sit up yet enjoy going into the bumbo to look around at what is going on. With Sienna, since Jaden and I were often playing on the floor, it was fun for her to sit up with us instead of lying next to us watching. Here she is the first time we tried out the bumbo:
A must, must, MUST have is some type of comfy baby carrier! I had a snugli for Jaden and never used it after the first time because my back hurt so badly. After trying out a friend's Baby Bjorn and not experiencing any back pain, I got one for Sienna. We used it quite a bit--at the park, going on field trips with our community moms group, and when we were just hanging out in the yard. Sienna enjoyed being "held" while I had my arms free!
When it comes to exercaucers/ jumperoos / walkers, I highly recommend the first two. Both kept our girls very happy. I have to admit that Jaden seemed to like the jumperoo more, but perhaps that's because she loved the bouncing motion as an infant and still to this day is always bouncing off our walls! ha! Here is Jaden showing off her exercaucer & jumperoo:
For high chairs, I have to say we like the plastic MUCH more than wood because you can take wash them so much more easily. With Jaden we had a beautiful light wood high chair, but the more we washed it, the more difficult it became to wipe all of the food off. It got to be such a pain that we found a great plastic one on sale, and then we just got rid of it because my friend gave us one that matches all of our green Graco stuff:
That's Sienna trying to feed herself when she first started eating. We were actually borrowing my friend's high chair at the time, but then she gave it to us :)
For summer days, I have two recommendations. First, we LOVE this little kiddie cabana which we've used with both girls:
That is Sienna playing in it one day when we were at the lakehouse. Both girls have napped in it as babies and it provided a great "play pen" by the pool when needed. It's great for the beach too!The second thing I'd recommend is this floatie from Target:
We tried out many different floaties until we found this one. It was $20 which was more than others, but worth every penny because of the sunshade that actually stays up! Sienna used it and we used it with my friend's baby this summer. Don't worry, you don't have to buy this one with a flower on it if you have a boy. There are blue and red patterned ones for the little guys!
We tried out many different floaties until we found this one. It was $20 which was more than others, but worth every penny because of the sunshade that actually stays up! Sienna used it and we used it with my friend's baby this summer. Don't worry, you don't have to buy this one with a flower on it if you have a boy. There are blue and red patterned ones for the little guys!And finally, our last piece of baby gear that we'd recommend is this double stroller:
We got a Graco so that our baby carseat could clip into it and this stroller has been worth every penny. Both of our girls still enjoy sitting in it so we take it almost everywhere! We even just took it to California and stuck all of our carryons in it with Sienna while Jaden walked. I've seen many double strollers that are pricier that I like, but this one has worked great for us.
Well there you have it--our baby gear! Head on over to Kelly's Korner to see more recommendations from veteran moms!
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