A quick recap of the absolute musts for my daughter:
- Fisher Price Rock and Play Sleeper. Ellie slept in this every night for 4 months. Once she started rolling over on her own both ways, we made her sleep in her crib despite her attempted refusal. This sleeper was wonderful since she had reflux, plus was so easy to fold up and take along when we traveled to visit family overnight.
- MamaRoo. Ellie practically lived in this her first six months. She even napped in the MamaRoo sometimes. The only reason it was retired so early was because she grew so quickly (she was over 26 inches already 21 lbs at 6 months) and she is so strong that I was worried she was going to tip it right over.
- Motorola Video Monitor. I truly don't know how people lived without this "back in the day"! I love being able to see her anytime. Sometimes she makes noise but falls back asleep; this lets me watch her without needing to run the risk of peeking in her room when she might see me. If you're already a parent, you know it's "game over" for sleepytime once your child sees you peek at them.
- Itzbeen Timer. Until our recent trips we took, I was still using this daily. I'm a SAHM and the days tend to run together. It helps keep me in check to remember when she ate last, especially if we are out and about and I lose track of time. Now that she's on a pretty regular schedule though, I don't really need this anymore. It saved me while we got adjusted to her ever changing days though.
My advice to you to add onto my previous post of my favorite baby items... and what I will consider when we decide to try for Baby #2 (which is not happening just yet):
- Bottles. I had a few family members and friends that swore by Avent bottles. Several of them also had older children, so Avent was the hot item on the market when their children were born. Well, I went with Avent (after leaving Babies R Us a bit weepy since I was sure picking the wrong bottles was going to be a catastrophe --- which, of course, it wasn't!), and while I didn't have any problems with the bottles, my daughter had a bit of gas and reflux for the first six months. I used Little Remedies gas drops in her bottles from when she was just a couple weeks old until she went on whole milk when she turned one, and she was on Zantac and Prevacid for her reflux from six weeks until she was six months old. I've heard nothing but fantastic reviews on the Dr. Browns bottles and plan to buy them for the next baby... It may be more to clean but in the grand scheme of things, it would absolutely be worth the extra cleaning to not hear your baby grunt and go through any kind of discomfort that can be prevented. While I can't speak from experience with Dr. Browns, I trust my friends who have used (and loved) them for their children.
- Bath products for sensitive skin. Of course my baby has sensitive skin. She gets that from me, eczema and all. I had originally planned on using Baby Magic on her for her baths and I had Johnson's baby lotion to moisturize her delicate skin. I noticed her skin was feeling scaly after just a couple weeks. I tried both the Aveeno Baby Lotion and the Cream for eczema. No help. Baby Magic came out with a baby cream (thicker is usually better), but that didn't help either. So I asked her pediatrician who surprised me when he said that a lot of the baby products are drying for baby's delicate skin... Say what?!?! So he said to try Aquaphor Baby Wash and Eucerin Calming Creme (ironically, this is what I was told to use when I had eczema as a child --- the creme, not the lotion). And it's been a huge help! You know baby products are always more costly... So why spend the money on products that don't work?! I have a few totally unused bottles of Aveeno that I've started to use for myself since it does her no good. The Aquaphor doesn't smell like anything, but that's ok. I still use Johnson's Baby Shampoo on her hair (we recently changed to the light blue bottle for thick/curly hair but she had been using the yellow bottle without any issues). But I stand by Aquaphor Baby Wash and Eucerin Calming Creme 110%.
- Buying in excess. Use caution buying anything in bulk until you're sure it works for your baby (especially in the beginning). Formula. Bottles. Diapers. Baby food. Had I not had a ton of Avent bottles already, I may have considering switching. I was relieved I had primarily Huggies diapers because, despite my effort to get on the Pampers boat, I just didn't like the way my daughter wore them. I had to return a few containers of regular Similac after purchasing them when we switched my daughter to Similac Sensitive. And this was especially true for us when we got to stage 3 baby food. I've been told so many babies start to change their tastes when they reach stage 3. I bought 2 cases of stage 3 foods that she had eaten just a couple weeks prior and she then refused to eat them. She wanted table food! I ended up giving the food to friends for their babies.
- Stroller notes. This was the first purchase post-baby that made me really anxious to think about. My sister went through 10+ strollers with my nephew (and that is probably a conservative estimate --- nope, I'm not kidding!) so I knew I wanted to make the right choice from the start. Since we were using the Chicco Keyfit Caddy that the infant carrier slid right into, I knew we needed a stroller soon. I fell in love with the look of the City Mini and Britax B-Agile. I went to Babies R Us for a "test drive" and found that the basket under both of these strollers was far too small to fit my current diaper bag. I considered the option of getting a smaller diaper bag but couldn't really imagine eliminating items in the diaper bag which would allow me to downsize (and I didn't really have anything in the bag that was crazy, like excessive toys or anything). Diapers, wipes, an empty bottle with the powdered formula container, an extra outfit in case of emergency, etc... I was so sad, until I saw that Graco made a very similar stroller: The FastAction Fold Sport Click Connect Stroller. 3 wheels (the front can swivel or lock like a jogger, but it's not a jogger and they do caution you not to use it as a jogger). Larger basket underneath. An awesome expandable canopy. It can recline to just about any position, and also include the snack tray for the child which can be removed if you prefer. The parent tray is included too (which the pricier names didn't include)... and since it's Graco, you can use the 20% off coupons at Babies R Us! This stroller does allow you to slide your Graco infant carrier into it if you are still using it, however, I was unable to make use of this since I had a Chicco infant carrier (which I also loved, so changing that wasn't an option). So food for thought when you pick you a stroller. :)
- It's ok to shop around. As I said, I'm a SAHM so I try to be frugal but not crazy --- I like coupons when it's a substantial savings but am not a crazy couponer (mostly because I don't have the patience for it). A friend had introduced me to Diapers.com when I was pregnant as she had her daughter a few months prior to my daughter's birth. I fell in love with the ease of the website. And they offer free shipping on your order once you spend a specific (and easily reachable) total. When you have to tote a baby around, this makes ordering baby supplies so much easier!! I will caution you that the prices aren't always cheaper though (and maybe that was just because of the specific products I was looking for). Diapers and formula were sometimes slightly more than if you went into the stores, but sometimes worth the couple extra dollars to not have to go out to buy them on your own (remember: free shipping!) Plus, you can send them your manufacturers coupons and they will add them to your account to use on their website, which is fabulous! To be honest, I did a lot of baby food purchases from Diapers.com. If you've ever gone to the store to buy jarred baby food, you will quickly realize it is a pain, plus the only place you will find a complete variety is at your local baby store (i.e. Babies R Us). When Diapers.com had their sales, especially on Earth's Best Baby Food, I would buy cases at a time. I realize I said not to buy in excess above, but in this instance where I knew she was eating the stage 1 and 2 foods, it was wonderful! I purchased 60 jars (which is five of their 12 packs) of stage 2 food for my daughter when they were having a sale --- for just over $50 (and free shipping!!) It created a bit of a storage dilemma initially but was AWESOME since that essentially covered her meals for about a month! I also found wonderful deals at Diapers.com around the holidays, as well as when we purchased our daughter's convertible car seat. I always seem to get the 20% off coupons when I check out at Babies R Us but there are always restrictions on specific brands. I wanted a Britax convertible car seat but didn't want to pay full price. Diapers.com runs periodic sales on Britax where you can purchase their products for up to 30% off!!! I must tell you, we love her new car seat, and so does she --- the Britax Marathon is wonderful!!! So there's my plug for Diapers.com. Note: I do not work for Diapers.com or have any kind of connection, nor are they giving me anything for this review. I am just an avid fan of their website and how easy they make shopping for baby stuff. They also have a "Refer-a-Friend" program that gives your friends you refer a discount off their first order, as well as a credit to the referring friend, so if you're interested in these savings, I would be happy to share my referral code with you --- just send me a message! :)
I know how much of a struggle it can be to make the best decision you think you can for your baby, and tips from friends is what helped us get through our first year, so I hope this is helpful for all of you out there!
- Stroller notes. This was the first purchase post-baby that made me really anxious to think about. My sister went through 10+ strollers with my nephew (and that is probably a conservative estimate --- nope, I'm not kidding!) so I knew I wanted to make the right choice from the start. Since we were using the Chicco Keyfit Caddy that the infant carrier slid right into, I knew we needed a stroller soon. I fell in love with the look of the City Mini and Britax B-Agile. I went to Babies R Us for a "test drive" and found that the basket under both of these strollers was far too small to fit my current diaper bag. I considered the option of getting a smaller diaper bag but couldn't really imagine eliminating items in the diaper bag which would allow me to downsize (and I didn't really have anything in the bag that was crazy, like excessive toys or anything). Diapers, wipes, an empty bottle with the powdered formula container, an extra outfit in case of emergency, etc... I was so sad, until I saw that Graco made a very similar stroller: The FastAction Fold Sport Click Connect Stroller. 3 wheels (the front can swivel or lock like a jogger, but it's not a jogger and they do caution you not to use it as a jogger). Larger basket underneath. An awesome expandable canopy. It can recline to just about any position, and also include the snack tray for the child which can be removed if you prefer. The parent tray is included too (which the pricier names didn't include)... and since it's Graco, you can use the 20% off coupons at Babies R Us! This stroller does allow you to slide your Graco infant carrier into it if you are still using it, however, I was unable to make use of this since I had a Chicco infant carrier (which I also loved, so changing that wasn't an option). So food for thought when you pick you a stroller. :)
- It's ok to shop around. As I said, I'm a SAHM so I try to be frugal but not crazy --- I like coupons when it's a substantial savings but am not a crazy couponer (mostly because I don't have the patience for it). A friend had introduced me to Diapers.com when I was pregnant as she had her daughter a few months prior to my daughter's birth. I fell in love with the ease of the website. And they offer free shipping on your order once you spend a specific (and easily reachable) total. When you have to tote a baby around, this makes ordering baby supplies so much easier!! I will caution you that the prices aren't always cheaper though (and maybe that was just because of the specific products I was looking for). Diapers and formula were sometimes slightly more than if you went into the stores, but sometimes worth the couple extra dollars to not have to go out to buy them on your own (remember: free shipping!) Plus, you can send them your manufacturers coupons and they will add them to your account to use on their website, which is fabulous! To be honest, I did a lot of baby food purchases from Diapers.com. If you've ever gone to the store to buy jarred baby food, you will quickly realize it is a pain, plus the only place you will find a complete variety is at your local baby store (i.e. Babies R Us). When Diapers.com had their sales, especially on Earth's Best Baby Food, I would buy cases at a time. I realize I said not to buy in excess above, but in this instance where I knew she was eating the stage 1 and 2 foods, it was wonderful! I purchased 60 jars (which is five of their 12 packs) of stage 2 food for my daughter when they were having a sale --- for just over $50 (and free shipping!!) It created a bit of a storage dilemma initially but was AWESOME since that essentially covered her meals for about a month! I also found wonderful deals at Diapers.com around the holidays, as well as when we purchased our daughter's convertible car seat. I always seem to get the 20% off coupons when I check out at Babies R Us but there are always restrictions on specific brands. I wanted a Britax convertible car seat but didn't want to pay full price. Diapers.com runs periodic sales on Britax where you can purchase their products for up to 30% off!!! I must tell you, we love her new car seat, and so does she --- the Britax Marathon is wonderful!!! So there's my plug for Diapers.com. Note: I do not work for Diapers.com or have any kind of connection, nor are they giving me anything for this review. I am just an avid fan of their website and how easy they make shopping for baby stuff. They also have a "Refer-a-Friend" program that gives your friends you refer a discount off their first order, as well as a credit to the referring friend, so if you're interested in these savings, I would be happy to share my referral code with you --- just send me a message! :)
I know how much of a struggle it can be to make the best decision you think you can for your baby, and tips from friends is what helped us get through our first year, so I hope this is helpful for all of you out there!
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