My Baby Gear Prediction Winners

When registering, I found I became extremely overwhelmed very fast. When I went to Babies R Us for the first time, it was just mom and I while I was in central AR for something and husband was busy with a work event over the weekend. I thought it was ok to check out things for myself since I suddenly had nightmares of our wedding registering. As fun as registering "sounds" its extremely overwhelming. I didn't want to be that lady that registered for EVERY single item in the store and wanted to do my research to find out what babies "REALLY" needed. Needless to say, I completely melted down after being in the store for about an hour and not having registered for a single thing. I took the advice of a friend the second time around and went back and registered for a couple of different brands in each "category" based on the floor models, then did more in depth research online after I got home. The research is easier when you can just click on the link to the item on your registry  You can simply delete the one that like the least and also explore what other colors/patterns might be available online. Like most stores, there are WAY more options online, but it is important to travel to the store to look at things like strollers, car seats, high- chairs, bouncers, cribs etc and "play" with the floor models to see what you like best.

I quickly remembered that babies don't need half the stuff that we think they do. I can imagine that there are certain items that probably make it easier to raise your child, but that ultimately, a safe place, some diapers, and love and willingness from a caregiver are really all that is necessary. But, since we had some showers on the books, I took to the BRU, Target, and a family owned gift store in our home town with the list that I had compiled from talking to real and blog mom friends.

 Here is the list of things I think we will use the most. I am interested in evaluating this list in 6 months or so.

1. Rock N Play- My Little Snugabunny

I registered for this without having talked to anyone first. It's a fairly "new" baby item that none of my mom friends seemed to know about. I wanted something compact for Caroline to sleep in our room. We don't have a lot of room for a Pack N Play and I didn't want to spend the money on a fancy bassinet. This seemed a perfect solution. It looks very comfy and is at a slight incline. It is compact and perfect bed height which I think will come in handy during late night feedings. It's also very light-weight and easily could be moved around the house or packed for travel. I have since talked to a few mothers that have swore by this product and said that their baby wouldn't sleep anywhere but here! The packaging says they can sleep in it up to 22 pounds but I'm not sure she would still be comfortable past a few weeks in this thing. Either way, its less expensive than both a pack-n-play and bassinet both and I'm excited to try it out.

2. Swing- My Little Snugabunny

I heard great reviews on this Fisher Price swing. When I first saw it in the store I thought it looked like something from Outer Space with the wide base... but I liked the muted colors. I can't stand all the crazy bright baby gear. A bit is ok and expected, but for something that's going to be parked in my living room for several months, I wanted something less obtrusive. This swing functions in a side-to-side as well as front-to-back motion. The fabrics are all very lush and can be removed for cleaning. This swing plugs in which was a big deal to me... I was surprised that not all swings had plug- in- option. I know all babies don't love swings, but it seems like most do. I can imagine that a lot of time is spent in a swing if they do prefer it and I wanted one that had great reviews from Internet and real life moms.

3. City Mini Baby Jogger Stroller

This was our first purchase when we found out we were pregnant. I was probably only 6 or 8 weeks along. Adam's company owns a store called thebabyhabit.com that sold this stroller as well as tons of other baby gear. Unfortunately, they are phasing out the store, but before they did I scored this stroller for WAY cheap. Like... basically fo free. Normally, I wouldn't have probably purchased a jogging stroller, since, well, I don't really jog regularly... but after a couple of customers bought this stroller during one of Acumen's warehouse sales and raved about it's every day use, I decided it was necessary to snag the last one.  This stroller weights 17 lbs compared to the 27 pounder that came in our travel system.  It truly can be opened/closed with one hand and lays extremely flat.  It isn't recommended to put a small baby in these strollers so we will definitely be using our large travel system stroller for the first couple of months with the infant carrier, but Ill be really excited to break this out for daily use after we pass the 3 month mark. And who knows... maybe I'll take up jogging??

4. Infant Carrier

This is the only thing that husband insisted on registering for... which really cracked me up. He thinks we will use this a lot, and after researching all of the other carrier options, I do too.  I love the idea of the Moby wrap, but it seems impractical. Plus, most of my mom friends said they used it a few times, but that it was more trouble than it was worth. Babies can only stay in the Moby wrap while they are itty bitty (technical term, right there) but an "backpack style" infant carrier can accommodate a 25 lb infant. Plus, it just seems safer to me. I saw a mom with a newborn and a mom with a 12 week old baby at the store just this week utilizing this and baby was so content. Plus, mom had her hands free to do the shopping. I can also picture us using this for walks/hikes when the stoller isn't an option. Most importantly, I can't wait to get a pic of husband with sweet Caroline in this thing. Brother tried it out this past week with our dog, Gus and it was hilarious. All he needed was his "One Man Wolf pack" shirt and he would have been the spitting image of Alan off the The Hangover.

5. Breast pump and bra

I am praying my dad skips over this post on my blog as I doubt he would enjoy seeing a woman wearing a breast pump and hands free bra. But, for the sake of the post I had to post it! I am making the breast pump and ancillary items, specifically the hands free bustier #5 on the most used list.  I REALLY want to nurse. I've gone to class and ready up a whole lot and I'm definitely going to give it my best effort. Since I also plan to return to my full time corporate job at 10 weeks,  I knew I would need an efficient pump to continue to feed Caroline breast milk while she is at daycare. The Medela "Freestyle" pump is one of the most expensive pumps, but the most efficient. It is a double electric pump which is recommended for moms that will be pumping several times a day. There are 100 different "other items" that can/should be purchased, but a close mom friend got a lot of use out of her "hands free bra" also made by Medela that, as the picture suggests, frees mom up to do other items while pumping. Since I am the queen of multi- tasking, this seemed like a no- brainer and I think I'll get a lot of use out of it, especially after I return to work.

There are a ton of other items that we registered for and plan to use, but I wanted to be particular in the items that I predict we use the most. Of course things like car seat, crib, monitor, are things that everyone generally gets and I plan to be more specific on my "ratings" of the items we chose after we've had a chance to really evaluate them. 

I can't believe I'm 37 weeks pregnant! I'm excited for my 37 week check up tomorrow and an upcoming post where I'll finally share nursery pics! We've been working on it like mad and it's 100% ready except for her monogram which I ordered from Etsy that should be here any day.