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.
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.
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??
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.
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.
