Dearest Dad, sorry this post is a little later in the morning! This is my 2nd day off of school, so I'm going a little slower! Ian also decided to take the day off, so we have a 4 day weekend together, which is great!
On to baby stuff :) Ian and I were talking this morning about how I still really don't look all that pregnant - and how I'm sure just to balloon out one of these days! Next week I'll already be 4 months pregnant... and there are only three more weeks till I'm officially halfway through the pregnancy!!! Crazy :)
Soo... baby story for today. Baby Depot. I brought up the idea last weekend (when we just THOUGHT it was cold) that it might be a good idea during these winter months to go look at baby stuff - you know, now that I'm in my 2nd trimester (!!!) and can still walk around comfortably and everything :) Ian brushed it off the first time, and then when I brought it up again, was super supportive and actually interested in going, which was fun :)
When we first arrived at the Baby Depot, we loved how everything was out on display, but at the same time, it was SO overwhelming!!! For example, there were probably 40 car seats out on display - 40!!! Different patterns, different handles, different seats I suppose - but to novice parents like us, we had NO idea how to tell them apart!! Same with the strollers - although I have a little more of an idea just by personal preference... And the Pack N'Plays - so many different types!!! How does anyone decide? Craziness....
Needless to say, we didn't buy a single thing... we didn't even pretend we were ready to register! All the trip did was put us into a mild baby-item induced shock - We will return someday, and maybe be a little more prepared - but at least now we know what's out there-A lot!!!
To all the people who have registered before us - how did you do it? At least for the wedding registry, I had an idea - Ian and I either liked it, or we didn't, and it was way fun to dream the list up! With this, I just have no idea what the baby needs! Sigh... I suppose we'll figure it out :)
Have a great day everyone! If you have any advice on the essentials - please let us know! Email is laurabally@gmail.com :) Yes, I'm slightly begging....
Love you all!
Followers
Blog Archive
-
▼
2009
(161)
-
▼
January
(21)
- Friday :)
- Happy 4 months!
- What a great day :)
- The Cookie Monster
- Looking ahead :)
- How???
- Happy 17 weeks!
- Picture alert!
- Oh, those students!
- Big day!
- Some realizations...
- The Depot
- Oh my!!!
- Happy 16 weeks!!
- Hello again everyone :)Three days in a row! Can yo...
- Talking to the baby :)
- Practicing with Names...
- Ooooh, Baby, Baaby!!
- Good morning everyone!Happy 15 weeks to Cletus! :)...
- Here comes baby!!
- Back to School!
-
▼
January
(21)
1 comment:
Michele and I came to realize that most times you go to any children's store you start to feel that if you don't buy everything in there you are a horrible parent. It's really overwhelming but you will learn fast what's important and what is not. Companies know that we as parents want nothing but the best for our kids and they take advantage of that. Here are some things that Michele and I thought were great (please remember...these are only our opinions and you may find other things more important). First of all we made sure that everything we got for equipment was gender neutral b/c we had always planned on having two kids so keep that in mind if more than one is in the cards eventually.
The links I provided were just to show the actual item, not the pattern of the fabric. I found that different stores carry different patterns, so if you find a color/pattern you really like and one store doesn't have it, check various stores. Our pattern was exclusive to Target.
Car seats...we went with the Graco Infant Safe Seat (Step 1) (http://www.gracobaby.com/Catalog/
Pages/productlistingPage.aspx?catid
=10:41||1#/1353).
Our reason for this was because it is actually set up to keep your baby rear facing for up to a year old. Rear facing is the safest way for your child to ride. Another very nice feature is that the car seat detaches from a base that always stays in the car so you can easily carry the baby in and out w/o having to unbuckle (key for sleeping babies...sometimes we would just bring her up and let her sleep in the seat so we wouldn't wake her up). The negative is that it is slightly heavier than the standard car seat but not by enough for us to want to go w/ anything different.
Stroller - We bought the matching pattern for the stroller from graco that the car seat would fit in. Again...easy when transferring the sleeping baby from car to stroller b/c the car seat pulls from the base and clicks into the top of the stroller. Then, later on when the child is bigger you can just put them in the stroller, no carseat.
It's called the Quattro Tour Deluxe Stroller.
(http://www.gracobaby.com/Catalog/
Pages/productlistingPage.aspx?catid
=10:44||1%209:1021||1&pno=4#/1647)
My biggest thing was making sure it's easy to break down or set up w/ a baby in your arms and this model is a one handed breakdown. It also has lots of storage space and the seat reclines fully to a laying position.
Between the carseat and the stroller, you may be able to find these models in a travel system which is cheaper to buy than individually. They weren't offering this b/c the carseat was so new at the time we registered.
Ahh haaa...they do have them now.
(http://www.gracobaby.com/Catalog/
Pages/productlistingPage.aspx?
catid=10:400||1+3:10409||1#/1036)
Pack and Play - We went with the Graco Pack'n Play Playard.
(http://www.gracobaby.com/Catalog/
Pages/ProductListingPage.aspx?
catid=10:43||1%2011:10460
||1%2010434:4294959410||1&pno
=1#/1613)
The things that were great.
We used this as Avery's bassinet for the first month (or two...can't remember how long now). We kept it set up in the bedroom so that we could easily attend to the baby. It breaks down easy and when we traveled, the changing station was handy. Also, get a couple of sheets that fit the pack'n play mattress in-case of accidents.
Baby Swing - We chose the Fisher Price Cradle Swing b/c we liked that you can either swing the baby the normal way or you can change it to swing side to side instead. I will tell you that this swing was a life saver for us...if Avery was fussy and nothing was working, we would put her in this and she would pass out almost every time. Michele and I would call this the best baby item we had. On a side note though...one of our friends said it was useless to them, their kid didn't like it so...it just depends on the baby. I would say, if you are going to get a swing, this is the one to get. Here is the exact one we bought. There are several different ones though.
(http://www.fisher-price.com/
fp.aspx?st=2002&e=product&pid=43883)
High Chair - We were living in a small apartment when Avery was born so we decided to not use a full size high chair and instead used a Space Saver High Chair
(http://www.fisher-price.com/
fp.aspx?st=2002&e=product&pid=35236)
It's pretty much the same size as the tray and seat of a normal high chair but attaches to a chair. It was also nice b/c it reclines and we would feed Avery early on w/o the tray and evolves into a booster once they are ready to eat at the table.
Bottles - We used Dr. Browns bottles. Our Dr recommended them and they worked great...They are built to eliminate air going in w/ milk/formula which can upset the babies stomach. Avery never had a problem w/ gas. One crappy thing is they have multiple parts and cleaning stinks. Make sure whatever bottles you get, they are BPA free.
(http://www.toysrus.com/product/
index.jsp?productId=3092104)
monitor - I highly recommend a video monitor for the baby. Michele and I can't live w/o this item. Sometimes the baby makes a strange noise and instead of getting up all the time you just push the button and look. It has night vision and sound. Hands down the best investment we made. Here is the one we have.
(http://www.toysrus.com/product/
index.jsp?productId=2265802)
Get a Boppy. It is very handy w/ your baby. If you look at some of Avery's first couple week pictures you see it in action. It's great for feeding.
(http://www.toysrus.com/family/
index.jsp?categoryId=2534416)
We tried a Bumbo also and Avery was hot and cold with it. I like the idea but it won't be used until the baby can hold up their own head.
(http://www.bumbobabyseat.com/)
They now make a trey for it also, I think we will pick one up for baby #2.
Things we didn't use...
-Bottle Warmer (but our hot water at the apartment was so hot we just held the bottle under the faucet). We may get one for baby #2 but it's nothing you can't do w/ a pan/stove/and water. I hear they are nice though.
-Baby wipe warmer...no one bought us one at our shower so we never picked one up. I heard they make the baby pee b/c it's warm when you wipe em. Could be false.
-Diaper Genie...we just used a garbage w/ a lid. Michele is actually thinking of doing cloth this time...I'm not so sure yet. There are cloth diaper services out there where they provide the clean diapers and pick up the dirty ones.
-Bassinet...we used our pack'n play bassinet accessory.
That's all I can think about right now. If you have any specific questions, drop me an email.
So there is a bunch of info. Every parent is different in what they are looking for but I hope this gave you some insight into where to start. The reason I chose Graco for the main items is b/c I worked at Toys R Us for a long time as a builder/repair tech for bikes and furniture. I ended up doing all repairs for baby furniture as well and Graco also had solid customer support and their prices are good. There are definitely more expensive and cheep brands out there but Graco is consistent with quality and trustworthy. Just remember, you don't need every single gadget out there...decide what is important for you and your baby.
Sorry about the crazy links...I had to chop them up to have them visible on my post. You should be able to highlight/copy/paste.
Talk to you soon.
Books
Post a Comment