Baby Loves

Well, “What’s Cookin Wednesday” has come and gone – without a recipe.  I just have been slacking in the meal planning department this week.  Hopefully I’ll pick it back up next week.  Anyways, with 3 months under our belts (that basically makes me an expert, right?), I thought I’d post about all of the baby “gear” that Hadley has loved, and the things we could live without. 

First up – Soothie Pacifiers.  Not just any paci will do for this girl, and Soothie is the way to go.  I think we have about 10 of these floating around the house at all times.  She is getting to where she doesn’t take them quite as often, she really only takes one when she’s going to sleep, but they have been a God-send in the car as well.

Fisher-Price Deluxe Infant to Toddler Comfort Rocker.  This thing is basically the same shape as the oh-so-popular Fisher Price Rock –n- play, but I liked that it had the toy bar as well and can easily rock or be stationary.  Because of Hadley’s reflux, she has spent a LOT of time sleeping in this.  I think we started her sleeping in this around 4 weeks and she’s still in it at night. (She just started napping in her crib during the day – yay!)

 

For swaddling – the only one I found that Hadley couldn’t bust out of was the Halo Infant sleep sack/swaddle.  The downside to this was that the velcro was SO loud, it was impossible to do a “quiet” diaper change in the middle of the night.  She was wide awake the second you open that velcro.  We also used the Aden + Anais muslin swaddling blankets – they are HUGE so you get plenty to work with. Unfortunately, Hadley decided swaddling was for babies and was SO. over it by about 7 weeks.  The swaddle sleep sacks have been packed away, but the A+A blankets are the perfect weight for a car seat cover or stroller blanket.  I use them every day!

The Boppy pillow is still used daily in this house, as well.  I use it to nurse Hadley, and when she was smaller, it was great for other people to hold her.   I’d recommend getting at least 2 slip covers for it – we’ve had lots of spit up on ours!

Chicco® Lullaby LX 4-in-1 Playard in Romantic.  The biggest thing I have loved about this is the changing table.  We have this in our room (even though H is sleeping in her bouncy seat) and use it as another changing station.  It can hold diapers and wipes in the side (although I just keep a little basket in the actual bassinet part of it) and the mattress part converts to a playmat as well.  Not to mention that this brand just felt “sturdier” than a lot of the others we checked out. 

Sticking with the Chicco theme – we really like our infant seat as well.  The Chicco Keyfit 30 (which means the weight limit is 30 lbs) in Romantic.  I like that it’s neutral colors and comes with an infant insert & headrest, and that little foot- muff thing.  (That’s the technical term for it.)  We tried to get a lot of our big-ticket items in neutral colors so they can be used for another kiddo down the road. 

Instead of going with the big travel system for our stroller, we opted for the snap & go stroller.  The car seat just pops right into the top and you strap it in and you’re good to go.  It’s super light weight, has a huge basket, 2 cup holders and a spot for keys & your phone.  We have gotten a TON of use out of this, and I’ll be sad when she can’t fit into her infant seat anymore (or wants to face forward instead of staring at me all the time).  However, I’m really excited about our second stroller once Hadley gets a little bigger…

This is the Baby Jogger City Mini.  It has a car seat adaptor, so we could be using it right now, but rather than spend the money on that, we are just waiting until she’s big enough to sit in the seat on her own.  Maybe we’ll try out the car seat adaptor for another kiddo.  The biggest selling point to this one, if you haven’t already seen it, is the way it folds up.  SO. stinkin. easy.  LOVE.  If you haven’t seen it – click over and “watch it in action.”  Not to mention it’s light weight, has a HUGE sunshade, and maneuvers really easily.  I can’t wait to start using it!

Speaking of neutral, big-ticket items, this swing has gotten a lot of use in our house as well.  In fact, there was a stretch of about 3 weeks where Hadley wouldn’t nap ANYWHERE except in this swing.  Now it’s more of an entertainment item and will keep her occupied while I’m doing the dishes or drying my hair.  It has 2 positions – a recline for infants and a more upright position for when they’re bigger – and swings both side to side and front to back.  Hadley really liked the side to side for being rocked to sleep. 

The Bright Starts – Start Your Senses play mat has gotten a lot of use as well.  Hadley loves the little lights, music and little bee/bugs that hang from the mobile.  I always like that the mobile part can come off and attach to the car seat handle, too!

On the list of things we could live without – the Diaper Champ.  I honestly don’t think there’s a huge difference between this and your basic trash can with a lid.  It does the job, and I think it looks cuter for her nursery than a trash can, but it fills up quickly and is sort of a pain to wipe down. 

There are a lot of other items we use, but these stand out as the ones we use the most.  Hopefully this can help someone else out there, and help me to remember what we’ve gotten a lot of use out of!  I’m thinking about doing a post on my favorite Etsy sellers too – it’s addicting to shop on there for Hadley!  Let me know if you’ve got any favorites!

 

Sidenote: These are all just my opinions – I’m certainly not being endorsed by any of the above companies (although if any of them wanted to pay me for singing their praises I wouldn’t be opposed )