i only have a boppy b/c it was loaned to me. i may or may not use it. we’ll see.

all this has been pretty helpful since i’m expecting little bean… but i do realize that all babies are different and some things work better for others. i guess really i won’t know till i do it.
then i’ll kick myself for not listening to all of your wise reviews!

great post to read when i have only 8 weeks left…..

mpotter’s last blog post..bizzy-bizzy-bizzzzy

dani’s last blog post..Spook. Probably not for reading in a Catholic hospital.

Never crazy about:
Playmats
Boppy
Bottle warmer

Jackie’s last blog post..Sigh.

WORTHLESS: (in our household at least)
Boppy
Maclaren umbrella stroller
Huggies

thefarmerswife’s last blog post..Shakin’ It Like A Hillbillie Shakira!

The resale shops are great to look for furniture. We purchased a basic crib and repainted it. We re-purposed a child’s desk (new, safe paint) to be a changing table. I’d rather spend our furniture budget on them when they’re older.

Tried Diaper Genie with #1. Hated it!
In hormonal state I threw out the Genie and bought Diaper Champ for #2. Still stinky, though easier to use and less expensive.

For fall or winter infants, invest in a “Bundle Me” by JJ Cole. It’s a sherpa kind of sleeping bag that inserts into the baby carrier. That plus a hat and there is no need for a snow suit (which some advocates say pose a safety issue with securely fastening baby in the carrier). My daughter had a whole wardrobe of hats and it was cute. We usually have zero degree weather in Jan/Feb and this gave me peace of mind that my babies were warm.

Also for fall/winter babies, consider a Swaddle Me, which is a baby sleeping bag-type bunting. My babies would always houdini out of their swaddled receiving blankets.

Lastly, take advantage of gift receipts! There are only so many 0-3 mo. clothes you truly need! Take them and exchange them for 3/6, 6/9, and 12 mo. basics like onesies. Baby will need them, regardless of the seasons. And, they literally wake up one morning and outgrow their clothes.

Could easily live without: the Diaper Genie (it worked fine, but YES expensive refills and I found just tossing the diapers into a plastic supermarket bag and knotting tighly worked just fine), never owed a pack n play (baby jail) but I guess it would be good if you plan on lots of overnights not at home, Baby Mozart videos

There are three things that we had for our youngest child that I regret not getting for the older three. (finances was a main reason, but now that we’ve had them, I think they would have been worth the investment).

Bumbo–this thing was amazing–at three months the baby could sit in the middle of the other kids playing on the floor; she would be content for a long time. Our older kids loved having her at eye level and handed her toys etc, and played with her so nicely. It was great a meal time too–we have a large table and we would put her on the table (in the middle–supervised of course) and she could enjoy watching and reacting with everyone. She still uses it on the floor at two year old!)

Glider Rocker with Ottoman–awesome. I’ve never been so comfortable nursing…I nursed all the kids until around a year old. We bought a nice one that coordinates with our other furniture and will put it in the family room when the baby leaves the crib. It’s big so more than one of us can sit and rock together!

Jogging Stroller–we live near a trail and the lake. This thing can take anything. My husband loves running, so he take the youngest with on hour long treks….a break for me. We both use it and love it.

We also loved our travel system, our pack and play, exersaucer, jolly jumper, and a travel fisher-price swing someone lent us. We did use a change table and still do–we are both tall and found it helped our backs not to bend over so much.

Hope this helps!

PS We can never figure out why people buy diaper garbage things. We bring all diapers to the garbage in the garage immediately. No smell ever.

Sonja’s last blog post..Sweetness

KNIT sheets for the crib.

NOT cotton sheets, KNIT sheets.

Cribs are so hard to make up, and knit sheets make them easier to change since they are stretchy.

I also agree about diaper pad squares (or rectangles) instead of mattress pads. They are FAR too difficult to put on the crib, especially if baby messes in the middle of the night.

Which lead me to my next crib related MUST HAVE, a sheet saver. My kiddo spit up in bed alot, so it was easy to just take off the sheet saver vs. changing the sheets. Also, you can you more than one sheet saver, one under Baby’s head, another under the bottom. That way if there’s a diaper blow out, you simply replace the sheet saver. Very important in the middle of the night.
Here’s a link:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2403292