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Maryland Babies
Moving to the bump! XP from Bmore Nest
I have been on and off of the Baltimore Nest board over the past couple of years, but because we are over in Frederick, I dont post often.
But we are expecting our first little one in June and Dh & I are starting to look at our options for the big ticket baby gear items. There are SOOO many options out there that we're completely overwhelmed.
We were set on getting the chicco cortina travel system, but now we're not sure if we are better off getting just the chicco car seat & snap n go frame then get a light weight stroller once our kiddo is out of the car seat. Opinions???? And if we go light weight stroller...recs on those?
For swings, I like the snugabunny by fisher price, but it's price. Do I really need a plug in one or won't I go through batteries on the battery operated ones as much as I think?
For pack n plays, we are looking at the Graco Elements - Morgan. Anyone knows anything about it or have suggestions in the same price range?? We do want the baby to be able to sleep in it for a month or so, but other than that...I don't NEED the changing table part, but wouldn't mind it.
I was looking at the Graco highchair in the Morgan pattern just to match the pack n play. But I'm open to suggestions.
And we haven't looked at monitors at all, so any help on that would be excellent!
We aren't finding out the gender, so everything needs to be neutral.
Thanks so much!!!
<a href="http://www.thenest.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=tickers" title="Home D
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Re: Moving to the bump! XP from Bmore Nest
Should I answer these, or save my answers for your registering extravaganza day that we have coming up?
Travel system/snap n go - already offered my thoughts. Can't go wrong w/ whatever you decide. Chicco's making their own version of the snap n go, now, too (in case you haven't seen it). Lightweight strollers - like you did on Saturday, go test them out and see what you like. Joel and I have learned that's the only way we know if we like a stroller. Swing - get a plug-in model. It's worth it. PnPs - again, already offered my thoughts based on our experiences. Highchair - all depends on how much floor space you want to take up; lots of people like the FP Space Saver for an option that's less space-consuming. I don't hate our full-size highchair, but it does take up a lot of floor space, as you know. Monitors - I'd never buy anything other than our Angelcare. I'm kinda obsessed with that thing, hence why Thing 2 has one, too.
... every single day of forever.
Welcome and congratulations!!!! As for the registry stuff...
1. We went the Chicco + Snap 'n Go (think we did the Graco version) and it was wonderfully easy. Personally I couldn't fathom trying to deal with anything the size of a travel system. When he got big enough that lifting the infant car seat with him in it was a little much (and he could sit more comfortably on his own) we switched to the City Mini. It's super light weight, has a crazy easy one handed/one step folding mechanism, has a really nice recline function and has a hood that covers really well in rain/wind/sun. The only thing I'd like to change is the size and accessibility of the basket underneath - but it wasn't enough of a pain to be a deal breaker. Once he gets bigger we'll probably switch to a Maclaren or other lightweight umbrella stroller, but the City Mini has been wonderful so far.
2. For swings, we went with the Fisher Price My Little Lamb. DS loved it and as much time as he spent in it early on I was impressed with how long the batteries lasted. I don't know anything about the one that you mentioned - though I'm sure it's wonderful too!! Our swing was seriously worth its weight in gold early on.
3. We used the Chicco Lullaby for our pack and play and were happy with it. It was pretty stationary in our room - but DS definitely got plenty of mileage sleeping in it for his first 8 or so weeks. (During those first couple of months I often wondered why we'd even bothered with a nursery - he was hardly ever in there!!) We admittedly never used the changing table feature - not even once. He was such a little thing - we just layed down a towel and changed him wherever if we weren't using his actual changing table.
4. We have the Stokke for our highchair and I love how easy it is to clean and how DS can eat right at the table with us. I also love how it grows with him. Other than that I don't have much to offer in the high chair department.
5. We have the Sony Baby Call monitors but seriously NEVER use them. DS is across the hall from our room - when he wakes up, we hear him. If I slept with a monitor by my bed I would be waking up every time the thing picked up a peep - which babies do plenty of in their sleep. If I could do it again I might have gone the video monitor route because that would definitely be useful - but I read so many awful reviews and the idea of someone else being able to pick up the image outside our home freaked me out (even if it was far fetched) so we didn't include them on the registry.
That's all I've got. Hope it was helpful!!!
lovelylittleworld
BFP#2 1/12/12 ~ Missed M/C 8w2d
Welcome and congrats
I would do the Snap n' Go frame if I were you...being lightweight makes it so much easier to get in and out of the car, especially if you're by yourself w/ LO. I chose to do the City Mini (jogging stroller) and get a flippin' $60 piece to make my Graco snugride carseat able to snap in. It is fairly lightweight and it's a stroller we'll be using as LO grows, and we don't have room for a lot of extra strollers around, so that's why we chose that route. Not sure if it's as economical as the Snap n' Go and an umbrella stroller, but if you're going to be buying a jogging stroller later on it might be.
We bought the FP swing that is the battery operated version of the Snugabunny. I was worried because I'd read all this stuff on TB about how we should get the plug in, but our LO took almost every nap in the swing for the first 6 weeks, and still used it pretty frequently until I went back to work at 10 weeks, and occasionally now...I think we've changed the battery once, maybe twice. So it really wasn't a big deal.
We got the FP spacesaver high chair and we really like it because it takes up less floor space. We just started putting DD in it this weekend just to "hang out" and get used to it. The only problem with that is it takes up a chair and if you're having people over for dinner you're short a chair...so depends on if that's an issue for you.
Other items I'd think about when registering because I couldn't live without them - Halo swaddle sleep sacks, woombie swaddlers, FP Rock n Play sleeper (DD wouldn't sleep in crib or $$$ co-sleeper bassinet thing the first 6-8 weeks), homedics sound spa (white noise machine), moby wrap and/or ergo carrier.
ETA: I forgot about the monitor. I'd spend the extra money on the AngelCare movement monitor. We bought a Sony BabyCall (I think that's what it is called) for when DD was sleeping in another room and that has worked fine. We registered for a video monitor (Summer Infant) and that's worked great too, but as soon as DD started sleeping in her crib and not in our room, I wanted the Angel Care...so I could have done w/o the video monitor for sure. She sleeps close enough that I can peek in on her easily but I the angel care monitor is one I couldn't live (or sleep!) without, especially after she started rolling over.
ha, I already pretty much knew your answers, but thought I'd see what other experiences were too!
First off Congratulations!
I have the chicco travel system. We used it lot when A was little and we still use that stroller now (for big trips, trips to the playground-she still likes riding in it). I love that it has a lots of storage areas under neath the stroller. We also ended up getting a chicco high chair, which does take up a lot of room, but if you have the space, I say get it. We use the high chair on ocassion, when we have guest over and we need every seat in the house (i.e thanksgiving/Christmas). I ended up borrowing my SIL swing and I hope we can do that again this time (I probably should ask her). I would definitely get a bouncy seat. As for a pnp, A never sleep well in the Graco pnp, we had the one with the changer on top. We definitely got our use out of that part.
Congrats!
We went the snap and go route. DH is pretty tall and hated it, but I love it cause its so lightweight. Like PP we got a City Elite with the $60 attachment so it could carry her graco carrier to make DH happy. That thing is such a smooth ride. I'd suggest going to Great Beginnings in Gaithersburg and trying strollers out if your curious. They have a buttload of them. We're using the city pretty much all the time now cause she can sit up and the carrier is heavy. Also, the City is so easy to fold, but somewhat heavy. I still wouldn't trade it though.
For a swing, we have the snuggle bunny battery operated one. Honestly, we only changed the batteries maybe once or twice. I know a few people who's kids hate the swing. And do you have a spot that you put it near a receptacle? We moved ours close to our couch at times to calm DD down and sometimes it was sitting smack in the middle of our living room. No plug could reach that far. So if you're looking to cut costs, I'd go with whichever is cheaper.
PNP's are pretty much all the same to me. We bought one with the bassinet feature and a changing station. We used the changing station for about 3 weeks before DD was too big for it. The bassinet feature was used until she was about 2 months old. It was nice since you didn't have to bend so far over, but not neccessary.
We have the fisher price space saver highchair. While we have the room for a stand alone highchair, i love that ours sits on one of our chairs and is easily transportable. I have friends with kids DD's age so we can tote it with us when going over their houses for feeding time.
We have a summer video monitor. Love it. Some people get freaked out that we can pick up others feeds, which means that they can probably pick up our feed. But realistically, all they are seeing is DD sleeping, or just an empty crib.
Thanks for this suggestion! We went out on Saturday around Frederick..and the selection of what we could look at was less than desirable!
Congrats!
We have the Chicco Cortina and the Snap n go. I mostly use the snap n go right now because it's much lighter and easier to get in and out of the car. We DS is older I'll use the stroller portion of the travel system but right now I'm happy with the snap n go. I was in BRU last week and they now carry Chicco's version of the snap n go. It looks like the main difference is the storage basket seems easier to get things out of.
We have the FP snugabunny and love love love it. I like that we don't have to worry about batteries. It was totally worth the money. I have a friend who has the FP my little lamb which uses batteries and she goes through batteries like water.
We have a Graco PNP but I can't remember which one exactly. It has the newborn napper and the changing table thing. We used the napper every night until he was almost 3 months (DS is a little guy) but rarely used the changing table. I really don't think you need it.
My MIL bought us a Graco highchair but I took it back and got the FP space saver deluxe booster and I absolutely love it. I highly recommend. It's dishwasher safe (the tray) and very portable. You can also put it away when people come over so there's not baby crap everywhere.
As for monitors, we have the Summer video one. I really like it but I'm also a very nervous mother. I like being able to see and hear him. I think it calms me.
Welcome to the board and congrats!! Here is a link to a blog entry I wrote a few weeks back with registry advice.
But to answer your specific questions...
1) We have the Chicco Cortina travel system. Love it.
2) We have a Bright Starts travel swing. It's battery operated and we have never had to change the batteries. Granted, DS doesn't use it a whole lot, but there was a 6 week stretch where he slept in it every night.
3) We have a Graco PNP (Crawford). I liked having that changing table. DS has out grown it now, but it was nice to have when he was little because we kept the PNP in the basement and didn't want to go up to his room just to change him.
4) Fisher Price Space Saver for highchair. It straps to a regular chair and it's great.
5) Sony Baby Call monitor. It's audio only, but that's all we needed. We got the one with 2 receivers so we keep one in the kitchen and one in our bedroom.
BFP#1: 01/10, M/C 6w
BFP#2: 06/10, M/C 5w
BFP#3: 09/10, DS born June 1, 2011
BFP#4: 07/12, M/C 5w3d
BFP#5: 12/12, EDD 08/18/13
My Blog: Decorate This
Ditto Great Beginnings!! We went there and "test drove" strollers and looked at car seats. The sales people were extremely knowledgeable and helpful!!
BFP#1: 01/10, M/C 6w
BFP#2: 06/10, M/C 5w
BFP#3: 09/10, DS born June 1, 2011
BFP#4: 07/12, M/C 5w3d
BFP#5: 12/12, EDD 08/18/13
My Blog: Decorate This
Congratulations!!
We have the Graco travel system and I love it. I wasn't sure if the Graco SnugRide was compatable with the snap-n-go and they didn't have any at BRU when I was registering for me to verify. It ended up being especially good for us, because DD outgrew the infant carrier before she could hold her head up on her own. (This was a preemie related issue, that she needed therapy to correct.) I could lay the seat in the travel system all the way down. DD could lay flat to ride in it, like an old fashioned pram. It does take up a lot of space int he trunk, but I never had a problem getting it in and out.
We got a stand alone highchair and I like it. It ended up being important for us to be able to recline the seat when DD started eating solids and I don't think the space saver ones have that option. Now that she is bigger, we just leave the tray off and pull her High chair up to the table.
We have the summer video infant monitor. Originally we had a Sony one, but apparently it worked on the same frequency that something else in our house does, so we got terrible feedback. I ended up taking that monitor to my MIL. It works perfectly fine at her house. I picked a video monitor thinking that even if there was audio feedback, I would still be able to see the picture. Thankfully there was no feedback issue.. I really like that a lot and we still use it at 20 months. (I am a little addicted to my baby monitor!)
One thing to remember is that for the most part there isn't a "right or wrong" choice. A lot of this is about personal preference and what meets the needs for you and your family. There are things I wish I had done differently... like not worrying about having everything be matchy-matchy. It didn't matter, becuase a lot of the stuff isn't even in the same rooms!
Good luck and have fun!
Francesca Pearl is here! Josephine Hope is almost 3!
ITA with Weezie here. Its definitely what works for you. We had the Chicco Cortina travel system and loved it. I never wanted a snap n go and didn't miss having one. When DD was about 6 months, I got a BOB jogging stroller and we still use that as our primary stroller.
We had the Keyfit 30 infant carrier, which I thought was great because we could use it until she was 30 pounds....yeah, well, she is still not 30 pounds (although she's just under it) but she way outgrew that thing around 7 or 8 months and we switched to a convertible car seat. That being said, we have friends who used their infant seat until their son was 11 or 12 months. I couldn't carry DD in it like that, but they did, and it worked for them.
We had a stand alone high chair too, but we have a pretty large kitchen with lots of room. I recommend getting one with a dishwasher safe tray, but pretty much I think they all come with those nowadays. Around 11-12 months, DD started refusing to sit in her high chair with the tray on, so we'd push it up to the kitchen table. Shortly after that, she started refusing to do that, so we got a booster seat and she's been happily (for the most part) in that for a few months now. But I know people who still put their 2+ year olds in high chairs, so again, its what works for your family.
We had the Chicco pack n play too...it matched our car seat, but who really cares? It was a nice pnp and we still use it for overnight trips to the grandparents'.
We also use the Sony Babycall monitors. They're not video, just audio, and that has been totally fine for us. We don't use it overnight anymore because her room is not far from ours and I'm a light sleeper. We do still use it when she goes to bed and we are downstairs though. I've never had a problem with it.