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February 2017 Moms
WinchesterGirl
member
Gear Opinions
WinchesterGirl
member
Calling all STMs+!
Right now, we are mostly all in that anxious waiting phase, first appointments, ultrasounds, or general first tri weirdness. To get our minds off things and think about the future for a bit, tell us:
- Favorite piece of baby gear from a previous child.
- Most useless piece of baby gear from a previous child.
- One other recommendation you have from your experience, gear related or not.
Share your wisdom with us!
Right now, we are mostly all in that anxious waiting phase, first appointments, ultrasounds, or general first tri weirdness. To get our minds off things and think about the future for a bit, tell us:
- Favorite piece of baby gear from a previous child.
- Most useless piece of baby gear from a previous child.
- One other recommendation you have from your experience, gear related or not.
Share your wisdom with us!
Rainbow baby Dean is due 2/17/17!
Re: Gear Opinions
useless- bassinet! My son hated being flat for a long time. The Rock and Play was the best thing ever for us.
Useless: Swing - they are so big and take up so much floor space, some babies love them but I would wait to buy til you decide if you need it.
Pack'n'Play - we use ours only when we travel. We bought it for $15 at a garage sale. I am glad we didn't spend more money than that.
Wipes warmer, changing table
Other: Look for local consignment sales in your area. My city usually has a fall and spring one. You can get tons of baby gear in great shape for next to nothing. Don't waste money buying anything new that you don't get from a shower - it's amazing how quick they grow out of it.
Also, I wouldn't splurge a ton on a convertible crib. Even with a teething protector on it my DD managed to beaver her way to the wood.
- Most useless piece of baby gear from a previous child. I bought so much crap *hangs head in shame* But I think one of the few things we didn't even use ONCE was the shopping cart cover.
- One other recommendation you have from your experience: I was frustrated at communicating with DD in a way that worked for both of us. And then I discovered Janet Lansbury's podcast. Eye-opening.
USELESS: Bottle warmer.$75 waste. I found that using a big glass measuring cup with water from the Keurig worked much faster.
OTHER TIPS: bedside lights on dimmers.
She hated the cold against her.
If we were out I just stuck it under my boob for a few.
*Aiden and Anais muslin blankets. We used them for swaddles, car seat covers, breastfeeding privacy etc.
*Buckle carrier and ringsling.
I didn't get the hang of wrapping but will try this time.
*Snap n Go stroller.
*Nose Frida. That thing is amazeballs.
Waste:
*bumpers. By the time she slept in her crib she was rolling and I had to take them out. I won't buy a crib set again.
*swing. Expensive, waste of space.
Useless: wipe and bottle warmers (we didn't get any but we would have returned them), baby shoes (until she was walking), crib set (just get sheets and waterproof protectors), and cheap wraps/carriers (if you're going to do it, you want to be comfortable! Spend the money on a decent one)
I also agree on the convertible crib - by the time DD was old enough to have a big girl bed, we needed a crib for new baby anyways so it was cheaper just to buy a toddler day bed.
@MerryCakes5 makes a good point about height and strollers... I'm a super shorty; any other short mamas have stroller suggestions?
I also was wondering the same thing about cribs. Just walking through BRU in the past, all of their cribs are very tall. Like, some up to my armpits almost.... how am I supposed to get a baby out of there? Are any brands noticeably lower?
- Most useless piece of baby gear from a previous child. Changing table.. Seriously buy a changing pad for your dresser.
- One other recommendation you have from your experience, gear related or not. Invest in baby socks you will lose them everywhere! Use coconut oil instead of baby oil especially for cradle cap.
Most useless- change table. We still use it. But we would have been better off just getting a proper full dresser that we could attach a change pad to.
Advice- you'll get it. you'll be ok. Even with my little demon second child, we figured it out and we survived. You are meant to be that child's mother because you know what it needs and you can handle this. it doesn't get less scary, pregnancy, babies, toddlers, big kids. All equally terrifying. You just get the hang of it and you tread water, with a smile on your face.
Worst- I'm not sure if anything was necessarily worthless to us but some things in certain categories won't work for you or your baby and you might find you wish you'd made a different choice. For me I wished I had gotten a different infant bathing apparatus and I also ended up with way too many swings and places to put baby that we barely ended up using.
things I will get for next baby: bassinet for our room... a ring sling, a comfy robe for those first few months, more nursing friendly clothing, a better nursing cover.
Shopping for baby can be so fun but also so overwhelming!
Overrated: I agree with the changing table ( we use a pad attached to a regular dresser), blankets (you will receive a ton and use maybe 2), video baby monitors, floor mats and Sophie the Giraffe
Useless: changing table. It's a waste of money, in my opinion. Unless we wanted to change DS in his room every.single.time, which we weren't doing.
Other suggestions: Boppy was great for me when I nursed DS.
Big Bro 7/14/13
Little Bro 2/6/17
Be be aware when crib shopping of your height. I'm 5'4'' and I pretty much had to drop a sleeping baby in the crib when I have it on the lowest setting because of my short t-rex arms.
I went the route of a dresser + changing pad and was very happy with it.
I also enjoyed having a PnP on the 1st floor with a napper and changing station when I was still recovering from my c-section. DS has allergies and sensitive skin, so for us it was great to have a dog and cat fur free zone to lay him down on.
Worst: mamaroo. He HATED it and it was so huge and expensive. Honest diapers. They're so cute but they totally blow. Medela milk bags.
Random advice: at the hospital they will ask you if you want to see a lactation consultant. 100% take this opportunity to help show you what a correct latch looks like. Going to breastfeeding classes does not prepare you for correcting a bad latch at all.
Take it all!!
Big Bro 7/14/13
Little Bro 2/6/17
For baby stuff
I loved my beco carrier it has a cross back unlike the Tula and it saved my back during hikes and whatnot.
I never used our swing and bouncy seat or cart cover. Not once. Thankfully we got that stuff for free or at a second hand store (swing/bouncy seat was only $30!) so it wasn't a huge waste.
This baby I will be purchasing the Leaf seat. Partly for me haha it has an adult weight limit and I've sat in one before it's amazing and partly for both kids. Hopefully my first enjoys it too. I will also be getting some newborn cloth diapers.
Although I used it more to sit on after delivery when I couldn't put pressure on my vag for weeks after delivery.
waste: expensive bedding, changing table, pajamas with zippers (when you're sleep deprived it's a pain to match them up at night)
advice: dont beat yourself up over the way you feed your baby. If your set on nursing then meet with the LC in the hospital and know the pain gets better eventually. If you're leaning towards formula then know that its just as good. At the end of the day a fed baby is the best baby.
Here are my favorite baby items:
Video Monitor (especially when they are a little older and you want to see whether they are getting out of bed)
NoseFrida (husband and I laughed uncontrollably the first time we used it but it works SO much better than the bulb aspirations)
Baby Jogger Citi Mini (I sold by expensive stroller to get one)
Bouncy seat - one for next to the shower so you can take one with baby
Onesies and pants, all day every day
Aden & Anais Dream Blanket
Wastes:
A lot of things that I researched to heck online but then just ended up not working for us
For example, lots of different kinds of carriers.
Bottle warmer
We turned our bassinet into a changing station
Fancy baby clothes
Worst or least used was the hundred blankets everyone knit for my daughter. There were so many of them and I honestly never used them. Her hands would get caught in them and it just didn't seem very practical.
Worsts: we had so many baby containment things we never used. This time I will probably have have a swing and bouncer chair out and that's it.
- Most useless piece of baby gear from a previous child. For us it was a swing, but we also concluded that it was the actual swing we had. It had been handed down to 4 different kids and ALL of them hated that swing but my DD loved the one they had at school, but we didn't get one for our home after the fail we had.
- One other recommendation you have from your experience, gear related or not. As a few have mentioned I pack less for the hospital.. I WAY overpacked and felt a little crazy when we got there and moved to recovery. Also I couldn't not have lived without my boppy, extra medela bottles for pumping, bouncer, and the Ka'Tan.
ET 9/10 - transferred 1 perfect 5AA blast
7dp5dt BFP ~~ Beta on 9/19 - 77.4 Beta #2 on 9/21 - 357
Low heartbeat on 10/7 86, lower heartbeat on 10/11 76, no heartbeat 10/14/13. D&C 10/15/13
Tests revealed MTHFR c677t mutation, put on Folgard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FET #1 1/6/14 - 4BB blast - BFN
Useless: Changing table
Others: I love, love, love the baby gowns with the elastic bottoms! So awesome for diaper changes!!!
Best equipment I feel is definitely the car seats that click into everything. Car seat base, stroller, shopping carts. Everything. I also liked our diaper genie for the nursery room. It kept the smell down and I didn't have to bring diapers downstairs every day.
Useless equipment, I'd have to agree with the cart cover. I used ours a few times but it was more of a hassle hooking it on and taking it off than it was worth.
Best advice I have non equipment related though, is that if you cook your dinners, try preparing things you don't mind warming up, before you deliver. I never did this before but will this time. I'm going to have a few "main dishes" that I will freeze or can stay refrigerated for several days ready to go. Then when I get home all it will take is a crockpot or some reheating. It will help keep me from going crazy or always needing to order out. My husband isn't much of a cook lol
*edit
Due to the many comments on putting the car seat on the shopping cart I decided to add more. I have seen a video and read an article on why it can be unsafe. I always made sure the seat was actually secure and I never just set the seat on top. I was completely safe doing it. I realize there are a lot of careless people out there so if anyone tries to hook the seat on a cart, please check and check again that their is no way, whatsoever that baby could be at risk of any injury. Thank you for not continuing to add more comments on why it's unsafe as I understand now why you may possibly be against it