My son will almost be 4 so no double stroller here. I plan to wear my Lo in a tula or ergo and push my son in the stroller or shopping cart. As for must haves I'll re use.
My my rock and play was amazing. It folds and is light and easy to bring to grandmas.
I swear by a pack and play or any newborn napper next to your bed that vibrates. It helped us soothe Lo back to sleep between feedings.
Sound machine.
For or a newborn I swear by my baby ktan
Mom of one adorable little boy and excited to do this again.
Baby hammock type products make me nervous because it seems like the baby's chin is down so close to their chest, which I thought was something we were supposed to avoid? I know when you're baby wearing you're always supposed to check to make sure their chin isn't tucked, but maybe it's because they don't have as much freedom to move in the carriers.
Love love love a rock & play. I had a pack n play and I hated it. Took up too much room next to the bed and my son wouldn't sleep more than 30 minutes in it. I am not even setting it up this time around.
A friend of mine just recommended The Noggle to me. It improves your car's air conditioning and heating by extending air from a front vent to where your child sits in the back.
I'm wondering if anyone has experience with mini cribs - like the Babyletto Origami Mini Crib, or the Bloom Alma Mini Crib? Looking for a good small space solution for the 1st year or so. Also wondering if anyone has the Stokke Tripp Trapp high chair? Looking for a good high chair that will look simple and chic in my dining room and thought it might fit the bill...
Thanks @homemake - I was going to use the mini-crib as a crib for the 1st year if possible (is that crazy?). Our house is 2bed/2bath - but my husband works from home so one of the bedrooms is his office currently. We are planning to have a small guesthouse/office built in our backyard in the next year or so, and then the baby will have the 2nd bedroom as her room. So the "nursery" is just a small nook of space off our living area. A regular sized crib won't fit, but a mini crib would fit, and then I'd have room for a small dresser/changer. Any suggestions on small space solutions would be great!!
Buahahaha! My friend posted a picture of she and her baby in the stroller. I asked her which stroller it is cuz I hadn't seen it before. It's the Bugaboo Cameleon and it's $1100! Hahaha. I'm going to go hide under my cheap blanket now.
@MissMerciBeaucoup Gotcha, I like that it is on wheels. Can it fit through the doorway? If so then I would definitely go for something like that if I were in your situation. In the beginning we kept our daughter in the room with us. Being able to roll the crib from their nursery area to your room to living room etc. might be advantageous especially those first few months.
Thanks! Yes, it does fit through the doorways, and we could move it from room to room, and have it in our bedroom for the first couple of months. I'm a bit of a stickler for the style/look of things, so a pack n play won't do it for me! Although my husband would be thrilled if it would
@MissMerciBeaucoup we have the tripptrap and I would NOT recommend it until your kid is way older. The whole thing is really hard to clean and the paint was destroyed by normal daily cleaning. The infant attachment straps are a lot cause for food particles.
That being said now that my guy is older and every meal isn't a shitshow I love it. We use it daily as his ladder to help in the kitchen and wash his hands and when we eat at the table like civilized people (rarely) he can sit with us and be a normal height.
Buahahaha! My friend posted a picture of she and her baby in the stroller. I asked her which stroller it is cuz I hadn't seen it before. It's the Bugaboo Cameleon and it's $1100! Hahaha. I'm going to go hide under my cheap blanket now.
I could not figure out why your friend climbed into a $1100 stroller! Had to reread that.
We used a minicrib for my son and liked it a lot. Not familiar with those brands but son used minicrib until over 2 then transitioned to mattress on floor. He is >100th percentile huge and fit fine. Minicribs in US are normal sized cribs in most of Europe. You are limited with bedding bit didn't bother us. Plan to use again for this baby.
I will add ours did fit through doorways but would have made noise if baby was in it asleep and it's kinda heavy. I wouldn't call it portable, just a bit smaller. Nice for moving though so you don't have to disassemble. If you want lots of mobility a Moses basket may be preferable.
I started looking at infant carriers/strollers. Many strollers I have seen are "modular " type where you change out the seat when you don't use the carrier. I have also see the full size stroller where the carriers hooks on to the actual stroller with no additional modifications. Is one better than the other? I thought I wanted a full size stroller until I realized that it's not so much the norm (on the different websites).
Anyone have the Contours Tandem stroller? I'm really debating getting a double anyways because I carried my first pretty much everywhere- especially shopping now because store aisles are ridiculously narrow and I start feeling claustrophobic so I can't even imagine what I would be like with a ginormous stroller (palpitations starting wink:)
@imalwaysme79 I would say the "type" of stroller you get should be based on ease of use and weight/size. I don't have personal experience with "modular" strollers, but I did have a full size Chicco Cortina that fits the Keyfit 30 car seat. The stroller was easy to maneuver and fold, but it was pretty heavy and took up a good bit of space. If I would of known about the Chicco Liteway I would of went with it. It is a "travel system" but it is still just a deluxe umbrella stroller so it folds pretty easy and is on the smaller side.
@kerris713 I am looking at the Joovy Graphite Ultralite. I plan to carry the new baby if at all possible, but I want to be able to put both in the stroller if I need too. My son will be going on 4 so I think the sit/stand option will be good for him and the baby can still go in the front. This stroller seems compact compared to most double strollers so I think it will be a good option even if I only have one child in it. I have pushed a full sized Graco double and it was terrible so I have an idea of what I want and don't want.
Any recommendations for baby monitors? I like the convenience of video monitors but it's not a necessity. I just want a good brand that does its job. So tell me: what's your favorite and why? Also of interest to me, if there is a recommendation to avoid a specific brand or model.
I have not had any issues with it. The quality is good, I've seen better on some more expensive models, but it does the job. It is not WIFI so you don't have to worry about creeper tapping in from the outside. I believe this model is going away, but I plan to buy an additional camera from the VTech site to use with the new baby and continue watching my son.
@jstringfellow19. Yea DD is only going to be 22 month when her little brother makes his debut so I think the Joovy won't work for us since she could become a little escape artist but thanks for the suggestion!
So... I was shopping for some smaller registry items, and I saw this little "nighty night nursing light" that clips on your bra/shirt. That seems helpful to me, but am I actually going to use that or is it just another unnecessary buy?
It's not super expensive, but I don't want to buy a bunch of junk.
I thought you just...turned on a lamp? People bf in the dark? Man I have so much you learn.
@PerraSucia I'd still be interested in your pumping routine to minimize dishes if you have a minute. I'm sure the discussion will come up again/i could Google if it's burdensome for you.
I thought you just...turned on a lamp? People bf in the dark? Man I have so much you learn.
@PerraSucia I'd still be interested in your pumping routine to minimize dishes if you have a minute. I'm sure the discussion will come up again/i could Google if it's burdensome for you.
I'm not sure if she had a more specific routine. But I'll chime in. My way to minimize all the parts cleaning was to put my pump in the fridge in between sessions. It kept any milk or anything in the parts fresh, and saved me sooooooooo much time after each pumping session. I would wash all the parts at night, or every other night. The dishes of pumping and bottles can get tedious!!
(unrelated to dishes, but to make this more complete I used this cheapass pumping harness because I didn't like having to take my bra off for pumping and this my favorite nipple cream to lube to pump)
My first piece of advice is to buy at least two sets of bottles, flanges, valves and back up tubes because washing everything everyday is going to make you insane. There are going to be days you are too tired or too much shit is happening and you can't wash all your stuff and you will be thrilled to just have a clean set you can grab in the morning.
I had two "lunch bags" The one I actually kept my milk in and this one that held my flanges, bottles i pumped into, and my handtowel I use for wiping the lube off my flanges in between. I also used a cute one for my milk, but I could of used the one that came with the pump, but I shared a mini fridge with 3-5 other moms also using the same pump setup and didn't want to grab the wrong milk by accident. Also, ignore how stupid expensive my lunch bags were I hated pumping and was trying to make it seem cuter.
So here was my setup:
I packed 1 set of flanges, 3 5oz medela bottles, a clean handtowel daily. I constantly had a box of bags (lanolish or target because fuck medela bags and reading current reviews target seems leaky too), back up tubes, replacement membranes, and nipple cream in there.
I pumped at 10am, 1pm and 4pm on both sides. If you have a good supply of milk you will probably only need to pump twice a day like 10 / 2 but I'm insane.
So I would pump, combine my milk into 5oz increments and pour it into bags. I clearly would not pump exactly 5 or 10 ounces everyday, so the third bottle would sit in the fridge with leftovers. You cannot combine cold milk with warm milk, so by the time the second pump was done and there was leftovers there, they would stay in the fridge until my third pump where I could combine them because three hours in the fridge was enough to cool them off.
You don't wash all your stuff in between pumps, because ain't no one got time for that, so you put them in a lunch box in the fridge until your next session. I use a ton of nipple cream when I pump, so I would just wipe the flanges after each use and shoved that rag in the lunch box too, because why not.
So basically you have 2 flanges, 3 bottles, 2 valves / membranes and a hand towel you need to wash daily. Well on top of whatever bottles your kid has to bring per their daycare policy. (in home is more likely to wash shit than a facility)
I hope this made sense. I probably could of just said "put your stuff in a fridge"
@PerraSucia you are a god! Thank you! I won't judge how expensive your milk lunch bags were because they're cute AF. Saving your links and taking a screen shot for future reference since finding a comprehensive guide on how to coordinate pumping and work has been a PITA. Thanks again!
@PerraSucia how long did it take you to be able to get the baby latched in the dark? Are we talking days, weeks, ? I know everyone is different, but I just have no frame of reference.
@WinchesterGirl days. I was really fortunate he was a beast when it came to eating so I was able to just sort of pinch my areola to make sure he got the whole thing in his mouth. This is not me, but here is a picture of kinda how I'd adjust him.
Re: Baby Gear - Questions/Opinions/Suggestions
My my rock and play was amazing. It folds and is light and easy to bring to grandmas.
I swear by a pack and play or any newborn napper next to your bed that vibrates. It helped us soothe Lo back to sleep between feedings.
Sound machine.
For or a newborn I swear by my baby ktan
Ben and Maggie - 4/10/09
Mia - 6/16/11
Surprise! due 2/23/17
Also the high chair definitely has the right look but it's so $$$!
That being said now that my guy is older and every meal isn't a shitshow I love it. We use it daily as his ladder to help in the kitchen and wash his hands and when we eat at the table like civilized people (rarely) he can sit with us and be a normal height.
Me: 37 - H: 39
TTC#1: 01/2016
BFP: 06/18/2016 - EDD: 02/20/2017 - Born: 01/27/2017
@kerris713 I am looking at the Joovy Graphite Ultralite. I plan to carry the new baby if at all possible, but I want to be able to put both in the stroller if I need too. My son will be going on 4 so I think the sit/stand option will be good for him and the baby can still go in the front. This stroller seems compact compared to most double strollers so I think it will be a good option even if I only have one child in it. I have pushed a full sized Graco double and it was terrible so I have an idea of what I want and don't want.
https://www.vtechphones.com/products/product_detail/1703?gclid=CKL9lN6D784CFQEEaQod1QgEVw
I have not had any issues with it. The quality is good, I've seen better on some more expensive models, but it does the job. It is not WIFI so you don't have to worry about creeper tapping in from the outside. I believe this model is going away, but I plan to buy an additional camera from the VTech site to use with the new baby and continue watching my son.
It's not super expensive, but I don't want to buy a bunch of junk.
https://m.buybuybaby.com/m/product/born-free-reg-nighty-night-nursing-light-in-blue/1042457145?categoryId=32067
@PerraSucia I'd still be interested in your pumping routine to minimize dishes if you have a minute. I'm sure the discussion will come up again/i could Google if it's burdensome for you.
So I pumped 3 times a day at work using the Medela PISA and Pumpin Pals flanges.
(unrelated to dishes, but to make this more complete I used this cheapass pumping harness because I didn't like having to take my bra off for pumping and this my favorite nipple cream to lube to pump)
My first piece of advice is to buy at least two sets of bottles, flanges, valves and back up tubes because washing everything everyday is going to make you insane. There are going to be days you are too tired or too much shit is happening and you can't wash all your stuff and you will be thrilled to just have a clean set you can grab in the morning.
I had two "lunch bags" The one I actually kept my milk in and this one that held my flanges, bottles i pumped into, and my handtowel I use for wiping the lube off my flanges in between. I also used a cute one for my milk, but I could of used the one that came with the pump, but I shared a mini fridge with 3-5 other moms also using the same pump setup and didn't want to grab the wrong milk by accident. Also, ignore how stupid expensive my lunch bags were I hated pumping and was trying to make it seem cuter.
So here was my setup:
I packed 1 set of flanges, 3 5oz medela bottles, a clean handtowel daily. I constantly had a box of bags (lanolish or target because fuck medela bags and reading current reviews target seems leaky too), back up tubes, replacement membranes, and nipple cream in there.
I pumped at 10am, 1pm and 4pm on both sides. If you have a good supply of milk you will probably only need to pump twice a day like 10 / 2 but I'm insane.
So I would pump, combine my milk into 5oz increments and pour it into bags. I clearly would not pump exactly 5 or 10 ounces everyday, so the third bottle would sit in the fridge with leftovers. You cannot combine cold milk with warm milk, so by the time the second pump was done and there was leftovers there, they would stay in the fridge until my third pump where I could combine them because three hours in the fridge was enough to cool them off.
You don't wash all your stuff in between pumps, because ain't no one got time for that, so you put them in a lunch box in the fridge until your next session. I use a ton of nipple cream when I pump, so I would just wipe the flanges after each use and shoved that rag in the lunch box too, because why not.
So basically you have 2 flanges, 3 bottles, 2 valves / membranes and a hand towel you need to wash daily. Well on top of whatever bottles your kid has to bring per their daycare policy. (in home is more likely to wash shit than a facility)
I hope this made sense. I probably could of just said "put your stuff in a fridge"