Comments on Living our own fairy tale...: Baby Registering Suggestions

I bought a pink bugaboo cameleon for Sophia-- on c...

2009-05-03T19:48:00.000-05:00

I bought a pink bugaboo cameleon for Sophia-- on craigslist. It was 600 for everything and THE BEST!!! I still look forward to pushing her in it everytime. Lots of ooos and ahhs. I bought a graco snugride with adapter to sit on the bugaboo frame. So great.

Second time around- I just throw the diapees in the trash. In a grocery bag first if stinky. But you don't have to worry about that til she's older.

I bought a similar pump on craigslist... and never used it. Ended up doing soy formula once she finally took a bottle. Try 3 or 4 bottles usually before you find the right one unless you get lucky. It usually has to do with wide neck vs. narrow neck I think I found. Try both. oh and I sold the pump on craigslist for $20 less than I paid for it!

I like the swings that go side to side. I think most like that better than front to back swings. Sophia slept in her swing or car seat for like 3 months haha.

Get a hot diaper bag- I had one made but etsy has lots of cool ones.

And get a baby sling- my fav is my Hotsling... you can google it.

Enjoy! This is the fun part!

I'll have more advice once my baby comes. Congrats...

2009-05-02T10:32:00.000-05:00

I'll have more advice once my baby comes. Congrats to you on your little one!-La.

Hey Emily. I love my Gracco travel system. I did...

2009-04-30T12:11:00.000-05:00

Hey Emily. I love my Gracco travel system. I did the same thing with buying a neutral pattern. My 1st was a girl and 2nd a boy, so it worked out great! I tryied a diaper genie with my 1st and I really found it easier to just throw the diapers away. I think I gave mine away bc it was just collecting dust. Besides, if you breastfeed the diapers don't really smell til you introduce solids. (I know kinda gross) After the diapers do start to smell, I just take the diapers out to the trash outside, or sit it in the garage till I can make my way outside. Honestley, I never really used a pump. I have 2 actually, but I stay at home so it was always easier to just feed them on demand. Oh yeah, register for a boppy! They are great. Even if you don't end up breasteeding, they are just handy to kinda wrap the baby up on when they are newborn and sleep all the time. During that stage, I often would just put the baby down on the couch or ottoman and wrap the boppy around them so they wouldn't fall. (I kept close by as well!) Oh, get a bumbo that will aid in helping Cate sit up. You will probably start using it when Cate is about 3 months, but so worth it. It gives baby a different vantage point and gives you a break!! Also they look so cute sitting up in them! Okay, for bottles I don't know much about, but my sis has a 6 month old boy who loves Dr Brown bottles. She likes them too but claims they are annoying to clean and says if/when she has another she will not introduce Dr Brown bottles only bc they are such a pain to clean. She likes the playtex drop ins bc athey are easy, but she introduced those later on and my nephew has his preference already! I have a fisher price swing that I love, but really any swing will do. Diapers honestly are just diapers and it has taken me 3 kids to finally realise that I will never pay full price for diapers unless I buy Luvs (bc they are cheap!) The hospital will probably give you Pamper swaddlers which are great. I usually use those first. I would say try out the big names and see which ones you perfer. After the swaddlers no longer fit (size1) when I buy pampers I just buy the baby drys, but Luvs are the exact same diaper! Made buy the same people everything they just have blu's clues not seasame street. With Luvs you do have to watch out and see is the dyes that they use irritate Cate. They did my son, but not my youngest so I do tend to buy Luvs. I also love Huggies. The sepremes are good (thick feeling, but good) but I like the cheaper ones with Mickey Mouse on them. Sign up at Pampers and at Huggies (online) and they will send you coupons and if your like me, just get the ones that you can find the cheapest! Pampers and Huggies are the same price, thike 11 something, but about once a month they go on sale for 9 something, when you buy them then and tag on your coupon they end up being cheaper or the same price as Luvs. (Luvs are 7 something!) Okay I have written a novel :) I hope some of it helped, but really you will find your groove and do what you feel is the best!! Oh, when ar if you ever want advise on breastfeeding, be prepared for another novel!! I have had both amazing and horrible experiences, and I can't help but enphasis proper placement!! :) :)

i'd like a "summary" of all of these suggestions ;...

2009-04-30T10:37:00.000-05:00

i'd like a "summary" of all of these suggestions ;-) i can't read them all. too overwhelming! but i'm curious to see what the true top must haves are...

My daughter went with the Chicco Cortina Travel sy...

2009-04-29T22:26:00.000-05:00

My daughter went with the Chicco Cortina Travel system too...for the safety factor. I think she has the Medula pump and really likes it. No diaper genie. I have to agree that a Pack and Play is a must as well. Definitely get a boppy or two (if you have a two story house and nurse in bed...saves lugging it up and down or forgetting it in one place or the other).

oh and we loved our baby bjorn, great for walks, o...

2009-04-29T17:25:00.001-05:00

oh and we loved our baby bjorn, great for walks, or the mall, or or or=)!!

My two cents would be "skip the diaper genie".... ...

2009-04-29T17:25:00.000-05:00

My two cents would be "skip the diaper genie".... First of all, it is a pain in the butt to empty it; and honestly, I just through the diapers in the trash can....an if it they were poopy, I would put them in a plastic grocery bag or other diaper disposal "bags" (they sell them at babies r us) and then put them in the trash.... iaoer Genie is a waste.of.money.

You know how much I love this question? 1. BabyLe...

2009-04-29T17:00:00.000-05:00

You know how much I love this question?

1. BabyLegs- invest in MANY pairs. Cate will wear them with everything. Also great for their knees when they start crawling. Caroline still wears them too. Love them!

2. Dipees and Wipees- For quick trips.

3. Fabulous diaper bag- I cried until I got my Petunia Pickle Bottom. Love it!

4. My carseat suggestion- We bought a Grace Safeseat and stroller system. I loved the stroller because it loved just like a Maclaren. (PS- They don't make them anymore). Anyway, my suggestion... find a carseat you love. Buy the carseat. Then go out and find a fabulous jogger stroller that you love. Phil and Ted's Sport is what I'm eyeing at the moment. There are cheaper ones out there that are great! I will send you a link to my single jogger I have now. Just be sure to get a front wheel that swivels. You will never use the carseat on top of the stroller... I never did. This is my suggestion only because you are going to want a jogger stoller before you know it and you will NEVER use that other umbrella type stroller again.

5. Burp cloths- You can NEVER have too many.

6. Diapers- Start clipping coupons now. Start buying now. You will need the size that you buy eventually.

7. Medela Pump in Style- I have this pump. It is awesome. I love it. I decided to buy one with Caroline because I knew I would use it again. If you rent one, you end up paying almost the same thing as if you HAD bought it. You are better off buying it. This is a great pump too!

8. Nursing bras/camis- Totally went to the hospital to have Caroline and forgot all about these. Damnit. Maybe this isn't something to register for but it is definitely something you don't need to forget! Ha!

9. Take Along Swing- We have the Fisher Price Aquarium one from when Caroline was born in 2006. I love it because you can fold it up so easily. It is so tiny.

10. BOPPY- Dear God, this was one of my life savers when learning to breastfeed Caroline.

11. Bumbo- Helped both girls learn to sit. Wonderful feeding chair. Wonderful play chair. We love it! They make a tray for it now too!

12. TIP- I never used my diaper genie with Caroline. We save plastic grocery bags... throw the dirty diaper in them... take it to the outside trash can... TADA no pissy/shitty smelling room. No diaper genie needed.

13. Pump Ease breast pumping bra- Didn't have one. I didn't know about them until recently! How cool though!

THINKING...

14. Monitors- We have used Fisher Price Sounds n' lights monitors. I love them. They didn't have great video monitors as reasonbly priced in 2006 when we bought ours.

I'll e-mail you if I( think of anything else. I'm sure I will! Ha!

THOUGHT OF SOMETHING

15. Bby Bjorn AND HotSling- Love them. Couldn't live without them.

That is all.. for now.

it's me again...I thought of a couple more things:...

2009-04-29T16:18:00.000-05:00

it's me again...I thought of a couple more things:

*Bumbo for sure!
*extra car seat base
*gerber cloth diapers make for great burp cloths
*bouncy seat with a mobile
*sling for when baby is little
*soft structured carrier for birth up to 40+ lbs (ergo carrier, beco carrier). These are a little pricey but you will get a lot of usuage and daddy can use it and the resale value is about the same as if it were new.
*huggies wipes are my fav because they come out of the dispenser easily.
*papers swaddlers and cruisers are great!!

Don't feel bad for registering for too much or too expensive! Everyone loves to buy for babies and I know how sweet ya'll are so I'm sure you have a ton of people who are so excited for ya'll!

Yay this is so exciting that you are at another mi...

2009-04-29T16:08:00.000-05:00

Yay this is so exciting that you are at another milestone!

For bottles:
I loved Playtex Nursers because of the bags-less air, the bottles don't have to be propped up(although when Cate is really hungry, she won't want to be patient and wait for you to push the air out).
I would definitely get a travel system if possible. We wish our stroller navigated a little better (it's hard to steer) and also that it was a little taller for big daddy who is 6'2.
No way jose on the diaper champs, genies, etc. We just had a separate small bin that we emptied on a regular basis.
No on a wipes warmer either--something about moisture and warm and mildew come to mind.
Yes on a pump. You are so right that nursing will be up in the air but it's because it takes a lot of commitment on your part. A lot a lot a lot! I would make sure you have a pump for sure before she comes (perhaps you could buy a used one or if you get a new one and it doesn't work out, sell your new one on ebay or save it for #2). Also, you will wanna have at least one nursing bra within the first couple days for when your milk comes in and then a sleeping tank or gown so you can be bra free and just wear the pads.

I loved the travel system. AH, it was such a bless...

2009-04-29T12:09:00.000-05:00

I loved the travel system. AH, it was such a blessing and no tugging and pulling. Although, I wish I would of recieved a pink stroller for my Charli Beth. Not sure how long you "plan" to keep your little ones apart in ages, but Charli is three years and if I were to have another I would have to have another stroller system for sure.

I'm not a fan of the diaper genie at all, it seemed that it never worked for us?! Maybe we did something wrong. My daughter used the Avent bottles, and was a 6 week preemie, she did wonderful the entire time with them. Have fun doing your registry =) It's so much fun!!!!

how awesome and helpful are these long comments!! ...

2009-04-29T11:23:00.000-05:00

how awesome and helpful are these long comments!! WOW!!!

de-lurking... i just had a baby in february, here ...

2009-04-29T10:50:00.000-05:00

de-lurking... i just had a baby in february, here is what we have- hope it helps!:

travel system: chicco keyfit30 (we got ours at buy buy baby, our BRU only has the 22 pound version.) its so easy to use, not as bulky as some others out there. its also great b/c the max limit is 30lb/30" which most sytems dont require those #'s to be the same. i also think the colors/fabrics they use are great and very gender-neutral. we also registered for the baby trend snap and go (so easy to use)and the chicco umbrella stroller (havent used that yet though).

swing- graco in the same pattern as the travel system you posted about (deco). dylan isnt really in to the swing though, so it was kind of a waste.

bouncy seat- funny, we werent going to register for the seat bc we had the swing, but we are getting way more use out of the seat. its the boppy one. our bru only had blue & pink, but walmart has a beige colored one and its $10-20 cheaper there. its so soft and comfy feeling, i would love to sit in it all day! i picked it bc of how nice it looked and it didnt have a lot of bells and whistles. i think sometimes too much stuff is too over-stimulating.

playmat- Tiny Love Gymini 3-D Activity Gym - Red, Black & White. i got this one bc it got good reviews in the baby bargins book.

diaper pail- we live in an apt so we definitely wanted a diaper pail. we went with the diaper champ (love that you can use regular old garbage bags!). no problems with this so far.

pack and play- gracco (again, the deco pattern). got this for travel and to use as a bassinet instead of investing in a seperate one for such a short period of time. turns out we never used the bassinet bc dylan slept in his crib from night 1.

pump- Lansinoh double electric. i exclusively pump, and this has been great so far. comes from the same company as the ameda but with out the price tag. i rented the hospital grade one (ameda) for the first two weeks at home (as suggested by the lactation consultant at the hospital) until my supply was established.

bottles- i use the playtex drop ins with the slow flow nipples. they are great and never had any problems!

monitor- the summer video one (only bc someone gave it to us as a gift). we only have one floor so its kind of pointless. i found myself watching him instead of sleeping- its kind of a catch 22 having one of these kind!

diapers- we have a boy and registered for pampers and i have to say, i dont like them. i found they dont fit as well and in the NB & sz 1s we were having a lot of blow outs. he grew out of them rather quickly as opposed to the same sizes in huggies that we had left at daycare. he is still in size 1 of huggies and never had any problems. we just had to bump him up to sz 2 in pampers.

i have used pampers, huggies and costco wipes and never had problems with any.

boppy pillow- never used it bc i had a c-section and it was too uncomfortable.

bumbo seat- just started using this at 2 1/2 months. seems to like it so far.

bath tub- Clean Water Infant Tub with Built-in Thermometer.

burp cloths- dont bother with anything fancy or frilly. one, they get stained, and 2 they dont soak up anything. get the Gerber 12-Pack Diaper Birdseye Prefold ones. they are ugly but work great and they are white so you can bleach the heck out of them.

swaddles- Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe. dylan can only sleep at night if he is swaddled. the only 2 things that we have found that work are the blankets from the hosptial and these. they are great!

get an assortment of paci's. you'll never know which kind they will like. we just brought one of every kind until we knew what he would take.

these are great- Ultimate Crib Sheets. instead of buying a seperate mattress pad and protectors, its all of those in one product. they snap on and go on top of your sheet. you dont have to worry about taking apart the whole bed in case there is the middle of the night blow out. the only down side is it covers up your pretty sheets!

thermometers- dont waste money on the ear ones. get the $10 digital kind you find at the drug store. they can be used both ways and are more accurate.

hth!

I love the pattern you picked for the travel syste...

2009-04-29T01:48:00.000-05:00

I love the pattern you picked for the travel system. We bought the pack-n-play in that pattern for little Bryson before we knew he was a boy. I think it's very neutral. I'd pick it myself except they have it...

Lot's of our mom's in the NICU use the Madela pump and they say its great. I agree with the others that a double pump is the only option. If you have to spend time pumping, why not get both sides done at once?

A few of my friends have the video monitors and really like them. I have heard that you can pick up other monitors if someone near you is on the same frequency...which means they could possibly pick up your signal too.

We use pampers swaddlers in the NICU, so I'm partial to those. We also use Aquaphor made by Eucerin on the baby's bottoms to prevent diaper rashes. It's thick like vaseline so it creates a barrier, if they do get a rash we use desitin or pink salve.

You're going to have a wonderful time registering for Cate! It seems like forever until we find out what this little bean is. Good luck and keep us posted!

I agree with almost everything everyone else has s...

2009-04-29T00:28:00.000-05:00

I agree with almost everything everyone else has said so I'll try to keep it brief...maybe. Go with the more expensive stroller/carseat/travel system. We went with a cheaper one and now we're paying for it. Can't wait to move Campbell to her bigger carseat. My sister LOVES her Chicco. The Graco you like is so cute. Definitely not too boyish.

I LOVE our video monitor. We started out with just the audio monitor, but once we moved her to the crib I had to have the video. It is Summer brand. Pretty inexpensive.

I agree with the bouncey seat, pack-n-play, sweet peace, bumbo, Dr.Brown's bottles, Medela DOUBLE pump (don't waste your time with the single), boppy.

Take all of the advice with a grain of salt because you will realize what will fit your needs and the baby's needs the best once little Cate gets here.

I have no good advice :( BUT I do look forward to ...

2009-04-29T00:14:00.000-05:00

I have no good advice :( BUT I do look forward to you giving me advice..hoping a praying! I can't think of the stroller name but my friend has an amazing one! it has the car seat and all..I'll find out and get back to ya...perhaps on saturday?!? YAY!!

oh such a fun time!!=) STROLLER - we were given...

2009-04-28T23:42:00.000-05:00

oh such a fun time!!=)

STROLLER - we were given a hand me down graco stroller set from some friends and it has been great (i so want to get a new one for our next one(s) bc this is one is soo old and is a little ripped up=)

DIAPERS - We have the champ, you don't have to buy replacements and you only have to use one hand to operate it, although after a while their little stinky diapers smell through it too=) we end up just bagging them too=) (and as far as the diapers themselves we were told that pampers swaddlers are the best for newborns and then you can see for boys vs girls after that, we still use pampers and have noticed a difference if we use another brand=))

PUMP - Medela Breast Pump is really good=) I'll have to check which one I have.

MONITOR - I soo want a video monitor, i'll have to look at the regular one we have, it was really good but doesn't stay charged anymore (although we haven't been using it for a while now=)) From what we've heard you just have to be careful not to be obsessed with having to watch it all the time, I would still want one!

the stroller you picked is super cute. like some other gals said, def get a pack n play (great for traveling or taking the little one to friends' houses for the evening) and a play mat too. we also got a bouncer (off craigslist) that was great, and the exersaucer is great once they are several months old too (not a walker, not so good). we ended up not using the swing so much we used the bouncer seat a lot but lots use the swing =)

E-mail or call me if you have any questions!!

ooh how exciting! it must be starting to feel real...

2009-04-28T23:32:00.000-05:00

ooh how exciting! it must be starting to feel real :) the brown isn't too boyish--i personally think the pink-pink everything is kinda tacky!

OK, I have heard Chicco is all the rage for stroll...

2009-04-28T22:48:00.000-05:00

OK, I have heard Chicco is all the rage for stroller systems right now. They didn't have a color we liked, so we went with someone else!

Also, Diaper champ-you can use your own trash bags instead of purchasing diaper genie's expensive ones.

PS Email me and I will send you a link to our registry! I had a ton of my mommy friends help with ours.

PSS...Plan on being TIRED. It took us 3 hours to register!! So fun though!

Ok friend, you know I have NO idea about all of th...

2009-04-28T21:34:00.000-05:00

Ok friend, you know I have NO idea about all of this, but I must say I love the fabric on the stroller, not too boyish for Cate! Love ya!

Hi there. I am a bit new to your blog, but have be...

2009-04-28T20:09:00.000-05:00

Hi there. I am a bit new to your blog, but have been following for a bit now! I had a little girl 1 year ago today:) and thought I would give you some tips!!!! Hope they help!

*I love the Diaper Champ, we had the Diaper Genie and threw it away because it made her room smell. Just bought the Champ two weeks ago and it is amazing.
*I pumped because Taegan would not latch and that is the exact one I had. It was AWESOME!!!! I bought mine because I was attached to it all the time because she was not nursing, but you can rent them. It was expensive.
*I have the Graco Travel System and swear by it. Being able to put the car seat right on the stroller was a huge convenience.
*I would suggest registering for another little stroller so when they get a bit bigger and you are going somewhere fast you can use that instead.
*If you are going to get a bassinet get a travel one that you can use for a while if you are the type of people that will go places and visit. Very handy to travel with.
*I tried all types of bottles, the ones that Taegan finally liked were the ones at Walmart-it was a flow issue and those were the ones that had the best flow for her.
*Taegan did not like the swing, she LOVED her bouncy seat a lot. This saved me many times for a shower!!!
*I don't have a video monitor, just a regular one and it works great. Can't remember the brand right now.
*The boppy pillow was a must too for nursing, eating, sleeping, helping to sit.
*We got a bumbo with a tray and that was a great investment. She used that to "eat" at the table with us for a while. We also took it to restaurants with us and she could sit in the booths with us.
*This space saver is what we got as a high chair and my mom and my husband's mom got the same one as well. It saves so much space in the kitchen.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2508005

Okay I think I have rambled on enough!!! Have fun registering.

I have zero advice for you on babies! But I just ...

2009-04-28T19:29:00.000-05:00

I have zero advice for you on babies! But I just wanted to comment and tell you that this post makes me so excited to be a momma!! I can't wait for all the baby "stuff" !!!

Hi, I clicked on your blog from Jenna's Journey. C...

2009-04-28T19:04:00.000-05:00

Hi, I clicked on your blog from Jenna's Journey. Congrats on your baby girl! Mine was born in September 08!

I saw your question and wanted to comment on one thing. A good friend of mine gave me a gift that gave me SO much peace of mind. We don't have a video monitor but I loved this gift and thought it would be even better. It is a monitor that comes with a motion sensor pad to put under the crib mattress. When the baby is sleeping, it can sense the movement and if the baby doesn't move for 20 seconds an alarm goes off! My friend who gave this to me has a sister who is a NICU nurse and she said they use this monitor there.

http://www.angelcare-monitor.com/ac-401/

I figured if my baby stopped breathing in the middle of the night, the video monitor wouldn't help me if I was asleep. This however wakes you up!!

We don't have a diaper genie or anything - we just have a closed trash can and take it out every day and it's not bad.

Also, I had a Medela breast pump that a friend gave me, and I would recommend waiting to know for sure that you can breastfeed. I always planned on it but had a horrible milk supply that even pumping couldn't help. I ended up having to stop after 5 weeks and would have been so upset to spend all that money on a pump.

Anyway, good luck to you and I plan to check back to see the progress and that sweet little girl!

My friend who just had a baby LOVES her video moni...

2009-04-28T18:11:00.000-05:00

My friend who just had a baby LOVES her video monitor! She also loves having a Bjorn so she can do stuff around the house while the baby is with her. Sorry I don't have more for you. :)

Oh yea - yes, the casserole is SUPER easy to make! You can make it ahead of time too and then just throw it in the oven when you are ready. I'm making the desserts this weekend so I'll let you know how those go. :)

ooohhhh.... mustela baby bath products smell amazi...

2009-04-28T17:46:00.000-05:00

ooohhhh.... mustela baby bath products smell amazing. kind of expensive, but so yummy. they even had them at the spa today when i went for my prenatal massage. they also sell it at babies r us.