Show Us Your Life -- Baby Gear

I decided it was time to jump back into Kelly's blog carnival. Since having Aubrey, I love discussing all things baby! :o) I try not to be that know-it-all mom who thinks that since she's had one child she is now an expert on all things pregnancy/baby/labor/delivery/newborn/toddler/etc... haha! BUT, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to give my opinions on baby gear! So, without further ado, here are some of my favorite baby products!

Chicco Travel System:

We LOVE this travel system! The carseat has great safety ratings, and it is so easy to get in and out of the car. I picked it based on the safety ratings and the fact that I thought it was cute ;o) Aubrey is a year old and she still uses this carseat. She is approaching the weight limit though, so we are about to have to get another one, sadly. The stroller is great as well, it is just very large. It takes up a LOT of room in the car, but it's extremely easy to open and push. We are planning on getting a smaller umbrella stroller soon now that she is older, but we will still use this stroller for longer walks.

Pack-N-Play:

We used our pack-n-play as a bassinet for the first several months after Aubrey was born when she slept in our room. It worked great for this. We haven't used it much since then -- we mostly just use it now when we go on trips. We've never used it as a playpen. I think it was worth it just to have for those first few months though, and to travel with occasionally.

Boppy Bouncy Seat:

Aubrey was never a huge fan of the bouncy seat. She just liked to be held ;o) I still love this seat though, and I hold out hope that one day I'll have a child who actually likes to use it! It was nice to have when she first started eating solids -- we fed her in this seat in the beginning.

Boppy:

I LOVED my Boppy! I breastfed for 10 months, and I used it every time I nursed. I know some moms prefer to nurse without it, but I definitely used it for nursing. It fit perfectly in my glider. In the beginning when I was having a hard time learning to nurse I needed both of my hands to get Aubrey situated, so it was crucial to have the Boppy to support her. I think it's also great to have for the baby to lay propped up. I would even use it when Aubrey napped in my arms. I definitely got LOTS of use out of the Boppy, and highly recommend it!

Jumperoo:

Aubrey loved jumping! She was a little unsure about the Jumperoo at first, but she warmed right up to it and had a ball jumping and swinging in it. It also provided lots of entertainment for David and me. It used to crack us up to watch her jump :o)

Exersaucer:

The Exersaucer was great to have when Aubrey was little and wasn't mobile. It helped her learn to support her weight with her legs. I have found that I loved the Exersaucer even more though since she's been mobile. It is nice to have somewhere I can stick her to get a few things done. Even though she is technically too big for it now, sometimes I still put her in there so I can take a quick shower. I don't know what I'm going to use after we put it away to keep her contained. Ha.

Chicco Highchair:

We really like this highchair. It reclines, which was great when she was younger. She didn't have to be able to sit up really well in order to use it. An added bonus is that it matches our kitchen ;o)

Bumbo:

Honestly, we didn't get much use out of the Bumbo. We sat her in it a couple of times for a few minutes, but she just got bored. We used it to feed her a few times before we set the highchair up. I don't think I would buy one, but we got ours as a gift. Seeing your baby sitting up for the first time in the Bumbo does make for some cute pictures though. I think that's what we used ours for mostly -- photo ops.

Diaper Genie:

I recommend this diaper genie. It is easy to use, and it does a good job of trapping odors. Haha. The only downside that I can think of is that you have the buy the diaper genie bags. I've heard that with some diaper pails you can just use regular garbage bags. The diaper genie bags really aren't very expensive though. Just something to consider :o)

Vtech Walker:

We got this for Aubrey for her birthday, and she has SO MUCH fun with it! It's is absolutely precious to see her cruising around the house with it. It's a great alternative to a traditional walker, in my opinion. This has provided HOURS of entertainment for us!

Now for something we didn't get that I really wish we had:

A swing!

I thought since I was getting the bouncy seat, I wouldn't need a swing too. I didn't want baby gear ALL OVER the house, so I decided to just go with the bouncy seat. Well, as I've already mentioned, Aubrey wasn't overly found of the bouncy seat. However, our church nursery has this swing, and she LOVED it. Every time I would go pick her up she would be asleep in it. Before having our next baby we will definitely be investing in one of these.

So there are some of my tips on baby gear! Of course there are many more baby products that we have and really like, but I had to cut this post off somewhere. Ha! The most important thing I've learned about baby gear though, is that every baby is different and you never know exactly what your baby is going to like until he or she is here. So you can read all the reviews and tips from other moms in the world, but in the end it's all going to boil down to some good old fashioned trial and error :o)

Thanks for visiting my blog! I hope you'll come back!!