Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best finds here!!

[Mara]

nf i am totally going to ask her when i see her this week!

 

[gailrmv]

Mara I totally agree with you that you can be a minimalist. I think some of it depends on your kid, too. I borrowed tons of stuff because two of my good friends and a very generous coworker have children a year older than mine, so they were happy to loan us things. But if I were buying stuff? Lots of things I could do without. I was also so happy to borrow because I can give the stuff back when I am done instead of having to store it. Although, we're thinking of a second kid so who knows, I may have to borrow everything again or buy it for the second, if we do have one.

You can get some things that multitask, like the swing I am borrowing has both a bouncer and swing feature. The thing is, if I had to buy it I might not have gotten a swing at all, because my guy is not wild about it. Some babies, though, love the swing and it is indispensible. For me, the sling and then Ergo carrier were must haves, but several friends returned their slings because their kids hated it. So I know it is tempting to get everything ahead of time, and I did too, but you don't *have* to. It can be sort of fun to wait and see what your kid is like and what you actually need, especially things that you won't use til they are older anyway.

I hear you about the bonus points and in that case it does seem tempting to get the Bee for free. Our credit card has lots of options for bonus points and we usually get gift cards to places we would normally shop so it's like getting cash. I don't know if your card has that option? For us, if we would use the points towards "stuff" it is actually a much worse deal than getting the gift cards.

As for the vehicle, you could always rent an SUV or even (gasp) a minivan for trips. I don't know why I didn't think of it before. Then you don't have to have a large car all the time, kind of best of both worlds.

Now, I have NEVER been one for consignment shops or secondhand in general - but there is a place near me that has nearly new baby stuff on consignment for well under half of the full price. I saw a Baby Bjorn there for $20, nearly new (that's $80 new). So you might have something similar near you if you want to pick up some stuff and then sell it back when you are done, or pass it along to your friends. Some baby stuff is incredibly useful for a matter of months and then useless, so it's nice not to have spent a fortune.

Funny story about carseats I couldn't remember ever having a carseat when I was young, so I asked my parents if I'd had one. They said "yes, but we think we gave it away. Plus, they are probably much better now. You should really get a new one." I was laughing - no way was I asking to USE my old carseat!

 

[gailrmv]

A while ago I asked about the Beaba babycook. I ended up not getting it. I have been making DS''s food by steaming it in a steamer insert ($8 from grocery) and then pureeing it in a Cuisinart Mini Prep (which I already had - I think it was $40 when I bought mine). I also bought some ice cube trays with covers, for about $8 for 2. I figured the cover would keep the food a little more protected in the freezer but totally not necessary. So I spent $16 instead of $150 (and that $150 didn''t include the cool Beaba ice cube trays either - that''s $20 extra). It''s been really easy to cook his food and I''m glad I didn''t get the Beaba, although I''m sure it would have been a fun gadget!

 

[Blenheim]

Mara, I''m going to second a lot of what TDM just said. I naturally tend to the minimalist side, and now am aggressively so as we are hoping to move cross-country soon. A lot of the "necessities" are really more conveniences. Alj''s right in that it''s just like the wedding industry. They really try to make you feel like you NEED a bunch of this stuff. And it''s your baby, and you want the best for them, and it can be easy to get sucked up into it if you don''t take a step back. I find myself doing that quite a bit, and keep needing to reevaluate what''s making me feel like I need certain things. There were quite a few things that we held off on buying to see if we really needed something that bulky, and in general we''ve decided that we''re doing fine without it. When we just want to try something out, our consignment store has great baby stuff (with tags still on, half the time) and we''re able to sell it on Craigslist for the same price if we end up not liking it enough to justify the amount of space it takes up.

That being said... George is not old enough to express that much of an opinion about material things. All he really cares about are that his basic needs are being met, he has lots of one-on-one interaction, and he has some teethers. I may have to retract a bunch of that as he gets older.

In the stroller dept, we have both a Maclaren and a jogging stroller. The jogging stroller lives in our garage, so if we want to take a stroller with us somewhere (we usually just use our Ergo), we only have to deal with something the size of the Maclaren. It seems like that combo works really well for a lot of moms.

 

[Mara]

Thanks ladies...I tend to lean towards the same idea on minimalism being possible. It is amazing how many people tell me I *need* this or that but then other Moms say they never even used this or that (same items). It's hard to know what you NEED. What did our parents use with us? I always come back to that because it seemed so simple then!

Luckily for us, our neighbor has a ton of stuff we can borrow so my registry is pretty lean except for things I know we will absolutely use (breastfeeding, bathing, etc). The stroller, I'd like to just get one...but it does make sense after talking it over with Greg to potentially have a small car one for permanent, and one for walks around the neighborhood since we do that a fair amt.

re: the car for long trips..genius on renting TDM...we do that now for long trips if we need more space, or whatever, and it's quite simple. And my family is all local, so any trips we take are to wine country or the like, so we end up not doing too many long driving trips anyhow...maybe two a year.

I also am going to be putting the kabosh as much as possible on too many toys and useless things in the house. I am serious when I say we were scarred with moving, and how much crap we accumulated in our old townhouse just because we had the space. Who needs 2 pallets of Christmas items?! It took us MONTHS to clean out our garage and the euphoria we felt when we were done is priceless, hahaa.

I'll look into what else is possible with Greg's points, TDM. I also have points through rewards from work and I can buy gift cards with that (in fact we got our new bed from Macys with them!), but I am not sure if Greg's is the same way, I didn't think they had the same breadth last time I looked but I will check again. We do have a ton of amex points that I have been looking at cashing in for gift cards as well... we are so bad with tracking that stuff.

One more Q re strollers... has anyone tried the Inglesina Zippy? It got best affordable small stroller for consumersearch reviews so I was intrigued.

 

[qtiekiki]

I tried the Inglesina Zippy. It's very similar to Peg Perego P3. The folding mechanic is quite similar too, but the zippy is easier to close with one hand. It pushes well. It's a more like reclineable umbrella stroller. I was planning to get the zippy before DH fell for the Quinny Buzz. I have to say the rubber wheels make a better/less bumpy ride.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I think there is a big difference on the amount of "stuff" a SAHM needs vs. a working mom. Toys=my sanity. For example, if a certain toy can keep my crazy girl occupied for 20 mins. a day I will buy it. If your child spends most of their day at daycare there isn''t a need for a ton of toys. I still remember going to the beach when T was around 4 months old. This was before we had a SUV and the car was PACKED. Stroller, carrier, p''np, bumbo (for her to eat) in all takes up space and those aren''t nonessentials. I also had to bring clothes, towels, a few toys, food...it really does add up even if you are a minimalist. Renting a van is a good idea if do have your heart set on a smaller car.

 

[Mrs]

Just got a new toy for my 6 mo old and she loves it so I wanted to post it in case anyone else could use a new toy for their LO: Oball

Mrs

 

[Blenheim]

Good point, Tacori. I know that we''d have a jumperoo if he didn''t have constant access to one at daycare - he loves it! We''ve been using daycare for anything with a big footprint.

CAR SEAT QUESTION -
I don''t have time today to go through this entire thread, so I''m going to apologize in advance as I''m sure this has been asked before. Recommendations for convertible car seats for a vehicle with a small-ish back seat? We were in an accident yesterday (everyone''s okay) and need to replace his seat ASAP. He''s 27" long, so he''s not going to get much more life out of an infant seat and so we''re just going to go with a convertible. The local baby store has Britax and Sunshine Kids, and I''d prefer to use them as they''re local/family-owned and as the crash happened right outside the store and they let us come in and hang out for a couple of hours and gave George toys to play with and gave me lots of iced water. We also have a Target and Babys R Us on the other side of town, if they''d carry something else that people really like. I don''t want to order online as we''d then have to wait for shipping. We have two vehicles - I guess that means that we''d have to get two seats?

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 9/27/2009 9:32:42 AM
Author: Blenheim
Good point, Tacori. I know that we''d have a jumperoo if he didn''t have constant access to one at daycare - he loves it! We''ve been using daycare for anything with a big footprint.


CAR SEAT QUESTION -

I don''t have time today to go through this entire thread, so I''m going to apologize in advance as I''m sure this has been asked before. Recommendations for convertible car seats for a vehicle with a small-ish back seat? We were in an accident yesterday (everyone''s okay) and need to replace his seat ASAP. He''s 27'' long, so he''s not going to get much more life out of an infant seat and so we''re just going to go with a convertible. The local baby store has Britax and Sunshine Kids, and I''d prefer to use them as they''re local/family-owned and as the crash happened right outside the store and they let us come in and hang out for a couple of hours and gave George toys to play with and gave me lots of iced water. We also have a Target and Babys R Us on the other side of town, if they''d carry something else that people really like. I don''t want to order online as we''d then have to wait for shipping. We have two vehicles - I guess that means that we''d have to get two seats?

Britax Roundabout or Maxi Cosi Priori. Best prices I''ve found are at Albeebaby.com. Glad everyone was OK.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 9/27/2009 10:11:43 AM
Author: TanDogMom

Date: 9/27/2009 9:32:42 AM
Author: Blenheim
Good point, Tacori. I know that we'd have a jumperoo if he didn't have constant access to one at daycare - he loves it! We've been using daycare for anything with a big footprint.


CAR SEAT QUESTION -

I don't have time today to go through this entire thread, so I'm going to apologize in advance as I'm sure this has been asked before. Recommendations for convertible car seats for a vehicle with a small-ish back seat? We were in an accident yesterday (everyone's okay) and need to replace his seat ASAP. He's 27' long, so he's not going to get much more life out of an infant seat and so we're just going to go with a convertible. The local baby store has Britax and Sunshine Kids, and I'd prefer to use them as they're local/family-owned and as the crash happened right outside the store and they let us come in and hang out for a couple of hours and gave George toys to play with and gave me lots of iced water. We also have a Target and Babys R Us on the other side of town, if they'd carry something else that people really like. I don't want to order online as we'd then have to wait for shipping. We have two vehicles - I guess that means that we'd have to get two seats?

Britax Roundabout or Maxi Cosi Priori. Best prices I've found are at Albeebaby.com. Glad everyone was OK.

looove ours! We have a Corolla and it is perfect!!

 

[neatfreak]

We have the Maxi Cosi Priori and love it. I got it mostly because it was small, safe, and half the price of the Britax (at Albee Baby) but the Britax is nice too!

 

[Blenheim]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! We can''t get the Maxi Cosi locally, but I just realized that we only really need one seat. I mean, two seats would be so much more convenient as I do daycare drop off and hubby does pick up, but we can deal with the aggrevation of leaving the carseat at daycare and re-installing frequently for the couple of days that a second seat might take to ship to us. I''ll definitely take a look at the Britax Roundabout while I''m out today. DD, I have a Matrix, so it''s basically the same car. Good to know that it works for you!

If anyone else has other suggestions before I go out at 3 pm, keep them coming!

 

[Mara]

quick question for moms who have kids who are more mobile now. in looking at a dresser, not sure if we should go with one that is lower/wider/can suffice as changing table OR get a higher aka 5 drawer tall dresser. thinking about long-term. i can always get a cheapo changing table for the room that can later be discarded, but if i am going to spend $500-600 on a dresser i''d like it to last at least up until 5 years.

for kids and mobility, at what age do they start to be able to really reach those short/wide dressers tops and what is up there? i am thinking maybe 2-3 years? so in that case it would seem to present a stronger case for the tall dresser if i want it to last longer than 2-3 years. thanks in advance!

 

[Blenheim]

Update - we purchased a Sunshine Kids Radian65 for DH''s car, which has a larger backseat. It fits in the middle seat of my car (barely), so it is an option for my car. But it can''t go rear-facing on one of the sides of my car, if we were ever to need that. It goes up to 35 lbs rearfacing and 65 lbs forward facing so it should last for a long long time (assuming no more accidents). It''s also very slim - it''s the least bulky carseat with that weight range that I''ve seen.

DH didn''t even want to consider the Britaxes because "we have a tall skinny kid, so we need a long skinny carseat".

Um, ok. We liked the Roundabout once I convinced him to try it (with the help of an employee and a customer who both own it and like it), but after hearing good reviews of the Maxi Cosi I think I''d just prefer to go with that as it''s less $$.

We''re trying to figure out what to buy for mine - another Radian65 or the Maxi Cosi Priori. The Maxi Cosi only goes up to 40 lbs, and so we''d need another carseat in a couple of years. But I like that the Maxi Cosi is smaller and so we have a little more freedom with where we install it in my car, and it''s also cheaper - $130 at albeebaby right now, vs. $220 for the Radan65. Thoughts? We''re planning on rear-facing to the weight limit of the seats, if that matters.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Blen I was told that it is much more likely that a child outgrows the length for a seat rear facing, or forward for that metter, before outgrowing the weight. That is esp. tru for out long skinny boys

So look at that too.

 

[qtiekiki]

Mara
If you like the look of the 5 drawers dresser for long term, then I would just go with that. We have a 3 drawers dresser (about 32" tall) that we use for diaper changing. Meena is basically the same height at the dresser at 30.5", and she can reach her fingertip over the top but can''t grab anything from it. So if the 3 drawers that you are looking at is about that height, then the top will be reachable by your baby before 2-3yrs (especially since toddler tends to tippy toe to reach for things). We have a entertainment console that 30" and she can reach for stuffs on top. We have to push everything a few inches from the edge of the console.

 

[clammer]

mara - i would get the taller dresser. For us, it was always such a pain to walk upstairs to the changing table. So we started just putting down a blanket and changing Lincoln on that. Works fine and it is one less thing you would have to buy. Also since you want a minimal amount of things, I recommend renting a breast pump from the hospital for a couple of months. I had to buy one since we live overseas. I got the pump and all the extras and my body knew the difference between the pump and the baby. I couldn''t pump more than a half oz. It was a total waste of money.

 

[gingerB]

so i''ve decided to attack buying a crib first and have already hit a speed bump. although initially we won''t have a nursery, eventually GingerBaby is going to have a room and in my head the decor is based off of black furniture. i know black isn''t a classic baby color so it''s REALLY limited my choices. our taste runs towards low slung modernish furniture. so i''ve found 3 cribs that have elements i like, but nothing that combines everything and i need help deciding.

1)babymod parklane in espresso ~$300
LOVE - the sleek profile, the drawer
WRONG - the expresso/cherryish color

2)da vinci roxanne in black ~$280
LOVE - right color, cute changer (but unsure if planning to buy matching changer), the drawer
WRONG - the curvy headboards, no five drawer dresser option

3)babymiro newhaven in dark chocolate ~$460
LOVE - low profile when used w/o canopy attachment, canopy may be cute once in baby''s room/grows older, the drawer
WRONG - color is dark but not black, may not use canopy attachment (will it leave holes?), more pricey

the newhaven is prob what i''m leaning towards the most. but i hate compromising my design aesthetic

. any thoughts? should i keep looking? anyone spotted my ideal crib somewhere out there that i haven''t seen???

pics in order as above (#1 and 2)

 

[gingerB]

here is the newhaven in various configs. i def see a hole when you don''t have the canopy attachment. i''d use the crib w/o canopy initially and may add it later once the crib is in a separate room if gingerbaby is a girl.

 

[Mara]

ginger.. have you looked at walmart's black crib options? they have a lot of cribs in black nowadays it seems. i am looking at the baby mod tuscany and they have it in black but it's not quite modern.

the baby mod roxanne mini-crib does come in black... i don't know if the large one does too. da vinci, baby mod and million dollar baby are all the same company and quality is supposed to be on par for all three.

here is the baby mod roxanne mini-crib in black:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=6005179

the other thing..i was looking at really modern cribs like the baby mod parklane and similar, and i just saw one in person today in a store and it is probably not what i will go with after all. i find that when i see things in person i like slightly more traditional but with clean lines. anyway just a thought, if you have not seen cribs in person yet, def go into a store and do it...even if they don't have what you want it will help you mentally. kind of like with wedding dresses!

my latest thing with cribs is that they are all so darn big, the convertible ones that is. i am almost tempted to get a mini crib..i saw one in person today and it is not that small! our baby room is pretty small, like 10x10.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 9/27/2009 1:54:04 PM
Author: Mara

quick question for moms who have kids who are more mobile now. in looking at a dresser, not sure if we should go with one that is lower/wider/can suffice as changing table OR get a higher aka 5 drawer tall dresser. thinking about long-term. i can always get a cheapo changing table for the room that can later be discarded, but if i am going to spend $500-600 on a dresser i''d like it to last at least up until 5 years.

for kids and mobility, at what age do they start to be able to really reach those short/wide dressers tops and what is up there? i am thinking maybe 2-3 years? so in that case it would seem to present a stronger case for the tall dresser if i want it to last longer than 2-3 years. thanks in advance!

Go for a dresser that can be used long-term. My younger son is still using the dresser that was for my older son (almost 9 years ago). We had a changing station that was detachable.

You know, when my kids were so young, I was too tired to even bother standing up. I set up a "changing station" on the carpet next to where the dresser was. I had a changing pad and all the necessary products and worked there while sitting down. It was a lot easier when I had been up nearly all night nursing.

 

[Pandora II]

Blen, I have the Maxi-Cosi and will be going with their Priori when Daisy outgrows the rear-facing one as I really like them.

It has a baby-booster bit that can be removed as they grow and that should help with the length thing. Have you tried George out in one to see what it''s like height-wise?

 

[MustangGal]

blen - we have the Cosco Scerena convertible carseat in DH''s truck. It''s really inexpensive, and he pretty much just rides from daycare to home in it http://www.albeebaby.com/cosco-scenera-convertible-car-seat-22160atr.html It doesn''t have the most padding or anything, but it also doesn''t take up much space, and Kyle doesn''t seem to have any issues with it. I have this one in my car http://www.albeebaby.com/sa1stalcocar.html. It''s bigger, but has lots of paddding and features.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 9/27/2009 1:54:04 PM
Author: Mara

quick question for moms who have kids who are more mobile now. in looking at a dresser, not sure if we should go with one that is lower/wider/can suffice as changing table OR get a higher aka 5 drawer tall dresser. thinking about long-term. i can always get a cheapo changing table for the room that can later be discarded, but if i am going to spend $500-600 on a dresser i''d like it to last at least up until 5 years.

for kids and mobility, at what age do they start to be able to really reach those short/wide dressers tops and what is up there? i am thinking maybe 2-3 years? so in that case it would seem to present a stronger case for the tall dresser if i want it to last longer than 2-3 years. thanks in advance!

Mara, Amelia is 1.5 years old and is starting to reach the top of the shorter dresser I just bought off craigslist.

I never really used a changing table. It''s nice at first, but mostly I changed her in the crib, or on the floor.

Another thing to consider is that by the time he''s really old enough to tackle the shorter dresser, he''ll probably want a big boy bed and big boy furniture, so it may not matter. But based on what you said, I''d go for the taller dresser. When they get bigger and squirmy, I felt safer changing them on the floor anyway.

 

[Mara]

thanks for the info on the dressers and your kidlets, ladies. i am leaning towards getting a taller one as well just because it would prob last us longer term. i went to see a bunch of cribs this wkd and first off, CRIBS ARE HUGE. jeez! where are the ones made for small california bungalows with not enough room???? i could lay in these things.

i also discovered that million dollar baby/da vinci/baby mod are all the same company. so most of their washes are the same...esp the MDB and DV i guess. i discovered i liked more traditional than modern even though i was loving some of the modern cribs online. and i discovered i prob should go with one tone instead of two tones if we want it to be a long-term kinda thing.

the mini cribs are tempting because they are just so much a nicer size for our room (10x11)...but they typically only convert to a twin bed from a crib, no toddler or anything like that.

right now i am liking the storkcraft aspen and the baby mod cadence (same as the da vinci kalani). so if i can just nail down which might have a better dresser option for us..it would be almost done. i also noticed that a lot of the cheaper stuff like MDB and BM had cheaper ''rails'' on the dressers than some of the more expensive pieces...that might not bother me but Greg tends to be bothered by stuff like that.

i googled like mad to try to find smaller full size cribs, no avail. the stokke is nice, my friend has it but hello it''s $1k. no thanks.

re: changing table, yeah i am not sure how often i will actually be using it anyway, i can def see myself just changing wherever i am...our house is not that big and it''s just one level thankfully. if it was the townhouse, oh yeah that would be a hike every time, it''s tri-level!

 

[TravelingGal]

Mara, you are very lucky that you are in a one level home now. Your old house would have been a killer! I just moved from a 2 story to a 1 story and this is HEAVEN. My knees were never bad until I got preggo and then had Amelia. Now they are in terrible shape.

 

[fieryred33143]

Ladies,

What do you all think about this product?

I mentioned on another site how much Sophia hates tummy time and someone suggested this. She says it worked for her son but it looks kind of weird to me, like maybe she would be hanging from her tummy or something.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 9/28/2009 5:48:43 PM
Author: fiery
Ladies,

What do you all think about this product?

I mentioned on another site how much Sophia hates tummy time and someone suggested this. She says it worked for her son but it looks kind of weird to me, like maybe she would be hanging from her tummy or something.

Fiery, Amelia hated tummy time to the extreme! I took her to physical therpay for torticollis, and she had some suggestions with tummy time.

Go in front of a mirror (which she can obviously see from the ground) and hover above her, facing the same direction. Take her arms and elbows and tuck them right underneath her (her elbows should be at under her tummy and her hands under her chest), holding them there. See if that helps a bit with tummy time. You can also do this with your DH crouched in front of her so she can see him when she looks up. Or a toy that lights up and plays music, you get the idea.

Try also putting her over your legs if you haven''t already and rock her back and forth while she is on her tummy.

 

[MissChi]

Mara - I am new to pricescope, but have been lurking for awhile... Anyway, I just wanted to chime in and say that we orginally had the Da Vinci Kalani for our son, but ended up sending it back once we tried to move the mattress to the lowest setting. All of the support brackets began bending and we felt that it became very unsafe. Million Dollar Baby was very cooperative with the whole thing and ended up giving us a full refund.

We ended up getting the Babi Italia Pinehurst Lifetime Crib in Espresso... and I absolutely love it! Honestly, there was a HUGE difference in the quality and well worth the price difference, IMHO. BRU usually has 15% off coupons for one piece of furniture, which may or may not help with your decision.

Also, if you have not picked up a copy of Baby Bargains yet, I suggest doing so. There are so many baby products out there and they help narrow down the good from the bad at various price points.

I hope this doesn''t make your selection more confusing, but I just didn''t want to see anyone else have to go through what we did. There is enough other stuff to worry about when you have a baby!!!