Before becoming a mom, I was a nanny, and I can say that the swing is similar to any other product- totally depends on the baby. I think for a first child it is rather useless unless they particularly love it. I was always holding my son or bringing him around the house in his rocknplay with me. He hated the swing unless I sat next to him while he was in it. However, when I nannied and had a newborn plus one or two older children, they were awesome. Second babies always seem a little more chill- I guess they have to be since they can’t get 100% of our attention. Anyways, the swing was awesome to put the baby down in while you have to put an older child down for a nap, or to play with the older children, change another child, etc. And I knew a lot of babies would nap in it.
I haven’t heard many good reviews on the mamaroo. The fisher price swings are bulkier but seems to have better ratings.
Does anyone have recommendations for stroller travel systems? Right now I’m leaning toward the Chicco [name_m]Bravo[/name_m] Trio system. Any advice? Thanks!
We have the graco travel system and it has held up pretty well! However, if I could go back I’d probably get a [name_m]Chico[/name_m] travel system. [name_m]Chico[/name_m] seats tend to be padded better in my opinion! However the travel system in general is fabulous! We are in the convertible seat now and I miss being able to take the car seat in and out of places if he falls asleep! We still use the stroller though. It’s great!
We are using the Bugaboo Cameleon 3. It is a pretty penny, but entirely worth it. Works for every activity - jogging, a trip to the mall, or just a leisurely stroll. It’s also pretty lightweight and easy to maneuver. Again, the price was a major con, but nonetheless, I highly recommend this brand, it is completely worth the investment. : )
We have a babytrend jogging stroller travel system. It has a few issues, like the handle occasionally being difficult to switch positions, but for the price it’s great.
I got a mamaroo for my second and wanted to love it. First baby didn’t like the swing, so we gave it to my [name_m]SIL[/name_m]. Got mamaroo for second baby, and she didn’t really like it. When she was tiny she slept in it for like 20 hours a day, but it never soothed or entertained her when she was awake. She slept in it for a little while at night when I went back to work and I NEEDED sleep, but she rolled over at an early age and I was afraid she would tip it. I saw the neatest glider thing from Europe, I think, that didn’t have batteries and you just gave it a little push every once in awhile and it would keep going. Transitioned to a gliding chair for a bigger kid. Seemed neat, but of course we’re done having kids!
I like my Graco travel system all right. I liked it better when my son fit in the car seat because it was very easy to put together, take him in and out, etc. Now that we’re just using the stroller, I’m not super impressed. On the plus side, it’s pretty narrow, it turns easily and I have the one where you just pull on a strap to open and close it. But the sunshade doesn’t come down far at all and I can’t seem to adjust it do that my son sits up straight enough. For the price I thought it was decent and it was easy for a nervous new mom like me.
I was just thinking about non-baby items that are nonetheless really helpful with a new baby.
Travel mug- sort of an adult sippie cup so that you don’t spill your coffee on your baby’s head. It’s nice to have a good well insulated one bc it’s not like babies respect your coffee break.
Clear plastic shower curtain- I never missed a shower bc I could just put my son in a bouncy seat on the bathroom floor while I took one. But when he got to about four months, he would flip out if he couldnt actually see me, so a clear shower curtain was a great $4 investment
An extra sunshade for the car to put over the car seat on hot days- keeps the buckles from burning the baby when you get back in
For this next baby, the one thing I really want to get is a chest freezer. We have a tiny freezer on our fridge and there is no room in there to freeze meals for the future or store those little bags of expressed milk.
White noise machine.
[name_f]Miracle[/name_f] blanket swaddles.
Good quality merino/wool sleeping bags.
My manducca baby/toddler carrier.
Pretty much anything that gave good sleep!
Things like exersaucers, swings, bumbos and bouncers were all waste of space/$ in my house. They get used for such a short amount of time that in my opinion they are better to be borrowed or bought cheaply second hand. I really don’t think babies need as much paraphernalia as the folks that want you to buy it would have you believe.
Play yard I loved . As for swings go my 2nd Lo was such a hard baby she cryed all the time , the swing was something we bought after she was born we were desperate it had to swing side ways though . [name_m]Fisher[/name_m] price. Guess it depends on baby also soothie pacis and jumper activity thing was awesome.
We have a [name_f]Sophie[/name_f] and the only person who loves it in our house is the dog. He seriously went bananas for it when he saw it. My daughter could mostly care less and chewed more on non chew toys when she was teething. My absolute must-haves:
[name_f]Amber[/name_f] teething necklace: can’t honestly say definitively if it works but I can say that my daughter got 18/20 teeth without much more than lots of drooling and occasionally a restless night. The last molars are hell right now though.
Travel co-sleeper (http://www.amazon.com/The-First-Years-Secure-Sleeper/dp/B00012CHFI) We used this with our daughter for the first 6 months. We didn’t have room for the bassinet or Arms Reach cosleeper beside the bed, but we do have a [name_m]King[/name_m] sized bed so this fit nicely between us. It was especially helpful for overnight trips.
Cradle & Swing: DD hated the stationary/bouncy chair but she loved the larger rocking one that went two directions and played music (Fisher-Price Baby Gear | Mattel) Got one second-hand, try to get one with a cord instead of batteries.
Resuable nursing pads: if you’re planning to nurse, I’d suggest these over the disposables because they’re more comfortable and you just need to wash and resuse instead of buying boxes and boxes.
Carrier: a few have been mentioned here. I had a c-section and I found the only one that didn’t cut into my scar was the K’tan. I liked having both the soft and versatile K’tan, plus the Ergo carrier. My husband preferred the [name_m]Bjorn[/name_m]. Luckily we had friends who passed down carriers to us to try. Most cities also have groups where you can share/borrow/try carriers before you buy.
Doorframe Jolly Jumper: DD loved it and it was great for getting a few minutes of hands-free time. I could hook it up anywhere in the house. You have to wait until your baby can hold their head up and obviously don’t use it for long periods.
I echo the people who say every mama / family / baby is different though, so best to hold off on non-essential purchases or try things out first if you have a friend who can lend you something.
With the caveat that every baby is different (but here is what I have to say after 3 of them)…
White noise machine (or in our house, an old ipod and ipod speakers playing Pediasleep’s white noise track on a loop. We live in a small apartment so having white noise kept us from constantly waking up our boys. Now that they have a little sister, the same set up is being used to keep them from playing too loudly for her to sleep.
good diaper bag (we love our [name_m]Skip[/name_m] Hop Bento) Having a sort of command central that is well organized for outings makes things much smoother.
a baby gym. With our boys we made one but I am planning to buy one for our daughter. I should have done it months ago, but I hoping to do it asap. I think it encourages them to roll and have to reach for toys. Our current set up doesn’t make her stretch for things so she is a bit lazy.
walker Not the kind where the baby sits, but the kind that is like a little wagon that the baby pushes. (Google [name_u]Brio[/name_u] or Micke walker if you don’t know what I am talking about.) Definitely an older baby thing but was fantastic! Our boys used to love to give each other rides in it.
jumper. I am torn on this one. Our boys LOVED the jumper. seriously loved. But my aunt who is a physical therapist cautioned against using it too much. I am looking to get another for our daughter (sold the old ones) but she will have very limited time in it.
Bigger clothes. Not exactly a baby gear thing but worth mentioning anyway. There is SO much cute newborn stuff but if you have a registry it might be worth asking for some of the clothes you like in larger sizes if possible. A few of our friends sent stuff in 6-12 month sizes or even 18 month sizes and it was really nice to feel like we had at least something on hand that was going to fit them as we transitioned up in size.
So I was trying to avoid naming specific brands for anything but there are a couple of things I can’t help but mention since they have worked so well for everyone I know who has had them
LaMaze Toys. Particularly the ones with the clips so you can hang them up in a stroller etc. We have an exorbitant number but I will blame it on people who have send them. The moose, the pink dragon and the cube have been very popular.
Ergo [name_u]Baby[/name_u] carrier. We did the moby and boba wraps for our boys and liked them fine. The ergo is just so much faster to put on (and I was quick at tying the moby seeing that I used it everyday!) and I have worn the Ergo for 6 or 8 hours a day on some days (all her naps in it) and my back has been tired but basically fine.
I agree with bigger clothes! Not just for newborns…my daughter is just in 2t and for a while I’ve bought a few cute things I’ve seen in 3t or 4t. Kids grow super fast and have sudden growth spurts and as a mom (especially if you work) it’s not always easy to get to the store or even have time to order stuff.
There have been a few times when I swear stuff is big/baggy on my daughter and by the time I do laundry and put her back in the outfit two weeks later, it’s too small. And so is everything else that size, suddenly! So it’s good to have at least a few bigger things until I can do some shopping.
Yeah this is one of those things where you won’t really know until baby is there. I completely bought into a whole bunch of things, baby-wearing, breastfeeding, anti-stuff and things turned out differently once I had the kids. I ended up going out and getting a swing which was super helpful to me, a changing table since by back was killing me, and supplementing and the [name_m]Moby[/name_m] was a waste of money because it was too stressful to try to figure it out while caring for an infant. I wish I had gotten an easy on one, but now my kids are older I realize most of this stuff doesn’t matter in the long run. So don’t stress over having all the right things, you’ll end up needing or not needing something you didn’t anticipate anyway. You have two options I think, get a whole bunch of stuff knowing you might not need it all or don’t get much and have a system in place to quickly get what you need when it comes up.
I agree with anaxandra above. By the time they get to kindergarten, you will not be able to tell how the kids were fed as babies or where they slept or if they hung out in the swing or the [name_m]Moby[/name_m].
We had very little notice about my son (we knew it was a possibility for about 3 weeks, then got a phone call at 9pm, he was born at 5am the next day.) So we had really very little when we brought him home, and it was totally fine. People gave us stuff and we bought things as we needed them. It was a really helpful experience. I’ve passed on nearly all of his baby stuff, but I’m not at all worried about getting stuff for this baby due in [name_u]November[/name_u].
Amazon Prime can even ship anything you need by the next day if you don’t want to bother putting on pants to leave the house! We live in amazing times.
