Baby “Stuff”…what we love, what we don’t (3.5 months)

So we’ve been at this baby thing for almost 4 months now (what the what?!) and we have definite opinions on what we (we being Greyson and Fynnlee) like and don’t like.  I know all babies are different but here is our two cents on all the gear we’ve tried.

Love:  Fisher Price Bouncer

Worth every penny.  I don’t know how I would have survived days at home alone with these two without these bouncers.  Fynnlee and Greyson would sit in front of me while I bounced them with my feet and eventually they’d fall asleep.  I couldn’t move. But I got to work on the computer/watch TV/eat lunch without much issue.

Now, I must say…if I could do it all over again, I would get this one.  It’s the one they have at their daycare and they are huge fans!  It’s cheaper and they love that little toy bar in the front.

Don’t love:  4Moms Rockaroo (and Mamaroo)

This is a tricky one.  I shouldn’t say they don’t love them.  They go in phases with the ‘roos.  They have a few days where they love them and will happily chill or nap while bouncing around in them. But also days where they scream if they’re in a ‘roo for 2 seconds.  Plus they are pricy and if given the option of getting only one baby thingy…we would chose the Fisher Price Swing.  We’ve gotten so much more use from it and both babies love it consistently.

Today she loves it…tomorrow, probably not.

Love:  Fisher Price Rock n Play

If there is one thing every single Mom told me to get, it was the Fisher Price Rock n Play.  And I totally understand why. The Beans slept in these things for the first 3 months of their lives and they LOVED them.  I didn’t even really need to use the vibration much.

 

Don’t love: Moses Baskets

Not to have them sleep in, at least.  Greyson rolled onto his side the first night home and ended up centimeters away from having his face smushed into the side of the basket.  End of that story.  The rock n plays held them in place better.  We still used the baskets for carrying both babies up and down the stairs at once.  And for photo ops.

Love:  Baby sling – Essie Designs

I just adore this sling.  The price point is excellent, it’s well made and comes in a plethora of patterns.  I have two of them.    And there are other carry options for when they’re bigger.

Don’t love:  Moby Wrap

Yet. We don’t love it yet.  Maybe we need them to be a bit bigger for the Moby.  I never felt comfortable with them in the newborn hold and Fynnlee really hated it, anyway.  She likes facing out a bit more and I think we’ll get more use out of it now that they’re a little more stable.  Stay tuned.

Love:  Zip Front pajamas

Old navy, Gerber and Carters Just One You (Target exclusive) are our favorite.

Don’t Love:  newborn onsies and anything with snaps

Alright, alright…I just wanted an excuse to post a couple of pictures of itty, bitty Greyson and Fynnlee!  Gah…so tiny!

Of course I didn’t listen to anyone (and everyone) who told me not to buy any many newborn clothes.  I couldn’t help it!!  They are so teeny. So cute! And so dumb. The onsies are not practical at all (it’s zero fun trying to jam a baby’s head through that opening…poor things), even if it’s hot outside.  Trust me on this one.  They LIVE in newborn sleepers for the first few weeks.

And don’t waste your time with snaps.  I’m a broken record but why do they even make these!?  Zippers are the way to go.

Love:  Boppy Pillow

I didn’t use the boppy pillow for nursing. The beans slept like this everyday for the first 6 or so weeks they were home.  We now use them for tummy time or to assist with sitting up.  LOVE the Boppy.

Don’t love:  Bumbo

Fynnlee didn’t mind it much here but she literally screams if I try to set her in it now.  Anyone want a purple bumbo?  Greyson is OK in his for short periods of time but he eventually gets sick of it and cries to get out.

Love:  Wipe Warmer

This was on my list of “not a chance I am wasting my money on this” items.  But Prince Greyson loathes anything cold being anywhere near him and the primal screams that came from this child during diaper changes made me reconsider.  We have two at each changing station and we love them!  Totally worth it.

Don’t love:  Bottle warmer

I bought this when we moved to exclusively formula feeding and it’s just not needed.  Both babies will drink their milk right from the fridge.  I still use it for their before-bed feedings because warm milk = sleepy baby, but it was definitely a waste of money for us.

Love:  Okiedog Diaper Bag

I have a diaper bag that I love but after our Florida trip, I determined that it was just too small.  I also decided that a backpack bag was the way to go (hands free for the win!).  So I did a search on Amazon and came across this Okiedog bag.  After watching the video, I wasted no time ordering it and it is amazing!  It’s not huuuuuuuuge, but it fits so much stuff!  It has 8 billion pockets for organizing along with easy open velcro closures.  You can use it as a backpack or tuck the loops away and use it as a shoulder bag.  I’m in love with it!  No, it’s not super stylish…but no one’s ever accused me of being stylish so I could care less.

Love:  Play Mat

We have two Tiny Love play mats (Sunny Day and Nature Pals)…and they LOVE both of them.  I touched on it during our 3 Month Update, but they will hang out for 30-45 minutes just kicking away & talking to their friends.  The obsession hit around 2 1/2 months and hasn’t gone away.  Thank goodness!

Love:  4Moms bathtub

Seriously, this tub rocks.  The temperature gauge works way better than your elbow and the tub is nice and sturdy.  Clean water pours in and dirty water simultaneously drains right out…helpful for when your son pees or your daughter spits up 1/2 her dinner during bath time. It’s pretty big but it fits perfectly in the double sink in our kitchen.  It does not, however fit in our bathroom sinks. I’ve also tried to use it in our bathtub and it’s kind of a hot mess.

Don’t love:  Baby bath towels

What is up with baby towels? They’re cute, for sure, but they kind of suck at being towels.  We got some little hooded ones from babies r us and they are super thin and not absorbent at all.  And we got these adorable ones from PB kids that are unbelievably cute and very absorbent but are pretty small.  I need to work on designing the perfect baby towel.

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I’m sure I’m forgetting some things and I’ll try to keep a better list for our six months update.  We have an exersaucer, jumparoo, and other fun gadgets to try out so it’ll be interesting to see what these Beans like and don’t like.  Any must haves I should pick up??