Stuff we like

I stole this idea from Jessie, so I thought I'd share the top 5 baby products we couldn't have gotten by without these first three months...


Cloud B Sleep Sheep - $20, Amazon
I'm not sure if Zoey needs the sheep to sleep or not, but she sure does like it. If I put her in her crib awake, all I have to do is turn on the sheep's ocean sounds, and she stops fidgeting and falls right to sleep. The best part? It runs for 45 minutes, and then shuts off automatically. Perfect! I think if I were to buy another one, I'd buy the travel size one, so it would be easier to travel with (duh). The original size is pretty large.

Fisher Price Rock n Play Sleeper - $45-$50, Target (or just about anywhere baby gear is sold)
We have the yellow polka dot one, but Target has two other really cute prints available. When Zoey was itty-bitty, I just couldn't bring myself to put her in her crib, or even in her bedroom--it just seemed so unnatural to be separated from her! Anyway, we don't have a lot of extra space in our room, so I wanted something smaller than a pack n play, but something more useful (or less expensive) than a bassinet. This fit the bill perfectly. It folds up easily, and takes up as much space as a folding chair when folded. We traveled with it to St. Louis, and it was also great as a travel bed. It snuggles Zoey in pretty close, and she slept really well in it. There is some debate where some parents think it causes babies' heads to get misshapen, but Zoey used it for about 2 months, and never had an issue. I do admit to lining it with a soft and fluffy blanket, so it was warmer for her and that may have also protected her head from the hard plastic in question. We love it!

Catbird Baby Pikkolo Soft Structured Baby Carrier - $129, Amazon
I really love wearing Zoey, and the Pikkolo is perfect for us. I tried the Beco Butterfly, but it wasn't comfortably for me or Aaron, so I sold it and then we received the Pikkolo as a gift. It works for newborns up through toddlers, in a variety of different carrying positions. It's similar to a Mei Tai, but has buckles instead of ties, which to me, was a little easier to handle when I'm trying to get Zoey in and out of the carrier by myself.

Motorola Digital Video Baby Monitor - $169, Amazon
I didn't think we needed a monitor, but after having this thing, I don't think I could get by without it, especially with a 2-story house. If Zoey's asleep upstairs, I can do whatever I want downstairs or outside, or wherever, and not have to run up and check on her every few minutes. It also helped this paranoid first-time mama get through those first few nights when Zoey slept in her crib - instead of getting up to check on her throughout the night, I could just look at the monitor and see that she was fine, and watch her breathing, etc. We haven't had any problems with interference, and it has a couple of other nifty features, like being able to remotely play music for the baby, and a temperature display so you know if her room is too hot/cold, or just right. (Also, this monitor can frequently be found way cheaper on Woot via Amazon.)

Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle Stroller - $500, Amazon
I will preface this by saying we did NOT pay $500 for this stroller. We found it on Zulily (one of those daily deal sites), for under $400, and it came with the carrycot and storm cover. An absolutely unbeatable deal. I knew that the plastic wheels on the typical Graco or Baby Trend or Chicco travel system stroller wouldn't hold up to the abuse we'd put it through, on Grand Forks sidewalks alone, not to mention when we go camping, or basically anywhere with uneven terrain. I cannot tell you how much I love, love, love our stroller! Don't buy into the travel system hype - get a quality stroller with real tires if you're going to do anything other than indoor or smooth sidewalk use. Most of them are compatible (either inherently or with an inexpensive attachment) with a wide variety of infant car seats. If I hadn't been lucky enough to come across the Mountain Buggy deal on Zulily, I probably would have bought a Baby Jogger City Elite or a Phil & Ted's Explorer. Expensive, yes, but we decided the stroller was the one thing we were going to spend a bit of money on because we'd use the heck out of it.

And, for a bit of a change, here are a couple of things I probably wouldn't buy again...

An infant car seat that goes up to 30+ pounds
We have the Graco Snugride 32 in Zurich. (Wal-Mart used to sell it for even cheaper.) Anyway, it's a perfectly fine seat, and the fabric seems like it will hold up well, but it's humongous. Seriously gigantic and heavy. If I had to do it again, I'd go with a seat with the standard 22-lb weight limit. The larger seat barely fits in our Forester, and come on, it's not like I'm going to lug around a 30-lb baby in the carrier anyway.

A typical bouncer seat
We have the Bright Starts Ingenuity Rocker in Turtle Dove, and we hardly ever use it. Why? Because we also have a Fisher Price Infant-to-Toddler Rocker, and I like that one way better. It fully reclines to make a mini-bassinet type thing for when Zoey was a newborn, and it will turn into a toddler seat when she gets bigger.