Monday, March 8, 2010

Gearing Up

Okay lovely blog world friends, I am in need of all you little mama's out there. I am hoping you'll put your 2 cents, heck, drop 25 cents if you feel so inclined...about all the STUFF we need.

Yes, yes, it's about that time that the hubby and I venture out into the great unknown- the world of baby registering! We need to "gear up"!

I know everyone has things they have: loved, never ended up or barely used, wished they'd purchased/regisered for differently, etc...

And I am here to pick your pretty little brains :). He he. Do I sound like the wicked witch from Wizard of Oz?

Traveling systems(carriers and strollers). Yay or nay? I am leaning towards yay. If so, which one did you get? have you liked it?

Monitors. Video the way to go? I am thinking since our little guy will be upstairs that the video may be our new BFF.

Co-sleeper, bassinet, moses basket, or pack n' play thingy (for when he's little and/or sleeping downstairs and I want his nest to be mobile).

Jog strollers. The Bob, Baby Jogger?

Bottles. Dr Browns, Avent, etc...

Please, please feel free to comment and advise on anything else you feel so inclined to chime in on, the more info the better. I am hoping for information overload here ladies and gents. Who am I kidding, there is not one single male who admittedly reads this thing.

Sorry for a post with no pics. SO boring, I know :).

11 comments:

kinsey said...

uppa baby vista stroller...LOVE IT! travel systems seem too bulky to me...the uppa has a bassinet for when he's tiny (we used it a ton!). it also has the attachment for you to snap your carseat into it so you don't need a snap n go. one less "thing" to have. the base of the uppa is just like the snap n go. then there is a regular seat that attaches when he's ready. again, LOVE IT.

BOB stroller. we have it as well. love.

hank always slept in his bed, but we do have a pack n play. it's a must for traveling!

dr. brown's bottles.

summer day and night video monitor...MUST HAVE

we have the Chicco keyfit infant carseat. like it a lot.

hmmmm...think these are the big things, but i'll keep thinking :-)

kinsey said...

a GLIDER!! we got ours at Lone Star Baby...pretty sure it's the Best Chair brand.

Daniel and Ashleigh Hansberger said...

I think a must is the Angel care Monitor. (We actually had both the video monitor to see, and the angel monitor.) The Angel has a monitor that goes under their mattress to detect movement and breathing. For me it was great peace of mind once we put him in his own room. We also have the BOB jogging stroller, as well as the Graco travel system and Maclaren stroller. I too also recommend a pack n play for travel. Gage liked the Dr. Brown bottles. Oh and DIAPERS DIAPERS DIAPERS!!

John and Jamie Snider said...

I love love the Aden and Anais swaddling blankets. i think they are a must have for any baby being born in the summer. The muslin is so lightweight that it it keeps them from getting too hot or too cold. They are also really big so you can even use them as a nursing cover when its warm.

Kyle and Marci said...

Love the BOB stroller!! Glider is a must! Angel Care monitor...love the peace of mind it gives you!

Jill Atkinson said...

i will email you :)

kinsey said...

we have the angel care monitor too. i had to have that. are you sick of my comments yet? i guess i should have been like jill and just emailed ;-)

Tara said...

Congrats! Babies are SO much fun! You REALLY REALLY need to get an Angel Care Monitor. I would have gotten no sleep without that thing! Since you baby is going to be upstairs, I would get both the Angel Care monitor and a video monitor. IMO, whatever helps you get some rest! We use Dr. Brown's bottles. Love them! You must have a pack n play...for traveling. Any time we went over to friends, we just took that so we could stay out longer. LOL

Good Luck! and Congrats again!

Ashley Franks said...

Okay, the summer infant day night video monitor didn't work for us at all. It isn't digital, so it would interfere with our neighbors. After returning a few, we had to go get a different graco "digital" one. Also, it doesn't make a "cracking noise" that the old one did.

I love our Microlite Toro stroller. It seems close to the uppa baby vista. The main thing is that they both can snap your car seat in them! Huge! So you don't have to waste $60 bucks on a graco snap and go stroller that you'll only use for a few months. Systems are so bulky!! We also got the Maclaren, but never use it. My Toro stroller is just as light weight and I've even flown with it. Also with the stroller you can buy jogging wheels so you can jog with it. I personally would love to have a bob, but we're going to wait and purchase a double bob when we have two kids. It's going to be the only way that I can jog while Matt is out of town.

Love the Dr. Brown bottles. No complaint at all! Register for the 4 oz and the 8oz. You'll use both.

We love our graco infant car seat but Roman grew out of it fast! He got in the Britax Boulevard at 8 months because of his weight. We're using it still rear facing. I LOVE it!!! He does too! It's so comfortable.

We love having the pack in play too. I have taken it on many trips and used is downstairs as a changing table because Roman's room used to be upstairs too.

Hope this helps!! Good luck and have fun shopping!

Elizabeth said...

NO NO NO travel system!!! We have one - and I HATE it - and have ended up spending MORE money on strollers. We have three now. My husband would be horrified if he knew I admitted it. If I could do it all over again? I would get a Graco or Peg Perego carseat - they fit into almost EVERYTHING - and buy a Bugaboo, Uppa, or Snap - N - Go. The travel system is extremely bulky - when all you need is the carrier - you could just snap it into a snap in go, or Bugaboo frame, or Uppa, etc. You get the idea. Those two brand of carseats also have attachments to fit into a BOB ( a definite yes) or Bumbleride, etc. Sorry. I am just a firm believer in NO travel system. Personally, if I could do it all over again? I would have a snap-n-go frame (in-expensive) a Maclaren umbrella stroller, and a BOB jogger. I have some of those now...plus some. sheesh!

Jay and Kristen said...

We got the Chicco travel system and loved it but we only used the stroller part for like a couple of months, it probably wasn't worth the extra expense (loved the car seat part though!). Honestly, the only stroller we ever use is the BOB (you MUST get the carseat adapter so you can get out and running while he's still itty bitty, you will want to get out!). We used Born Free bottles and sippy cups, but I think that was back when they were the only ones that were BPA free, I think they all are now? Go ahead and register for the Britax carseat, its pricey so you might as well let someone else buy it for you if they want to (I think ours is the Boulevard CS and Olivia LOVES it!) =) Video monitor, yes yes yes. We have the summer day and night, and never had problems with interference (no neighbors!), but we have a digital one at my parents and really like it too! We will probably get a digital one for this next babe. The pack and play is super important but my advice is to get the cheapest graco one you can find...its like $70 and is perfect. the more expensive ones just come with a bunch of extra pieces that you'll never use and you'll just have to find a place to put them all, you know? We borrowed a moses basket for the first few weeks after Liv was born and that was nice to have her right there next to me at night (and you can move it around the house more easily than a pack and play or a bassinet, but if you get a stroller with a bassinet, it would probably serve the same purpose. You'll need a little nightlight that you can flip on during midnight feedings and diaper changes so you can see a little but don't have to light up the whole room. The last thing that I can think of is a big mirror for the backseat of the car (I think it's Safety First brand?). I didn't get one until after Liv was born and those first few rides were torture not being able to see her and what she was doing! Oops, sorry, I wrote way too much!! =) Good luck and have fun!