The second email my cousin sent me was full of product recommendations. The trouble is, of course, that she lives in Europe, so at least one of these products is only available over there, but I thought it was cool so I’d share. Here’s what she said about buying for baby:
“The advice I found the most useful was about what items people really used. Even that is so individual, but everything about having a baby is, and even more so because babies have an opinion too!”
As you look at these products and see some of her comments, remember that she lives in France and takes public transportation a lot. As always, I’d love for you to comment and add your own opinions. What have you found works for you?
STROLLERS:
Bugaboo Frog Stroller
“I love this stroller but it is going on eBay after having been used maximum 40 times in about a year. We have ended up using the sling 95% of the time, so we could have gotten away with something like the Quinny Zapp.”
Quinny Zapp Stroller
“It can be connected to a car seat and is really light weight and portable.”
“Standalone” stroller frame
“You can also buy ‘standalone’ stroller frames to hook up to a car seat. Might be a good option if you’re not sure what you want or need.”
NOT-STROLLERS
Bumbo
“She has loved her bumbo.” –My brother and sister-in-law have one of these for my niece and so my husband and I are already planning on getting one.
Changing Table / Bath combo
“This has worked out well because I didn’t want to be on my knees to give a bath, and then later once she could sit up the bath tub part can be used inside a normal bathtub to use less water and keep the baby from slipping.” –I think this might be only available in Europe…
Diaper Bag
“I also regretted my big diaper bag from skip hop and found this one worked better for me.”
Baby Bjorn babysitter 1-2-3
“I use this daily to hold her while I take a shower.”
Not included in her email (although she mentioned it) was the minimonkey sling that she sent us as a wedding gift. Who knew that we’d need it just a little over a year after the wedding?
What baby items do you love? What did you buy but ended up never using?
I loved my baby swing. I ended up buying another one so I would have one in the bedroom and one in the living room. This allowed me to keep the baby soothed while I washed dishes or went to the bathroom. Oh, and my pack and play. I kept it in my living room for the first 6 months so I could change him on the bassinet part and he took naps there too. Now he is 18 months and we still use it when we travel as his bed. It looks similar to this one http://www.target.com/Graco-Pack-%E2%80%99n-Play-Yard/dp/B000LPDAP6/sr=1-9/qid=1216154306/ref=sr_1_9/601-4141016-1977735?ie=UTF8&index;=target&rh;=k%3Apack%20and%20play&page;=1 . When we don’t use it I keep it tucked under his crib.
The pack n play and the swing we used a ton. The baby tub, not so much. Bottle warmer, only when we drove across the country and didn’t want to stop.
Little Noses saline spray was another thing we used all the time, along with aquaphor and Eucerin cream (hurrah for dry climates).
OH! The biggest (and prolly most obvious) thing I needed with my babes was a nice thick burp cloth, like a cloth diaper. They worked so much better and actually protect you from spit up.
I never got the hang of my baby sling. I used a hug-a-bub stretchy wrap instead and loved it. And now we have two woven wraps and two Mei Tais that I use regularly, more than a stroller. When we did use a stroller, having the basic frame to pop the bucket seat into was awesome. We used the bumbo for such a short time, but it was totally worth it. A third on the pack ‘n play. And the excersaucer once they’re big enough to be bored with the bouncy seat but you still want a quick shower on your own.
The Baby Bjorn bouncy seat is wonderful. My 3.5-month old son loves it (though he was too little for it until about a month ago).