The third installation of my baby gear mini-series, and probably one new parents will be most interested in. These are your "big ticket" items that you hope grandparents-to-be and close friends will buy for you as shower gifts, but their the ones you want to make certain you pick them out so the adhere to the most up-to-date safety standards and will work best for your family! Stores like Babies R Us will normally let you "test drive" any of these products to make sure they're easy for you to use, will fit in your car, etc, so make sure you take advantage of that as you shop!!
- Diaper Genie II: So nice to have! Really keeps the stink outta the house...and let me tell you poopy diapers STINK! I have to empty mine every 2-3 days, which is nice. Some of our wet dipes end up in the other trash cans throughout the house, but the poopy ones go in here and you can't even tell they're in the house! And if a poop diaper ends up in the normal trash, it permeates the whole house, so I'm glad I have this. I can totally understand why some people get one for upstairs and one for downstairs, but I'm not to that point yet...
- The Fisher Price My Little Lamb vibrating seat: Bunkey loves this! I considered buying the matching swing, but since he's already 10 lbs, and each only goes up to 25 lbs I was be better off getting an exersaucer instead... But like I said, Bunkey loves the vibrating motion of this and it's great to put him upright after a bottle when I simply can't hold him for 30 minutes after eating. He likes to nap in this too, and as of right now even naps here more than his bassinet!
- Car Seats: We opted for a travel system. This is an infant carrier, car seat with base, and stroller all in one. The car seat is rear-facing only and fits on top of the stroller until he can sit in the stroller alone. You can also purchase an extra base if you think you'll need to move the seat from car to car. My travel system only goes rear-seating to 35 lbs (40 for the stroller part) and 32 inches so since new recommendations (it's a law in VA now) are rear-facing for the first two years, we'll have to get a convertible seat when Bunkey outgrows this one. So far I really like it, although it is hard to get in and out of our new Explorer only because it's on the middle back seat so it's a tough reach for me! In my Mazda, it only fits on the side seats of the back, which means that the front seat has to be pushed up all the way, but it's super easy to get in and out of that seat. I honestly don't think it's as heavy as everyone says, but it is awkward to carry.... All that said, do test out seat(s) you're interested in to make sure they fit in your car and you can carry them and set them up! We had to show the nurses that we knew how to work the carseat before leaving the hospital, and during my first trip to Walmart I couldn't unfold the stroller....so embarrassing!
- Bumbo: Great for building core strength and helping learn to sit alone. They also work great as a booster seat or even on top of the table or countertop…. My girlfriend used this when he little girl was starting on rice cereal but couldn’t sit alone yet in a highchair. Bunkey is already sitting in his every now and then!
Agreed! Great list!
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