Love it, Hate it, Need it, Steal it: Baby Gear

A collection of brief okay, kind of longish reviews on products we’ve purchased for Little Guy.

LOVE IT

Baby products I would wholeheartedly (and whole-wallet-ly) recommend to friends, family, and Beyonce if she ever asked me.

Fisher-Price Booster Seat, MSRP $29.99: It is beyond me why Fisher-Price would manufacture a high-chair alternative that is SMALLER than their “space saver” brand booster seat. But whatever, maybe I just don’t understand consumer politics. At any rate, this seat is by far the better deal. For $29.99 (or $23.99 if you’re like me and willing to purchase the less-popular color option), you get an extremely compact booster seat that is both functional and comfortable. The two trays fit easily into the dishwasher at the same time, and it currently fits my smallish-sized 6-month-old with no wiggle room (trust me, you don’t want wiggle room when you are trying to chase a baby-sized mouth with a baby-sized spoon), and lots of growing room. I wish I had seen this version, with a toy set instead of the extra tray, because quite honestly, you only need one tray if you’re willing to do some scrubbing between meals and if we had this a few months ago, the toy bar would have made this a very appealing alternative to the Bumbo/Summer Infant seat (see way down below).

California Baby Calming Shampoo and Body Wash, MSRP $8.99 and up: Definitely get the pump bottle version of this Made in the U.S.A. shampoo and body wash with lots of natural ingredients. Smells so good you'll want a bottle for your shower, too.

Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Chamomile Argan Oil Baby Healing Lotion, MSRP $9.99: Another Made in the U.S.A. baby (mama?!) care product. Chock full of ingredients you're actually familiar with (no more sodium laurate clausedimate!) so won’t feel guilt-stricken if your baby starts to gnaw on his hands just as soon as you’ve finished lotioning him up.

Eurobath, MSRP $39.99: I skipped over all the fancy colors and accessory options and went with the tub that had the best online reviews. This is a very simple, very functional tub that has served us very well from the 2 week mark all the way to 6 months, and I imagine will carry us all the way until Little Guy is ready to sit in the regular tub. (After the bathroom remodel?!?!) You can pair it with the Munchkin Foam Bath Cradle (pictured above) for the first few months to keep baby comfy and in place.

Moby Wrap, MSRP $39.95: Don’t wait to find out if your infant will be colicky, BUY THIS WRAP NOW. Because if your baby is colicky, it will preserve your sanity. And if your baby isn’t colicky, it will preserve your vertebrae. Looking back now, I totally could have ditched the Snap n’ Go stroller in favor of wearing the baby when I was shopping, running errands, chasing down my flight at the airport, etc., and you can find lots of Google-search research to prove that babies who are worn close to their mothers are calmer and generally happier. Next go-round, I will be packing the Moby to bring to the hospital and start the babywearing from Day 1. But be forewarned: You won’t have any excuse for not vacuuming or folding the laundry!

HATE IT

Okay, hate is a strong word – and I’d hate to use it superfluously – so, let’s just say these are products that I found to be pretty unnecessary.

 Boppy Pillow, MSRP $44.99: I guess I never got the hang of how to use this while breastfeeding, it just seemed awkward and cumbersome, and Little Guy never enjoyed it as a lounger either. I’ve finally dusted it off these last few weeks to use as a safety measure when I have to walk around the room and Little Guy is sitting precariously on the floor, but honestly, he gets rather annoyed with it and it never helped him “learn” to sit like some friends have claimed. I think a regular old pillow would work just fine if you had a small baby that needed some elevation to reach your goodies. Not quite as cute, though, is it?

Beaba Baby Cook Baby Food Maker, MSRP $139.99: This was one of my most heavily debated registry choices, and in the end, I removed it before my shower. Most online forums will suggest you can do as much (or even more) with a food processor, and purchasing a baby-food-specific machine will take a bigger hit on your wallet. In the end, we decided to introduce solids to Little Guy following the Baby Led Weaning method, which allows the baby to feed himself regular (non-pureed) foods from the 6-month mark.

NEED IT

These are The Big Deal Must Have items we chose after several months of research. In most instances, I chose a blend of safety, function, and affordability – but be aware that all of these are on the upper-levels of a middle-class budget and there are very safe and functional alternatives with “cuter” colors and patterns if you’re into that sort of thing.

Britax Marathon convertible car seat, MSRP $219.99: I have read on several mothering bulletin boards that they is no such thing as a “safer” car seat since all car seats meet national safety requirements, but those are MINIMUM standards. And there most certainly are car seats that exceed those standards. Not only that, but in many cases, factors that would be considered matters of convenience or comfort help mother and child to use the seat CORRECTLY which makes it SAFEST. Having an easily adjustable harness, for example, makes you most likely to use the seat in the way it was designed. And features like that are the reason we chose the Britax Marathon. *End rant.*

Chicco Keyfit30 infant car seat, MSRP $179.99: Like many of the products we have chosen for Little Guy, we tried to find items that were manufactured in the U.S.A. Unfortunately, a lot of the big ticket items are made elsewhere. Britax is one of the few companies with products made in the U.S.A., but its infant seat (the Chaperone) is made in China. That was the deal breaker for us, and we chose the very safe, but slightly less expensive Chicco Keyfit30 instead.

BOB Jogging Stroller, MSRP $379.99: Instead of registering for a travel system, we chose this heavy duty jogging stroller. I loooove our BOB, and I’m so glad we don’t have a bulky travel system that would have been collecting dust from the get-go. I mostly use the Moby or Ergo to wear Little Guy when we are out and about, and the BOB is for walks, jogs, and trips to the Zoo. We had a Snap n’ Go frame for the Chicco infant seat before he was able to sit in the BOB, and we have a cheap umbrella stroller ($30, Target) that we stash in the car in case I can’t wear him for one reason or another.

STEAL IT

These baby products are pretty awesome, but they won’t be used for long. They’re perfect items to purchase at garage sales/Craigslist, or borrow from another family:

Fisher-Price Rainforest Jumperoo, MSRP $69.99 and up: Little Guy loved his jumperoo from about 3 months to the 5-month-mark, when he started rocking on his hands and knees. We still sometimes put him in the jumperoo if we need him to stay in one place while we’re buzzing about the house, but for the most part, he’d rather explore the world on his hands and knees.

Bumbo, MSRP $39.99: We actually didn’t have a Bumbo, but the less-expensive Summer Infant Seat. This was also pretty functional during the 3-5 month stage, but has now run its course, especially since we have the booster seat for meals. I had thought I could get away with using this as a high-chair alternative, but there are too many nooks and crannies to clean and you can’t move the tray any closer to the baby. One of the more popular claims about these seats is that they help the baby learn to sit, but quite frankly, I didn't see any connection.

Gym/playmat, MSRP $64.99 and up: I should have gotten a version that didn’t have cross bars; you spend sooo much time picking the baby up and placing them down on the mat, that the cross bars are actually rather frustrating. I wish I had chosen a version like this, but even then, your baby has pretty much outgrown its usefulness by 4 months, and doesn't even become interested in the dangling toys until about two months. And as for "tummy time" -- well, you're better off just grabbing a mirror, some toys, and a blanket on a carpeted surface. At least that's what worked for me.

Snap n’ Go stroller frame, MSRP $69.99: The Snap n’ Go was handy for the first three weeks when I really couldn’t wear Little Guy around because my recovery was going so slowly, and then a handful of times after that when he was either asleep in his car seat or it was too humid out to wear him. Other than that, it was one of those items that quickly collected dust in the garage. It is very sturdy and functional, though, so overall, I like the product. Just haven’t needed it as much as I thought I would.