Baby Product Review

I have a lot of friends who are having babies. You know who you are ;-) So I thought I'd give a little product review of things we've been using the past six weeks for those who are interested. I emailed a list of ladies before I had Ava to get their "essentials" list and their advice was helpful in choosing what we would purchase and what we wouldn't. Maybe my review can help some you. 

Moby Wrap

I read rave review after rave review for this wrap. And I have to say it has major perks, but also some pretty significant drawbacks. It's very womb-like for the baby once she's in it. Ava has taken an hour and a half nap in the Moby while at church. When I wear her in the Moby at gatherings like church, she sleeps peacefully, I can stand and worship with everyone else while only having to look down and kiss her head to know she's okay, and people don't try and touch her because that would require getting in my personal space. And if you're a germaphobe like me, that's a major plus. 

The Moby is hard to wrap. It took me several times of watching the instructional video to be able to wrap it without guidance. Even though I've got the basic wrap down now, it's a hassle to do. I usually wrap it before we leave for an outing if I think I am going to use it. It's so long that wrapping it in a parking lot or store would mean letting the wrap touch the ground while wrapping- yuck. 

Another thing to think about it that is isn't exactly masculine looking. If you're only going to buy one carrier and you want one you and your husband can use this might not be it. Brian wouldn't want to wear this one because it does look a little weird on a man (there are pictures of a man wearing it on the instructional booklet) and because it would take too much time to learn to wrap. But that's just my opinion. I would be really interested to hear if the moby has worked well for other couple's to share. 

Ergo Baby Carrier

I had to buy an infant insert to go with the Ergo Baby. It's a little padded pouch that you put the baby inside to cushion their head. It was an extra 25.00 which I didn't mind since the carrier itself was a gift. If you want to use the Ergo with your newborn you'll need the insert. I could have used the Moby until she was old enough and then switched to the Ergo, but the Ergo is much faster to put on and Brian likes it too.

The infant carrier is padded which makes it hard to use in high temps. I've taken Ava hiking with it in the midday heat and I was worried the entire time that she was too hot. That doesn't make for a very fun outing. If we wear it at night when it's cooler, it works really well.  So it depends on how you plan to use it.

Overall, I love the Ergo but I think I would get more use out of the infant insert with a winter baby.

Bright Stars Comfort and Harmony Swing

This swing has lots of different speeds and plays music. It's also small and easily condenses to store in a closet or out of the way. Since we have a small space it's perfect for us. Ava isn't a huge fan of the swing yet but I'm glad we have it to keep trying with her and for future little Ramseys.

Infantino Play Gym

This play gym is super cute. I love the colors and the toy attachments. Just beware of washing all the toys. One makes made music until I washed it. See germaphobe reference above. This has been nice to lay Ava on for tummy time. She's not old enough to appreciate the toys on it yet, but I use it because it's easy to clean and more padded than a blanket. This particular play gym can be set up with one hand, which is handy when you have a baby in the other. I think any version of the play gym is probably great.

Large Flannel Receiving Blankets

Two of my friends made double-sided flannel receiving blankets for us. They have been great for swaddling. For the first month I used the very thin Aden + Anias swaddling blankets and Ava wriggled her way out of them every time. Then one night it was cold and Brian put her in one of the flannels and she didn't get even an arm out AND she slept longer. Two hours longer. On the nights that it's warm in the house, I open our windows to make it cool enough to still swaddle her in the flannel because everyone needs two extra hours of sleep. ;)

Aden and Anias Swaddle Blankets

These are just a thin brand of swaddle blankets you can get at Target. They are on the pricey side ($30 for a 4 pack) but the perfect price for a baby gift. Like I said above, they aren't the best to swaddle with IMO, but they are great for keeping sun off of your baby in the carrier on a hot day, covering the carrier in public for the baby to nap, and to cover yourself when nursing. Basically, they are incredibly versatile, great for summer, and I love them. If you know of any blankets like these that are cheaper, let me know!

MAM Pacifiers
I resisted the paci for Ava's first two weeks. My mother begged me to buy one. Then my friend from Tennessee, who I emailed every day for the first month of Ava's life for advice, decided I needed a mini paci intervention and called me and told me to "get that baby a paci." Her position was that babies will self soothe with their thumb or fingers if you don't give them a pacifier and when it's time to ween them off you can take a paci away but you can't cut off their digits. That got my attention. I started out with the hospital style pacifier but Ava wouldn't take it because even the newborn was too big her her. Then I got a MAM. They are the same shape on top and bottom for better orthodontics.

Bouncer
We have a Fisher Price vibrations bouncer. Ava hangs out in it while I cook and shower.  At her age it's the best way to keep her happy while she's awake and I'm trying to get things done. This is definitely a must-have for us.

Travel System
We got the chicco travel system. It was highly recommended to us by many friends. I like that it clips in and out of the car easily and I think it's a nice looking product. But it's heavy and it doesn't fit easily into shopping carts. I'm not sure if there are better travel systems out there, so I don't know if I'd prefer another one. Overall, I like this one but I don't love it.

These products have made our lives a little easier and we are blessed to have them. But I don't think any of them are essential to having a happy household with a newborn.

What's Really Important
The things I've found to be truly important have nothing to do with baby gear. It's important to sleep when they sleep. I think everyone I came in contact with those first few weeks told me that and I should have listened. Every one of my postpartum meltdowns was due to sleep deprivation.

It's important to connect with your spouse. Staying on the same page when your world has just been turned upside down by your newborn is tough. It's helped to have at least 20 minutes every evening when Brian I can connect.

It's important to stay close to Jesus. Those first few weeks I could barely brush my teeth much less have a "quiet time." Fortunately, I had gotten a short devotional book the week before Ava was born that I kept by my glider. At our first morning feeding I would read a page out loud to Ava. My smallest efforts to draw near to God were met by Him in big ways. I think I will always remember those early days with Ava being very, very weak and having God carry me in His arms like never before.

Well, that's all I've got for now. Happy 4th!

What Do You Do?

"What do you do?" It's probably the most common question to ask someone when you're making small talk or trying to get to know them. I ask new people at church that question a lot. I don't actually like the question but after I ask,  "How'd you find out about GrassRoots?," it seems like the only thing left to ask someone I don't know. 

I don't like the question because it indicates that what you do is who you are or is how you find value or something like that. You know what I mean? And that's been confirmed for me by how people answer the question. In this economy a lot of people are going back to school or working jobs they don't like or unemployed or underemployed. So when they answer the question they answer in a tone that says they're not very proud of what they do. And then I feel bad for asking. 

So my question for you is, what's a better question to ask? Is there a way to get to know someone better without asking what they do? Or just a better way to ask the question. 

A Good Day

Today is a good day. My awesome, baby whispering husband put Ava down at 10pm last night and she slept till 1am. When I fed her at 1am and 5am, she went back down without a sound. This made for the most sleep I've had since she was born. I feel so alive today! 

Other good things include getting back into pre-pregnancy jeans. Even though they were my "I ate two slices of cheesecake last night jeans," not my "I ran three miles this morning jeans" and Ava threw up all over them less than an hour after putting them on, it still made me happy. I'm not sure who has to change clothes more times in a day, me or Ava.

I'm getting a hair cut today! A friend recommended a salon that's right beside my house, which is awesome because until I teach Ava how to take a bottle (I will I swear, I've just been busy) I'm always on a 2 1/2 hour countdown when I leave the house. As for the cut, I think I'm going to go shorter. But not this short. 

That was a mistake of epic proportions. Any suggestions for the new do? 

Another good thing is Joe Thorn's book Note To Self. The book is made up of about 50 short notes where the author helps you preach truth to yourself on a slew of different topics. If it weren't for this book, I'm not sure how i'd be having a quiet time right now. I recommend it for everyone, but especially for someone who's in a busy season of life. The Resurgence has published several of the "notes" as blog posts if you want to read an excerpt. 

All of these small things are just gifts from a very good God. The best thing of all the good thing from today is just knowing I'm His child- a concept that has become even sweeter in the recent weeks.  

Welcome Ava

I'm sure you've seen Ava's pictures on Facebook, but I figured I'd post a few here for her blog debut. When I'm a little less sleep deprived I'll share her birth story, including how I went from being Mrs. All Natural to Mrs. Say Yes to Drugs. It's a wonderful 25 hour saga ;)

In the Hospital

First Bath at Home

Emergency Car Feeding

 Car Burping

Hair Styling with BeBe

Weekend Update

Brian and I had such a productive weekend! Friday evening we had planned on getting in some face time at the Wholefoods coffee bar to review our marriage small group material, but we got so caught up in the nursery that we ran out of coffee bar time and had to settle for a late night grocery trip. 

Saturday morning we had our friends Jason and Stevie over for breakfast. Since we're not sure how having Ava is going to change our routines for a while we wanted one last pre-baby hurrah with them. 

 After waffles, they helped us with some nursery stuff like figuring out how our wrap and baby carrier work. We practiced with a stuffed bear.

 Brian's was much easier than mine.

Then the four of us took our cars to a local car wash. Brian's and my car needed vacuuming in the worst way. We wanted to clean them before we installed our car seat. Which Brian did all by himself even though everyone had told us we'd need professional help because it was so hard. That's one thing about engineers, they can read an instruction manual!

Also this weekend, Brian gave me roses for my first ever Mother's Day gift. Wasn't that awesome?

Today we had our 38 week appointment. I tested negative for group B strep, so I don't have to have an IV during delivery and we won't have to stay an extra day in the hospital. I was prepared for it if we did, but I'm so glad we don't! 

Friday

I called this post "Friday" because I have no direction about what I'm about to say. I just feel like bloggin' and it's Friday. 

Today my MIL came over and we she worked on the crib skirt for Ava's room. I originally bought the fabric for a crib bumper, but thanks to the hospital and the CDC, I have been scared out of using one. I figured a skirt could add the same kind of flare with a comparable amount of fabric. 

She brought some old curtains to use for the middle part of the skirt that goes underneath the mattress and since I had washed the new fabric we figured we should wash those too so nothing would shrink. And that gave us time to kill. During that time I found these great tubs at Sams. I've been seeing the same tubs at Target in every color but the ones I wanted. I'm going to use one for toys and the other for dirty clothes. 

Our travel system arrived yesterday. But we weren't home, so UPS left it with our neighbor. Which is a little weird considering we don't know our neighbor. This afternoon I knocked on her door and she had it waiting on me. I'm glad we have honest neighbors. I'm sure you could sell a baby travel system for a pretty penny on the black market. 

Well Brian's home, so I'm going to sign off here. More randomness later!

Nursery Progress

Even though Ava is due in just 3 weeks time (but would not be considered early if she came this week), I cannot post pictures of her perfectly decorated and organized nursery. But I'm getting closer! 

This weekend Brian and I finally put together the crib and bought some of our last minute things. If she came early we'd be okay for the most part. 

This is documentation to prove that we did something! My mother, mother-in-law and a couple friends have been worried that I'd never get around to doing the nursery. I'm posting these pictures to put their minds at ease. Ava has a bed and clean sheets!

I did nursery "research" while Brian did the heavy lifting. That's life around here these days. 

She has more clothes than I do! Fortunately my friend Stevie sized and organized all of her hanging clothes. Now I just have to do the same with folded clothes. 

I'll keep you updated on my progress.