Baby Gear Survey: Sleeping, Soothing and Swinging

With 5(ish) (ok, still working on this one and we're looking at 3ish...and now 2ish) weeks left before baby Ellen's arrival, I'm now scurrying to finish up my Baby Survey posts.  Again, thank you to everyone who participated in this survey.  Your input has been beyond helpful for us as we prepare for our first baby!

This post focuses on the following: crib bumpers, sheets and other bedding, sleep sacks, swaddling, blankets, bassinets, rocking chairs, swings etc.  

Click here for the spreadsheet of results

Now that you've read what other people have said, this is what we chose: 

Crib bumpers and baby bedding: Yes.  It will be awhile before Ellen can actually move around in her crib.  Bumpers are pretty (I know that sounds selfish and shallow), but when she starts moving, we'll make sure she doesn't cuddle up with them and suffocate.  I just can't bring myself to use those mesh bumpers...they're ugly.  I went with custom bedding that my mom and I made.  I have really obsessed about the nursery and couldn't find anything within a reasonable price range that I loved.  No, I will not make bedding for you.  It was much more difficult that I thought it would be...but it sure is pretty!

Here's a little sneak peak:

Sheets: I decided on a mixture of sheets, all white- regular cotton, organic muslin (Aiden and Anais) and flannel.  Depending on room temperature will depend on what we use.  One great tip I've learned is to layer mattress pads and sheets (as many as you can layer) so that if your baby has an accident or spit up/throw up in the night, you can just take the top set off and have a clean set underneath.  I chose all white sheets so that they can withstand lots of cleanings.  Here is what we registered for:

Aiden and Anais Muslin Crib Sheets

American Baby Company Flannel Crib Sheets

Carters Keep Me Dry Waterproof Fitted Quilted Crib Pad

Sleep sacks: Since Ellen will be a summer baby, I went with the lightest weight Aiden and Anais sleep sacks and swaddles.  I'm not sure whether we'll put her in a sleep sack or swaddle in the beginning, I think it will depend on what she prefers.  I also have a heavier weight Halo sleep sack and Aiden and Anais for winter.  I definitely advocate for sleep sacks a few months in when swaddles aren't preferable any longer. 

Swaddling: so far, I'm an advocate for swaddling.   I'm using all Aiden and Anais swaddles, or swaddles that are made from similar muslin material.  I think they're easiest to use, we won't have to worry about her getting too hot and they are SO SOFT.  They're also a great size. I've been a big fan of them for babies I've babysat/nannied in the past. 

Bassinets: We are going to use a bassinet near the bed especially for the first couple of months when we're figuring out feeding etc.  I don't know what brand ours is because its a hand me down from my sweet SIL, Elizabeth.  We are so fortunate to have a bassinet that carries so much love with it already!  I don't really think bassinet brand matters- you don't use them that long. However, if you're looking for something beautiful check out RH Baby and Child for their bassinets and moses baskets.  They. Are. Gorgeous.  If you don't care about style and you're looking for function only, most pack and plays have a great bassinet feature.

http://www.rhbabyandchild.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=rhbc_prod242037&categoryId=rhbc_cat102147

Swings: We chose the Mamaroo by 4moms.  I love the look of it and its functionality in theory (since we haven't actually gotten to use it yet).  I love the different swinging modes, the white noise options and that you can plug an ipod into it and play whatever your baby loves.  It can be pretty pricey, so look for one from a resale shop or borrow one from a friend).  When looking for a swing I recommend something with a pretty strong swinging motion and fairly loud music/white noise.  You'll also want something that plugs into the wall so that you're not going through a million batteries.  

Rock and Play: I have many friends who SWEAR by the rock and play; however, we decided against it.  While most babies love it, I've heard from many that breaking their babies from sleeping in the rock and play has been a miserable feat.  I didn't want to deal with that...and I don't like the monkey head on the back of it, so we didn't get it.  

Rocking Chair: The biggest advice I got regarding rocking chairs/gliders is to get something that you love and that is super comfortable because you'll spend a lot of time in it.  We chose a Best Chair Company chair.  I wasn't crazy about the fabric options (I'm not kidding, I've had some serious nesting issues with nursery style), so I found the chair I wanted on Craig's List and then had it re-upholstered.  It's really pretty and you'll see it in my nursery post that I swear will happen in the next 5 weeks.

Pacifiers: The jury is out on whether Ellen will use a pacifier or not.  We're not totally against it, but we'll definitely wait until she becomes a breastfeeding champ.  Here are the ones we've got in the paci arsenal just in case:

Nuk Classics

Avent Soothies (a favorite among many)

The First Years Gumdrops

Secretly, if she needs a pacifier, I hope she chooses her thumb- so much cuter than a paci and MUCH easier to keep up with :)

Lovies: I strongly believe that every baby needs a lovie.  I also swore I would not be one of those mommies who forces a specific lovie onto her child.  I love when kiddos pick them out for themselves...I have a friend whose little girl loves a Grinch doll and it's adorable :)  That said- I picked a lovie that I will strongly suggest for Ellen.  It's this JellyCat bunny.  It's SO soft and pretty:

She also got this JellyCat bunny from some of my favorite people on Earth, the Rickels, and she can choose it if she prefers:

My overall advice about lovies that I've learned from babysitting and nannying is to have back ups.  If a lovie is lost, it's bad news for everyone and if a lovie is dirty, it's nice to have as second stream while the A team gets washed.

So that's it for sleeping, soothing and swinging!  I hope this is helpful.  I'd love any of your feedback or further advice!  

Baby Gear Survey: Diapering

I feel like all I do is apologize for being behind on the blog.  This baby survey has been so helpful for me and I really do want to share the results with you as well as some of the research I've done on my own!  Here's the diaper section- I'm sharing the spreadsheet here.  It's a little more confusing, I had trouble finding a layout that I liked, so this is what I came up with.

Overall results:
disposable diaper users: 23
cloth diaper users: 7
both diaper users: 3

Most popular disposables:
Huggies
Pampers

Most popular cloth:
Bumgenius

Most Popular wipes:
Pampers Sensitive

Most Popular Diaper Rash Ointment:
Desitin followed by A&D

Wipe warmer vs. no wipe warmer opinions were about 50/50.  One good comment I saw was that if you only use wipe warmers at home, it's a shock to little baby bottoms when you're out and about and put a cold wipe on their bums...could lead to a fussy baby.  We're still on the fence.  I will at least need some sort of wipe container because we are planning on using reusable wipes while at home.

Diaper Genie- some people were for, some people were against, cloth diaper-ers use diaper bags and pails depending on where their changing diapers.  One helpful comment was not to buy a diaper pail that requires specific trash bags because it gets so pricey!


And now here's our plans:  After researching the pros and cons of cloth vs. disposables, we are going to give cloth diapers a go.  I can't promise that this is all we will use, but we're going to give it our best shot!  We are choosing cloth for these reasons: The cost savings is significant over disposables (there are many different people who have done analysis on these and they all turn out with slightly different figures...the moral of the story is that the cost savings is significant).  Using cloth diapers is better for the environment.  Sensitive skin babies often do better with cloth diapers...I thought I'd go ahead and assume I was going to have a fair-skinned redhead with lots of allergies and sensitivities...maybe I'm wrong, but I did marry one of those :)  Cloth diapers are environmentally friendly- no diaper trash in the landfill!  You can use the same diapers with subsequent children further increasing the cost effectiveness.  Studies show that cloth diapered toddlers potty train faster than disposable diaper wearers...and I'm all for early potty training! Finally, cloth diapers are pretty darn cute (that's just an added bonus, no, I did not choose cloth on the cuteness factor).  Since I'm getting to stay home with Baby Girl, I figured an extra load of laundry or two per day and diaper maintenance wouldn't kill me!

I registered for diapers at Terra Tots in Fayetteville, AR where they have amazing cloth diapering support.  We have registered for a mixture of different types of diapers based on Baby Girl's size, time of day and whether we will be out and about or staying at home.  I registered for diapers made in the USA and Canada so we're giving back to the North American economy...more specifically the AR economy because that's where Blueberry brand diapers are made.  The majority of products I chose are made from bamboo because I like the combination of absorbency and lack of bulkiness.  I also chose diapers with snaps instead of velcro, mostly because it seemed easier to deal with to me.  I won't go into cloth diapers any further because there are so many great blogs and videos already published on this topic.  I've read and watched them for HOURS!

Regarding diaper rash ointment, I'm not really sure what we'll use.  I do know that with cloth diapers you have to be careful on what you choose so that you don't clog up the absorbency of the cloth which means things like Desitin and Boudreaux's Butt Paste are out for me.  The recommended Northern Essence All Natural Salve looks appealing to me (who wouldn't want their baby's bum to smell like lemon pie?!) but we'll see what works when the time comes!

**UPDATE on cloth diapering** My friend Lindsay shared this diapering site with me.  I hadn't found her yet and she does a wonderful job summarizing cloth diapers.  Check her out: www.paddedtushstats.com

That's it on diapering!  I'd love to hear your feedback!

**UPDATE ON CARSEAT AND STROLLER DECISIONS**After much deliberation we made a decision!  We went with the Maxi-Cosi Prezi carseat and the Maxi Cosi Foray LX stroller as well as a BOB for exercise.  I really liked the streamlined design of the Prezi as well as the safety ratings and the materials it's made out of and the Foray LX makes sense because the base easily converts to a snap and go with the infant seat and when Baby Girl moves to the toddler seat the stroller remains lightweight and streamlined.  I just couldn't imagine navigating crowds with a bulky stroller system.  We're going with the BOB as our second stroller because we loved our BOB test drive and EVERYONE recommends it for a jogging stroller over anything else...although I'm still tinkering with the Bumbleride Indie...

Baby Gear Survey- On The Go: Seats and Strollers

Well hello!  Embarrassingly, I haven't written a blog post since September...my how time flies and things change.  If you didn't know, we're expecting a baby at our house in July!!  I realize I should've posted long ago to share our news and excitement, but I was embarrassed of my blog tardiness and it just kept getting worse and worse.  Today I decided it was time to get over it- I've got to re-start somewhere, right?

I sent out a baby gear survey about a month ago to gather the opinions of friends who already know much more than I do about outfitting our home with the perfect tools to make life with baby much easier and safer.  I've had many requests to share the results and I'm so excited that this survey will be helpful for others besides me!  I've been contemplating the best way to share the results as the survey was so extensive that comprehensive results seemed a bit overwhelming.

I've decided to separate each section of the survey into different posts.  This will help me stay organized and will help you find exactly what you need without sifting through results that you don't care about!  Please add input in comments if you have any and ask questions too!  We've been doing a lot of researching and test driving lately!

Thanks again to all who contributed to the survey!  Your input has been SO helpful!

It appears that I don't know how to embed a spreadsheet directly into Blogger so you'll have to click on the links below to see the Google Drive documents:

On The Go: Strollers and Seats
I have included links to each item so that you can see specs.  Orange highlighted comments were ones I deemed as "does not recommend" comments.   I added my "two cents" in the right column and tried to be as honest as possible.

I'd like to add a review for one more product that my friends hadn't used BUT we test drove this stroller this weekend and really liked it.  The Mamas and Papas Urbo Stroller is a bit pricey but VERY easy to maneuver. I loved the easy of flipping the seat from forward facing to rear facing.  This seat folds easily and has a very slim profile for transporting in the car.  The construction is very sturdy and I loved how short this stroller is (not from top to bottom but from front to back). ** Update: This stroller only has adapters for Mamas and Papas carseats and Graco carseats.  A bit of a bummer since I don't plan on purchasing either.**

I hope this is helpful and I hope to hear your feedback!  It takes a village to raise a child...and to choose the best gear :)