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Top 10 #6: Front/Back Carrier
Posted on July 30th, 2008 No commentsThis is the sixth item in my Top 10 Things I Could Not Have Lived Without During My Baby’s First Year post.
Carriers are a huge help, especially with babies who want to be held a lot. I believe the term is “baby wearing.” We started off with an Infantino 6-in-1 Rider. When we were picking out products before we had Samantha (and even still) I look for things that can be used for different stages of development or have multiple uses, so we get the most bang for our buck. The 6-in-1 rider looked great, because it has 6 uses: carrier facing in, carrier facing out, backpack, car seat support, chair harness, and shopping cart seat. We both used it a few times as a carrier facing in and it was great. When I began using it as a carrier facing out, Samantha didn’t seem totally comfortable in it, and I actually feel like it was too tight across her chest (I thought she breathed funny when she was in it). As for the other functions, I think I used it once as a chair harness (you just strap it to a chair so she sits up). We didn’t use it at all for the other three functions.
We later decided to buy an Evenflo Snugli Front & Back Pack Carrier. We like this one a lot! It’s comfortable to wear, and Samantha seemed comfortable in it. It seems much sturdier and better made than the Infantino. We’ve only used it in the facing front position. This one has two zippered vents in the front, plus a pocket on the front for your cell phone and other small things.
My mom found us a second-hand LL Bean Kids hiking backpack. It works great for hiking, being in crowds of people where a stroller would be difficult to push, and walking up and down your driveway when it’s too muddy to drive on *sigh.* It’s got lots of cushioning in the shoulder straps, a waist strap, sternum strap, and mesh pockets on the back. It even has a detachable bag that hangs underneath. I tried to find it online so I could link to it, but I think it was actually recalled because people let their babies fall through the leg holes that stuff like that. The only one I found was on e-Bay. I’d definitely recommend something similar if you spend time in the great outdoors!
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Top 10 #5: Doorway Jumper
Posted on July 27th, 2008 No commentsThis is the fifth thing in my Top 10 Things I Could Not Have Lived Without During My Baby’s First Year post.
We have a Graco Bumper Jumper and Samantha loved it! It held onto the door frame securely and was height adjustable. It came with a couple of hanging toys, there was a tray for more toys or whatever you want to put on it, and this one had a rubber bumper around it so it didn’t make marks on the door frame. Samantha loved jumping up and down in it, and being able to turn herself around to face another direction. She actually put herself to sleep in it at least one time…she just gently bounced herself to sleep!
I would probably recommend a doorway jumper as opposed to a stationary jumper. Between high chairs, swings, and all the other baby equipment that sits on the floor and takes up space, a doorway jumper is smaller and portable and you can easily move it if it’s in your way.
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Top 10 #4: Bumbo Baby Sitter
Posted on July 23rd, 2008 No commentsThis is the fourth item in my Top 10 Things I Could Not Have Lived Without During My Baby’s First Year post.
We used a Bumbo Baby Sitter for several months. It’s basically a firm foam seat that a baby can sit up in, even before they can sit up on their own. As soon as a baby can hold up their head, they can sit up in a Bumbo seat! We used this all the time with Samantha so she didn’t always have to be laying down in her swing or other seats. You can even buy a plastic try that fits on the front. We used this as her travel high chair and it worked great! It’s easily washable and quite light. I believe the only other seat similar is the bebePOD.
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Top 10 #3: Tummy Time Mat
Posted on July 20th, 2008 No commentsThis is the third thing in my Top 10 Things I Could Not Have Lived Without During My Baby’s First Year post.
This was definitely a great thing to have! It gave Samantha a clean place to practice being on her tummy, even if the rest of the floor wasn’t spotless. The one we have, Fisher Price Ocean Wonders Kick ‘N Crawl Aquarum, is great because it’s a 3-stage mat. First, it’s a tummy time mat with colorful characters and toys for a baby to look at, then it’s an overhead gym with dangling toys and a ball, then it’s a tunnel with dangling toys for baby to crawl through.
This particular one was great also because it rolled up easily and fairly small to travel with.
Tummy Time Mat
Overhead Gym
Tunnel
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Top 10 #2: Automatic Swing
Posted on July 16th, 2008 No commentsThis is the second item in my Top 10 Things I Could Not Have Lived Without During My Baby’s First Year post.
Since babies loved to be rocked, and Samantha particularly loved to be in motion, an automatic swing is a great thing to have! We have a Graco Swing ‘N Bounce 2-in-1 Infant Swing. Sam didn’t actually use her swing a whole lot. She did like it occasionally, though. It was very useful for the times when she wanted to be held and rocked a lot; we’d put her in, turn it on, and she was all set! She did fall asleep in it quite a few times.
This one had a couple of toys and a tray area (not that they’re eating finger foods at this age), and it had toys and a mirror hanging overhead. The other nice feature was that the whole seat detached from the swing and it could be used as a bouncy seat that vibrated. We didn’t actually use this that much, probably because we were given a separate seat similar to it that we used more often.
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Top 10 #1: Nursing Pillow
Posted on July 13th, 2008 No commentsThis is the first item in my Top 10 Things I Could Not Have Lived Without During My Baby’s First Year post.
I strongly recommend a Boppy Nursing Pillow. Whether you are breast or bottle feeding, this pillow was a great help. If you are bottle feeding, you can have at least one hand free to read or use the computer, or, if you’re breast feeding, you could even have two hands free if you want! It was particularly helpful while I was breast feeding Samantha, because she didn’t latch on very well at first, and I needed two hands to get her head and my”self” into the right position, and it was great to not have to worry about holding the rest of her body in the right spot.
You could use pillows to do the same thing, I suppose, but the u-shape of this pillow is perfect! You can also use it help prop up a baby during tummy time or have a baby sit in the middle of it on the floor when they’re learning to sit up!
The other nice feature is that you can buy fun colorful slipcovers that are washable, plus the entire pillow itself is machine washable! There are other companies that make a similar pillow, but I didn’t leave the house without my Boppy!
Yes, the baby’s under there somewhere!
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Top 10 Things I Could Not Have Lived Without During My Baby’s First Year
Posted on July 13th, 2008 No commentsWell, the title says it all. These are the top 10 things that made life during our daughter’s first year easier, more fun, and safer. I don’t mean the obvious things like clothing, food, diapers, etc. And not even the basic things like a high chair or car seat. These are the extras that not everyone might spend money on, but I definitely recommend. I had begun to write one long post with everything in one, but then decided to spread them out into individual posts so as not to be overwhelming. So I figure I’ll do a couple a week. Here goes, in no particular order…
We had portraits done at Sears when Samantha turned one in May.Top 10 #1: Nursing Pillow
Top 10 #2: Automatic Swing
Top 10 #3: Tummy Time Mat
Top 10 #4: Bumbo Baby Sitter
Top 10 #5: Doorway Jumper
Top 10 #6: Front/Back Carrier
Top 10 #7: Exersaucer
Top 10 #8: Bath Tub/Seat
Top 10 #9: Vehicle Mirror
Top 10 #10: Portable Seat
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Pre-Pregnancy Pants…Finally!
Posted on January 22nd, 2008 No comments
For those of you that have been pregnant, you know how difficult it is to lose the baby weight afterward. Since Sam was born in May of last year, I had been losing weight steadily, less than a pound a week…until Thanksgiving dinner. Then came Christmas…and Christmas parties and family gatherings, all with lots of food. So, a couple of weeks later the weight began to come off again…During my pregnancy, I gained 41 lbs., which I think was a little more than average. Now I’m only 5 lbs. away from my pre-pregnancy weight in August of 2006. I haven’t done any particular exercise to lose the weight. All I’ve done is go for walks with the baby. We didn’t do much over the summer, because Sam was so young, I was recovering from a c-section, and it was so hot outside. Then in the autumn, the temperature was cooler and I was out of the “new mom haze,” so I took for Sam for lots of walks in the stroller. Now that there’s snow on the ground, I carry her in a backpack carrier. It’s good exercise for me, especially now that I’m carrying her, and it gets us both out in the fresh air.
Lately I had been noticing that the jeans I bought in a bigger size after she was born were getting a little loose, and I’ve even had to tighten my belt by a notch. I bought them when I stopped wearing maternity pants, and all the elastic waist pants like sweatpants and my super comfy Life Is Good lounge pants.
So I was doing some organization in the basement a few days ago and spotted a box of pre-pregnancy clothes. I thought, why not, so I pulled out my favorite jeans and tried them on. To my surprise, they fit! Granted, they are a little snug, but they weren’t uncomfortable to wear. It’s been almost eight months since Samantha was born, and I can finally fit into my pre-pregnancy pants!
I don’t know how I compare with other new moms in terms of their post-pregnancy weight loss, but I’m definitely happy with how I’ve been doing!
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I’m Finally Using Facebook
Posted on January 5th, 2008 No comments
I’ve been hearing about Facebook for a long time now. I pictured it as a website mostly for high school and college students to post all their photos of each other drinking and such things, which I was not really interested in being a part of. Recently, I was speaking to a friend on the phone who I haven’t seen for a while, and I asked him if he has any recent photos online. He said he had some on Facebook. So…I finally went and checked it out.During the registration process, I wasn’t paying attention and accidentally sent a “Friend Request” to everyone in my e-mail address book using Facebook. It’s a pretty cool feature, but there are several people in my address book that I haven’t talked to in a while, and didn’t want the first contact to be an impersonal invite, but oh well. Turns out there are at least 30 people I know using Facebook and it has been a great opportunity to reconnect with people from college, former coworkers, and friends I’ve lost touch with.
I’m beginning to explore the features of Facebook, like photo ablums, quizzes, and friend’s profiles. So far I’m most impressed with the social networking, meaning pretty much everything is available for all to see. For instance, I listed “hiking” as one my pastimes. I can click on the word “hiking” and it will show me a list of everyone else who listed “hiking” as a pastime in my network (which is Concord, NH, because that was the closest option to Plymouth). If I choose, I can start a conversation with any of those people, add them to my friends list (with their approval), or “poke” them. Two of my favorite applications so far are the “Books” and “Cities I’ve Visited” applications. In the “Books” one, I can tell everyone what books I’ve read, plan to read, and are currently reading. This has caused me to realize just how many books I’ve read, which is more that I would have guessed! In the “Cities I’ve Visited” application, I can put a pin on a map of the world for every city or town I’ve visited. It’s neat to look at the map and see just how many places I’ve been!
Most likely I will not be participating in the silly things, like throwing snowballs, hugging, or super-poking, but it’s nice to know I can if the mood strikes me. Facebook seems like it’s going to be a good way to keep in touch with people, especially ones that I would not call or e-mail often. *poke*
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A day in the life of a six-month-old: In pictures.
Posted on December 4th, 2007 1 commentSamantha turned six months old on November 28, 2007. Mid-morning I got the idea to take photos of her doing what she does on a typical day…eating, playing, etc. So here it is…a day in the life of a six-month-old: In pictures.
6:00am: Wake up, eat, then play with Mom in bed until it’s time to get up!
7:00am: Breakfast time with Dad. Mmm…rice cereal!
9:13am: Hanging out in the rocker while Mom takes a shower.
10:25am: Nap time!
12:30pm: Hanging out with Dad on his lunch break.
1:19pm: Play time on the floor!
1:30pm: Time for lunch!
1:47pm: Play time in the exersaucer!
2:15pm: Going to the store with Mom.
3:23pm: Hanging out with Mom!
3:45pm: More fun times in the exersaucer!
4:21pm: Practice sitting up.
5:30pm: Dinnertime! Rice cereal…and squash for the first time.
6:30pm: Getting ready for bed.
6:38pm: Story time with Mom!
7:05pm: Sleepy time!
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