Thursday, December 5, 2013

What is the one thing you couldn't live without when your baby was born?

best newborn infant toys
 on Best Baby Toys - ToyTalk | ToyTalk
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VillageGir


I'd love to hear what one (or more) thing (or things) you parents absolutely loved during your child's newborn weeks and the first year. I'm thinking about my baby list and registry. Thanks!
@Andrew: what exactly do you mean? Like, earplugs for dad? Yeah, um, that's not gonna work in our family. We're taking turns getting the baby.



Answer
My twins nursing pillow. I only use it for them one at a time, but if I was stuck on a desert island with them and could only bring one thing... that would be it.

Although without diapers it would get pretty stinky.

You can't take them home without a car seat of course.

For toys the doorway jumper KILLS SLAUGHTERS DESTROYS and ANNIHALATES all other toys. My guys are 5 months and been rocking out on them for 2 months.

ONLY the Graco is worth getting. I got the Evenflo - SUCKS. Worthless in comparison.

Graco doorway jumper cost $30, but worth $300 for fun.

I have all the stuff, all the toys, everything. For toys, Graco doorway jumper. I feel sorry for babies who don't have them.

I got the slings, I got the baby bjorns, I have the infant swings, bumbos, boppys, activity mat (okay, that one is IMPORTANT), I have 3 strollers, I have lots of bottles, pacifiers etc. gotta go with nursing pillow for feeding and for toys that doorway jumper.

I use prefolds and thirsties cloth diapers to. Much Much cheaper than disposables. For cloth get those, but if not using cloth that's fine to.

I change my guys on a waterproof mat on the floor. It is 1000 times better than a changing table. Because we do naked tummy time, play with them before and after changing... we do tons of floor time, and just change a diaper while we are down there.

I didn't have much help with the cleaning. Would have been great, but everyone who came to help me wanted to give them a bottle instead of helping me clean but I was breastfeeding so had to constantly tell them (my mom mostly) no. *sigh* Yes, help cleaning would have been nice.

Oh wait, an infant scale. I found that reduced my worries when breastfeeding. If you start to doubt your supply etc. you just weigh the baby and make sure they are gaining properly. Well worth the money. Pillow trumps it, but it is still a great thing to have for $30 from amazon.com. It also is a standing toddler scale for when they get bigger. Regular scales don't weight things less than 50 pounds very accurately, and infants not at all!

The best gift I got was my double electric breast pump... and the Kiddopotamus swaddlers! That is a tie actually. No, swaddlers win. Those velcro swaddlers will give you an extra couple hours of sleep or so a night. You want those very very much. Just 1 is fine. Costs about $12.

My husband and I have a 2008 Wrangler 2 door. We would like to know what car seats will fit in the back?




Jessica


We have considered selling it, but no takers as of yet. We discovered that a lot of people get by with the 2 doors, and were wondering what brands other have used to fit into the backseat for a newborn on up!


Answer
It is not necessairly the brands of car seats, but the individual car seat itself. You need to find car seats that result in a secure installation. A secure installation is when the car seat moves less than 1 inch from side to side at the belt path. Toys R Us will let you install their car seats with the display model.

Personally I would skip the infant only seats. Infant seats are the type of seats that you see in grocery stores on top of shopping carts (they should never be on top of shopping carts). They are outgrown very quickly because of their short shells and low weight limits. You would be lucky getting a year use out of it. Most kids outgrow them at 6-8 months and by the time your child is 4-6 months old, you will be leaving it in the car (as it is SUPER heavy). Instead of using an infant car seat, you can use convertible car seats from birth. In every rear facing car seat, the harness needs to be positioned at or slightly below the shoulders as in a crash, the child will slide up toward the top of the seat. It is important to find a convertible with low slots for the harness. Some convertibles have infant inserts. These inserts are crash tested- you place them under the cover to lift the baby up for a better harness fit.

I would recommend the:
-Britax Convertibles (only if you were to buy the infant car seat insert as it is sold separately)
-Graco My Ride 65
-Cosco Scenera (their are 2 different Scenera made by cosco; I would get the one with the 40 lb rear facing limit than the one with the 35 lb rear facing limit)
-First years True Fit convertibles
-Diono Radians
-Evenflo Triumph 65 or the Triumph Advance Model
-Evenflo Symphony 65
-Evenflo Symphony 65 e3
-Maxi Cosi Pria

I would go to Toys R Us and find out which ones result in a secure installation. The most important thing that you can do for your growing child is to have a properly installed car seat. Car crashes are the leading cause of both disability and death for children under 12 years old. Statistics show that 95% of car seats are used or installed incorrectly. Car seat manuals are very confusing. I cannot emphasize enough to go get your seat checked by a child passenger safety technician (CPST). It should be absolutely FREE to go get your seat checked. You can find a CPST at http://www.seatcheck.org/

Below are reviews on convertibles by done by CarseatBlog. They are very objective and do list the pros and cons. Of course, never by a car seat without checking if it fits and looking at it yourself. Newborns require the 45 degree angle to keep their airway open. When your child has more head and neck control, the seat can be installed much more upright, as up to 30 degrees from vertical.

Did you know that a rear facing child is 5 times safer than a front facing child? The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all child stay rear facing until they are at LEAST 2 years old...and for a good reason to. Find that reason out on the next 2 links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvyIv9QVRBE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8gU9zzCGA8

http://www.thecarseatlady.com/
Above link: This website has a TON of info regarding car seats. Please click on the tabs "Rear facing" and "LATCH"

http://carseatblog.com/9557/maxi-cosi-pria-70-convertible-carseat-preview/
Above link: CarseatBlog's Review on the Maxi Cosi Pria 70 convertible

http://carseatblog.com/2813/dorel-cosco-scenera-review-a-true-workhorse/
Above link: CarseatBlog's Review on the Cosco Scenera (the one with the 35 lb rear facing weight limit)

http://carseatblog.com/2312/maybe-the-graco-my-ride-65-could-be-my-ride-a-review/
Above link: CarseatBlog's Review on the Graco My Ride 65




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