Awesome/Not Awesome Part II.

I started doing this a few months ago, writing about the products we love/hate. I intended to follow up, and here are a few more items.

AWESOME:

The Beco carrier. It is comfortable for me, and comfortable for M2. It works great for shopping so that she can be cuddled up against me, and in the early weeks it was great for having my hands free to get stuff done when she wanted to be held ALL THE TIME. Now that she is over 15 lbs, I have removed the infant insert and she can ride in the Beco on my back. She loves riding around the house in it, blabbering and giggling away while staying close to her mama.

This picture is from when she was a month old, sleeping in the Beco.

Pajamas with zippers. Whoever invented pajamas with snaps did not have children. It's so much easier to change a diaper with zippered pj's especially in the middle of the night, in the near dark. Pretty much anything with more than 4 buttons or snaps is a no.

The Sleep Sheep is a lifesaver. Having a colicy/high needs/reflux baby made this an absolute necessity. I would turn it all the way up on the calming rain setting, and place it in the crib right above M2's head. 9 times out of 10 it would help calm her down and put her to sleep. The only downside is having to constantly push the button before it would stop after 45 minutes. Now that she is older, we still use the sleep sheep to put her to sleep. We have the Sleep Sheep on the go model, and it is currently velcro strapped to the bars on her crib. In the morning when she wakes up M2 loves to play with it by pushing all the buttons on it. It is also handy to take along with us to friend's houses to help put her to sleep in her carseat.

M2 sleeping in her pack in play with the Sleep Sheep, about 1 month old.

M2 in her crib, Sleep Sheep attached to the bars. This was a few weeks ago when she had an ear infection, hench the hat.

Hair bows - love love love putting them in M2's hair! I was really glad that she was born with a lot of hair because she looks great with a little bow. I had a hard time finding bows that were small enough and had the right type of clip to stay in her hair. The ones that work best are from Bitty Bows Boutique and they are awesome. A little pricey ($5-$8 per bow) but they are totally worth it. Handmade and very well crafted. I've bought bows from them 3 times and have had a great experience with each purchase.

The Bebe Sounds Angelcare movement/sound monitor is great. Our house is small enough that we technically don't need a sound monitor, but it is nice to have when we're watching TV so that if she is crying we can hear her at the back of the house. The movement sensor part really helps me to feel at ease. Occassionally M2 will have a little bought of sleep apnea and it will trip the alarm for a few seconds. It gives me peace of mind knowing that if she were to stop breathing we would know right away.

Other things that we love of course are Sophie the giraffe, the bumbo chair (though M2 is pretty much outgrown it now), her Robeez fur lined boots (a gift from Grandma, I'm way too cheap to shell out $40 for baby boots), Lola Bee Designs onesies, Earths Best organics baby food, Aiden and Anais large swaddle blankets, and Dr. Browns bottles.

NOT AWESOME:

Can't think of too many things lately that have been a fail...

Diapers. I didn't realize this before having M2, but diapers really vary. People become somewhat brand loyal. We've tried the Costco diapers, Huggies, 7th Generation, Pampers and a few generic brands. Hands down we like Pampers the best. They contour to M2's legs the best and they feel softer. My recommendation to new mom's is to try out different diaper brands by buying the smallest pack of a few to see what works best for your child.

The Soothe & Glow Seahorse has not been a win (yet...but I am optimistic that this could change eventually). I bought this item because I had read that it was a good aid to help babies fall asleep. We are trying to wean M2 off of swaddling. For the first 5 months she slept best when swaddled. She still sleeps good when swaddled, but she is getting strong enough to bust out of the tight swaddle and I am nervous about that since a few times I've found her with the swaddle blanket rolled up around her neck (not choking her or anything, but still there is the potential). The problem is, if she is not tightly wrapped she has a hard time falling asleep. She will lay in her crib babbling to herself, and scooting herself to one of the corners. The seahorse does not help put her to sleep, in fact it has only stimulated her more when I have tried to have her fall asleep with it tucked under her arm.

Bottle brushes - the fancy Dr. Brown's and Muchkin brand ones are about $4-$5 depending on where you buy them. They work just as well as the cheap generic brand $2 one I've been buying at Fred Meyers. I find that bottle brushes (any brand) only last about 3 weeks in our household...between washing the pump parts and bottles they get worn out and the metal stick eventually snaps. Man I wish Costco sold a big jumbo pack of bottle brushes!