Things we love...

So I know I have been MIA for the past couple of months. I have been trying to get back to my life, but it is so hard when you are adjusting to a family of three. We have our good days (finally now that we are on reflux meds.) and our not so good days, but the older Andrew gets the more fun it is to hang out with my little man.

Here is a list of things I cannot live without...

Dr. Brown bottles: I don't know if it was good timing, but we started using these bottles right when we switched to formula, and they really do help. Before I was an EP, and was just using my Medela bottles to store and feed him. Which leads me to the next thing, if you are going to pump, Medela's pump in style was a great breast pump. BUT very important, what ever pump (if at all) you use, invest in a breast pump bra. it isn't hard to hold those shields, but it is heaven the first time you don't have too!

We love our strollers. We have a snap and go that we have been using primarily. It isn't too bulky, it is easy to fold, and it was only around $60. We just started using our BOB, and the suspention on it is awesome. This was a little pricey at $400, but we will use this for years to come. We live in an older neighborhood downtown, and we walk a few miles everyday, so this stroller should be well worth the money.

We also love our ultimate crib sheet. It is kind of sad that we don't see the top of our sheets anymore, but with the spit up this kid was having, it was nice to not have to change our sheets everyday, and it drys up pretty well during the day, unlike just the sheets, so we change it out about once a week when we would have changed the sheets.

Vasaline, it smells fine, it is cheap, and it is easy to use for different applications. We have been using vasaline on Andrew instead of diaper rash cream since he was in the hospital. We have been really happy with the results, and haven't had any problems with diaper rash to date. Plus when his penis gets a little red from the diaper fuzzy, we put a gloop on that, and it goes back to normal usually that same day. And did I mention it was cheaper and smelled good and doesn't stain :) and you can get them in convienent tubes at walmart for like $1.50.

This is a little random, but Andrew loves his changing table. I get the most smilies and giggles out of him up there. And that is where we play with his "monsters". I didn't want to get "babies" for him since he is a little boy, so we got a few Ugly Dolls and we call them his monster. They come in all sorts of colors and they are washable. He really loves them when we make little sound effects for him. He isn't really grabbing them yet, but I heard that around this age group is when they start grabbing things in general.

My absolute favorite thing that I could not live without is his Bunddle Me, by JJ collection. It will be my new baby shower staple gift. We have the original in his car seat and it looks like a fuzzy sleeping bag. We don't have to worry about how to keep him warm in his car seat any more, and it is weather resisitant too. We just got the lite version for the spring and fall and cannot wait to try it out. Having a winter baby I was really concerned that he wouldn't be warm enough, but honestly we haven't had any problems with it, and on really cold or breezy days, I stuff a blanket in their to keep potential draft away.

And the two last things I will mention are dealing with sleepy time. We got a co sleeper thing (and no we are not a co sleeping family) and for the first couple of months I would put him to sleep in there on the sofa so I wouldn't wake him up during naps by accident trying to get him into bed. And second sleepy time thing is a heating pad. I put it on his bed and warm up his spot in addition to his positioner and blanket during his last feeding before bed time. Then I simple remove the pad, and place him in bed and he goes from a warm body to a warm bed almost seemlessly. It doesn't always work, but I would say 90% of the time he would just continue sleeping.

I hope some of these thing will help you guys out. I know it is a little late, but now that I am back to work I would be a little more consistant with these posts.

Mel