As our baby showers are now 7 months past us, we've had to buy lots of new things to keep up with our quickly growing girl. It's still tough to know which brands are best, and what it worth the money, but usually I'll try to spend some time researching online. More often than not, the cost ends up being the biggest factor for us. Here are some more reviews of items that I've purchased or gotten as gifts for the baby.
Diaper Bag: Carter's Brown Suede Messenger Diaper Bag
Pros: lots of space, easy to clean inside, not too "girly"
Cons: too big, hard to open & close
We bought this bag on recommendation from a friend who has it, and said it was great. It was kind of expensive, but it seemed like most diaper bags were! Brett liked it because it isn't too feminine so he wouldn't be too embarrassed to be seen carrying it. The inside has a plastic lining, so that is a positive feature. It also has two side pockets that fit a bottle perfectly. It is quite a roomy bag, but it is hard to keep things organized inside, and you really can't fit as much as you'd like in a way that makes it all easy to find. I also don't really like how it closes-- there's a flap that covers the main opening & it can be hard to open with one hand. Most of the time, I end up using a smaller bag I bought made by Baby Sac, because it's easier to carry around. That one's still not 100% great, but I like it better than the Carter's one.
High Chair: Eddie Bauer Wooden Highchair
Pros: high back for babies at all stages, fashionable, tray pulls in & out easily, easy to clean
Cons: none
I really love this chair. First of all, it is really pretty in our kitchen. The wood matches our furniture. It only took Brett about 15 minutes to put it together. Leah was able to sit up in this chair starting at about 4 ½ months, before she could sit up on her own, and she doesn’t slide down or anything. The tray pulls in & out easily and there is a plastic part on top of the wooden tray that can pull off to make cleaning easy! The seat cushion comes off for easy cleaning, too. It has several different capabilities, too, for when she gets older, we can take the whole tray off & pull the chair up to the table.
Crib: Carter’s Classic Sleigh Crib
Pros: easy assembly, very pretty, spacious, sturdy
Cons: none
We saw this in Babies R Us and loved how it looked! We’ve always wanted a sleigh bed for ourselves, and now our baby got one before we did! This seemed to be one of the more inexpensive cribs, even though it still seemed pricey to me. The changing table & dresser in this collection were definitely too expensive, but we were able to just use what we had. The color (“chocolate”) is a little difficult to match, but we did end up finding a rocking chair in “espresso” that was almost a perfect match. It has a convenient shelf on the bottom to store blankets & sheets on. It has 3 levels for the mattress, as well, so it will grow with the baby, even though it does not convert to a toddler bed. That wasn’t an issue for us, because we figured when we have a 2nd child, we will still need a crib.
Playmat: Baby Einstein Seek & Discover Deluxe Activity Gym
Pros: lots of variety of toys, keeps baby well-entertained
Cons: not a lot of padding, doesn’t store well
We got this mat as a gift, and Leah still likes it, although she’s quickly out-growing it! It has a good variety of toys, and all of them come off & on easily, so she can play with them outside of just the playmat. You can also attach other toys, too, with the rings. She especially loved the flashing musical star when she was littler. It’s fairly easy to wipe clean, also. It folds up for storage, but it is difficult to keep it folded together—it pops open too easily. Since we got this, I have seen some mats that I do like better than this one, but all in all, I have no problems with this one.
Stationery Entertainer: Evenflo Exersaucer Mega
Pros: lots of variety of toys, different heights to grow with baby, keeps baby contained, durable
Cons: takes up a lot of space, does not store easily
I bought this used when Leah was 5 months and it was already put together. She loves it! She squeals when she’s in it and always concentrates very intently on each of the toys she’s playing with. She jumps around a lot when she’s in it but it doesn’t even come close to tipping over or being unsafe. I can usually keep her in it while I take a shower or something and know she’ll be fine. It seems to be really helping her learn to keep her feet flat so she can learn to stand up. There are a lot of different toys on it, and they can be taken out easily to clean them, but Leah really loves the one that is on a plastic rope that she can pull toward her and put in her mouth. There are different heights, so I’m hoping she’ll still enjoy sitting in the thing for a few more months, even when she gets taller. The only thing I don’t like about this is that it is not really easy to collapse and even when you do, it doesn’t get very small. It takes up a lot of space.
Next edition (i.e., "Things I'm Currently in the Market For..."): toys, carriers, baby gates, sippy cups
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