Mar 20, 2011

Things We Love–Best of the Best

I went back through each of my Things We Love Posts and came up with a list of things that I really feel like we got our money’s worth out of. You know, those things that we used a ton during Aedan’s first year.

Here are my top ten baby items…

The Miracle Blanket. Aedan was an expert at getting out of a swaddle, but he slept sooo much better swaddled those first few months. The Miracle Blanket was perfect. Only when he was ready to drop the swaddle did he finally manage to get his arms free. We used this for naps and nighttime for so long and love it.

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Once Aedan was done with the swaddle, we started using sleep sacks. We love them. Aedan knows it is time for bed as soon as I lay him down to put it on. He sleeps so well in them and I never have to worry about him getting cold from kicking off his blankets.

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Keeping in line with the things we have used to help Aedan sleep…we love these sheet protectors. When Aedan was about 3 months old we started to put him down on his tummy to sleep. He has always slept better this way and still sleeps on his tummy. At first we had some trouble with him drooling all over his sheet and having to sleep in a cold wet spot. I picked these up one day and we have used them ever since. In fact, even though I put Aedan down to sleep with a lovey, he has become more attached to his sheet protector. I think it has become his blanket.

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When Aedan was younger he love to sit in his bouncy set. He was so happy to just sit and kick his legs and wave his arms. We used this thing every single day for a long time.

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Another thing we used everyday when Aedan was younger was a yoga ball. There was a good bit of time where bouncing on the yoga ball was the only thing that would calm him right down. We even took it to visit grandparents.

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After we did our Bottle Bootcamp we picked up a bottle warmer. I wish we would have gotten it sooner. It was so easy to heat up Aedan’s bottles and it was easy to slowly work him down to drinking a room temperature bottle.

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Another thing I wish we had gotten at the beginning was our video monitor. It is great and so easy to use. I love being able to check on Aedan without having to go into his room.

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We also love our outdoor swing. Aedan was never a huge fan of his infant swing. I would use it occasionally we he won’t take a good nap, but other than that he didn’t really like to hang out in the swing. However, he loves his outdoor swing. He loves to hang out and watch Hiro play catch or laugh at Daddy.

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When we first found out we were pregnant, we knew we wanted a BOB stroller. My parents bought us one as a gift before Aedan was born. We LOVE it. It is so easy to steer and is perfect for walks around the block, around Town Lake or even a shopping trip. The only thing we don’t love is how big it is when folded up. We are thinking of getting light weight stroller for when we travel but other than that we LOVE our BOB. Anyone have a good light weight travel stroller that they love??

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Finally my last item for our list of favorite baby items would have to be our LeapFrog Learn and Groove Music Table. This has been played with every.single.day since Aedan was about 5 months old. He still LOVES this table. Most definitely the item we have truly gotten our money’s worth out of.

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And there you have it, our top ten baby items for Aedan’s first year. I still cannot believe I have a 1 year old!

-Lauren-

6 comments:

The Haynes Family said...

This is my cheat sheet for shopping for Baby #2 :) Thanks for documenting your favorites... I wish we had too!

Nichole said...

For a smaller stroller, I have a Peg Perego Pliko P3 and I love it. It has all the bells and whistles of a normal stroller (child tray with cup holder, LARGE canopy, basket, etc), but it folds like an umbrella stroller. Very handy! I recommend it completely!

Rene said...

I have a Peg Perego and love it as well.

On an unrelated note, I remember that you were following an alternate vaccine schedule with Aedan. Just wondering, what are you planning to do with the 12-15 month vaccines? Specifically MMR/Varicella? Also, did he get Hep B and will he be getting Hep A yet? You don't have to answer all this if you'd prefer not to, but we're trying to figure out what to do with Asher at his appointment next month and I don't know anyone who delays :)

Unknown said...

Hmm sounds like I should look into the Peg Perego!

As far as vaccines, we follow Dr. Sear's alternative schedule, so Aedan hasn't gotten Hep B. He will get both Heb A and Heb B in two doses, one at 2.5 years and one at 3.5 years. As for the MMR, if it was still an option for us to get them separately, he would get Mumps at 1 year, Rubella at 2 years and Measles at 3 years, followed by a full MMR shot at 5 years. BUT, they don't make them separate anymore, sigh. So we are going to wait and give him the MMR at 4. You can find more about what Dr Sear's recommends for the MMR here: http://www.askdrsears.com/thevaccinebook/2009/10/separate-measles-mumps-and-rubella.asp

For the chicken pox, I haven't totally decided. He is scheduled to get the chickenpox vaccine at 18mo and then again at 6 years, but I would prefer him to just get the chickenpox naturally. With more and more kids getting vaccinated, the odds of him being around someone that has it are pretty slim, so I don't know. I guess I need to start thinking about it though, 18 months used to seem so far away...

I hope that helps!!

Rene said...

Thanks for all the info! We've basically been following the Sear's schedule as well, but with the MMR no longer being separated I wasn't sure how to go about putting it into the schedule. Part of me wants to wait until he is about to start kindergarten, but everyone else I talk to thinks we are irresponsible for not giving it to him sooner due to the latest measles outbreak.

We skipped the chicken pox at his 12 month appointment and I would much rather he get it naturally as well. But like you said, I don't know if he'll ever get exposed to it! I think we have decided to do a titer immunity check before he enters adolescence (where chicken pox can become quite severe) and give him the shot if he has not developed a natural immunity.

Thanks for sharing your opinion and schedule with me! Our pediatrician thinks we are crazy (but allows us to delay and separate) so it is nice to know what other people are doing since she only advocates the AAP schedule...

Btw, your little guy is so cute!

Unknown said...

Oh I like the idea of doing the titer immunity check, I will have think about going that route for the chickenpox.

Our doctor is totally fine with the alternative schedule, which is so nice!