Baby Food Processors

If you own a regular food processor, a stand or hand-held blender then you absolutely do not need a baby food processor. And if you don't own any of the above, then buy a blender. In two months time your baby will be moving on to finger foods and you can use it to make margaritas. Baby food specific processors are a waste of money and will quickly end up in the back of your cupboard collecting dust.

KidCo Faucet Cover

Don't even think of buying one of those gigantic plastic animal themed faucet covers. All they will do is attract your kid's attention which is exactly what you don't want. Fortunately I found the KidCo Bath Spout Cover before I was able to purchase a hard plastic frog cover. My daughter takes a bath every night and has never once gone near the faucet. It isn't shiny and doesn't look like a toy so she could care less about it. Perfect!

Chicco Travel Seat

If you read this blog you know we hate spending money on frivolous baby gear but at the same time we like to maintain some sense style. When we started our search for a high-chair I was initially attracted to some of the beautiful European made chairs that are on the market but there was no way I was paying $300 for furniture that would become spackled with oatmeal and carrots. So I looked at the more conventional baby chairs but hated how big, plastic and ugly they were. That's when I stumbled upon Chicco portable hook-on chairs.

We have been using the Chicco Adventure Travel Seat for two months now and we love it. It hooks-on to the end of our island and our daughter gets to sit there, watch what we are up to and throw food all over the place. Oh what fun. Besides being minimally invasive to our decor it is extremely easy to wash. Every other week I unhook it, take off the hook parts and throw the cover in the sink. I then lay it on our porch to dry and within hours it is ready to be used again looking brand new. This is key since my daughter drops half of every meal in her seat and smears her oatmeal crusted hands all over the arm rests. I think I will keep her in this thing until she is 12.

BPA Free Bottles

Yes I am jumping on this bandwagon. I am sure I don't need to say much about BPA as it is covered in the press ad nauseam. I had heard the concerns about BPA a few months before it blew up and had people throwing away all of their hard plastics. I just didn't think it was that big of a concern. There is so much to worry about that I just decided to put the concern out of my mind and focus on other things.

Then it was the big news headline for a few weeks. It was everywhere I turned. I began to question if I should continue sending my daughter to daycare with her hard plastic bottles, BPA filled bottles. Again I pushed it out of my mind as much as possible until I saw a piece on the Today Show. Their resident medical expert made a statement that changed my mind. She said that as a doctor and scientist she could not say that there was any link between BPA and cancer or any other medical ailment. However as a mother she said that she would find alternatives for her children. That was it. I tossed my daughter's bottle out that day and went to Babies R' Us to buy her the two remaining Born Free bottles that were on the shelf. I also learned that http://www.medela.com/ISBD/breastfeeding/products/bottles_bisphenol-a-free.phpbottles that come with the pump are BPA free so I started using those as well. Just this week I received the free sample that Playtex offered of their drop-in model and think I will start using that now as well.

So now that I don't have to worry about BPA anymore. What should I be worrying about now? ;)

Mam Pacifiers

Even if you believe that pacifiers are a bad habit and shouldn't be used for that long you will need to use one at some point during the first year of life. Don't kid yourself into thinking that you will be strong enough to soothe your child in other ways. Trust me there will come a time when you wish you had one just to give you 5 minutes of peace.

I didn't have any issues with my daughter using a pacifier. My problem was that my daughter couldn't seem to keep them in her mouth. When she was in the co-sleeper I would often fall asleep with my finger in her soothie so that it would stay in place. Or we would zip her jacket up just high enough so that she would keep her pacifier in during the car ride to daycare.

I tried every brand of pacifier that existed and tried larger and smaller sizes and couldn't seem to find one that worked. Until I bought a couple Mams. I popped the Mam into my daughter's mouth and it was like magic. It didn't pop out. I threw every other brand out and now that is all we use. Besides working for my daughter they are also great because they are weighted on the reverse side so that when they do fall out, they don't land on the pacifier so unless you are a germaphobe you don't have to sterilize it before handing it back to your child.

I also just learned that you can buy customized Mams with your child's name. I wish I had known as this would have been great for daycare as it seems that all the kids have the same pacifiers.

Tiny Love Gymini Total Playground

I bought this for my daughter right around 3 months of age. My friend had one for her son and while we were visiting I laid my daughter down on the mat and she entertained herself for 5 minutes. This seems like no big deal now that she is 6 months and plays on her own, for sometimes over 15 minutes. But at 3 months, even 30 seconds of self-amusement is a welcomed break for mom.

My daughter still uses the Tiny Love Total Playground everyday. She loves looking at herself in the mirror and lately has been looking behind the mirror trying to figure out where the rest of the baby is that is staring back at her. The rattle that hangs from the bars makes a really satisfying noise and she was so excited when she finally had enough hand control to shake it on her own. I have to admit that we don't use the kick pad as the music it makes can get very obnoxious after awhile. The mat surface is great, easy to wipe up and hides stains. It is also washable yet we haven't done that yet. I probably should get on that since it now has 3 months of spit-up on it. The other nice thing about this mat is that it packs up very easy. I recommend saving the case it comes in so that you can pack it up and bring it to grandma's.

Top Ten List 0-3 Months

My daughter is 6-months old and parenting is really getting fun. Before I put a close to the early months when I was walking around in a haze created by lack of sleep, I wanted to post a list of the top 10 baby gear items by stage. I will try to do this every few months.

Top 10 Baby Gear Items, 0-3 Months
1. Burp Cloths - have at least 10 on hand to cut down the amount of laundry you have to do each week
2. Swaddle Blankets - waffle blankets with a little stretch are the best
3. Bibs - have 5-10 on hand, the best are Carter's with the waterproof backing
4. Nursing Wraps/Covers - keep those hooters out of site and nurse confidently in public
5. Carter's Lap Pads - get a couple of packs, I think there are 3 in each
6. Arms Reach Co-Sleeper
7. Medela Pump InStyle Advanced
8. Onesies - have at least 15 in either newborn or 0-3 sizes on hand
9. Footed Pajamas - this is your staple outfit for your baby for the first few months. Why bother with tops, bottoms and socks when this will keep them warm and comfortable.
10. Sling - I used the peanut shell but any sling will work. You need something to keep the baby close and your hands free otherwise you won't be able to get anything done around the house.