Tag Archives: Bib

08Oct 2014

Favorite Baby Gear – Months 6, 7 & 8

by Nicole ⋅ 2 Comments

It’s funny each month the husband and I remark at how this is our ‘favorite’ month and what I’m starting to realize is … every month/year/decade will always be the best! Just a few of the highlights of the past few months include Jellybean crawling, pulling up on everything in sight, holds her own bottle, clapping and producing FOUR teeth! The whole teething thing was not a high point, but her adorable smile with 4 little pearly whites certainly is.

I have already shared my newborn and 3-5 month must have baby gear. I’m excited to continue the series with more essentials for months six to eight! Careful consideration goes into each product before we purchase it. It’s important to ensure things are a good match for both Jellybean and our lifestyle. Over the past few months I have found so many baby and mommy approved items that I had trouble narrowing down the list of essentials to share with you!

Burpy Bib // This is a burp cloth and a bib in one! It’s definitely a little bit pricier than your typical bib or burp cloth, but totally worth it! I with I had invested in a few more of these earlier on. Though I still swear by the cheap burp clothes I mentioned in my newborn necessity post, I’m a big fan of these as well!

RazBaby Raz-Berry Teether // Despite not being a pacifier lover, Jellybean is fan of this teether. There are a bunch of textures on it and has come in handy when her gums have been especially itchy.

Squeeze and Teethe Elephant // This is the same brand as the as Sophie Giraffe, which seems to show up on EVERY baby registry list I’ve read. Honestly I liked the Elephant way better than the Giraffe. The giraffe has long legs, which Jellybean has gagged herself on more times than I can count and the elephant’s legs are shorter. Plus it’s nice to be a little different! Tip – this also come in a lion you just have to look past the ginormous giraffe display. :)

Snack Catcher // We call it the Cheerio cup! This comes in handy both at home and when we are on the go. Keeps, most, of the cheerios in the cup and Jellybean can feed herself without any issues.

Sleepwear – Cupcake Onsie // These are my favorite nighttime onsies. The come in the cutest designs, plus they are footless. Jellybean is pretty tall so when we tried to go up a size in clothes for her length and they were too big around the waist I realized footless onsies were the perfect middle ground. JB still sleeps in a sleep sack so we don’t worry about her toesies getting cold.

Having a Ball Get Rollin Activity Table // When the pulling up began I quickly realized we needed a toy Jellybean could pull up on and play with. The coffee table was effective at first, but it wasn’t interactive or stimulating … even with toys on the table. I love this activity table and so does JB.

Peak-a-Boo Forest // This was given to us as a gift and Jellybean has been a pretty big fan for a while. The book makes that crinkle noise, which is a huge hit. Over the past few weeks Jellybean has gone from liking the book to being completely obsessed. She carries it everywhere (by the handle) and cries when you try to take it away … sorry JB, but the book can’t bathe with you hahaha.

Booster Pads Diaper // I can’t even remember who suggested I tries these, but I was sold after 1 night. Instead of purchasing specific night time diapers we place one of the booster pads into the diaper each night and we haven’t had a leak or issue yet!! PLUS the booster pads fit into every size diaper we’ve used so far (sizes 1 -3) … no need to purchase new pads when your little one outgrows their diapers.

Munchkin Lake Buddies Bath Tub Toy // These double as bath toys, regular toys and teething toys. Jellybean LOVES the different characters and at least one can be found in every room in the house.

Puj Spout Cover // No real explanation needed here.

Butt Paste // When registering and purchasing maternity clothes I got a lot of bags with free samples. One of the samples was Butt Paste. I gave the name a little snicker and threw it into my ‘master’ bag of samples. Little did I know Butt Paste would become our go to when a diaper rash was developing. Jellybean’s skin is very sensitive and it took a few tries to find the right tush cream.

So there you have it our favorite for Jellybean’s 6th, 7th and 8th month. What are your must have baby gear items? Any recommendations for months 9 to 12??

Oh and it’s so cliche, but how do they grow up so fast?

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13May 2014

Favorite Bottle Feeding Products

by Nicole ⋅ 3 Comments

At some point, unless someone is a stay at home mom, bottle feeding becomes a necessary way to feeding a baby. We started introducing bottles at two months, however when I went back to work it became the only way we fed Jellybean. Bottle feeding was such an adjustment for our schedules. Bottles require a lot more planning, dishes and effort than nursing! I absolutely took for granted the convenience of having milk ‘on tap’ for my daughter while on maternity leave. It took a few weeks, but the we got a routine down with the bottles. We also made some additional purchases, which made our lives easier. With the exception of one of these items, it doesn’t matter if you are using exclusively pumped milk or formula – I believe – these items are must haves. Great things to put on a baby registry even if they won’t be needed for a couple of months (or weeks, day, hours or whatever your time frame is).

1 &2 – Stem & Drying Rack
The grass drying rack came up on SO many of the must have baby registries I looked at. Before Jellybean arrived I purchased the drying rack, however the stem was an impulse buy when we were at Buy Buy Baby. The stem adds extra space to dry the nipples and such, PLUS it doesn’t take up additional counter space.

3 – Formula Mixing Pitcher
When we transitioned away from using only breast milk I quickly started dreading making formula. It took an annoying amount of time to shake each bottle and ensure all the formula dissolved. My husband was doing one of our many Amazon purchases and impulse bought the mixing pitcher. He figured it was worth a try and a the price point was low enough even if it didn’t work it wouldn’t have been a huge deal. While I still don’t love making formula it certainly makes the process faster and easier!!

4 – Munchkin Bottle and Nipple Brush
A bottle brush is kind of a given. I did a lot of research for our baby registry and the munchkin bush was very highly recommended … I’m a big fan!

5 – Bottles and Nipples (any brand your baby likes)
Duh! This is kind of key to bottle feeding. If I was to purchase bottles again I would buy only three 4 ounce bottles and the rest I would get the 8 ounce bottles. You can always put less in an 8 oz bottle, but clearly more doesn’t fit in the 4 oz ones. Read about our decision to use Dr. Brown bottles with preemie nipples here.

6 – Bibs
I really didn’t find the need for bibs while I was exclusively breastfeeding (EBF). Once we started using bottles more often it quickly became apparent if I didn’t want to change my daughter’ clothes after each feeding we were going to have to start putting a bib on her. I’m not entirely sure what the difference is, but baby girl was a much neater eater when nursing.

7 – Dishwasher Basket
Bottle parts (especially when you use bottles like Dr. Brown’s, which have like a gazillion parts) take time to wash. It is SO much easier to throw all the parts into the basket and run the dishwasher at the end of the day. We discussed washing the bottles in the dishwasher with our doctor and she said it was totally kosher — in fact it’s how she washer’s her baby boy’s bottles. The basket keeps all the parts together and we have yet to loose or melt a bottle part. In fact, I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a second basket.

While I don’t need a bottle warmer, I do believe this would be a must have item for most moms. My little one really doesn’t care if the bottle is warm or cold and since she is one of those babies who wants to eat IMMEDIATELY (like within seconds of deciding she’s hungry) we’ve decided to forgo warming the bottle.

Though I think we have the bottle feeding products down I still haven’t conquered the storage of said bottles and accessories! What are your favorite item(s) for bottle feeding? Anything good I’m missing?

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