Tools of the Trade (part 1)

I keep intending to write a post about Stuff - baby products I've loved - but I never do, and time marches merrily on and Thumper gets older and I stop using that Stuff.  Now one of my closest friends is pregnant and all I've been thinking about lately is pregnancy and babies, and I think it's time to get that post(s?) out while I'm thinking up recommendations anyway.

So, first and foremost: to anyone who may be pregnant, I highly recommend Lucie's List if you're looking to make a registry or just a list of necessities.  I agree with many of her picks, and I wish I'd had it when I was doing my own shopping.  So, start there.

Now, these are my own recommendations, in no particular order, though I'll try to stay roughly chronological - hard when some stuff has been used from day one till now.  And if I start to write a novel (let's face it, it's likely) I'll publish it in bits.  And none of this is link affiliated or compensated or anything; I just include links to be helpful.

Newborn (and beyond) 

Fisher Price Rock n Play - Thumper took most of his naps in this till he was around 4 months old.  It was invaluable when he was a newborn and we didn't really have a schedule and he slept, off and on, most of the day; it's light and portable so it lived in the living room, and when he got tired we could pop him in, turn on the vibrate, and rock it (I'm sure it was more complicated than that sometimes but I'm getting a blissfully fuzzy memory of those first weeks).  You rock it manually (we got good at using our feet) but I see via Amazon that there are now models that auto-rock; however, it doesn't seem to have the vibrate function, so that's a tradeoff.  I can only recommend what I used.

After a few months I started reading about flat heads and got paranoid and stuffed a folded-up receiving blanket under the insert, for extra padding.  It probably didn't make any difference and regardless, no flat noggin here, but it was something I did, so I feel compelled to mention it.

Graco Modes Click Connect Travel System - It seems most people stress out the most about car seats and strollers - or, well, I did, anyway.  At first I was opposed to the idea of a "travel system" because it seemed unnecessary, somehow; all I ever heard about it was "You just leave the base in the car, and then move the seat to the stroller; you never have to take the kid out!" and that seemed bizarre to me. Plus, I was going to baby wear, we didn't own a car, etc; it seemed like it wasn't a good fit.

Ultimately, I came to realize you do need to own a car seat even if you don't own a car, so we needed one of those anyway; and I wasn't planning on baby wearing exclusively (my experience on that is already here) so I needed a stroller, and why not get something that fits all together anyway?  We arrived at this particular one like so: I was overwhelmed with online reading and research, we made the trip out to the suburbs to a Babies R Us so we could test drive the floor models, and this one seemed miles away the best choice.  It moved incredibly easily, even with the car seat on top of the regular stroller seat (so, the heaviest configuration).

My favorite aspect of the stroller is that it's relatively modular - you can configure it just about any way you like, either facing you or away.  For most of Thumper's life thus far he felt most secure in the heaviest configuration, high up, facing me, in the infant car seat.  I could use the little hood from the car seat, and the one from the stroller, to shield him in either direction.  Eventually, he started getting a little big (his feet were running into the stroller part) so we put him in the main stroller, foot tray up, still facing me, for a few weeks.  Then he clearly tried to turn to see where he was going, so now he faces the front (though he's still small enough that the foot tray remains up).  He likes the seat pretty much entirely upright, so he can see everything.

In terms of size, it doesn't really feel or manuever like an "SUV" of strollers, but the storage space underneath will hold practically anything.  There might be smaller "urban" models, but let's face it, if you bring a stroller somewhere, it's a stroller.  It takes up space.  I still try to wear him if I know there won't be space, but out of necessity the stroller has gone on various modes of public transportation.  We don't go in cars often, so I'm not constantly folding and unfolding it.   Still, it has gone in several cars over the last year and I've never had trouble folding it or fitting it in the trunk, though it's probably not the lightest in the world.  The one tiny annoyance I have: the little console storage box used to fit my iPhone perfectly, but then I got a 5 and they're slightly too long.  And of course now the new ones are even bigger, though I don't have one of those.  Graco can't be blamed for that, but if I were them I'd upgrade the storage compartment in the next model.

As for the car seat, it's done the job well in the times we've actually been in a car (and as mentioned, we used it most of the time as a stroller seat).  Unfortunately I don't think he'll fit into it much longer, and I'll have to venture into the world of convertible seats... but for now I think there's still one shoulder strap setting to go.

Skip Hop Diaper Bag (Studio) - Surprisingly, it looks like my specific bag (pictured with the stroller above) has actually been replaced with a newer, fancier model.  I'm not sure it needed the upgrade; I love my diaper bag.  I am not normally a purse person.  Well, I want to be, but my personal pain threshold for spending means that I'd never spent more than $40 for a purse before I bought my diaper bag (and even that was on a Black Friday sale).  So far, the Studio bag has held up like a dream, and I can pretty much cram the world in it (including a folded-up Ergo once or twice).

Now, would a regular, giant purse with many pockets serve just as well?  Possibly for carrying around, but the handy clips in this bag means that it's hooked to the stroller most of the time.  Funnily enough, the stain-resistant fabric has come in handy many times - not due to a messy baby, but a messy me!  Since the bag is hooked to the front of the stroller, it's right in the line of fire when I go over a bump too hastily, and an open soda can or cup of (lukewarm) hot chocolate sloshes out.  Most stuff wipes right off that bag.  Me, my coat, my shoes - not so much.  Can't take me anywhere.

I do love my current bag, but if I were to change anything, I'd add an optional shoulder strap.  Not even for me so much as for the times that the Yeti has carried it.  He doesn't care about the style, but he'd prefer an actual strap instead of the giant handles.  So maybe I'd look at the Skip Hop styles that do have that option, like the Duo or the Chelsea.

And what do you know, it's a novel already.  Until next time!