E (and Mama Loves):10 Month Edition

Seven months have passed since I last did a blog post like this, so I'm sure I've actually already forgotten some things that were handy in that timespan, but here's what we are loving now.

1. Baby Bjorn bib- $11.95

We used a lot of different bibs when E started solids (we have some SUPER cute personalized ones that Blake's great aunt made us), but now, this is the only bib we use.  It scrubs clean after every use, and now I don't have loads of bib laundry to do each week.  Plus, this bib does a great job of catching whatever E drops, and we waste a lot less food.  She's even been known to reach in the pocket herself and get the food she's dropped.  We tried several "crumbcatcher" bibs, and this one is by far our favorite.  The others were a waste of money.

2. Fisher Price Deluxe Booster Seat- $29.99

First of all, this is fairly inexpensive for a high chair, and it straps directly onto a chair, so it doesn't take up a lot of extra room.  It's also pretty portable.  With a solid seat it's easy to scrub down (or lick down, in Gus's case), and the tray is dishwasher safe.  It doesn't lean back, like some fancier high chairs, but I personally wouldn't try solids until a kiddo was sitting up on their own (though that's a personal decision every parent gets to make for themselves).

3. Disposable placemats- $8.99 for 18

The hubs and I like to eat out, even though we don't do it nearly as often now as we used to, and E is really easygoing at restaurants, so these have been awesome.  We even take them along when we go to friend's houses, to protect their tables and give E a surface to eat from.  Along the same lines, we really like...

4. High chair cover- $20, but can be way more expensive too

This is great for restaurant high chairs, and shopping carts.  Helps keep germs to a minimum, and also, in E's case, makes the seats fit a little more snug, so she's not turning around constantly and freaking her mama out.  Between this and her bib a lot of the food she drops get caught, so we don't make as big of a mess when we eat out too.  We just leave this in our truck, so it's always available, since its bigger than we want to keep in our diaper bag

5. Ergo Sport Carrier- $115.00, but watch Amazon for sales, I got mine for $70 with free shipping

I got this carrier specifically for my trip to Florida, knowing I would need to be handsfree in the airport and realizing that after around a half hour of wear with the Bjorn, my back would start hurting.  I had this carrier recommended in a babywearing class at MOPS, and spent about 10 minutes researching the original Ergo, the organic Ergo, and the sport.  The organic was reported to get pretty warm, so I ruled that one out, and as I said, this one was majorly on sale, so that made my decision easy.  I could not have flown without this carrier.  Also, it now gets regular use around the house when I have stuff to get done and E is begging to be held.  It is SO much more comfortable than the Bjorn- I can wear it for hours with no back pain.  The baby can not face outward, but it can be used to hip carry or back carry.

6. Progressive International Microwaveable Steamer- $10.99

My mama got me this several years ago, and it's getting a LOT of use now for Emersyn.  It's easy to just cut up some zucchini, squash, or broccoli and steam it in about 7 minutes.  Also important- its dishwasher safe, though we use it often enough I usually just wash it by hand.  Super handy.


7. Teething Necklace- $26.00

I definitely feel like this has helped E with teething.  We very rarely have to use ibuprofen (maybe once every couple weeks), and we haven't dealt with the extreme fussiness or crazy drool I've heard is common with teething.  Our first hint that any of her teeth were coming in were feeling them poke through in her mouth.  One night this month she had multiple wake ups (which is now very rare for her, yay!), and I had tried ibuprofen and her paci, only to see in the morning that we had forgotten to put her necklace back on after bath.  I will say, my SIL has one for her daughter and hasn't noticed it helping a lot, so it may be on a case by case basis, but it was worth the $26 to us.

What we're still loving 7 months later:

From my first edition of this post, we're still using everything but the Snugabunny bouncer, because she outgrew it, and the nursing pads and cream, because there is no more pain or leakage.  I'd still definitely recommend all of those things to a brand new mama.

From the three month edition, we're still IN LOVE with our Bob.  I'm very glad I didn't get a bigger breast pump, since I rarely pump, though now that E is refusing bottles I wish we had kept up with giving her a bottle on a more regular occasion, since she took them really well at the beginning.  We no longer swaddle, and we moved, so we don't use that grocery service anymore.  Now I would recommend the Ergo carrier over the Bjorn, as it's SO much more comfortable.