Now that Lucy is one year old, I thought I’d do a post on some of the items that helped me survive my first year of mamahood. Funnily enough, four out of the five items weren’t even things we registered for!
1. Video Monitor
So this hasn’t been packed away yet . . . and probably won’t be until she’s 18! I seriously don’t know how people survived before these things were around. If I had a dollar for every time Matty or I have looked at the monitor to check on Lucy, we’d be living large in the Bahamas right about now!
We bought ours from Amazon, and it doesn’t seem to be available anymore. It was reasonably priced, as far as baby monitors go, at $150. Knowing what I know now, I wish I had gone for a slightly more expensive model to get a few more upgrades such as a thermometer and a way to manually switch it to night vision. During Lucy’s naps it’s often too dark in her room to see her on the regular monitor, but too light for the night vision to kick in, which is frustrating. This was, hands down, the most used item of Lucy’s first year, so I wouldn’t feel badly spending a little more money on one.
This was not too long after Lucy was born. It’s like she was staring right at me thinking, “Why would my mama just leave me here?!”
Why would we get chores done at night when we can just sit and watch her sweetness on the monitor?!
2. Rock n Play
This was an absolute life saver . . . that we didn’t even acquire until Lucy was almost a month old. We hadn’t registered for one, and our friends the Crupis were kind enough to loan us theirs. It was easy to transport, comfortable for Lu, and she loved napping in it. This is a link to an updated version that rocks itself! The one we used was two years old and didn’t have that feature. Matty spent many an evening sitting on the couch watching TV with one foot rocking that sweet baby to sleep!
She looks pretty comfy to me!
3. Swing
Another lifesaver courtesy of the Crupis! Swings are expensive, take up a lot of space, and we had heard that some babies hate them. For all of those reasons, we decided not to register for one. Well, on our first visit to take Lucy to visit at the Crupi house we tried her out in their swing and she loved it . . . so it came home with us along with the rock n play! We got months and months of great naps out of this thing and were so sad when she outgrew it.
Here’s an example of her starting to outgrow it! haha
This is a totally frivolous item, but it has definitely been one of my favorite purchases as far as baby gear goes. When Lucy was first born, I just used the regular wipes containers that the wipes came in. First of all, no one told me just how often or how much babies poop! I was constantly changing her diaper and trying to hold squirmy little baby legs away from the dirty diaper while trying to pull out a wipe one-handed . . . and would end up pulling out 5 wipes! The Mother’s Room at Buy Buy Baby provides wipes for you, and when I was changing Lucy’s diaper in there one day I noticed that they used this container to keep the wipes in. It was genius! There’s a weighted plate that holds the wipes down so that you can pull out just one at a time. I was sold! It comes in a few different colors, and I LOVE it.
Yet another favorite of ours that we didn’t register for! This little gem came from my nephew, Gordie, and Lucy absolutely loved it! From about three to six months, the piano was pretty much her toy of choice. We’d set it next to us on the couch, lay it on the floor in our closet . . .
. . . we even took it on a road trip and to a funeral luncheon! This little lady kicking away on top of a table was a bright spot on a sad day.
It also seems appropriate to reflect on items that didn’t work out for us. I can’t tell you how badly I wanted Lucy to go in a carrier. It would have made grocery shopping easier, I could have gotten a few more things done around the house, Matty could have carried her around . . . it would have been wonderful! However, despite attempts with 2 different kinds, I couldn’t make it work. Obviously, I’m not discouraging anyone from buying these because they work out great for many people . . . just not for us!
Here’s my first attempt in the Baby Bjorn. She lasted about long enough for me to snap this picture. I gave it a few more tries, and each time she would just cry and cry.
So then I exchanged it for the Ergobaby. I found this one to be easier to use and more comfortable for me to wear, but Lucy disagreed. Oh, the crying!
Finally, I’ll leave you with Matty’s #1 pick for surviving the first year:
Go ahead, add it to your registry! 😉
As far as I can tell, the must have baby product for Lucy’s second year is going to be patience. Good thing it’s free, because we need a lot of it around here lately!
XOXO
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