Graco Quattro Tour Travel System in Deco. I love love love this! The car seat is a Safeseat, which has now been renamed the SnugRide 32. My daughter actually still fits into this seat. It was easy to transport from car to stroller and from house to the car and so fourth. The 90 degree sun shade helped for those sunny days on both the car seat and stroller. The base is easy to install as well.
The stroller is a tad bulky and heavy at 25 lbs, but it has plenty of room for DD with snack tray galore, beverage tray for mommy and it reclines all the way down for napping. I also love the huge storage basket underneath. I have no problem getting in and out of Gymboree, which is such a tiny store.
Fisher Price Rainforest Bouncer. The only way I could shower when Emily was a wee infant. I would plop her in this thing and she was mesmerized for hours! (not really, but you get the idea)
Avent Bottles. Sadly, I eventually had to go back to work and Emily started on bottles. These were OK, I mean it is a bottle. They did have a leak issue. I had to make sure the nipples were correctly aligned in the cap or milk would be everywhere.
Medela Pump in Style Advance. This pump was great until the motor died. The customer service was excellent though. They had another shipped to me overnight. In the meantime, I still had to pump so I bought the pump below.
After I started using this, the Medela Swing, I couldn't go back to the Medela PISA. The suction on this pump was different and I *think* my body got used to this. I couldn't get milk out using the PISA. I loved this pump. It was smaller and took batteries for travel. I could stick this into Emily's diaper bag no problem.
Tiny Love Gym. Emily also loved this for the first few months before she was mobile. I wouldn't get this new. They cost a pretty penny. I picked mine up used at a consignment store for $20.
Hooter Hider. I loved my Hooter Hider for the first 4 months until my daughter went on a nursing strike and I was hooked up to the pump. This was great for the mall, restaurants or even family gatherings. Now I didn't have to find a bathroom (blech) or a dressing room.
Tiny Love Mobile. Emily really enjoyed gazing up at this everyday. If I had to keep her entertained for a second or two, I would stick her in the crib, turn this on and she was happy as a clam. I still have the musical part on her crib. She listens to it daily.
Fisher Price Rainforest jumperoo. This was a hit in our house once Emily reached 4.5 months old. The toys and lights kept her entertained and she really got her exercise jumping. At first, she was a little short. We put some books underneath her feet.
Maclaren Volo stroller. This stroller is great for quick walks around the neighborhood or crowded places where the Graco won't fit. I love the storage underneath and comfy (long) handles. The handles are longer than on an ordinary cheap umbrella stroller, which is great. I am not slumped over pushing the stroller. I also love how light this is. It is easily folded and even has a shoulder strap! When it is not in use, it hangs up in my basement stairwell.
*Currently we are not using this stroller., ALL Maclaren strollers have been recalled and am waiting for the replacement part.* You can find out more about this recall here: Maclaren Stroller recall
Britax Marathon. I have to say, I am in love with Britax. The seats are solid and comfy. Sure they are expensive, but I believe you get what you pay for. Britax seats have a lot of safety features other seats just don't have.
This seat in particular can hold an infant rear facing 5-35 lbs and forward facing 35-65 lbs. Emily will be in this seat until she is in Kindergarden at the rate she is growing. The install is a bit tricky if you have never done it before, but thanks to youtube, it can be easily perfected.
Last but not least, the Baby Crack Machine! It is really called the Homedics Sound Spa. The ultimate white noise machine will keep babies (and parents) sleeping through the night. Emily still uses this.
Chicco Polly Highchair. I really love this highchair. It features 7 different height settings which I use all the time depending on what table we are eating at (we have a pub style table and a regular style table). Sometimes I put it all the way down to the lowest level so Emily can get a different view. It also features a recline for little babies and two seat pads., which makes cleaning a breeze. I can just pull it off, rinse it and out it back on. The tray is nice too, and comes with two additional tray inserts, again for easy cleaning. The one thing that I don't like about this high chair is that there are a few tiny crevices that tend to get clogged with food, but nothing a toothpick can't get out.
It has a very compact fold (which is also easy once you get the hang of it). I never fold mine up, but used to when we lived in the apartment.
Infantino Shopping Cart cover. I have a love/hate relationship with this. I like that it keeps germs away from my daughter, but it doesn't roll up nicely for storage and usually I have to re-thread the harness back through. It can also be used at restaurants on those sticky highchairs.
Graco Silhouette swing in Deco. Emily loved her swing and I never had any issues with it, despite the horrible reviews on BRU. I love the sleek design the most.
JJ Cole System Bag. I really liked the design of this bag. It had a lot of great pockets for bottles, pacis and such. It was a little on the small side so I had to be selective on what I really needed to bring when going out. I really loved the attached changing pad that had a pocket for wipes and diaper cream.
The Bad: I went through two of these diaper bags in less than 15 months. The first time happened when Emily was 2 months old. The seams starting pulling away by the zipper. The second time happened a few months ago and the zipper actually broke.
Their customer service is excellent, replacing the bag each time free of charge. The last time, I actually requested to get a different bag. I now own the Tote bag and so far, no problems!!
Items I found useless and a total waste of $$$
1. Bumbo seat. Emily used this about 10 times before she figured out how to "pop" out of it.
2. Diaper Champ. This was great in the beginning when the poop didn't stink too bad. I can't even put poop diapers in it anymore. I don't think any of these "odor eliminating diaper disposal systems" actually work. Let's face it, poop stinks. Your best bet is to save your $$$ and reuse those plastic grocery bags you get each week at the store.
3. Cutesy little burp cloths. They were too small and I ended up wearing most of the spit up. I started using cloth diapers (prefold) instead.
4. Boppy. I hated it for nursing. I was so uncomfortable and just made it awkward. It was good for tummy time or sitting up time before Emily could really sit on her own.
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