Saying Hello & Goodbye

As Greta outgrows various pieces of baby equipment and moves into new ones I gleefully move the old ones to the attic. I detest clutter so anything I can do to minimize it is wonderful. So far we've moved the bouncy seat, swing, stroller (that the car seat fits into), Bumbo, and various little baby toys to the attic. I feel fairly soon we'll move her exersaucer and Johnny Jump Up to the attic. Now that she's mobile she's not very content to be constrained to any one location. The good news of being mobile is she's even more able to entertain herself. That has been such a blessing. I do find myself saying "No" a lot and for the most part she obeys. She occasionally needs a bit of reinforcement (light pop on the hand) but once that occurs she almost always obeys. It amazes me how well she understands No.

I also have developed a keen sense of hearing for trouble. Generally trouble involves her sticking something in her mouth she shouldn't. If she finds something other than food to stick in her mouth she just gums it rather than trying to swallow it. She also makes a particular umm umm sound while chewing so I can almost always tell if she has something in her mouth she shouldn't. Even if she's in another room. Removing items from her mouth almost always results in her pitching a bit of a fit since she wants to keep the item and really hates me prying open her little jaws and digging in her mouth.

We've said Hello to a few new items around our house. Our first new item is a walker/riding toy that I bought Greta around 7 months that received rave reviews from others who had bought it for their children. At the time she loved walking behind it but was super unsteady so she needed major assistance. Since then she's gotten her land legs and scoots around pretty well. Her only major issue is turning so she walks until she runs into something and then needs help turning around.


Our other new item is a new carseat. I knew Greta would be out of her old car seat before we knew it so I wanted to get her new carseat ASAP. She's not near the weight limit of her current car seat but she is approaching the height limit. I found a super good deal (on eBay) on a Britax Diplomat which is their compact car seat so it fits very nicely in our car. I installed it today and am very pleased with it. Greta has yet to take her first ride so we'll wait for her to pass judgment on it. Had I not gotten the Britax seat we really liked the Graco Nautilus. If for some reason we need an additional seat for Graham's car we'll get that one.

Things I'm glad I don't have to live without

I've been asked quite a few times but pieces of baby gear I couldn't live without. I prefer to say that I'm glad I don't have to live without them because technically I don't need them but they sure make life easier. If anyone else out there would like to post a similar list I'd love to see your must have items.

Bumbo - We use this all day everyday. It is definitely Greta's seat of choice. I sit her in it while I clean and put her toys right next to her and she's happy for a good while. It's also great for taking to restaurants. We stick her on the table and she's able to see everything and feel like she's a part of everything. I also have the play tray but don't really use it. It's hard to put on.


Boppy - Another item that is used all the time. It makes feeding so much easier and it must be comfortable because Greta often falls asleep on it. I really miss it when I am out and about and don't have it with me.


Recliner - I spend a lot of time in the recliner feeding Greta. It is really my seat of choice as it gives great support and the arms are the perfect width for the boppy.





Bright Starts Toys - Of all the toys we have received Greta's favorites are almost all from the Bright Starts line. She loves the crinkly books, fun links, and rattles. Because these are her favorites I bought one of each to keep in the diaper bag.



Fuzzi Bunz & Bum Genius Cloth Diapers - Cloth diapering has been so easy and I love the money we save. I still buy an occasional bag of disposables to have on hand for when she has diaper rash or I don't get the diapers washed in time or for church and each time I make that purchase I'm so glad I don't have to do it very often. (Btw, Publix disposables are not good!)


One thing I wish I hadn't bought - nursing nightgowns.

New Stroller

As Greta is getting bigger and gaining better head control I've been wanting to buy an umbrella stroller to use for shopping rather than the stroller that goes with her car seat. There are several reasons the greatest of which is that she hates her carseat and gets so incredibly hot in it. She also really enjoys being able to look around and the infant car seats don't really allow her to do that. Graham found a coupon for Babies R Us and I had a gift card so today I went to check out their stroller selection. I went intending to buy one of the cheaper strollers but after trying them out and seeing them in person I found they were equal to their price (cheaply constructed). There also weren't that many lower models to choose from. I looked at the more moderately priced strollers and found one that rolled smoothly, felt much more sturdily constructed, and best of all, the seat is made of mesh vs being padded so it is a lot cooler. It was even on closeout. Graham took Greta for a test roll around the house and I think she liked it. We probably won't use it that much until she gets a little bit bigger and also we'll want warmer weather than it has been this week but I very much look forward to using it.