The CRAZY world of Baby Gear..

CALLING ALL MOMMIES.. HELP!


I have been doing research on all of the baby gear out there to start registries and to start buying stuff. There are just WAY too many choices out there now and i find myself going in circles with what i think that i want so i thought i would reach out to the pros. Please comment below!


First Strollers/Joggers...
You have got to be kidding me with how expensive and complicated this subject gets! The Demos last 30 minutes and the consultants often have to refer to the brochures becuase it is so hard to keep all of the new technology straight! It's crazy.. so here are my top three options after extensive research ;-) My mom says it sure didn't used to be this difficult, she had one stroller that reclined back for newborns and grew with your child. Why are they trying to get so crazy now?! Some of them do cool stuff but really? why? not necessary in my opinion..

ok, here it goes..


Baby Jogger City Select 2012
$499+ car seat adapter $69= A WHOOPING $568!

Pro's: can convert into 16 different configurations, becomes a double when/if needed down the road, not very wide so it fits down isles even when converted to a double, seat accomodates up to a 5 year old (extends in places to grow with the child), seat reclines back far enough for a 6 month old to lay in (not far enough for a newborn), great canopy, good construction, huge storage basket

Cons: seat doesnt recline far enough for a newborn so I would use the carseat with it, is NOT a jogger (for tougher terrain trails), have to buy each adapter/extra seat/piece individually on top of the 499 price, expensive, will I need it?, have to buy a cupholder/tray etc seperate, 28 lbs (heavy/bulky), doesn't stand when folded, would probably buy a jogger too.

  

The Bob Revolution 2012

On SALE right now for $395 at Target + Car Seat adapter $55= $450 (can get off of craigslist too!)

Pro's: well built jogger, easy to manuver, great wheels, not really sure but MOMS ALL OVER OC RAVE ABOUT THIS THING as an everyday stroller.

Con's: doesn't convert to a double for later, the Bob Double is a huge/wide side by side double that doesn't fit in isles, have to buy a cupholder/tray etc seperate,  26 lbs heavy/bulky, doesnt lock when folded (have to velcro), snack tray (bought seperately) sits really high and isnt adjustable), top heavy when car seat is on.

Then there is the wonderfully affordable Option... might be worth a try! My Bestie has this one and she likes it but she said she would go the Bob or somthing else if she had to do it over.. hmm..

Baby Trend Expedition Jogger $99 (@ target), $200 w/ Baby Trend Carseat (Travel System)

Pro's: have met moms that do love this stroller as well, price is amazing, comes with cup holders, jogger for rougher terrain trials, good size basket,

Con's: doesn't convert to a double for later, will only accomodate their Baby Trend infant car seat (not Graco or any other brand), their carseat is only really safe until 22 lbs so if you have a big kid they could grow out of this quickly then you cant use this stroller for them (before 6 months) and need a new carseat, my gf used a snap-and-go stroller for her graco carseat then this jogger when he was about 6 months old so still buying/using 2 strollers (cheap though) and the travel system goes out the window if you have a big baby.

 

AHH! See the frusteration?!  And, these are the best options I have seen after LOTS of research, reviews, mom interviews, in-store demos etc... I sure don't feel like I have gotten much closer towards a decision after all of that. Also, my "mom interviews" that I have conducted have been funny becuase mosft of them SWEAR by whatever they have.. partly becuase they don't know the difference. It is hard to know what features will be most important to us then. Also, will we need a double? Im thinking i need to stop worrying about later..but the price of some of these are so crazy that i feel like i should really give it some thought. Bottom line, there just really isn't ONE stroller/jogger that does it all! And, this is just strollers.. don't even get me started with carseats, new technology of bottles, breast pumps, cribs, gliders etc. Ohh, the CRAZY world of baby gear.. I feel like SUCH a rookie :) So much to learn, so little time..

I would love to hear any comments, advice, thoughts from ya'll.. please post comments below. Thanks a bunch!

Hugs, Tay.

6 Months & Nursery Progress

YAHOOO...6 Monthss!! (24 weeks) today

We have reached the Viability milestone, meaning that Trenton could actually survive outside of the womb now. That is insane. But, I dont want to promote/think/celebrate that.. stay in there lil guy! Keep cookin'.

Trenton is a little over a foot & 1 lb. (He is a little person!)

My uterus is now the size of a basketball and sitting on top of my pelvis bone.. no wonder i'm uncomfortable. He is lean but will now begin to plump up .. which means I will to! Ahhh! It is said that he will gain about 1/2 lb this week alone. His brain is growing quickly now, taste buds are continuing to develop & his lungs are developing the "branches" of the respiratory "tree" system.

Symptoms update:

"Common physical symptoms at this stage in your pregnancy include constipation, heart burn, bloating, indigestion, headaches, dizziness, nasal congestion, bleeding gums, increased appetite, leg cramps, swelling, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, itchy stomach, protruding naval, backache, skin changes, fuller breasts, carpal tunnel, tingly hands and feet, and clumsiness."

.. Yep, that pretty much wraps it up haha. Naw, its not that bad, but surprisingly I do check off most of that list (don't worry, I will spare you the details and won't point out which ones). I am definitely feeling him more now that he is bigger and stronger. I can also see him moving from the outside now. So crazy to sit there and watch your body move. I am sure all you mommies remember that and the feeling like it was yesterday. So incredible.

At this point some people say, "WOW, you have grown! Look at that." others say, "no way you are 6 months! you are so tiny".. not sure what to believe but I sure don't feel "Tiny" haha. I guess that is the nice thing to say to a pregnant woman and I will take that over the alternative or "the look" like I mentioned previously.

Nursery Progress..

Checklist:

Crib- BabyLetto, Mercer (Thank you Kathy(mother-in-law/Noni-to-be)!!)

Crib Mattress & Pad

Crib Sheets

Changing Table- made it!

Changing Pad & Cover- being made custom

(from Etsy) Fabric below ;)

Bobby Cover- being made custom(from Etsy), Fabric below

Crib Skirt Fabric - Ordered (fabric.com), going to DIY

Also ordered the following coordinating fabrics to put around the room (pillows, windows, etc.)

  

Glider

Cradle- Kathy (mother-in-law/Noni-to-be) found at Childrens Orchard!

Baby Monitor

The Walls will be Natural Grey (Behr) & White, somthing like this..



Getting there! One step at a time.. now we just need a house ;-/ Crossing our fingers!

Thanks for stopping by..

Hugs, Tay.

And HIS name is.....

Trenton Tyler Engle...for those of you whom haven't heard us refering to my belly as baby Trenton... All along I thought we were keeping it a secret and just trying it on for size ourselves for awhile until we were sure, but then one day Shaun said, "Oh, I've told everyone.. I didn't know that was the plan".. haha apparently there was a slight miscommunication.

We obviously had a list of great names but for some reason this one stood out to us for months. Then of course there were "signs" everywhere, literally. Shaun saw this street sign near his corp office in Orange after a meeting one afternoon.. 

THEN, we rented a movie that was based in TRENTON new jersey, out of all places! 

We love how strong the name is and how Trent Tyler sounds (since most people will probably call him Trent for short). Tyler is Shaun's middle name so that worked out nicely. We also liked the fact that we don't know any Trenton's so we don't already have a bias. It sounds like such a LaBarre name to me, maybe that is why it is so comfortable.. taylor, trevor, trenton, paige.. it just fits in there so easy, doesn't it?

As you know, it could change, but for now we are pretty sure Trenton is the name of our son that we will meet in October! 

 Plus, I think he likes it since he has been responding to it lately.. but it may all just be in my head ;-)

hugs, Tay.

5.5 Months

He is 11 inches and weighs about a pound now. 125 days to go! He looks like a miniature newborn now. His lips, eyelids and eyebrows are becoming more distinct.

I can tell that he is getting bigger because his kicks and rolls are getting much harder and Shaun can feel him from the outside now. It is such a neat feeling! I can't wait to see his body parts stick out from my tummy.

We have received lots of clothes and gifts already and have slowly started collecting things we see on sale (walkers, play mats, clothes, shoes, hats etc). It is so much fun shopping for this lil guy!

Still house shopping.. thinking we should start making our second bedroom a temporary nursery just in case. I have ordered a custom changing pad & boppy covers and cant wait for them to be done! I really want to start creating a space for all of this cute baby stuff!

Getting dressed is becoming more and more challenging. At this point, if it fits and it's comfortable then I'm wearing it.. Not really making much of a fashion statement these days. Funny how priorities change..

Have a great rest of the week!

Hugs, Tay

21 Weeks

Baby Engle is 10.5 inches long and three-quarters of a pound. The fluttering movements have turned into full-fledged kicks and nudges all day long. I love the constant reminder that he is with me. Still feeling pretty good, getting bigger each day and looking forward to getting closer and closer to meeting our son. Our 5 Month check-up and ultrasound went great. It was unbelievable to see how much bigger he is than the last time we saw him. At the last ultrasound we could see his whole body profile and he had a TON of room in my uterus to swim around... now he is all scrunched up! See pic from babycenter.com >


It's amazing how flexible they are in the womb, I certainly wouldn't want to be in that position... again. It was harder to see all of him since he is bigger and scrunched but the tech again confirmed his gender and did the full body scan (from hemispheres of the brain, chambers of the heart down to his toesies!) to make sure everything was growing properly. She said he is very cute (do they say that to everyone? haha) and everything looks great.. he is a very healthy, happy baby! All of the tests we had been waiting for all came back very good as well. Dr. Miller couldn't be happier with the way things are progressing thus far. We sure can't hear that enough. AND, the Dr. said that I can still have my cup of coffee every morning... YAHOOOOOOOOO! I'm NOT a bad mother.. already. I realized the headaches I was getting, which we thought were just from all of the surging hormones, were the consequences of an addict weaning off of their drug of choice, coffee ;-)

Other news, we registered to save his cord blood on the day of birth. It is so incredible the things that they can cure with the fresh stem cells of a new born now (i.e. Cancers, blood & immune metabolic disorders, cerebral palsy, brain injury, acquired hearing loss-regenerative therapy etc). It is expensive for a young couple like us, but after discussing it and learning more about the possibilities we felt like we would be bad parents if we needed it one day and we hadn't planned ahead. For us, the price is well worth the investment and health of our child. So, we feel really good about the decision. If anyone is interested in looking into it, we used CBR (http://www.cordblood.com/). They are the largest, most recognized company out there right now mainly because they advertise like crazy in all of the pregnancy magazines etc... but after calling and interviewing many of the companies now out there, they are definately the best quality private storage banking company out there. They use more advanced technology which enable them to gather the best samples (the most cells) than most other companies that do it manually. It is all very interesting, I could probably tell you more than you want to know about the whole thing but bottom line.. we feel that it is a great insurance policy in the long run. AND, we got a discount for signing up before our thrid trimester (early decision pricing)... and, if you refer someone you get a free year's storage! Thats $125 back in your pocket! Love it.. you might see me on the street corner passing out flyers ;-) haha

Well, I am SO glad it is hump day (Wednesday).. I am taking friday off for my bday, getting a pregnancy massage, having lunch with Becky and staying at the Surf & Sand in Laguna for a staycation planned by my amazing hubby, Shaun. I am SO excited to get pampered. Hope you all have a great rest of the week and that we get a beautiful weekend! Thanks for reading!

hugs,Tay.