Apple's iPhone

I don’t know about you, but there are times when my child is a little more mobile than I’d like.  At almost 11 months old my son crawls and pulls up every where!  There are also those times when you “need a moment” – like to go potty.

What do you do?  What does your child do?

My son likes to follow me into the bathroom and like any good parent I don’t close the door.  I want to know my son is safe and having the door open allows me to hear everything that’s going on.  This also gives him the prime opportunity to crawl right in!

It’s moments like these that you don’t have any toys with you, perhaps you have your phone, and you definitely need “a moment.”

Here’s what I do:

I always have my iPhone with me.  One of my iPhone applications is Pandora radio.  When my son crawls in – or gets into trouble – I turn on Pandora’s radio (i like Bob Marley), blank the screen, and hand my phone over to my son.

My son laughs, dances, and shakes about.

These actions give me Peace and Love.

Peace – and quiet!  The stress of a crying baby or one that is in trouble will ruin my “moment.”

Love – I love it when my son dances, it’s cute.  It also makes him ready for his nap faster.  You have to Love that!

I also have other apps on my iPhone for my son – this one just works the best in a pinch.

Most car seats can be installed with a belt or latch system.  When you travel and leave your base behind you’re typically forced to use the belt system.  This is typically not a big deal if you’re not going to be in and out of the car a lot.  However, it will definitely be a problem for your little one if you’re going lots of places in a single day.  Here’s our story:

We’re relocating to another state and need to find a new home.  On our first trip we didn’t bring the car seat base and the belt rubbed against our son’s legs when we took him in and out of the car seat.  On our second trip we brought the car seat base and it was much easier.  He was able to take his naps and be comfortable; I got my exercise as I took the car seat (with baby inside) in and out of the car to look at houses.

By far this was the best way and I highly recommend it.

So, don’t just bring the car seat – bring the base too!

Sassy Teething Feeder

Over the months we’ve collected a few different teething toys for our son.  We found that some teething rings we too big, some too small, and some he just didn’t like.  You don’t really pay attention to teething toys, until you’re trying everything to stop the crying.  The Sassy Teething Feeder was the last teething toy we purchased and I’m quite pleased with it.

In times of teething pains I’ve used frozen strawberries and ice cubes in the teething feeder.  The strawberries were a little messy and they worked great!  Just make sure you have some  Oxyclean to get the stains out.  Also, we’re saving money because we don’t need to buy any other teething toys.

So.

What’s going to make your kid happier – frozen plastic or frozen food?

Get the feeder, save some money, and your sanity.

Nuby Sippy Cup

The Nuby Sippy Cup is one of my favorite items so far.  I was tired of having my son try to grab my glass out of my hand, and I noticed he was very interested in drinking my water.  I tried plastic cups, but he spilled too much water on himself  — he’s 7 months old!

We were in the store and came across this sippy cup.  I like it a lot because it has 2 handles, and a spill proof nipple.  I often fill it with some cool ice water (great for teething babies) and he got the idea of grabbing the handles and drinking from it very quick.

I also like the Nuby because it was the least expensive sippy cup in the store.

If you need a Sippy cup, just get a Nuby.

Kirkland Diapers

Let’s talk diapers for a moment.  Diapers are one of the biggest expenses you will have for a new child.  Let’s not kid ourselves either, not all diapers are made equal and not all are worth the cost.  We’ve tried 4 brands of diapers in our family Huggies, Pampers, Parents Choice, and Kirkland.

Here’s what we found:

1. Huggies – They leak, don’t waste your money.
2. Pampers – Work great but expensive.  Since diapers puff up when filled, do you really need an indicator strip?
3. Parents Choice – Are too stretchy and they leak too much of the absorbent stuff.  I didn’t feel conformable with them.
4. Kirkland Brand Diapers (From Costco) – Just as good as Pampers and the lowest priced diaper out of the three.  Even compared to Amazon.com purchases.  The only bad thing is that they are only available after newborn sizes and start at size 1-2, size 3 and up is good too!

So …. Save some money and go to Costco.

Bad baby bottle nipple

Good baby bottle nipple

Selecting the correct baby bottle nipple is important.  A slow flow nipple provides the baby feeding similar to how they would be for breast feeding which is important if “Mom” is still nursing your child.  The problem is that not all baby bottle nipples called “slow flow” are created equal.

My nipple choice should be apparent above.  I really like this nipple because it doesn’t leak!  I find this important because my son (6 months old) is now learning to hold the bottle on his own.  He doesn’t have perfect aim every time, and I’m sure most babies fall into this category.

Hence, no leak = no mess.