Baby Gear Review Part I

So I have been wanting to do this post for awhile. We have some great baby gear and some not so great baby gear. Here is how I feel about the stuff that we use:

Playtex Drop-In Bottles: I sort of feel like a bottle is a bottle is a bottle. We don't mind these, but I also don't love them. My main thing is that the liners are another bottle part to remember to throw in the diaper bag (I have forgot, we were screwed) and they are another thing to have to remember to buy at the store. I have also seen people rave about them because you don't have to "clean" the bottle. Hello people, you still have to wash nipples and caps, and rings and the holder bottle thing! Formula is sticky and messy and gets everywhere either way, hence they need to be washed. If you are eco-friendly, (which we really aren't, I know shame on us, blah, blah, blah) they do create extra garbage. At the end of a full 24 hours at home we probably have gone through at least 9 liners. However, I refuse to try something new because I refuse to have more than one type of bottle to be digging for parts to and we don't have the money to invest in a whole new "system." So with drop-ins we stay! Chicco Car seat: I love it. I really love the pattern on it. It looks super comfy for Garrett as well. This car seat is definitely hefty though. The rating on it is up to 30lbs which is great but it means that it is also heavy duty. I see smaller car seats that other people have and they seem so flimsy compared to this one. If you don't mind heaving and ho-ing (hoeing? hoing? ho'ing? You get the point!) your baby around it is great. You could get the stroller that comes with it and then things would be much easier, especially when there is no shopping cart to just throw it into (like at the mall.)

Combi Flare Stroller: I got this because I wanted a lightweight stroller that folded up small to fit into the trunk and not take up a lot of room, and also reclined so that little ones that couldn't sit up could still use it. This stroller matches all that. I figured that if I could sacrifice not having a whole system where the car seat fit into the stroller for a couple of months then this would be the best overall purchase, which kind of worked. This stroller is great for the mall and walking on sidewalks but not on gravel. So I purchased a used jogger as well. Between the two we have been pretty well covered. The under basket in the Combi is realllly small and there is no cup holder which can be a pain. I love though that I can always leave it in my trunk and it doesn't really take up any cargo space.

Every once in awhile I curse and swear because we didn't get anything that the car seat can fit into, so I either have to lug the car seat around or take Garrett out. I thought about buying a frame thing with wheels to click the car seat into (they make them) but in the long run it doesn't seem like a good purchase. So I will continue to curse and swear and whine and make Brian carry the car seat!

PRIMO Infant Bath Seat: This, this lovely thing...I love it. Love, love, love it! I had a baby bath tub that I borrowed from a friend. I hated it, the angle that Garrett sat at was all weird and he would slide around the whole time. This thing is awesome. We just put it in the bath tub and fill the tub up to the level of the arms and away we go. There is plenty of room for him to kick his legs and he doesn't slide around at all. I think a smaller baby, like a newborn might slide around a little, but I am pretty sure that putting a hand towel in it and then the baby on top of that would take care of the slippage (hehe slippage!)

A problem we have noticed is that when Garrett really gets moving and excited he pushes his legs against the bottom of the tub and lifts himself up. He has yet to get all the way over the middle "bar" but I am thinking it is only a matter of time. however, since we would never leave him unattended I just make sure I put a hand on him to hold him down a little (which is so fun when water is flying in all directions) so that he doesn't vault himself out of it.

More reviews to come!