Monday, October 23, 2006

Registered Already!

Well yes it's early- but yesterday we had 2 hrs to waste between church and a movie (Man of the Year) and decided to knock it out while everything was fresh in our minds...so we are now registered at Babies R Us!

You can check it out at www.babiesrus.com, enter Laura Bennington or Jeremy Bennington to access our list.

Apparently we did well. Our registery was only 7 pages and our helper noted that most folks have about 15 pages. I don't know why- we registered for absolutely everything we need and somethings we maybe don't. But also we didn't register for any clothes or toys- figured that's more of an individual gift- where the relatives get to buy whatever's cute!


There are a few items missing cause we couldn't decide. So my question to you experienced people. Do we really need:
--- An electric bottle warmer? Why not use microwave or hot water on the stove? Since I will be breast feeding we won't be making bottles all the time-- but for when Bambino and I are seperated and need bottles ...do we need this?

--- A swing? We registered for a bouncy seat and already have a walker from Baby Bob...do we need a swing too? They're so big..but is it something really needed?

--- Rain covers for car seats and strollers? Why not just throw a blanky over them?...not water proof I guess. Another thing they are trying to sell us?

Now you may have noticed we didn't register for a diaper geanie or anything in that arena. Well that's cause we're sadistic hippies and we're going to do cloth diapers- woo hoo! It's not as awful as it sound. Check out this website- we will likely be registered here later on as well: http://www.cottonbabies.com

Ciao- Hope all are having a good start to the week....and keep your fingers crossed for Our Town Players and our 9 nominations up for tonight's Encore Association Awards. Going to be SO fun- wish I didn't have to be the DD :(

3 comments:

Jacqueline said...

Here I go with the opinions! Me and my vast experience of 10 weeks as a mother... But you asked for it! :)

-The bottle warmer... I've got one and I love it!! (And I breast feed exclusively as well) I've been told you're not supposed to microwave milk b/c it doesn't heat the milk evenly. (Although I know people who do)There can be scalding hot milk in spots, and you just don't know. I got the "Munchkin" brand bottle warmer from Target, and it was pretty inexpensive. It uses steam to heat up the bottle really quickly, and I don't have to worry about getting out a pot and waiting for the water to heat up.

-Swing... that's a hard one. If you can borrow one from someone after Bam-Bam is born and see if he/she likes it first, THAT'S what I'd recommend. Zachary loves his bouncy chair, but he's also a big fan of the swing (before it broke...but that's another story). It just depends on what mood he's in. However, my niece hated her swing, and it was a complete waste of money in that case.

-Rain covers... I personally think it's a waste of money. First of all, seats and strollers come with "hoods" anyway to keep them in the shade, why can't that keep the rain out with a little help from a blanket? Secondly, I spend as little time in the rain as possible... ;) It's not like I'm gonna subject him to it either! :)

Those are just my opinions, I won't be offended at all if someone else thinks differently! That's just what works for me and my kid!

By the way... very brave with the cloth diapers! They wouldn't last long with my kid's GI tract, but kudos for giving it a shot!!!

Anonymous said...

You do NOT need a bottle warmer. If you will be pumping, I suggest the Medela brand breast pump (i have the dual pumper). At Babies-R-Us you can buy the freezer bags that attach to the breast shield (so you pump right into the freezer bag). Then, if you need to make a bottle, the hottest water from the kitchen sink is warm enough to heat the mile to the right temp. The only thing I don't like about the little freezer bags is that they don't open like the package says, I have to cut a corner off...which is very cumbersome for my husband and he ends up spilling the liquid gold...i mean milk!

If you end up taking your child to day care, they will have bottle warmers...so I wouldn't waste the money. Unless you have a timer, the bottle warmer will overheat the breastmilk, breaking down those vital protiens that has you breastfeeding in the first place (i had to tell my day care to watch the heat on the bottles. we have to put their names on the bottles and i noticed that the label maker stickers were burnt looking).

A side note: to help avoid nipple confusion between breast and bottle, I found that the "soothie" brand bottle worked best (with the #1 slow flow nipple). Not all bottles work the same, and not all nipples will help baby move between breast and bottle. I tried the Medela brand orthodontic slow flow nipples and Kelby hated it and went on strike for about 5 hours when she was only a few days old. I ended up having to feed her with a syringe to get a feeding into her. Thankfully at her next feeding she went right back to the breast just as if nothing had happened.

I totally suggest a swing. Kelby hated her swing for about 8 weeks, but now she loves it (15 weeks old today). She likes looking at (and now playing with) the little toys that strap into the tray. It's really nice to have. I use mine in two places, by the washer and dryer. She'll sit there long enough for me to get clothes going, and she'll also sit there long enough for me to fold the clothes in front of her. I also use it in the kitchen. She'll sit there and swing so i can wash and sterilize her bottles. I thought it was a waste of money at first, but it was a gift at one of my showers. Now, I really like it. She doesn't spend too much time in it, maybe 15 minutes max...but you'll soon learn that you'll do anything for 15 minutes of being able to use both hands at the same time!

Kelby is a great baby and never cries unless she's hungry or has a burp stuck that she needs help with. Just thought I should throw that in there :)

The rain cover...what's more important is have you picked a stroller. it took me almost 9 motnhs to find one that i really liked (and that chris liked too). It was very hard to find a "travel system (stroller plus car seat...that hooks onto stroller)" that i could actually "breakdown" and get into the car (expedition) all by myself. They are really heavy once you have them collapsed.

You wouldn't need the rain bonnet until they are no longer in the car seat sitting on the stroller...because the car seat has a bonnet, and the stroller bonnet covers over the car seat bonnet making it very hard for them to get wet. The only reason I thought about getting one, was when i took her to and from the car to day care (still strapped in her seat) a blanket over the top was no match for a pouring down rain and she got soaked a couple of times (especially when i had to move the blanket to her her attached to the base in the truck). But, it's stopped raining where i'm at for now so i'm not going to buy one.

diaper genie would be a waste of money anyway. You'll soon learn that you don't have time to fiddle with getting the diaper in there before the kid has either put his/her foot in anything you didn't get cleaned off with the first wipe, or craps again while you are making your way to the diaper genie. I put a trash can right next to the changing table so that I can quickly get rid of the mess and another diaper on before i spend time washing all the changing table covers (tip: before you undress baby for the changing, get the next diaper out and as ready as possible to be put on after the dirty one is removed).

Anonymous said...

Hey chica! Here's my two cents. Bottle warmer..I didn't have one but that's not to say it wouldn't have been handy. If you get it as a gift then awesome. If not, you'll be fine without it. I too have heard that your not supposed to use the microwave but we all do. Just remember however you heat it be sure to test it by dropping some on the inside of your wrist to check the temp. This area is sensitive so a good rule of thumb and you'll be fine.

Swings, some babies love em, some don't. Maybe the babies have motion sickness too ya know. Try one first from a friend. Again, if you get it as a gift then your not out anything and you can always pass it to somebody else if the little bambino doesn't like it.

Rain cover...Huh? That's just dumb.

My rule of thumb. If you think you might use it just register for it and don't buy it for yourself untill your sure. You get most of the stuff on your registry anyways and you can always pass it along if you decide you don't like it. Every baby is different :-)

Love ya chicky! Erin