Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Baby Paraphernalia Reviews... (Part I)

Rating Scale:


% = Buy It! Can't Live Without It! Go Purchase Immediately for Yourself and All of Your Friends!

& = Honorable Mention, Nice to Have.

y = Meh. Not necessary, may be better alternatives out there.

# = Totally useless. Do NOT buy!


Boppy - Rating: &

Everyone and their dog has a Boppy, so it must be wonderful, right? In my opinion, the Boppy is just "ok". I used it for pretty much every feeding for the first three months, and loved having it when we were traveling, but found that as soon as Lucy was big enough for me to cradle her when she was feeding that I really didn't need it anymore. Also, I would have liked for it to be firmer, it was pretty soft and I have heard that some of the other nursing pillows out there offer more support. Sometimes we use it for tummy time but other than that I think that we've outgrown the Boppy already. I do like the fun cover choices that they have out there, and loved the softness of the Organic Boppy Cover that I had. Note: I had two covers which I found very convenient as I was a crazy milk machine in the beginning and Lucy spit up like crazy so it was always nice to have a backup when one was in the wash.

Lilypadz - Rating: #

Reusable silicon nursing pads, sounds good right? Hated these with a passion! Everyone raved about how wonderful they were, however, no one mentioned that if you are a lactating machine like I was in the beginning that these can lead to extremely embarrassing leakages. What is the most horrible about these is that I would have no idea they were filling full of milk until it was too late and milk was everywhere. I tried wearing them at night and woke up covered in milk every morning. Not pleasant! These might work after milk regulates but I hated them so much that I never tried them again after going to reusable cloth and disposable pads.

Gerber Disposable Nursing Pads- Rating: %

You mean I don't have to wake up in a puddle of milk every morning? Sign me up! Granted during the second month I literally had to fill a sports bra with three of these babies on each side every night in order to contain my insane lactation but it worked like a charm. You have no idea how uncomfortable it is to wake up with even your hair soaked in cold milk (Yes, my hair. No, I have no idea how that happened). I now use them when my reusable bamboo cloth pads are in the wash, but for a couple months they were my #1 necessity!

Binkie Bungees- Rating: %

These attach to your baby's clothes and to the pacifier to keep it from falling to the floor. Love them! I am obsessive compulsive about Lucy's stuff touching our floor (maybe because we have two cats and two dogs) so this invention works wonders for me. If we didn't have this I would be boiling the pacifier every two minutes to disinfect it! We got ours as presents but you can basically get them at any baby store or if your crafty they would be super easy to make yourself.

Bordeaux Butt Paste- Rating: &

I like the Butt Paste and have to admit I only bought it because of the name cracks me up whenever I see it. That being said, Lucy has never had diaper rash. I'm not sure if this is because of the Butt Paste but we usually use it ever couple of changes and never have had any kind of problem. However, once I'm done with it I think I would like to try a more natural/organic option because I'm crunchy like that.

Circo Washcloths- Rating: %

Love these tiny soft washcloths from Target. I use one set for washing her face every morning and then I have several other sets that we use as wet wipes for her diaper changes. It's so nice not to have to buy wipes every week and I feel like these are so much healthier for her little booty. I put them in a water/baby shampoo mixture and then roll them up and pop them in her Prince Lionheart Cloth Wipe Warmer (see next review). It's cheap, healthy, green and works great!

Prince Lionheart Wipe Warmer- Rating: %

Love this! It's a wipe warmer for cloth wipes that comes with bamboo wipes (which are expensive to buy additional ones, so we just go with the Circo ones). You simply get the wipes wet with the water/shampoo solution and roll them up into the warmer and they stay damp and warm. It works great except for one very strange thing, it seems to really attract ants! Weirdly enough we're having an ant problem on the second story of our house and only in Lucy's room. Apparently they love dying a horrible, warm, wet death in the wipe warmer. We've since sprayed around the house and now it seems that they're pretty much gone, but it still struck me as very weird!

Gerber Organic Onesies- Rating: %

Get some of these in ever size you can find. We use them as undershirts for Lucy because they keep her warm under her "cute" outfits and since they are organic cotton they are super soft. They are a little bit more expensive than the regular Gerber onsies and they don't make them in the long sleeve kind yet, but they are wonderful!

Baby Socks- Rating: %

You know those baby mittens with elastic around the wrists in all sorts of cute prints? Totally useless! The elastic breaks within a week and our flailing Lucy would fling those babies off in a millisecond, after which she would promptly scratch her sweet face. We remedied this by using tiny, fuzzy, soft baby socks on her hands. Works like a charm and look like fuzzy mittens. They stay on particularly well when you secure them under long sleeves. We bought like 5 pairs of these to use exclusively on her hands.

JJ Cole Changing Pad- Rating: %

This was one of my best buys. It is a plastic covered, fold-up changing pad that we have used for every changing at home and on the go. It works so much better than those ridiculously little ones that come with a diaper bag. Lucy already doesn't fit on the diaper bag ones, so when I'm in a public restroom do I let her precious head touch the counter or her adorable butt? Ew, neither! This one I bought at Marshalls for $7 and it is wonderful. In the early days we would simply flip this out on our bed and change Lucy on it or bring it downstairs with us during the day. To this day we still use it to change her in her crib and I bring it with my in my diaper bag so that not one part of my delicious, cuddly baby is touching some scummy public restroom counter top. No leaking through or anything and it cleans off with just a quick wipe.

More to come soon!


"People often ask me, "What's the difference between couple hood and baby hood?" In a word? Moisture. Everything in my life is now more moist. Between your spittle, your diapers, your spit-up and drool, you got your baby food, your wipes, your formula, your leaky bottles, sweaty baby backs, and numerous other untraceable sources--all creating an ever-present moistness in my life, which heretofore was mainly dry."
-Paul Reiser

24 comments:

Kristen said...

A) LOVE the quote from Paul Reiser, maybe the funniest person ever.

B) We still use the boppy and I love it. My daughter is over 7 months old and the boppy is ideal for the sleepy feedings or when I'm sitting at the kitchen counter reading the newspaper.

mykidsmomx4 said...

Boudreaux's really is awesome stuff. Not one of our hospitals carried it, so everytime Lauren was in I would make sure to bring some in. (The zinc-oxide ones made her scream!)

Even through the butt burn she got durring chemo, Boudreaux's worked better than what the hopital gave us!

Love your comments & ratings!

My So Called Life said...

I love my boppy but you need to spend some money on one for quality. If you purchase the one from Wal-Mart you will not like it. I bought mine from the hospital lactation clinic which I love. The woman in there are always so helpful! It stood up to Logan and I will use it for my second one this fall.

Diaper warmer not sold on them! Because when you are away from home they are warm and it seemed to cause more discomfort then it would if he was use to them room temperature.

I used the washable Medla nursing pads. I really liked them and you just toss in the washer. Make sure you spend the money for a nice nursing bra if you are going back to work. I learned the hard way!

The only advise is ask other people and try it out for yourself. Not everything works for everyone but I know that the second time around you have your favorite brands and items.

Sorry I should have emailed you!

Jennifer said...

I really love that you posted this! Very useful for future parents or those that have babies in their lives.

Stephanie said...

Hi there - I found your blog through a Google Reader recommendation. Expecting my first baby in 8 weeks, so I just wanted to thank you for your recommendations! Keep 'em coming because I'm totally clueless. :)

Unknown said...

Don't dismiss the Boppy yet! You might find it handy when Lucy is learning how to sit up. We used ours as sort of a cushion/support when our little girl was just learning to sit up! It's nice because it doesn't offer too much support where she would become dependent on it but offers a little cushion when she topples.

Leigh said...

Thanks for these suggestions - I am just about to enter the purchasing stage of nesting and have no idea where to start. I appreciate the tips!

Lea Liz said...

I love this! I'm with you on the bobby, Brody is 3 1/2 months and I hardly ever used mine, ever!!

Anonymous said...

You might like the lilypadz this summer - they were awesome for hiding my enormous breastfeeding nipples :-) I didnt use them to prevent milk leakage - but they were great when I wanted to wear a tank top without being obscene!

Anonymous said...

tip for the boppy: once our baby started trying to sit up, it was good to use as a prop!! that way she could get used to the position but not fall over backwards.

Mnowac said...

Great review, thanks for the tips.

Emily said...

Too funny that your boppy was a 'meh' because my son was SO heavy that I couldn't hold him to nurse him without the support it provided. I used the boppy till he weaned himself at 11 months. It also saved tummy time because my son was a huge T.T. hater.

ck2m said...

Thanks so much for putting together a list of baby items. I hope someday to use them but currently it is great for deciding on baby shower gifts. Need to see new pictures of Lucy.

Heather said...

I agree with you on the Boppy. I breast fed my little one (now a year old, the time does fly by!) and I used it maybe a week then switched to regular old pillows, they worked so much better. She never liked "sitting" inside it, or even tummy time with it. It's been sitting on our couch as an extra (useless)"pillow".

Ellen said...

The boppy comes in handy when your baby is learning to sit up. Sit them on the floor in the opening and it helps support them a bit. Also provides padding when they decide not to sit up, but throw themselves back wards.

me said...

The boppy was fabulous later on in helping my daughter play with her friends. See: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1080/1415323582_bd583ff906.jpg

LOL!

Elisabeth said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I've already printed the reviews and added them to my baby folder for reference when registering in a few weeks.

Can't wait to hear how the cloth diapers are doing!

Bubeaner said...

Throw your boppy in the wash then the drier. It will firm up... just like new. =)

Keri said...

Great review. I wanted to delurk to tell you not to toss that boppy just yet! My daughter is 7 months and we use the boppy when she is sitting on the floor. It's great when baby is learning to sit up because it catches baby when she sways side to side or just flat out falls over. Also,sometimes, she will lay down on the boppy like a pillow and play with her toys. So cute!

My open roads said...

wow, that's one very useful list, thank you!!!

C and M said...

Not sure if you're still using CD's but we LOVE Northern Essence diaper salve. It's safe to use with CD's and the only thing that cleared up DS's open sore diaper rash (from food allergies). It's all natural and the poop just slides right off. Love those circo washcloths for wipes too!

Haley said...

Gotta disagree about the Boppy! My son is almost 2 and still uses his daily. He loves to use it like a pillow to drink his milk and uses one at night to sleep instead of a soft pillow. It was great when he was learning to sit up cause he could have support but had a soft place to land when he fell. We have 2 and I LOVE them!

The Lungos said...

My favorite baby hygiene products were: Badger Baby Balm. This stuff is AWESOME. It is the best for any, I mean just about ANY skin ailment a baby (or adult) could have. We used and still use it on sore noses from wiping, baby eczema, other rashes, scrapes, chapped lips, diaper rash – you name. They also make sunscreens, lotions and other great stuff.
Burt’s Bees Baby Bee Shampoo Bar and Baby Bee Buttermilk Soap. Essential for us for bath time. No harsh dyes or smells. Super gentle on sensitive skin. Great for hair because it doesn’t run or spill. We love everything Burt’s makes!
Baby Bee Diaper Ointment. This paste is number one in my book. The Peanut was fairly prone to diaper rash and had really sensitive skin and this goes on thick and creamy and works great.

The Lungos said...

If you are looking for organic/all natural products, you might like: Badger Baby Balm. This stuff is AWESOME. It is the best for any, I mean just about ANY skin ailment a baby (or adult) could have. We used and still use it on sore noses from wiping, baby eczema, other rashes, scrapes, chapped lips, diaper rash – you name. They also make sunscreens, lotions and other great stuff.
Burt’s Bees Baby Bee Shampoo Bar and Baby Bee Buttermilk Soap. Essential for us for bath time. No harsh dyes or smells. Super gentle on sensitive skin. Great for hair because it doesn’t run or spill. We love everything Burt’s makes!
Baby Bee Diaper Ointment. This paste is number one in my book. The Peanut was fairly prone to diaper rash and had really sensitive skin and this goes on thick and creamy and works great.
And when Lucy starts teething, you might like Gental Naturals Chamomille Teething Drops. Worked like a charm for us.

Related Posts with Thumbnails