5 months – product review

Skyler is just over 5 months old now, so I thought I’d take note of my favorite things of hers and the things we use the most. Overall, I’ve found that a lot of baby items are not necessary! There are things we use on occasion, but if we didn’t have them, we wouldn’t be missing out. So, here is my review:

1. Diapers – I think Luv’s are the best value. They are cheap and I think they are quite comparable to Pamper’s Baby Dry. Not quite as soft, but otherwise very similar. I do like the way Huggies Snug & Dry fit her, but not enough to justify the cost.

2. Wipes – Pampers are the best here, but the Target brand is virtually the same thing, and costs less. Not that wipes are a major chunk of the baby budget, but any savings helps! We hated the Wal-mart Parents Choice brand. They were too stiff. I recently purchased some Huggies wipes b/c we had a coupon and I discovered that the Wal-mart brand must be a knock off of those because they are so thick, so I don’t like Huggies wipes either! You would think that thick would be good to absorb bigger messes, but I find them difficult to “maneuver.” The softer wipes get into the nooks and crannies much better!

3. Bottles – Skyler has Dr. Brown’s & Avent. In the beginning, they were both just fine and she seemed fine with either. But once we were using the bigger size, all we had were Dr. Brown’s. My mom had some Avent bottles and we noticed her tummy aches seemed to be occurring after stays at Grandma’s. Once she quit using those, the tummy aches decreased. So once she got used to Dr. Brown’s most of the time, she had trouble eating out of Avent bottles and swallowed lots more air. I don’t think one bottle is necessarily better than the other, but consistency is the key here.

4. Onesies & sleepers – Skyler is small, so we prefer the Gerber brand onesies & sleepers, because they tend to run on the small side. Unfortunately she’s about to be to the size where Gerber doesn’t really make clothing anymore.

5. Baby food – we’ve just gotten into this, but after tasting some of the store-bought baby foods, I decided to make our own. It tasted nothing like it was supposed to, and I felt bad feeding that to Skyler. So we’ve made our own yellow squash and sweet potatoes so far, and she LOVES them. Plus, I think since it’s fresher, it’s probably more nutritious!

6. Toys – those colored rings are her favorite thing. She will focus on those for long periods of time. She chews on them, tries to take them apart, and throws them. She is also always happy on her rainforest playmat. It’s small, but she loves to play with the toys that hang on it. She spends a lot of time there, but she’d rather play with those hanging toys than be held.

7. Bumbo seat – haven’t figured out if this is a hit yet. She doesn’t last long in it before she gets cranky. It makes her work on her posture, so that’s probably why. It does make a great “high-chair” for feeding since she’s too small for the real one. So even if that’s all we use it for, I’d say it’s worth it.

8. Carseat – The carseat is fine but I can’t stand the base for it. It tilts her up so far in my car that until recently, her head would flop forward and get stuck. I just put it back in but every now and then her head flops and gets stuck. I guess the problem could be the tilt of my backseat, but either way, I haven’t been impressed!

9. Stroller – The stroller that came with our carseat is wonderful. It’s so easy to collapse and put away, and it’s very maneuverable in small spaces. We went to the mall yesterday and had no problems getting in and out of the fitting rooms. I’m so excited for the weather to get nicer again so we can go on more walks with this thing!