Baby Gear and Products Part I

So I am by no means an expert on any of this, but with this being our first child I was unsure of what I would need and what would work for us when it came to baby "stuff".  There is so much of it out there too!  I wanted to put together a post on exactly what we have found helpful and perhaps it may be of some assistance to a new mother out there! :)

Eddie Bauer Surefit Infant Carrier

First off - the car seat.  This is definitely something I love.  It is bigger than others, but it does have a weight capacity of 35 pounds.  It was very easy to "install" in the car and I also love that I can take the fabric off the carrier and run it through the washing machine.  

I did not buy those strap covers because I did not see the need for them.

Keegan has not seem to suffer without them either...;)

I DID buy this guy and we still have it inserted in the carrier:

{Eddie Bauer Sport Airflow Head Support}

We had tried something originally like this

Which did not work for us at all.  Neither one of the layers were big enough.

It just seemed to push Keegan's head forward. 

Maybe we just have a big headed child...;)

Since we do alot of driving, having this mirror that attaches to a head

rest has been really nice as well.  We enjoy being able to see Keegan while we are 

driving.  The other day we were getting a kick out of him grunting and trying

to reach his feet... :)

Along with car "things" is this diaper station to go that snaps around

the headrest.  I was unsure if I would actually use this, but we have quite alot.

I like that it has pockets where I can keep diapers and wipes.

Our most recent baby purchase was this stroller (Eddie Bauer Portage Stroller), 

which I absolutely love!!

You may be thinking, "What's so special about that??"

This stroller doubles as a standard stroller as well as one that holds a baby car seat.  

See below::

We can just snap our carseat into it which I absolutely love!  

We have something similar to this that we had picked up from a garage sale:

It is great and we used it, however it was such a pain to pack into our car.

After we stuffed it in the trunk there wouldn't be room for anything else; and it was sooo heavy and bulky.  Since this stroller was so large and inconvenient we picked up a small

umbrella stroller, but the only problem with that was that Keegan  is not quite big enough for it.  When we saw the Eddie Bauer Portage Stroller we knew it was exactly what we were looking for since it was so compact (like an umbrella stroller), but it could also hold his carrier.

Definitely would give it very high ratings!

The next two items are things we use ALL the time.

This was given to us as a gift and has been used since the day we brought Keegan

home from the hospital.  We bring this with us to the grandparents' house; it is 

light weight, vibrates, and plays music.  Keegan sits in while we eat dinner, he watches

me do laundry in it, and I can bring it with me room to room wherever I may be.

I am already dreading the day when he outgrows it.

We also knew we wanted a swing, but all the ones we liked were quite expensive.

The Lord blessed us one day when we "happened" upon a garage sale and found

a swing in excellent condition for just $20.  We looked it up on Amazon and realized

we were getting quite a deal.  Keegan loves this swing, and even though it is not 

very mobile, I can't imagine not having it.  It is a permanent piece of furniture in our

living room right now... :)

{Fisher Price Cradle Swing}

Nursery furniture:::

Now when it comes to baby cribs, after looking online and shopping around,

we decided that having a fancy crib was not important to us.  I looked around on Amazon and

ended up with this one.  It was budget friendly, easy to put together, and looks great!

{Stork Craft Mission Ridge Fixed Side Convertible Crib}

I love shopping on Amazon, especially when combined with a Prime

membership!  I have bought several items on there and would highly

recommend double checking prices because many times they have the exact same

item that the stores carry but much cheaper!

(By the way, it enough space underneath to store a couple

of rubbermaids which hold extra diapers and wipes)

Because Keegan moves around so  much in his sleep, and after

finding him a few times with his head up against the railing, I decided it was time
to get a crib bumper.  I opted with this breathable mesh one that may not be as 

pretty as some others, but I wanted him to be able to breath through it should he

smash his face up against it.

{Target Breathable Mesh Crib Bumper}

My favorite furniture piece in Keegan's nursery is the glider and ottoman

that my parents bought me for my birthday:

Stork craft Tuscany Glider and Ottoman

We ended up just refinishing our old dresser and using as a changing table

which you can see on my nursery reveal post here

We bought the changing pad from Amazon

{Summer Infant Contoured Changing Pad}

And then I bought a cover of choice from Babies R Us.

All in all much cheaper than buying a changing table!

Stay tuned for a follow up post on useful baby apps

and health products we have used!