Product Updates

We've been home about one calendar month since Alan was born.  We've been using myriad baby-specific devices and methods learned from word-of-mouth, books and intuition during that time, and wanted to give you a look inside at what we consider useful or not so useful tools of the trade.  We were very lucky to start with a great deal of help from friends and family and have had little need to purchase anything other than what we already had to satisfy Alan's needs.

• Diapers (gDiapers, etc.) - Alan was born too small (and remains too small) for the smallest of the gDiaper line.  Its a disappointing fact that they don't make models small enough to fit babies that don't weigh at least 8lbs.  Instead of the gDiapers during this period, we've used Pampers Swaddlers (newborn size), and have found very little problems with them.  Other than not being able to recycle them , they have no downside thus far.  


• Wipes - From the start, we've used our own wipes that we've made ourselves and have found the product rewarding to make and very easy to use.  The only downside is portability, the container size is just too big to carry around.  Alternatively, we've used the hospital-issue wipes when traveling with Alan until we can find another way to tote the homemade version. 
  


• Baby Bjorn - We use both the Baby Bjorn front-facing infant carrier and Baby Bjorn 1-2-3 Baby Sitter.  We find them to be very useful and Alan seems to like them both.  They're good for soothing and for sitting around when he is wakeful.  We also use the Baby Bjorn diaper bag, but since we haven't used it on anything other than trips to the pediatrician and other very short trips, we'll reserve our opinion until we take an extended journey.


• Baby Swing - Not the most popular item so far, the baby swing.  The only speed we've used is the minimum and it has worked but a few times to extend a nap or to calm Alan.  If anything, the baby swing is an agitator at this point, but we'll wait until he's a little older to make a final assessment of its usefulness.


• The Pilates Ball - One baby item disguised as workout equipment that will forever change our view on workout equipment.  The pilates ball is the single most useful tool in the house.  It is Alan's favorite place to calm down.  We simply don't know what we would do without it.


• The Noise Machine - A friend of ours gave us a sound machine, one with sounds such as 'babbling brook', 'white noise', and 'waves crashing' (among others) has been a big help as well.  A little noise in the room can go a long way to help get to sleep and stay asleep. The only problem is when it stops after about an hour; the silence can give Alan a shock in his sleep and could wake him up, foiling the time it took to get him down in the first place.


• The Kick and Play Floor Gym (as shown in a previous video post) - The floor gym is a nice way to get the day started for Alan.  He spends the first 10-20 wakeful minutes of the day in it and seems to enjoy it.  The mirror especially gets a lot of attention.  Its even been known to produce a smile or two.

There are other things we look forward to using, like the running stroller, but until he gets a little bigger we'll have to wait.