Our Favorite Baby Gear

*Life is beautiful:  Every once in a while I'm on a run and I smell something familiar.  Once I remember smelling  a sweet plastic-y smell that reminded me of the Cupcake Dolls we had growing up.  A few weeks ago I smelled something in the air that reminded me of being in Ghana.  Today something in the air reminded me of hiking with my family in Utah.   With our sense of sight and hearing, (and the ability to taste ice cream.  I mean really.), smell is often ignored.  But I love its power to pull us back into memories.

When I was pregnant with Kennedy it was so hard to know what to buy.  I heard people say "you need to buy this!" or "this isn't helpful at all!" and sometimes messages were really conflicting.  For us, here are some of the purchases we have made (or gifts we received--thank you!!) that we LOVE.

1.  Baby Carrier:  Affectionately called the "baby backpack" at our house. The one we bought (we found it at Target) can be worn four ways.  Kennedy can be on our front or back, and she can face in or out.  We love this style because it looks good on both moms and dads.  Derek loves carrying Kennedy in it.

2.  Car mirror:  I hadn't really heard of these until a friend at work told me about them.  So I registered for it thinking I might as well.  Oh my heavens.  We LOVE it!  (And if we're ever in a car without it, we feel like something is missing.  Even my mom got pretty attached to it when she helped me out the first several days.)  This mirror allows us to see Kennedy's face while we drive.  It's a little thing, but it makes a huge difference to be able to glance back to check on her.  (and it makes helping her at red lights a whole lot easier.

3.  Jogging stroller:  This obviously isn't a must for everyone, but since I like to run I wanted something that I was excited to use every day.  And this stroller has been awesome.  I love how easy it is to fold up and then open, the storage space, cup holders, a place for my phone and pepper spray (don't judge.  I just...like being prepared.).  This stroller holds Kennedy in her carseat now but converts to a big-kid seat once she's out of a rear facing seat.  It has shocks to protect against bumps in the road and the steering is amazing!  I love my stroller!

4.  Saline drops:  We don't use these a lot lately, but when Kennedy was first born she was so congested!!  (haha, so was I.  I was blowing my nose on the operating table during the c-section.)  These drops were so helpful to moisten things up--sorry for the use of that word, mom ;)--so we could use our suction from the hospital easily.

5.  Pacifier wipes--The older and older Kennedy gets the less germaphobic I have become.  But early on, and even now, I love having these pacifier wipes available.  I just keep them in the diaper bag and if our pacifier falls onto the parking lot or ground anywhere, I can easily clean it off.

6.  Baby bath:  This is something I wasn't planning on buying because kitchen sinks work great.  But a friend at work (I LOVED MY FRIENDS AT UV PEDS!) gave me one her kids had used.  I'm so grateful because I love this tub and so does Kennedy.  (also she completely sobbed during the two tub baths we gave her, and doesn't ever cry here)  I've used it on the floor and also set it in the bathtub once more splashing happened.

I can't believe she was this tiny!!  Our sweet 7 lb baby has already doubled in weight!

7.  Bouncer:  this is a new toy and oh it makes us so happy :)  She's still getting the hang of it, but it's been awesome so far.  It switches easily from one door to the next so depending on the work I'm doing I can put her in there right by me.  Usually Kennedy's only in for about ten minutes at a time, but that's been a great way for me to shower and not worry about her crying.

a little jumping.  mostly singing though.

lately she just likes chilling in there.  hopefully soon she remembers how fun it is to bounce