Baby Gadgets

Awhile ago, my sister wrote a post on her blog about unnecessary baby gadgets that parents get roped into buying. I've been wanting to write a review of a few of the ones I've been using for awhile, so here goes.

Boppy: A-

I would have given this an A+ if it weren't so freaking expensive. I mean, $35 for a pillow? Ridiculous! Kid to Kid sells used ones for $15-$20, and I found one at DI for $2 and one at Savers for $5. So there are places you can get them without having to pay an arm and a leg. However, if you are a breastfeeding mom I think it's worth paying full price for. The C-shape of the pillow is designed to fit around your waist so that it stays in place while the baby lays on top of it and nurses. 

Back when I was nursing (I pump almost exclusively now, since I work 40 hours a week and find it to be quicker and simpler than nursing) I found that using the Boppy cut the frustrations of breast feeding in half. It was still hard to tell if Lukas was getting enough and there were the issues of overproduction and needing a nipple shield etc... but at least I wasn't having to bend forward the whole time until my back felt like it was breaking, and I had support for his tiny, floppy body. Even regular pillows didn't resolve those problems for me.

Bonus: the Boppy is great for tummy time, as long as you NEVER leave your kid in it unsupervised. Lukas tends to slip down in it after awhile until his back is arched and he's in an unsafe position. Also, I would never buy the Boppy Lounger since you can just put a blanket over the regular Boppy and it's pretty much the same thing.

Baby Bjorn: A-

I thought an Infantino brand baby carrier would be just as good, but the Bjorn is far superior. It has great back support and is easily adjustable. I would have given it an A+ if it could be worn as a back carrier too, but I guess you can't have everything. I got mine at Kid to Kid for $25, and would highly recommend getting a used one for cheaper if you can, since the regular price is very steep and they tend to hold up really well with lots of use. We don't use it all that often yet, but when we do I'm glad to have it since it's SO much less of a pain to haul around than our huge stroller!

Cloud B Sleep Sheep: B-

I forked out the money for this one impulsively on a sleepless night after Lukas was back from the NICU and refusing to let Mykle and I go to bed. For some reason (probably my work schedule) his sleep cycle was off kilter so that he slept most of the day and was awake at night. It drove Mykle crazy and he was about to fall apart from exhaustion on the nights I worked grave shifts and he was left to watch the baby. On the nights I was home, I had to get up every few hours anyway to pump, but I was also very tired.

The sheep itself is not that great, just a stuffed animal designed to inflate the price. The thing you're really paying for is the sound machine that clips into it. It makes four noises that are meant to sooth the baby to sleep: human heartbeat (supposedly what the mom's sounds like from the womb), rain, ocean surf, and whale song. The heartbeat was a little disappointing to me, since in between each beat there's a silence; I think it would be more hypnotic if the noise was continuous (this is hard to explain in writing, but if you've heard the sound you'll know what I mean). The rain sound is just white noise. The ocean surf is okay, and I thought the whale song was pretty cool.

Unfortunately for this gadget's rating, I remain unconvinced of its overall effectiveness. I think it might help a little, but Lukas sleeps fine without it now. (Once my work schedule smoothed out and he got big enough to sleep for more hours at a time, he did better) I only rated it as high as I did because Mykle LOVES it! He uses the ocean sound to help himself fall asleep! I think that's pretty funny, but hey, at least someone's putting it to good use.

Bottle Brush: A

I rated this highly because they are a super cheap way to cut washing time in half. For me personally, I'd give it an A+ because I don't have a dishwasher and I pump almost exclusively, so I generate a lot of things that can benefit from the use of this tool. I didn't have one for the longest time because I figured it was unnecessary and I could live without it. It's true; it is and you can, but dude, they sell them at the dollar store so it's not exactly a luxury item. If you bottle feed at all, get one. They're useful.

Folding Baby Bathtub: B+

I got this for free from a lady in my ward. I'd recommend it to someone with a small apartment who wants to save space. It folds up for easy storage, and even though many of the reviews mention that it is unsafe because it collapses on itself when the baby gets too heavy, this is not a problem for me. The way it rests in my sink (and I have a standard sized kitchen sink) makes it impossible to collapse in on itself because the weight of it isn't supported by the "wings" that fold in, but the edges of the basin itself. (again, hard to explain but you'd know what I mean if you saw it) Actually, I think parents who put their children in it when it's resting on the foldable wings are complete idiots for not anticipating that the little plastic hook will give out under that weight. 

I actually didn't think I'd need a baby bathtub originally. I'm not quite sure why. It's pretty difficult to wash an infant without one. Or even with one, for that matter, since they are so floppy and can't support themselves at all. I would have rated this higher, except that I'm fairly certain it works just as well as any other baby bathtub. Never spend more than $5 on a baby bathtub, that's my thought. You see them for sale all the time on craigslist.

Musical Mobile: F

Complete waste of money. For one thing, Lukas doesn't really hang out in his crib all that much yet. I dunno, maybe this rating will change once he does. For now though, the mobile gets very little use and serves no real purpose. Lukas ignores it for the most part, even when it's on. He is much more interested in the overhead light and the ceiling fan. As for the music, it doesn't play for longer than a minute at a time without needing to be re-wound, and I'm not going to stand by his crib and do that until he falls asleep. I might as well just rock him to sleep in my arms every night.

I was surprised that something so common and basic as a musical mobile ended up being so useless. Oh well.

Fisher-Price Rock n' Play Sleeper: A-

When Lukas first came home from the hospital, he was still on oxygen and hooked up to an apnea monitor. Those factors combined with regular new-mom-paranoia made me want to have him as close as possible at night. We have a loft bed, and Mykle had moved it to the floor a month or two earlier, since I didn't like having to climb up the side when I was huge and pregnant. I had gotten this sleeper as an alternative to a swing and a bassinet, and it was perfect for Lukas to sleep in and still be within arm's reach from me. 

He still sleeps in it now (for some reason he gets all fussy when we put him in his crib), and I love it. Best things about it: it folds up for easy portability, you can rock it (kind of wish it was mechanized so I didn't have to do it by hand, but you can't have everything), and it props the baby up slightly which is great for kids (like Lukas) who start out with really bad acid reflux. 

I gave it an A- because of all the reviews it got on amazon.com about giving babies a flat head. I'm super-vigilant about that and I don't put Lukas in it all day- just at night when Mykle and I are in bed. He hasn't had any problems that I've noticed, but I still worry...

Hands-Free Pumping Bra: B+

Definitely not a necessity, but it's nice to have. Obviously you'd only need it if you pump exclusively like I do. I like it because not only do I not have to hang on to the bottles when I'm pumping in the middle of the night and am only half awake; it also gives me two free hands when I need them to go on the computer, feed the baby, eat, or whatever. I can do all those things one-handed without this bra, but they're much easier with it (especially feeding Lukas). In addition, it allows me to fold laundry while pumping, and when you're cloth diapering a baby the laundry NEVER ends!

Itzbeen Baby Timer: A+

It's simple: a timer with little icons of a bottle, a diaper, Z's (sleep), and a star (*) for whatever you want. It has a flashlight on top and the back lights up so you can read it in the dark. It also has a digital clock on it and a clip on the back to attach it wherever you want. 

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking "$20 for a glorified stopwatch? That's ridiculous!" It's silly, I realize. However, it is TOTALLY worth it. I plan on this being my baby shower present of choice for all new moms. Because when I'm in the middle of a project or just getting home from work or asleep in bed and Lukas starts to cry or fuss, I don't have to rack my brain and wonder when I fed him last, or how long it's been since he was changed. I look at the timer and see "Oh, he was just changed 45 minutes ago, but he hasn't eaten for 3 hours. He must be hungry." 

It's especially useful for me because I use the star button to keep track of my pumping. Yeah, I can feel the let-down and it wouldn't be impossible to pump based on that. But you'd be surprised how easy it can be to forget. It's just like how I can go 6 hours without eating and not remember that I skipped a meal until a wave of hunger hits me and I suddenly feel like I'm going to starve to death if I don't eat something NOW. Except in this scenario I'm avoiding engorgement, not starvation.

It's also great when I switch off watching Lukas with Mykle or Connie. I don't have to ask them how long it's been since such-and-such and wait for them to try and remember. I just look at the timer. We don't ever use the sleeping button, but it's nice to have the option. Some reviewers online think it would be even better if it had a way to record how much you pumped or how much the baby ate, etc. I think the simplicity is nice, though, and I wouldn't change anything about it except maybe to add an alarm. Then again, it sort of does have an alarm; you can set any of the icons to flash after you've gone a certain amount of time without pushing it. (hard to explain without a visual aid...) It would be nice if there was an audio alarm as well for those first few weeks when you have to wake up every 3 hours to pump to establish a good supply. But I guess most moms use their baby as an alarm, lol. Everything changes when you have a premie in the NICU... 

In sum, yes, I could live without it. But I'm glad that I don't have to.