Hellobee Boards

@Silva: one thing I'll say is you may not want to stock up on too many bottles in advance. I went through 8 different bottles before we found one she liked, so I wish I hadn't bought a whole set in adance of the ones she hated!

@Glitter: wow that's awesome!

@pregnantbee: ooh I definitely want a rug! Lo has never had one and it drives me crazy!

@MrsBeluga: Ah good call! I forgot about that! And yea, ours will be 2.75 years apart, but lo only uses her stroller for an occasional nap, and never when we're out and about, so I don't think a double makes sense for us

@Pirouette: @MrsBeluga: I also don't know about any kind of double stroller. DS will be a bit over 4, and we barely use a stroller now. We have the snap frame stroller to go with the Chicco bucket, we also have a City Mini Single, as well as a very lightweight umbrella stroller. I just looked at the standing board to add on, but it got really mixed reviews. So, not sure what to do. I guess I figure I'll just have DS walk and either wear or push DD?

ETA: We only have hardwood floors, so a rug is SO nice in the nursery/preschooler's room. I'll do the same for the room that will become the baby's room. And we're not talking extravagant. Just IKEA.

@pregnantbee: I decided not to get a double for now. My daughter will be almost 3.5, but we only us it for long walks these days, or walking to the playground. It will be cold/winter here while the baby is still tiny, and we don't have sidewalks so the strollers not great in winter. THen she will be 4 in the spring, and I just can't see her continuing to tolerate the stroller. I figure I will just wear the baby and push the big kid on the rare occasion we use it.
We are planning to try for number three with a smaller age gap, and I will probably get one then.

@Silva: yea you might want to try one and if it works, buy more. But my daughter was definitely more picky with bottles than the typical baby - she just wanted to nurse!

@pregnantbee: yea I'm planning on getting the board for if we go to the mall or something and she's walking too slowly or we don't have a free hand to hold her hand. But I do hope to wear baby rather than use the stroller for things like grocery shopping and everyday errands

@Silva: Oh, and I think when I shopped at Motherhood the other day, they gave me a little packet that came with a free bottle. Haven't opened it yet, but score on free bottle if you're already buying something there

We have the city select and it came with a free 2nd seat, so we're all set if we need a double. I like that it can be a single or a double, depending on what we need. I like to babywear too, especially at first, but I love having a stroller to cart around all my stuff.

So far we got a new Van (last week) for our new family of 5. A rug for the baby's room. We also got brand new car seats for both boys with the babies r us trade in event.

Still need
-infant bucket car seat (I traded in our old one because I felt it was time for a new one. That baby already went through 2 kids. This bit me in the butt because after the fact I found out the graco Classic connect is discontinued which is what our current double stroller is compatible with) luckily I was able to find it one on clearance through target
-bottles. I had a ton and a few different kinds because ds2 was picky but I can't seem to find them. I think dh tossed them by accident
-brand new pump parts. I have a brand new Medela motor I never used but I used the parts with ds2 and they were also in the bag that I think got tossed.
-new infant bed.
-pacifiers
-2 new boppy covers
-ring sling- I already love to baby wear I've never had a ring sling.
-monitor

I think that's it off the top of my head.

Looks like everyone has been pretty active here. I've been having a hard time finding ENEGRY. I still feel tired all the time. Headaches have been daily too.

@Aandmklover: what van did you get? We are buying one in July. I've basically decided on the sienna, but it's almost entirely out of brand loyalty. We have had a series of toyotas that just go forever without any problems.

@MrsBeluga: @Pirouette: We have a Britax B-Ready that can be either a single or a double stroller, and an UB G-Luxe. I need to order a second seat for the B-Ready, but I really love it as a single, and hopefully will as a double. I hope to be able to carry the baby and take the G-Luxe to more crowded places/outings, but it's just too soon to tell! I will probably end up needing both seats at least a time or two, and I don't want to get another stroller.

@Aandmklover: It sounds counter intuitive, but the only way I have any energy is to force myself to get up and work out first thing in the morning. It can be as basic as 20-30 minutes of cardio, but I need to do something to wake my body up! Otherwise, I feel like I just drag through the day and it is a struggle to push through at work, and even harder at night for dinner/bath/bed.

I had migraines during my first pregnancy that just wouldn't go away. If yours keep hanging around (and caffeine and/or Tylenol doesn't do the trick), ask your OB about Fioricet (and Benadryl). It was the only thing that gave me any relief. I hope you feel better soon!

@MrsKerch: i relied heavily on the website lucies list for my first, as well as amazon reviews. And of course you have us as well! My priorities were a bit different with my first since we were in a city, but i found that the advice on here was pretty spot on for most things. Feel free to pick our brains all you want!

As for strollers and seats, we skipped the infant car seat and went right to a convertible since we weren't driving. Instead, we got a really good stroller (uppababy vista) since it was our main mode of transport the first year, and the basket underneath was big enough to fit the carseat when we needed it. If you live somewhere where you drive everywhere, id think the infant car seat would be more important than a good stroller.

@MrsKerch: Breathe. You will be ok, and there are no wrong choices. As I recommended to agold, get the book Baby Bargains. It's really useful in pointing out where to splurge and save. And we're all here for you!

@MrsKerch: Lucie's List!!! Do not pass go, do not look anywhere else. We did NO research for our registry, just printed our her cheat sheet and brought it to the store.

http://www.lucieslist.com/

ETA: okay just noticed I am the 3rd person in 5 mins to suggest it, ha ha.

@pregnantbee: OMG she is so awesome. The PDF cheat sheet has literally one suggested brand per item in 3 different cost categories. So there's a $100 car seat, $250 car seat, and $500 car seat. She lists pros and cons, done. It's SO EASY.

@pregnantbee: poor guy! Hope the dentist is as painless as possible.

Still quietly lurking here and cheering you all on.

@pregnantbee: Yes! I registered for my LO in 2012, maaybe early 2013 (she was born in May). Back then you had to register for her mailing list to get the PDF cheat sheet.

@mrschickpea: I'm in the market for a new one too. So following my own advice, I'm about to read this: http://www.lucieslist.com/baby-registry-basics/best-infant-toddler-baby-carriers/

@mrschickpea: I have a Gemini. I love it and used it a TON. I never felt comfortable with wraps, and it was so easy for me to do by myself (and to know that I got it right!).

@MrsKerch: I agree with @Silva:, think about how you're going to use things. So a huge thing for us was that I needed the carseat to fit in my car. I have long legs and I'm claustrophobic, so even though my car isn't small, I needed the smallest carseat I could find. We originally bought a Britax seat and had to return it because I couldn't fit in the car!

I also really wanted a good stroller, and one that could convert to a double. We had already bought the britax b-ready at that point (to go with the britax seat, ugh). We ended up picking out the UB Mesa and used a universal carseat adapter with the stroller.

We ended up not liking the b-ready. I felt like it was deceptively wide and kept running into things with it. I decided I didn't love it as a double either. I also didn't like that the seat didn't click in. So I sold the b-ready and bought a city select which I LOVE.

So essentially, think about how you want to use things and what's important to you. Also, expect to make mistakes! There's so much you learn about what you like once you start actually using these things. It's impossible to predict everything from the beginning.

Ladies, thank you all so very very much! Knowing that Lucies List is out there and comes so highly recommended means the world. The suggestion to think through how we will be using these new components is going to put me in a different mode over the next few weeks as I live day to day life. We're in a use a car to get everywhere lifestyle so I will plan to casually keep my eyes peeled as I am out and about doing normal life stuff Thanks again for calming my nerves

And tooth update: Kid is ok. Tooth's root wasn't damaged! Phew. Dentist pulled the part that was loose, and kid is good to go. Hopefully we can put this all behind us now.