Graduation. Baby stuff reviews

Not from high school, or from college, from the first stage of baby equipment. sniff, sniff

I still can't believe this is the last month before we reach the year mark. I feel like she's graduating from being a baby. She is getting so close to walking, she says a few words now, likes to feed herself and get her own drinks. After the year mark I will probably start to wean her as well. It makes me sad to have this part of her life be over. She loves to crawl away from me when I'm changing her diaper. This normally drives me nuts, especially when she piddles on the carpet. (Isn't piddle such a fun word?!) But tonight after her bath she crawls away and pulls up on the tv stand and starts dancing to the music on the tv. It was so cute to see this little naked baby dancing to the music! Sorry no naked videos!

Anyway on to the rest of the post-

I have been really pleased with almost all of our baby equipment. Those hours of research have really paid off. Consumer reports is one of my best friends. So far I'm saving everything to use on future children. (Not anytime soon, that wasn't a hint or something, so stop speculating. :-) Here are my reviews in case any of my pregnant friends are looking into buying some of these things.
First Car seat ****
Baby Trend Flex Loc

Pros

Consumer Reports Best Buy (cheaper but not too cheap)

Cute yet neutral color (also comes grey and orange)

easy to carry handle

large shade (also became her favorite car toy and peekaboo on walks)

easy to adjust the straps- no re threading
Cons

buttons to put the handle up and down are hard to use
needed to add in more head support so her head wouldn't flop when she was younger

the button to buckle her in is hard to use

Old Stroller *****

Baby Trend Snap n' Go

I really loved this thing. We put in a lot of miles together going on walk around the neighborhood every day when we ran out of things to do. Too bad it's so hot now that we break out in a sweat just thinking about walking outside.
Pros

Recommended by Consumer Reports
Pretty cheap ($50)
small and lightweight
huge basket
parent cup holders and cubby for keys/pacifier/etc
I could move her out of the car so quickly and have her stay asleep
Cons
I wish I could turn the car seat to be front facing too
She can't use it when she outgrows the car seat
New (to me) Stroller (thanks Rachel!)

Bumbo*****

Barely 3 months. First time in bumbo.I used this thing a ton, as you can tell by the million pictures I have of Charlotte in it!

Pros

I loved that she could start to sit up at 3 months.

It was so easy having her on the table. Before we could use this she cried every night during dinner. After we got this she was great
She also loved sitting on the counter and watching me cook or do dishes.
No straps involved.
Cons

Eventually she learned to wiggle her way out so no more being on high surfaces

Fat little legs have to be squeezed in and out!
Kind of pricey ($40) Thanks to Grandma T. and Alyn I got it as a gift. If I hadn't, I would have bought it used.
Booster Chair

Swing

Fisherprice Rainforest Large Swing

Pros

Could rock forward and back or side to side
Mobile with the animals going around and leaves opening and closing
Lots of cool sounds and music
It plugs in or runs on batteries
Saved my life a few times when she was a newborn
Found it used for half price
Cons

As she got heavier it wouldn't move as fast
Takes up quite a bit of space

Hanging Toy

Pros

This thing entertained her the longest of any toys from 3 months on
Can attach more toys so she can grab them

Folds up small for storage.

Fairly cheap (free for me, I borrowed it from Kori but I don't think it's very expensive to buy)

Cons

Perfect height now for her the pull up on, and pull it down on herself. Don't worry we packed it up after this happened once.

Infant Bath tub

I wasn't going to buy one of these but my friend Cortney found it at Goodwill for $3. I'm so glad I had it. This made giving her a bath so much easier.

Pros

fit right in the sink

infant side for them to lay back and a toddler side for them to sit up

drain in the bottom to let all the water out when you were done

I loved washing her in the sink so I could use the sprayer.

Cons
She got too splashy to keep using it!

Hopefully these new ones will last until she doesn't need to be in a stroller, high chair, or car seat anymore. It's ridiculous how much baby stuff you "need", and then you still have to buy a whole new stage of everything! She seems so much more grown up using her new things.