As I mentioned in the last post, the gifts from the work baby shower were fantastic . . . apparently there were several anonymous donations and several large donations so that we would be able to have the big items we were eyeing. In no particular order, we received:
The rest of the awesome baby gates! If you're one of the (lucky) few who hasn't heard me talk about these gates, here's the recap. They are fantastic. They're steel-reinforced, the auto close, they bolt into the door frame . . . I can't say enough about them. They're pricey at $70 a pop so B and I had gotten one and installed it to make sure we liked it - and it was just as amazing as we thought. The plan is one in each living room doorway (done!), one in our bedroom door (done - by me!) and one at the top of the basement steps (done - by me!).
Next up is the Pack'n'Play (playpen for those who are old school!). I'd put the pack'n'play on the registry truly as a wish list item - very nice to have but not a necessity. I was THRILLED to see it tho. It'll be set up in the living room for the first little while until we know how the dogs will react to Daniel. It's great to know that he'll have a safe spot from them while they all get used to each other. The whole thing folds up and can be carried with one hand in case we need to take it anywhere!
The Pack'n'Play, stroller, car seat and high chair are all from the same collection - 'Scribbles' by Graco. What started the whole thing was actually the car seat. I looked up a bunch of infant car seat rankings for both safety (natch) and ease of use and the Graco ones kept scoring really high so then I went looking for one that wasn't ugly . . . the 'Scribbles' line was appealing and all of the pieces were available at Target so there you go. Here's the car seat!
I wanted to see if I could get it installed correctly so I gave it a go. The base holds two ways (you can see if you zoom in on the bottom right) - the first is with the seatbelt threaded thru and then pulled tight and the second is with the black tether straps. The straps click into place on the bar that bolts the back seat to the car's frame. Kind of cool!
I knew I'd gotten the angle set properly when "only blue" was visible but - just to be sure - I went to the fire station and a very nice fire fighter checked it out for me. I had done it properly! He tightened everything as much as possible just to be sure that nothing would wiggle!
The car seat would be cool enough on its own but it also partners with the stroller. Until Daniel is big enough to sit up, the car seat clicks onto it! Check out the tires! We're practically off-roading!
The last item in the 'Scribbles' set was the high chair. For the record, I liked it when I registered for it.
However, once I saw it in real life - and in my newly completed gray and blue kitchen - it just didn't look right. A little too . . . beige. So, I took it and exchanged it for this one which is wooden and (to our delight!) matches perfectly! It should also be noted that I put it together myself with a Phillips head and an Allen wrench! Took forever. But B says I'm not allowed to use power tools (his concern is mostly for the tools).
We also received the pad for the changing table. It's kind of interesting because you're supposed to attach it to the back of the changing table with canvass straps. Seems like a good idea in theory but that leaves the entire front side a hair wiggly. I'm going to try attaching sticky Velcro straps to the underside of the front as well for extra stability.
I can't remember if I mentioned the whole debacle with the Rock'n'Play Bassinet so here goes. I'd found one I really liked (blue and gray - go figure), had a gentle incline and I was excited to have it by our bed. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says infants that sleep in the same room as their parents for the first four months of their lives are 80% less likely to die of SIDS. Seriously. 80% less likely. Just let that sink in for a sec.
However, less than a week after I'd gotten it, the AAP mentioned that incline bassinets were dangerous because infants who weren't flat on their back had an INCREASED chance of dying of SIDS. So, of course, I took the first bassinet back.
I looked around for a bit and found a flat bottomed bassinet that I put on our registry. Low and behold, work bought that too!! Here it is! And here's Ariki giving it a once over - he approves, grudgingly.
Work also gave us some breastfeeding gifts - a pillow for nursing, a cover so the whole world doesn't have to be in your business and some bottles! The Dr Brown's bottles are supposed to mimic the same flow as breast feeding so that your baby won't decide bottles are easier. We'll see!
The last "group gift" was this stability ball - supposed to be nicer to sit on than a desk chair. Unfortunately, it's too low for me to use at my desk but it'll be nice for labor!
These next gifts came from individual residents.
What would a baby shower be without cute clothes? Check them out!
Ditto for cute toys!
One gift that I'm super excited about is Sophie! Not familiar? Sophie is one of the most popular teethers available and apparently every "good mother" owns one for her child. Don't believe me? She's been featured in
Slate and
WSJ . . . anyway, the point of this shameless trend following is that she is supposed to be a real favorite of babies and toddlers. Here's the packaging and Sophie in the box.
Sophie was given to Daniel by one of my all time favorite residents. She had a stroke about a year ago and completely lost use over the left side of her body. She's had to re-learn to walk and talk and feed herself. She's also just barely re-learned how to write - been working on it for the last 6 months. Anyway, her favorite niece has two little kids and apparently recommended Sophie. This note was attached to the package - makes me tear up a bit. So awesome!
Next up is this fabulous hand-made quilt made by one of y residents who is in a quilters guild at her church. They make a ton of baby quilts and give them to the local hospitals for NICU babies. This one is nice and thick and should be perfect for tummy time!
Chef Lynn decided that it was important to begin Daniel's food education early - probably in the hopes that he'll be more than just a crock-pot wonder like his mother - with these two books! They are gorgeous and very clever.
Last but obviously not least, we have the "manly" diaper bag that B is very excited about!
So, there you have it . . . spoiled rotten and so very blessed!
