George did not want to cooperate for most of the shoot. He didn’t sleep and cried a lot, so we spent much of the session trying to keep him calm. Despite that Becca did an amazing job! I love the images she captured and I’m so grateful for her talent and friendship!

Here are some of my favorite images:

Thank you again Becca!

Eleanor is already madly in love with her little brother. She is constantly hugging, kissing, and trying to help take care of him. We were afraid that she’d be jealous and resentful of the little crying creature who’d come into her house and taken away her parent’s attention. And while she’s definitely acting out a little because of the change, she has never blamed her little brother. She’ll get upset with Mommy or Daddy for being too tired or busy with George to play, but she doesn’t take it out on him. She can actually be surprisingly patient, waiting for me to finish a diaper change or feed George before doing something for her. I’m really proud of what a good big sister she’s turning out to be.

Even though it’s only been a month, it’s already fascinating to see the difference between George and Eleanor. We braced ourselves for the worst. Hoping that Eleanor had been the worst. We crossed our fingers and held our breath that George would be our “easy” baby. Eleanor spent her first six weeks constantly crying if she was awake, and the only way to get her to sleep was to hold her in your arms, because the moment you tried to set her down, the screaming and crying would start all over again. But you never know with babies, how they will be, and how much of your trouble with the first baby was your own fault as an amateur parent who really just didn’t know what you were doing, as new to parenting as your baby was to the world.

George arrived and we were pleasantly surprised by the differences. He latched well right away, and his first days at home he nursed like a pro, like it was his job, which it kinda is. Eleanor had a terrible time nursing at first. She wouldn’t stay awake to eat, she didn’t want to latch properly, she ate so lazily that she would nurse for 45 minutes to an hour, I barely had a break in between feedings. George also sleeps in his bassinet, which is such a big deal for us, as we spent the first six weeks with Eleanor holding her in shifts to get her to sleep, because she’d wake up the moment you’d try to put her down. And you can even put him down in his bassinet awake but sleepy and he’ll fall asleep all on his own. Eleanor didn’t do that until she was two.

I still wouldn’t call George easy. He’s cranky much of his waking hours, he cries and fusses a lot, and loudly. If he’s hungry, he’ll scream like he’s being murdered until you feed him. But as long as he sleeps without a problem I can handle the crying. And he’s sleeping pretty well at night. So far he usually gives us two or three good periods of two to four hours of sleep every night. So we get to sleep around 6 hours every night, which isn’t too bad at all. It’s definitely manageable.

Our days have been pretty pleasant. Josh and Eleanor spend most of the days playing, going to the park, swimming at the pool, or getting things done around the house. While George and I hang out on the couch, nursing, napping, and watching a lot of tv.

Even though we now have two kids that we have to learn to balance our time and energy between, I feel like having a newborn is so much easier this time around. Although, I say that now, before Josh returns to work and I have to spend my days with a newborn a preschooler and a business to run. I’ll let you know how that goes. Wish me luck! I’m sure I’ll need it!

George was due April 9th. But because Eleanor had arrived a week before her due date, I started getting antsy in the last week of March. I told everyone I was hoping for an April Fools Baby, but really I was just sick of being pregnant and wanted that baby out of me as soon as possible. Any date before the due date would have been fine by me.

In those last few weeks I did everything I could that was recommended to induce labor naturally.  I walked, I did a lot of labor intensive housecleaning, I had a glass of wine, and had lots of sex. But nothing seemed to be doing anything but make me exhausted. About a week before my due date, I started having regular contractions for several hours at a time almost every day, but they never got any stronger and were never closer together than 10 minutes.

I attended my weekly doctor visits, and at the end the doctor would say “Nope, you’re not dilated at all, I’ll see you next week!” I would reply, “Maybe, but my daughter was early so I think this one will be too!” But I always came back. I made it to every appointment up to my last 40 week appointment on April 9th. At that visit my doctor told me that she didn’t like women to go more than a week past their due date, so she had scheduled me to be induced, one week later, April 16th. I really didn’t like the idea of being induced. I wanted to have as natural a childbirth as possible, but by that point I just said, “Great!” I was so over it by that point that I was just happy to know that there was going to be an end date, a day that baby would have to finally come out!

Luckily, just three days later, at 4am on April 12th, I woke to some stronger than usual contractions. I went to the bathroom to pee (for the 3rd time that night, by the way) and saw that I had my bloody show! Whoo hoo! That means labor is coming! Although, according to a quick Google search from the bathroom on my iPhone, it means that labor is coming sometime soon, but not necessarily that day. So I begrudgingly went back to bed, and lay there timing my contractions. At that point they were about seven minutes apart. I lay there for another hour as the contractions grew a little stronger and six minutes apart. At 5am I told Josh that I was getting up and that we might be going to the hospital soon. But after so many days of false contractions, I strongly emphasized the might part. I really expected to get up, walk through some contractions, and have them get weaker and farther apart, just as they had been doing for weeks.

So I got up, put on some tv, opened up my laptop to work on a blog post, but soon found that I couldn’t concentrate on what I was working on with the increasingly uncomfortable contractions. At 6am I went to the bedroom and told Josh that it was time to get up and get ready to go. As he showered I got dressed. I really just put on a bra, shoes and a cardigan on top of my pajamas–I mean, how dressed do I need to be to go to the hospital and get into a hospital gown. Then I woke up Eleanor and told her that she had to get dressed and eat breakfast quickly because she was going to GoGo’s house, because the baby might come out today. She informed me that she didn’t think so, she thought he would probably come in a few more days, but she got dressed and ate her breakfast anyway.

Meanwhile, my contractions were getting stronger and by 7am they were three minutes apart. Josh continued getting ready and packed the last few items into our hospital bag. We left the house a little before 8am, by that time my contractions were getting close to three minutes apart.

We dropped Eleanor at my mom’s house about 20 minutes later. By then she realized that we were serious about the baby coming and was getting pretty excited to meet her brother. Well, she was really excited that she would get to spend the day with GoGo and then have a camp out in our living room with her Uncle Elliott that night, the new brother part was just a bonus.

Josh and I arrived at the hospital and checked in at labor & delivery around 9am. We got our room and I got into my hospital gown and at 9:30am, when my contractions were 3 minutes apart, the doctor came in to check me. Unfortunately, despite the growing strength of the contractions and how close together they were, I was fully effaced but only dilated to 4cm (10cm is baby time for those of you who aren’t in the know). So I had a while to go. Not the news I wanted to hear. I expected to get there and be about ready to go, get that baby out by noon or so and go home the next morning. You can tell by the length of this post, that this is not what happened.

At that point, the doctor said that I could either go home and come back when the contractions were stronger, or stay at the hospital walk through my contractions and she would check me again in two hours. I was not about to go home and come back. The contractions were so close together and were gaining in strength. I really didn’t think that we’d make it back if we left now. So, we walked and walked and walked doing laps around the labor & delivery department. Super boring and uncomfortable as the contractions got stronger and closer together.

I didn’t like the idea of being in pain and making the accompanying pain sounds in front of other people, so after a while we went back to our room, which was pretty spacious by the way, put on some This American Life on the ipod, and I walked in circles around the room for a while. About thirty minutes before I was about to be checked again the contractions were about 2 minutes apart and had grown so strong that I couldn’t walk or talk through them anymore. So, we called the nurse and told her that it was time to check me again. She did, and it turns out that I was only about 7cm now, closer, but it was still not time.

Now, I had planned to go for a natural childbirth this time. I wasn’t crazy about the epidural that I had when Eleanor was born finding it uncomfortable to have no use of my lower body, so I wanted to attempt to skip it this time around. But when the contractions were coming strong and fast and I had very little break to calm and relax myself between each one, and was then told that I wasn’t close enough to start pushing any time soon, I decided that it was time for some pain relief, so I asked for the epidural.

The nurse anesthetist arrived about 30 minutes later and began prepping me for the epidural. Josh was sent to the waiting room because too many husbands have fainted watching their wife get a needle in her spine. She explained to me that I would need to hold very still as the needle was stuck in. And I thought “no problem, she’ll just get it in between contractions. That gives her almost two minutes to get it done, how long can it take?” Well, it can take a while. For some reason, she had a terrible time finding the epidural space. She kept going in and out and in again and was just not getting it right. Meanwhile, I was trying to hold still through seriously strong and painful contractions. Although, I liked her when she came in, I was getting so angry and frustrated with her. I wanted to yell at her to get out. After what seemed like a dozen attempts, the Anesthesiologist was called in. He had a little better luck, but it still took him several attempts to get it in.

It was such a relief when the meds started working and I could finally relax. It was about noon now, and the nurse continued to check on me throughout the afternoon. I stayed dilated at about 8 cm for most of the day. My water finally broke late afternoon, and I assumed that after that I would get to 10 cm quickly and it would be time to push. But no such luck. I spent the day relaxing in bed, listening to podcasts, and just waiting.

Around 6pm I started to go through transition. Similar to when I had Eleanor, I started to feel nauseated, was feeling faint and having chills. Shortly thereafter, when I was still about 8cm, they started to give me Pitocin, hoping that stronger contractions would help me to dilate, but no such luck. After a while they stopped the Pitocin and, now at around 9cm, they decided to have me push lying on my side, hoping that the baby’s head would help to get rid of that last lip of cervix that was left. And thank goodness it worked!

They let me continue contracting and told me to let them know when I felt a strong urge to push and we would start pushing. I waited a little while, but got impatient. I told them, I’m not feeling a strong urge, but I’d like to push now. I was just ready to get to work and get that baby out! I had also stopped pushing my epidural medication button a while ago, so I was starting to feel the contractions more and more and was ready to put those contractions to some use.

I started pushing around 7:30pm and after less than 45 minutes of pushing to the count of ten two or three times per contraction, George Emmett Keegan Gross arrived at 8:11pm crying and covered in gook. Aside from having a lot less hair, he looked just like his sister. The midwife who had arrived for the pushing portion of the labor had Josh cut the cord and then insisted on showing us the placenta and all of it’s parts. Which was just a little bizarre as I was clearly more interested in the new baby lying on my chest than the bloody mass that had just come out of me.

The nurse took him from me, cleaned him off, measured and weighed him, and handed him back to me. He was 7lbs 4 oz, the exact same weight as Eleanor, and 19 3/4 inches, 1 3/4 inches shorter than Eleanor. He started nursing right away, which was such a relief, since Eleanor had trouble latching for the first few days after she was born.

I felt surprisingly well, which was another welcome difference from Eleanor’s birth. Her labor was 26 1/2 hours long, so by the time she was born I had been awake for at least 36 hours. After her delivery I was completely delirious and couldn’t stay awake to enjoy my little girl. This time I actually felt energized and I wasn’t in as much pain, because I didn’t have any tearing like I did last time. I was actually able to enjoy my new little boy for a while and get some cute sleepy shots of him that night and the next morning.

We ended up having to stay in the hospital a second night, because, although it was normal before and after, George showed a high temperature at one of his checks that first night. And it is hospital policy for a newborn to be observed for 48 hours if they show a high temp. But Eleanor still came to meet her brother the next day.

She was excited to meet him, but did get upset that she couldn’t hold him more, and had a little meltdown when she found out that we wouldn’t all be going home together that night. She and Josh went home while I stayed in the hospital alone with George. I obviously wanted to go home, but didn’t mind staying alone so that Eleanor could have a pizza and movie night with Daddy. Josh says they both slept about 10 hours that night. It was his last night of good sleep for what will be a few years. About four weeks of sleeplessness now, and I’m completely jealous. I haven’t had a good nights sleep since some time early in my pregnancy.

I really miss sleep. But George is worth it. Mostly.

More on George’s first month with us coming soon!

You can check out George’s formal Newborn Portraits over at Maggie Keegan Gross Photography, and I’ll have our first portraits, shot by my talented friend Becca Rillo, as a family of four to share with you soon!

As we prepare for baby number two, we’ve pulled out all our baby gear and reviewed all the registry recommendation lists to make sure we have everything we will need. In the process, we’ve reminded ourselves of what was the most useful to us and what we thought we’d need, but didn’t really use. So, I’ve put together this guide to share our knowledge with all the parents-to-be out there. I’ve split it into several categories of baby items and within each I’m sharing the “Must Haves,” “Nice to Haves,” and items that you can “Skip.” I hope you find this useful in prepping for your new baby!

Follow the links below to the post for each section of the guide.

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART ONE: Dress Your Baby

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART TWO: Get Your Baby to Sleep

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART THREE: Feed Your Baby

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART FOUR: Clean Your Baby

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART FIVE: Play With Your Baby

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART SIX: Out and About With Your Baby

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART SEVEN: For Mom & Dad

Hope this list helps those of you preparing for a new baby! Please feel free to comment on any of these posts with any baby essentials I left out!

As we prepare for baby number two, we’ve pulled out all our baby gear and reviewed all the registry recommendation lists to make sure we have everything we will need. In the process, we’ve reminded ourselves of what was the most useful to us and what we thought we’d need, but didn’t really use. So, I’ve put together this guide to share our knowledge with all the parents-to-be out there. I’ve split it into several categories of baby items and within each I’m sharing the “Must Haves,” “Nice to Haves,” and items that you can “Skip.” I hope you find this useful in prepping for your new baby!

MUST HAVES

Sleep – This goes without saying, we all need sleep. But those of you who are about to have their first baby will learn, most likely for the very first time, what it’s really like not to sleep. I’ll tell you now, it is worse than you imagine.  Now, I’d give the advice that everyone gives: sleep when your baby sleeps, but I know that you won’t follow it. You’ll be having visitors over, you’ll be trying to take care of things around the house, and you’ll just want a baby-free moment to yourself. So, instead I’m going to suggest three things, first that you put your baby to sleep in his own crib or bassinet from the beginning. Second, refrain from picking your baby up at the first signs of fussing. Periods of fussing are a normal part of their sleep cycle, give them a few minutes and most of the time they’ll put themselves back to sleep.  And lastly that you at least sleep between your three night feedings. That way you’ll get at least 3-6 hours each night.

Support – I have no idea how single parents do it, but I could not manage children without Josh.  Having a partner that truly and equally shares the childcare and housework workload is essential to keeping your sanity and avoiding complete exhaustion. In addition, having friends and family member who can run errands, bring you food, help with housework, or just hold baby while you take a nap can be a huge help.

Food & Water – Mom’s nutrition is as important during breastfeeding as during pregnancy. You’ll be burning about 500 calories a day, just by feeding your baby. So, make sure to have nutritious food and snacks available and drink plenty of water, at least a glass every time you nurse.

Time for Yourself – Being a parent is the hardest job I’ve ever had. Yes, it’s amazing and rewarding and I love it more than anything else I’ve ever done. But seriously, it’s so freaking hard and truly exhausting. Parents need a break. They need some time to feel like themselves and not just mom or dad. I recommend taking a little time each day to do something for yourself, like giving yourself a manicure or enjoying an iced coffee and a little dark chocolate (my favorite!). And be sure to plan some time with friends and some alone time with your partner. As soon as you feel comfortable leaving baby for a few hours plan a date night, and be sure to make it a regular weekly or monthly plan.

Books – I’ve mentioned a couple of important books in Part Two: Get Your Baby To Sleep, I also recommend What to Expect The First Year as an essential reference guide to all your newborn questions.

Right now, I’m reading Secrets of the Baby Whisperer and I’m really loving it. It gives very sensible and easy to follow advice on dealing with a newborn and how to get onto a flexible routine to make your days with your newborn not just manageable, but enjoyable.

NICE TO HAVE

Nursing Bras and Shirts – I have yet to find a nursing bra that fits well, is comfortable, and gives me the support I need. I’m sure there are good nursing bras out there, I just haven’t found one. So, I tend to just wear a normal bra that is a demi cup so I can just fold the cup down to nurse. But you should definitely try out some nursing bras to see if anything fits for you. Wait until your milk has come in, there’s no way of knowing what size you’ll need until then, and go to your nearest maternity or nursing store to try some different styles on.

What I do use are sleep bras. I like the Motherhood Maternity Wrap Nursing Sleep Bra. It’s comfortable for both sleeping in and just wearing around the house.

I haven’t purchased any nursing tops.  I had a few that I liked last time around, but haven’t bothered to shop for anything new yet. There are some cute nursing shirts from Boob and Old Navy that I have my eye on, but we’ll see. I hate to buy anything that isn’t essential. If I plan to have to nurse while out in public, I usually just wear a cami that I can pull down and bring a nursing cover up.

Nursing Cover Up – These are great for nursing discretely in public. While I fully support women unashamedly nursing without having to cover-up, I’ll tell you that the reality is there is always some creepy guy who will stare at your boobs while you’re trying to feed your baby and I just prefer to avoid that and cover up. In fact, I actually prefer to pump and bring a bottle with me rather than finding a comfortable place to sit and nurse in public.

iPhone – We didn’t have an iPhone when Eleanor was born. And what a difference having one makes. You will spend A LOT of time just sitting and nursing, and you will need something to do while you are up all night with baby. With Eleanor I set up a laptop and watched DVD after DVD. But now, with my super cool iPhone I can read books, check and reply to emails, chat on Twitter, catch up on Facebook, watch shows on Hulu, and Netflix, track baby’s feeding and sleeping schedule, and keep track of all those newborn doctor’s appointments on my calendar.

Apps – In the first few weeks with baby you’ll be tracking pretty much everything your little one does. When Eleanor was born, Josh created a spreadsheet for that, but now that we have our iPhones we can use an awesome app to do all that for us. Total Baby is my favorite for logging eating, pooping, peeing, and sleeping. It’s really helpful for breastfeeding and getting baby on a schedule. It times your nursing and sleeping for you and creates charts & graphs from all the info logged – super cool and useful. For general tips and milestones I like the What to Expect Baby app.

Massage – Mama’s body has been through a lot, from the last few very uncomfortable months of pregnancy, to childbirth, to carrying around a new infant all day. A massage is just what she needs, whether it be from a professional or just a shoulder rub from a partner, family member, or friend.

Journal – Whether you blog, scrapbook, journal, or keep a baby book, you’ll want to remember when and what all those firsts are that baby will be having. I recommend keeping a small journal or notepad handy so you can jot a quick note down so that you don’t forget later when one of those firsts happened.

Good Camera – Lastly, you’ll want to capture all the incredible moments with your new baby and you’ll definitely need a good camera to do that with. Check out this post about digital cameras to determine whether a point-and-shoot or a DSLR is right for you.

In case you missed it…

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART ONE: Dress Your Baby

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART TWO: Get Your Baby to Sleep

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART THREE: Feed Your Baby

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART FOUR: Clean Your Baby

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART FIVE: Play With Your Baby

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART SIX: Out and About With Your Baby

GEORGE EMMETT KEEGAN GROSS
April 12, 2012 |  8:11pm
7lbs 4oz  | 19 3/4 inches

His newborn photos & birth story coming soon!

As we prepare for baby number two, we’ve pulled out all our baby gear and reviewed all the registry recommendation lists to make sure we have everything we will need. In the process, we’ve reminded ourselves of what was the most useful to us and what we thought we’d need, but didn’t really use. So, I’ve put together this guide to share our knowledge with all the parents-to-be out there. I’ve split it into several categories of baby items and within each I’m sharing the “Must Haves,” “Nice to Haves,” and items that you can “Skip.” I hope you find this useful in prepping for your new baby!

MUST HAVES

Stroller – Like a lot of other baby gear there are soooo many different choices of strollers out there. When it comes to choosing what stroller is right for you, you’ll want to consider a few different factors: cost, function, and style. Strollers range in cost from $75 to $1,500. So you’ll first want to set a budget for yourself and then take a look at the variety of strollers in that price range. Don’t worry, no matter what your budget is you should be able to find a stroller that meets your needs.  Once you determine how much you want to spend you’ll want to want to consider how you’re going to use your stroller. Do you need a stroller for walking, jogging, on sidewalks, on rougher terrain? And lastly you’ll want to choose a stroller that suits your personal style.

Last time around we were generously gifted with one of the coolest, most multi-functional, stylish and expensive strollers, the Bugaboo Cameleon. However, if you’re a regular Cranky reader you may remember that it was lost/stolen the last time we moved. Well, we did get reimbursed for it by the apartment management, but we never did replace it because by that time Eleanor rarely used it. She was never a fan of being strapped into a stroller and once she could walk, she pretty much refused, so we just saved the money and used it for other things.

Bugaboos are awesome for the high-end strollers and I highly recommend them. If you want something mid-range, I hear very good things about the Bumbleride Flyer and Queen B as well as the Inglesina 2011 Zippy Ergonomic Stroller.

In the lower price range I’ve heard excellent things about Maclaren and Uppa Baby strollers.

For now we don’t have the money for a new stroller, and haven’t really decided which one we like best (we’re leaning toward the Bumbleride Flyer), so we’ve just got a Graco SnugRider, which is just a frame on which we can snap the car seat. We think this is all we’ll need for the first couple months until baby has the muscles to sit upright.

Car Seat – Unlike choosing a stroller, the only thing that matters when you select a car seat is safety. I’ll admit that I have not done any current research, but I urge you to do that research yourself. I recommend looking into the Consumer Reports Car Seat Buying Guide and reading the Car Seat Safety info from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

We will be reusing the infant car seat we used for Eleanor, since it has not reached it’s expiration date yet. When we were shopping for Eleanor, we chose the Graco SnugRide with EPS, because, at the time it was the only car seat that passed a crash test at 65 mph. Living in L.A. we spend a lot of time on the freeway and therefore a lot of time driving at least 65, so we figured that was the safest seat for us. But I have not looked to see how more current car seats have been performing in crash tests.

Diaper Bag – This one is all about style and functionality. You’ll want one that has a lot of pockets and fits your personal style. And this is another thing that you can get a decent one at any price range. It’s all about you, your style and how much you want to spend. I’ve already shared my super gorgeous Cake bag in my New Baby Favorites post. Other high end bags that I love are all of Kate Spade’s diaper bag line. On the mid range Petunia Pickle Bottom bags are super cute and functional. On the lower end I love the Jonathan Adler for Skip Hop bags.

NICE TO HAVES

Car Seat Mirror – I always liked being able to see Eleanor in my rear view mirror while we drove, and since infant seats face the rear you’ll need a mirror to see baby.

Shade – A window shade can be helpful for blocking harsh sun from baby’s eyes. But honestly, we’ve tried a bunch of different kinds and they either don’t stay put or don’t cover enough of the window. I recommend looking into having your car windows tinted if you can afford it. I’ve always assumed that it would be expensive to do, but I just heard that it should only cost around $100-200, which is worth it to me.

SKIP

I couldn’t really think of anything that is recommended for getting out with baby that you don’t need. If there are any you can think of please feel free to comment below!

In case you missed it…

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART ONE: Dress Your Baby

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART TWO: Get Your Baby to Sleep

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART THREE: Feed Your Baby

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART FOUR: Clean Your Baby

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART FIVE: Play With Your Baby

UP NEXT…Part Seven: For Mom & Dad

As we prepare for baby number two, we’ve pulled out all our baby gear and reviewed all the registry recommendation lists to make sure we have everything we will need. In the process, we’ve reminded ourselves of what was the most useful to us and what we thought we’d need, but didn’t really use. So, I’ve put together this guide to share our knowledge with all the parents-to-be out there. I’ve split it into several categories of baby items and within each I’m sharing the “Must Haves,” “Nice to Haves,” and items that you can “Skip.” I hope you find this useful in prepping for your new baby!

MUST HAVES

I want to preface this by saying that nothing in this category is truly a “Must Have.” Babies have been getting along for millions of years without these things to entertain them, so the musts I list here are really just our favorite things to have for baby.

Tummy Time Mat – For the first few weeks baby will pretty much just eat and sleep, but in time they will have longer and longer periods of wakefulness and you’ll want to entertain them and help their little brains and muscles develop. Pediatricians recommend that babies spend at least 30 minutes a day on their tummies to get them to start to use their arm, leg, and neck muscles. We used a Boppy Tummy Play Pad for tummy time. The mini Boppy helps them feel more comfortable and supported while they get used to being on their tummies and the attachable toys give them something to play with.

Activity Gym – When Eleanor wasn’t in tummy time and we wanted her entertained for 15-20 minutes we used the Fisher Price Rainforest Melodies and Lights Deluxe Gym. Eleanor loved it! There are a variety of different toys that hang from it and are attached to the mat, it also plays music and rainforest sounds and has little slowly changing colored lights in the top that baby can watch while lying on their back. This usually kept her entertained discovering sights, sounds and practicing grabbing and manipulating objects.

Rattles – It’s great to have something for baby to play with to distract them while getting dressed or having their diaper changed.  We like small soft rattles with handles like this Panda Rattle. When Eleanor was bigger and stronger she loved this multi-colored ball thing with soft plastic tubes and a rattle center.

NICE TO HAVES

Papasan Seat – Some babies are soothed by these vibrating chairs. We have the Fisher Price Baby Papasan Infant Seat. Eleanor never really cared for it, but it was great to have a place to buckle her in while I took a shower or cooked dinner. I’d just bring her in the bathroom or kitchen with me, put her on the floor in the chair and then talk to her while I went about my business. She wasn’t really interested in the music or vibration from the chair, but as long as I talked to her she was entertained.

Stuffed Animals – Stuffed animals can be great after a couple of months to give baby something soft to grab onto. Eleanor had a little stuffed bunny and some other little blanket loveys that she loved to hold onto.

SKIP

Playards – Unless you’ll be traveling, baby will be playing upstairs, or once they are crawling if there dangers in your home, I don’t think a Playard is necessary. Chances are you won’t be leaving baby unattended, so there’s no good reason they can’t just be left on the ground instead of being penned up. This is another piece of superfluous baby gear I don’t think you should waste your money on.

Exersaucers, Jumpers, and Baby Seats – I hesitated in writing this because I know that this is a bit of a controversial subject. A lot of parents love their exersaucers, jumpers and baby seats (like the Bumbo Seat) for keeping their babies happy and entertained, and they balk at those that claim they are bad for baby.

I agree that with moderate use these aren’t going to harm a baby. However, Pediatricians do not recommend their use. While being used in moderation (no more than 20 minutes a day) they won’t impede a baby’s physical development, they do not encourage proper development because they force a baby to sit, stand, and walk before they are developmentally able or ready to. If you don’t put a baby in one of these toys and instead give them plenty of time on the floor, especially on their tummies, they will use all their time developing the muscles they need to lift their heads, roll over, sit independently, crawl, pull-up to standing and eventually walk.

So, although they probably don’t hurt a baby, they certainly don’t help the baby at all, and only serve as a minor way to distract baby for a few minutes a day. And to me that makes them a complete waste of money and space.

In case you missed it…

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART ONE: Dress Your Baby

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART TWO: Get Your Baby to Sleep

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART THREE: Feed Your Baby

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART FOUR: Clean Your Baby

UP NEXT…Part Six: Out and About With Your Baby

As we prepare for baby number two, we’ve pulled out all our baby gear and reviewed all the registry recommendation lists to make sure we have everything we will need. In the process, we’ve reminded ourselves of what was the most useful to us and what we thought we’d need, but didn’t really use. So, I’ve put together this guide to share our knowledge with all the parents-to-be out there. I’ve split it into several categories of baby items and within each I’m sharing the “Must Haves,” “Nice to Haves,” and items that you can “Skip.” I hope you find this useful in prepping for your new baby!

MUST HAVES

Changing Pad & Covers – Soon your life will revolve around pee & poop. In the beginning your baby will go through about 10 diapers a day and sometimes more. So, you’ll need a comfy place to change all those diapers. I recommend a changing pad with curved sides like the Summer Infant Contoured Changing Pad, because it cradles the baby while being changed and helps to keep them from rolling over (until they’re bigger and want to have changing table wrestling matches with you). You can put it on top of a dresser or other piece of furniture you have (see Changing Tables in the Nice to Have section below).

You definitely want to get a couple changing pad covers because there will be plenty of pee & poop accidents on the changing table, so you want to keep a clean one handy. I also recommend getting some extra Changing Pad liners, like these from Boppy. They lay on top of your changing pad cover and are easy just to drop in your hamper and put another one down without having to change the whole changing pad cover.

Diapers & Wipes – I’m going to skip the cloth vs. disposable discussion for now and just say that we went with disposables with Eleanor and will do the same this time. When Eleanor was a baby we tried both Pampers and Huggies and went with Huggies. Don’t ask me what it is, but I feel like Pampers have a funny scent to them that I just did not like. We really like the Huggies Pure & Natural Diapers with Huggies Natural Care Wipes.

A little tip: skip the “Jumbo” pack of 30 diapers, these will last you about 3 days. Always go for the big box of 100 or more. You’ll save money and trips to the store. We found that Target and Amazon have the best prices for diapers. And although we haven’t tried it out, Amazon has a subscription service with automatic monthly deliveries that give you additional discounts.

Diaper Disposal – If you go with disposable diapers, we like the Diaper Genie for trashing diapers and keeping odor to a minimum. We have the basic version, but the pricier version has the nice extra feature of a foot pedal opening. You’ll also want to keep refills on hand.

Diaper Cream – Diaper rashes will happen. Eleanor didn’t get any in her newborn months, but definitely had a few throughout her diaper wearing career.  For those, we liked Burt’s Bees Diaper Cream,  Boudreaux Butt Paste is another popular choice.

Baby Tub – Until baby’s umbilical stump falls off, you’ll want to stick with sponge baths. But after that, having a baby tub makes bath time easy and comfortable for baby. We made bath time part of our nightly calming down routine for Eleanor. We really like the Fisher Price Coral Reef Tub, because it grows with baby from newborn to toddler. It starts with a sling for your newborn and then you can remove it as baby gets bigger.

Bath Toiletries – You’ll want to get shampoos & lotions that are safe for a baby’s sensitive skin. We’re into harsh-chemical-free baby care, so we love the Burt’s Bees Baby Bee line of products. 

First Aid – We found that the health & safety kits that we were given contained a lot of things that we just didn’t need and never used. But there are a few important items that you will need and use often: Baby Nail Clippers & Files, a Nasal Aspirator, and a Rectal Thermometer.

NICE TO HAVES

Changing Table – You don’t absolutely need a changing table. You can always just put a changing pad on top of a dresser or other piece of furniture or get a dresser/changing table combo unit that has a hutch for your diapering supplies. But if you have the room for it, I really like having a changing table. They are great for storing diapers, wipes, toiletries, bibs, blankets, and all of the bigger baby stuff.

Hooded Towels – Here’s the thing about these: they are very cute and great to keep baby warm after coming out of the bath, but definitely not a necessity. Any towel will do. If you do get some baby towels, I prefer the ones where just the corner of the towel has the hood in it rather than more adorable ones where the hood is on the side of the towel and has extra eyes and ears and things. These super cute towels are impossible to fold neatly and compactly, which drives me crazy!

Humidifier – For colder and dryer months, a humidifier helps to keep baby from getting congested. We used to have the Graco 4 Gallon Cool Mist Humidifier. We really liked it, the tank was nice and big, and because its fan was pretty noisy it doubled as white noise. Its only drawback was that it was pretty big, so it took up a lot of room on Eleanor’s dresser. It broke in our last move and we haven’t replaced it yet. Because we’ve got the new Graco Sound Machine (see Part Two: Get Your Baby to Sleep), we’re considering getting a Crane Drop Shape Cool Humidifier, which has good reviews and a small footprint.

SKIP

Bath Toys – These are always fun, but one of those things you won’t need until baby is older and able to sit up in a tub. I’d wait on buying anything for now and when you do just get a few. They can quickly take over your bathroom.

Wipe Warmer – This is one of those things that I just don’t see the point of. To me, it’s just one more piece of superfluous baby gear that manufacturers try to convince you you’ll need. It will not hurt your baby to have a cold wipe on their bottom. While a warmer might be nice to make your baby more comfortable during a diaper change, I’ve also heard a lot of complaints about them. They’re one more thing you have to find an outlet to plug-in. They often dry out the top few wipes and burn the bottom few, so you end up wasting a lot of wipes. They are a warm wet place for bacteria/mold to grow. All that being said if you really want one, get one, but I just feel that there are better ways to spend your newborn budget.

In case you missed it…

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART ONE: Dress Your Baby

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART TWO: Get Your Baby to Sleep

CRANKY BABY ESSENTIALS GUIDE PART THREE: Feed Your Baby

UP NEXT…Part Five: Play With Your Baby