Must Have Baby Gear #1

Since so many of my friends are pregnant right now (can't wait for Joel to have so many new buddies!), I thought I'd write some posts about baby items that we have not been able to live without. Hopefully it will help all you lovely first time mommies get an idea of what's out there... because I know it can be so overwhelming to see all the crazy stuff they have now in the baby stores. Just click on the blue words to see the stuff on target.com.
1. Baby Bouncer You gotta have something for them to sit in, and this bouncer is great. We take it everywhere with us, and Joel loves it. When he was colicky in December, most nights, the vibrations were the only thing that would calm him. My advice: get a lightweight one so it's easy to carry around the house, get one that vibrates, and get one that bounces.
2. Baby Carrier If you want to get anything done around your house, one of these is a must. We got this baby bjorn carrier as a Christmas gift and I use it absolutely every day. It can be big enough for scott to use too. We did have to wait to use it until Joel could hold his head up, but now that he can, I love the thing. It's so easy to do everything around the house while he is in it, and I will use it this spring on walks. He loves to be inside it and watch what i'm doing and what's going on. I bought this one to use when Joel was smaller... he didn't like it as much, and it was pretty awkward to wear around..... like a gigantic purse at your hip. If you'd like to try out one of our slings before you buy one, let me know!
3. Bumbo I don't know what we would do without this thing! Joel loves to sit in it on the kitchen counter and watch us. we haven't had to buy a high chair yet, because this works great to feed him his cereal. We had our friends over the other night, with their 11 month old little cutie and she still fits in it as well... so it will last us a long time. For some reason it's expensive for how cheap they can make it, but its well worth the money!
4. Playmat the little kiddos need something to play in... and this one has kept Joel busy since he was very little. We like that it is small and doesn't take up much of the living room. I suggest hanging different toys from the bar to keep things interesting for the baby. Joel thinks its a fantastic new toy everytime i add something to the bar. The only con is that now that he's rolling, he gets stuck and can't completely flip over, because the mat is so slim. It's not a big problem, but if you want them to have more room, you need to get a bigger playmat.
5. Crib TV this thing is awesome. It plays rainforest soothing sounds, lullaby sleepy music, and playtime music. the animals can light up and move around. We turn it on when Joel goes down for a nap or bedtime and it puts him to sleep everytime. When he's awake, I can put him in his crib and he loves to watch the animals move around and listen to the music. It's also dual purpose... it puts me to sleep when i can hear it over the monitor! ;)

There's my top 5. Don't worry, i'll blog about more as they pop up in my head. I bet you can hardly wait!!! ;)