5 Month Loves

Olivia has made lots of changes in the last month.  She is holding items.  She is more into playing with toys.  She has great head control and likes to be in the upright position.  That has led us to many new "loves".

First, she really likes her jumperoo.  We started using it with her when she was little over 3 and a half months.  She enjoyed it then, but she has really gotten into it in the last month.  She knows just what to do.  Sometimes she likes to bounce like crazy.  Sometimes she plays with and inspects the toys in front of her.  Sometimes she just sits there, enjoys being upright, and checks out her surroundings.  We like to use it because it's somewhere to put her where she can be squirmy (which she is all the time), see what's going on (which she loves), and give our arms a break! :)

Summer Infant Video Monitor

I've mentioned on here before how a video monitor was a must in my book.  We are still using one with Little Man, and I plan to get years of use out of the one we have.  Thankfully, because of a gift, we were able to get a nice one.  Now that Olivia is sleeping in her crib, it has become an every day used item.  The big screen is a 7 inch LCD screen that we have set up in our living room.  It's nice because she goes to bed so much earlier than us.  We can take a quick glance at the monitor from any position in the living room/kitchen and see what's going on.  I keep the little one by my bed.

Bright Starts Rattle Teether

Olivia is wanting anything and everything to go into her mouth.  She sucks on her hands.  She chews on her bibs and burp clothes.  She tries to stick almost any toy she can hold on to into her mouth.  My mom got her this toy at Thanksgiving and it is one of her new favorites.  It's easy for her to hold and she really likes chewing/sucking on the the lollipop side.  She practically sticks the whole thing in her mouth!  She also enjoys this hand and foot teether.  She's not really into them being chilled yet.  I assume that will come with the full on teething hits.  She is just getting into Sophie as well, but doesn't love it as much as everyone said she would.

Olivia the Owl

I really enjoy all the developmental and educational toys that Lamaze puts out.  That is why I put Jacques the Peacock on her Christmas list (for her grandma).  I happened to stumble upon a clearance bin at Kohl's a few days before Thanksgiving. I figured I'd take a peek and see if there was anything we could use for the trip.  My thought being that a "new" toy may hold her attention in the car.  What did I find?!  An educational toy (my favorite).... that was an owl (hello, awesome!)... whose name was Olivia. Must Have! The bonus was that it was on sale.  Even better, she really likes it!

Lamaze Cloth Book

Speaking of Lamaze, she really likes this cloth book.  She enjoys being read to in general, but she likes this one because it has crinkle pages.  It's one of the only soft books she has, so we play with it often and it's easy to shove in the diaper bag too.

Baby Einstein Take-Along Tunes Toy

Ok, I know I changed the title to "loves" instead of "must haves", but this one really is a must have in my book.  Olivia loves it.  We've been using it since soon after birth, but it has recently become a staple in our diaper bag.  She can be full on crying in her car seat or getting fussy when we are sitting at Tae Kwon Do....I put the music on and she immediately stops.  Sometimes she watches the lights and sometimes she just likes to listen to the music.  It's just the right size to take along with us too.  Plus, it's cheap.  I call it her baby ipod. :)  (Ours looks a little different.  It's an older model that I bought on sale while I was still pregnant.  It's basically the same thing though.)

4 Month Loves

Yes.  I changed the title.  I felt guilty calling these lists "must haves".  They aren't must haves.  They are just things we are blessed to have and are loving.

I don't have quite as many items this time around.  We haven't moved into the next phase yet.  We are just getting there.  She doesn't use teethers (as much as I'd like her to try).  She doesn't grab things yet or play with any toys.  We are still using the swing, the bouncer, and the play mat.  I think there will be lots of fun things next month! :)

Bottle Labels

I loved these when I saw them on a blog--long before I was even pregnant.  Right now we are only using them for the church nursery.  I don't think they'd mix up a bottle at this point, but you never know.  Plus, since Olivia takes special formula it makes me feel better.  I like that it can grow with her.

Bumbo Baby Sitter

We've been using the bumbo for a little while now.  Olivia did not love it at first.  She would sit for a few minutes and then would just be done.  I kept at it though.  It has been really good for her head and neck support.  Plus, she loves to sit up in general, so it works.  I hope to use this more and for longer periods of time soon.

Munchkin Stroller Hooks

We have two of these.  I would probably never have bought them or registered for them or whatever, but Michael wanted them.  We have yet to use them on the stroller, but we carry our groceries in with them.  It makes it so nice and easy.  We can usually get everything in one trip this way.  Every time we use them Michael says something about how he loves them or how they were worth the money or how he's so glad we got them. :)

Bibs

 I know I said this in my 1 month post, but we are back at it.  We originally just got a ten pack of cheap ones at Babies R Us for the puke.  We are now using them for drool.  We just had to go out and get a bunch more.  She is soaking about 4 a day.  I made sure to get cute ones this time.  It's so sad that her cute little outfits have to be covered by bibs. :)

White Noise Machine

We already had this.  Michael needed it.  We now use it for Olivia too.  We use it at night and for naps.  I think it really helps.  I've read multiple places that you should use a white noise machine for a baby because it sounds like the womb.  I also like that it drowns out the noise of the rest of the house.  We will be (attempting to) moving her to her own room/crib this next week.  I plan on using music as background noise then.  If that doesn't work, we may be purchasing another one of these guys. :)

You can check out months 1, 2, and 3 here if you missed them.

2nd Month Must Haves

Yep, it's that time again!  We've made it through another (rough!) month.  We are still loving and using almost all of the items from our first month of must haves.  We have a few more to add to the list though.

Gas Drops

Oh my word--these are LIQUID GOLD for us.  It has gotten better, but there were times that gas drops were the only thing that would stop the insane screaming.  You are not to exceed 12 doses a day and I'm pretty sure there were some days where she got the full 12!  It was instant silence.  I don't think the drops could work that fast.  I think she just likes the flavor.  I don't care.  If it worked, then I was trying it.  We also use gripe water, but the gas drops work better.  Gad drops are medicinal.  Gripe water is more like giving your baby ginger ale for a stomach ache.  Gripe water works great for those pesky hiccups though.

Praise Baby DVD's

I have given these as gifts multiple times.  I have only heard great things about them.  In fact, my cousin Sonja said it was the best baby gift she got.  I knew I wanted them.  Thankfully, Olivia loves them.  We will lay her on the ottoman, push it close to the TV, and put it on.  Her little legs kick with glee and she will be content for the whole half hour.  I'm sure as she grows she'll enjoy them more and more.  Plus, they are filled with great praise and worship songs so I enjoy them too.  We have four of the DVD's and one CD.

A Vibrating Bouncer

 I registered for a bouncer that bounces on its own.  It's convenient and we used it.  My friend Jen got us this vibrating bouncer as well.  I decided to take this one to work with me so that I had somewhere to put Olivia when necessary.  What I found out was that she loved the vibrations and would sit (not screaming!) for an hour!  Our other bouncer doesn't vibrate.  I had no clue this would be important.  We ended up picking up a vibrating chair we found on clearance to use at our house.  We now have a total of 3 bouncers.  Desperate times call for desperate measures! :)

Books

 We try to read to her daily.  When in the right mood, she really enjoys it.  Of course, I appreciate the educational and developmental perks. :)

Changing Table

 I know some people say changing tables aren't really necessary.  They say it's a waste of money--that you end up changing the baby anywhere and everywhere.  Maybe it's the convenient set up of our apartment, but Olivia is only changed on her changing table (or the pack and play changer in the middle of the night).  She enjoys her changing table, and I enjoy that the mess is on disposable pads.  She pees mid change (often!), she poops mid change (often!), and has even shot it across the room before.  I rather that be on washable wood then carpet or the couch.  The $115 was worth it in my book!

Diaper Champ

 I chose the diaper champ (as opposed to other diaper pails) for a few reasons. 1) I've heard mixed reviews on other brands. 2) I used it for Little Man, so it was familiar and I knew it held the smell in well. 3) You use regular trash bags. No buying the expensive refills.  It has worked out well.  We have just had a WEEK of excessive (nasty smelling) poop, and this thing has contained the smell and was super convenient during messy clean ups.
Side note--We finally get the puking and screaming under control only to move right in to 8 to 13 poops a day!!  We're a mess!  More on that drama to come.

Baby K'tan

 I never thought that I would be a baby wearer.  That's why I didn't register for any of the carriers out there.  However, my daughter has decided that she is a fan of being held ALL. THE. TIME.  Of course, she only wants to be held by me.  I would love to hold her all day long, but sometimes I have other things to do--like make Little Man's lunch and such.  Besides that-it kills the back.  My mother-in-law recently bought the baby k'tan for me and I am in love.  It has 8 different positions.  She can only be in about 2 of them right now.  Once she has better neck control we'll be able to try out other positions.  She loves to look around and see what's going on.  I think she'll love be able to look out.  It says it's good for up to 42 pounds or 4 years old.  I won't be carrying her that long, but I will be using it often now that I have it.