cribs

The one piece of furniture we bought for Evalana’s room is a crib. Now I’m wondering why we got that. The play yard thing seems to work so much better. I can’t leave Evalana in her crib unless I know she’s sound asleep, because she’ll stand up so quickly and then she’ll fall over in the crib and hit her head against the wood sides. Why do people use cribs? I just don’t get it. Is there a reason a play yard wouldn’t be better? What am I missing?

baby shirts that fit

I found some cheap t-shirts that fit over evalana's head and belly! The Children's Place outlet at the Great Mall had several shirts and sweaters for $3 each. Yea!
We still haven't found any jeans that fit her cloth diaper and belly, though (I didn't even look at Children's Place while we were there, though). My mom had found some at Walmart that seemed to fit around the waist, and she hemmed them up, but she's already outgrowing those.

t-shirts

I don’t understand onesies. Why would you want to put snaps over a bottom that you have to get to every hour or two to change? Just pulling pants and diaper off sometimes seems like too much work to me. I love t-shirts and baby leggings. Why is it so difficult to find baby shirts that aren’t bodysuits? And what am I missing about why people like onesies so much?

pumping bra

While pumping milk, I use a great invention that I've realized a lot of people don't know about. Without a pumping bra, most people need both hands to hold the pump on. With a pumping bra, you have both hands free (yea!). Here's what I like: http://www.easyexpressionproducts.com/index.html. I think I got mine from ebay.

milkshare

As I type this, I’m pumping milk for a friend who has a baby about Evalana’s age. Her milk supply just dropped, and her baby is needing some more milk while she hopefully gets her supply back up. Besides just personal connections to friends who have extra milk or need more milk, I use an internet group called Milkshare to connect with moms who need breast milk for their babies. I highly recommend this group for anyone who can pump a little extra or is unable to produce enough milk for their baby.
http://milkshare.birthingforlife.com/

the wrap

Joshua and I think this might be our favorite and most used baby item--our Sleepy Wrap. I use it for her naptime during the day, when I take her to work with me, when we go to the dog park, and when we go to the grocery store. And Joshua and I both use it. It's not girly-looking, and it's one size. When she was little, I was easily able to breastfeed her in it and keep myself covered, but I haven't quite figured out how to do it now. I also love my ring sling, but we use the sleepy wrap more.
http://www.sleepywrap.com/
11/5/10 update: here's a coupon code for 10% off: Unique

wet bed

Evalana used to not pee at all overnight. Now she is peeing during the night, and I haven't found a diaper insert that will hold it all. I just ordered Kissaluvs Super-Soakers and Hemp Babies™ Diaper Doublers. Do you think they'll work? What do you use for wet times?

bG bamboo

We got a few large-sized bumgenius bamboo fitteds. These are my favorite diapers we have. We have a few smalls that have gotten a lot of use. They are so soft, and they're nice and absorbant, but I can still tell right away when she's wet. They're not cheap, but I love them.

http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=895

diaper detergent

Last week we ran out of diaper detergent. I wasn't paying enough attention to realize I needed to get more before we got to the bottom of the bag. I didn't have time to get something ordered, so I wanted to find something in a store or that I could make. I found a couple of charts that I thought were helpful in figuring out which detergents to use for diapers. The two sites don't seem to completely agree so I don't know how accurate and up-to-date it all is, but I think it helps.
http://pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm
http://www.diaperjungle.com/detergent-chart.html

Cami that covers!

I have finally found a camisole that has a high enough neckline! It seems comfortable, too. I just got it in the mail today from Motherwear. It's this one: http://www.motherwear.com/prod.cfm/cid/100/sid/5830. It looks a little lower-cut on the picture, but it doesn't show any cleavage on me. Yea! Now I kind of wish I had ordered 4 of them because this one will be spit up on soon enough.