Silly things
There are a LOT of pregnancy-baby-toddler products out there. After talking to experienced moms, they’ve told me that I really don’t need that much stuff, and I kinda don’t want to go too cray cray. I’d rather spend money on fun experiences than toys/random junk and am not a fan of clutter, anyway. That being said, that doesn’t mean I haven’t looked around. I’ve been trying to figure out what items we definitely need + a tentative list so we can start planning our registry. Along the way, I’ve discovered a lot of really silly things. Some silly things that I think are awesome, and other silly things that are just… silly.
Don’t get me wrong, if you own and live by a product I’m thinking is goofy, please enlighten me as I don’t own any of these products. I’m just talking about first glance and my bun-in-the-oven perspective, without any real life experience (yet) 🙂 So if I’m wrong and they’re actually worth getting, please let me know!
Silly things I think are silly
1. The nursing apron/robe/bib/circus tent.
Like I said, I apologize if you own and love one, but I think these are totally wild. I kind of get the point of not wanting to flash a restaurant your ta-tas, say, during a dinner out, but is it really necessary to cover them in crazy prints and make them as obvious as possible?? I think it draws more attention to what’s going on under there if anything. Of course I haven’t experienced breastfeeding, but I figure if I’m in the company of good family and friends, I can wear a cute, tasteful nursing top and get the baby situated without making a scene, or just step into another room or bedroom for a little while. NBD. But we shall see, I could totally change my mind and eventually own a ta-ta tent in every color.
2. Belly cast kit
A growing belly is a beautiful thing, however, I’m not sure I would like a sculpture of it in my house somewhere.
3. Pee Pee teepee
It even has an airplane on it!
I get the idea of not wanting to be sprayed… but a little decorative ornament to prevent it?
4. Peekaru
I’m all about baby-wearing, but the mock turtleneck takes it over the edge.
Silly things I think are awesome
1. Hooded towels
They obviously work the same as regular towels, but I love them… It’s right up there with hats with the ears on them. I think it’s the cutest thing ever.
2. The Snoogle pillow
I can’t live without it. Once I started sleeping with it, there was no turning back and it made my constant achy hip pain basically disappear.
3. Belly Cradle
It’s beyond strange-looking and right now, my belly is super high so I don’t need it at this point. In case it drops and needs support later on with the classes I teach, I’m thinking this might be a good option?
4. Home alcohol breast milk tester strips
Please don’t judge me for putting these on here, as I’m pretty sure you guys know I’m not an alchy. I have no prob whatsoever giving up alcohol while the little guy is doing his thang and growing strong 🙂 I definitely miss my weekly glass of red wine, though, and I have a feeling during the winter I’ll miss it even more. Many cultures have no prob with a glass or two of wine or a beer during pregnancy, but it’s something I personally don’t feel comfortable with.
A week or so after the little guy is born, I want a glass of red wine (and a spicy tuna roll!!) and having these things will help me make sure that a trace isn’t left in the milk afterwards.
What’s the weirdest baby/pregnancy product you’ve seen? Any *silly* items you ended up loving??
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Looks like others are saying the same thing about the nursing cover… (we have Hooter Hiders around here, too), but they’re actually sort of useful. The strap is nice because it keeps it from falling off. Sometimes you need to move around, pick up something (like a binky or nursing pad) and if you bend over your cover will fall off. Other times your baby will get sick of the cover and push it away (especially once he/she is older). Of course, that’s not as much of an issue if you don’t mind the thought of being exposed. If you can nurse discreetly in public without one, then I say go for it. I am pretty private, even about something as natural as nursing (nurse both kids until they were 1 year old). Sometimes going into a private place really bites. You know, you already feel like you’re tied to the baby for everything it needs and sometimes you feel really left out when you leave to go nurse in private (again, such a natural thing it shouldn’t be that way, but, ya know). As for nursing tops, I never could find many that I liked. Either that or they didn’t offer *that* much coverage when I was nursing. And like I said… I don’t want to risk any exposure, lol.
Most of the other stuff I agree with. Although I often wonder if that belt contraption would have saved me some pain. Looks silly, might be helpful.
Also, if you’re into nursing, you might consider Lily Padz. Some people hate them, but I loved them. After a month or two my supply was pretty regulated and I didn’t leak much so they worked GREAT for me. But I have friends that leaked a lot and they never worked well for them. But they might be worth a try. I sure hated nursing pads. Talk about wanting to feel like myself again… pads in my bra? Having to wear a bra all the time because of leaking? Nah, not any fun. The Lily Padz made me feel a little bit more “normal” again. Lol.
I completely agree with you Meagan!!
I suppose the peepee teepee thingy is ok in theory—but so not practical! Babies wiggle! My little love peed all over the place sometimes, and I just cleaned it up and moved on. I was more into just changing the diaper and not worrying about placing a cone over his privates! When the little guys are really little, there’s bound to be some diaper leaking, and the peepee can point off in weird directions (it’s pretty lightweight till they grow some)…once my guy was peeing while laying on the changing table and it hit him in the eye! I was more careful after that, but still…no teepees!
I worked in a daycare center in college and I got peed on ALL THE TIME! Those little guys feel that cool, fresh air, and let it FLY! haha
I agree with Lisa though, they squirm! If they pee on you, oh well! I always got a laugh out of it, and they weren’t even my kids!
I totally agree with the silliness of the nursing bib thing… Why should women be hiding at natural part if child-raising because of the weird way our culture has sexualized breasts and made them this taboo… Or maybe i can just attribute my shameless bearing of tatas to my French heritage ;o)
I thought the nursing bib was silly too…but when I always had to leave the room with my son because I didn’t want to pull my boob out in front of others or put a blanket over him because it would fall down, I considered it for my daughter. Mine wasn’t as elaborate so it wasn’t as obvious, it was just pink but the thing around the neck made it so you could look down and see the baby and not smother it with a blanket. I had nursing bras and tanks but it was still more obvious than I liked…but my sister was pretty comfortable so she didn’t have a problem. I think it really depends on your preference and how shy you are.
I nursed my last two little guys for a year. I own a Hooter Hider and love it. Now I will say I don’t use it in public because of the reason you said, it draws more attention to you for sure. But we have a large family and get together a lot. At the beginning babies eat a lot and frequently, so I didn’t want to go in another room for 45 minutes every 2 hours. Lol! I loved my Hooter Hider then because it enabled me to be in the room with my family without embarrassing all of the guys in the room 🙂
And hooded towels are awesome! They cover the babies head and body perfectly!
The benefits of the Hooter Hider over a blanket or towel are that a) it stays on even if you and the baby move and b) the wire rim keeps the top of the cover tented outward so that you can easily look down and see what your baby is doing. Unless you have mad skills with draping a blanket, the blanket will simply fall on the baby and you’ll be constantly adjusting it. PITA.
And I loved the bright colors. I was very proud of nursing and didn’t mind that people knew what I was doing. I just didn’t want to expose my girls to the world.
Regarding drinking and breastfeeding, I found it really hard to even squeeze in one glass of wine early on because babies nurse so often when they’re first born. When babies are a little older, they’ll often have one longer stretch of sleep in the early evening (e.g., from 6 – 10 pm). If I wanted a drink, that was the best (really only) time for me to have one. I could nurse and put the baby down and then I could have a glass of wine knowing that it’d be a couple hours before the baby was up again. However, this was only feasible after I could confidently predict my baby’s sleep patterns.
Well, I don’t have a baby or anything but when I worked as a server, it made me feel very uncomfortable when mothers would whip out their boobs for breatfeeding in public. I know it’s a natural part of motherhood and I may not understand until I get a child of my own but I don’t think people would want to see it in public. I think the nursing bib is convenient for the mom to feed their child anywhere and make males/ young females more comfortable. =]
i definitely wouldn’t feed my baby during a meal at a restaurant- in a public place, i would excuse myself (and go to a restroom or another room) and come back afterwards. i’m pretty sure no one wants to see my tata with their dinner 😉
Good point, BUT as a mom of 2 children if we were out somewhere it wasn’t always feasible to pack both kids up and all of our stuff to go “hide” in a bathroom stall. Or back to the car.
Sorry if some people already said this (don’t have a chance to read thru all the comments!), but I took a breastfeeding class with a lactation consultant and met with two LC’s at the hospital after I gave birth and all three said that if I was too tipsy to drive, then don’t BF. A glass of wine definitely shouldn’t be an issue. And that first glass after baby is born is AMAZING!!
Also, I wanted to recommendthe Ultimate Crib Sheet (can be found on Amazon or Babies R Us). It’s a super absorbent mattress pad that goes on top of the sheet and it snaps to the crib rails which makes it super easy to get on and off. And it also means you don’t have to worry about removing the bumper and changing the sheets in the middle of the night if there is spit up or a blow out. You just unsnap the crib sheet and either put a new one on (I have two) or just put baby on the regular sheet. The best part it you can still see the cute sheets because the Ultimate Crib Sheet is just a thin top layer. I highly recommend it!
Good for you for not drinking while pregnant! I realize that this topic has been researched to death, but I don’t see how any amount of alcohol can be considered safe while there is a growing, rapidly developing baby inside. There have been days that I would love nothing more than an ice-cold salty margarita, but it’s not worth any risk at all. At this point I have about 3 weeks left of this pregnancy. Yes, I may enjoy a drink here or there after the baby comes, but not until then. My baby’s brain development is much more important than me enjoying a drink. There are so many other ways to “relax” after a rough day.
different strokes for different folks, but i agree 100% with you. if something were to go wrong or to happen, and i’d been drinking a glass of wine every now and again, i’d always wonder if that was the reason why. not worth it to me, but i do miss it
Kind of late to the party, but I’m totally for the nursing cover- in a subdued pattern. I didn’t nurse in public, but I kept it on me in case I needed to nurse in the car (many times this happened), in front of not so close family, or just in case. At first, nursing could take as long as 30-45 min. That’s a long time to be in a public bathroom or away from friends/family.
Actually the top item, the hooter hider is super useful! An item I didn’t know I would love was a sound machine. And when we travel it’s soooo awesome! It plays music, white noise, etc…it also has a little wall video thing that displays fish and animals to go along with the music. We got it off amazon
I nursed all three of my girls for a year each. I didn’t own a cover, but I also fed them wherever we were. I would cover myself, but I never left the table/room. Nursing a baby in the bathroom is not fun and I realized it was silly for me to do that. I wouldn’t eat in a public restroom, why would I want my baby to?
I also enjoyed an occasional drink (or two) and I think the strips are a great idea! Though, I didn’t use them,
Another fan of hooded towels here. Soooooo cute!
i laughed out loud when i read this–some of the baby items are soooo silly! the pee pee teepee is the funniest one for me. it takes more time to put it on than to change a diaper, and to tell you the truth, I thought it was hysterical when my baby peed on me (which maybe happened twice). i guess that makes me a little gross!
the nursing cover is awesome though. it gets HOT covering the baby with a blanket, and that opening lets the air in. i didn’t mind breastfeeding in public and thought i would do it and not care who was uncomfortable, but when i realized that some of my poor friends’ husbands were REALLY uncomfortable, I sympathized with them and used the cover up. it is nice because you can still sit at the dinner table and have a great time.
two items that were my ultimate favorite for peace of mind: a video monitor and an angel care monitor. i slept well knowing that if the baby stopped breathing, the angel care monitor would go off, and the video monitor was AWESOME because it savedme from going into his room and inadvertently waking him up just because i heard some weird noise. as much as you “know” your baby’s sounds after a while, you still check on them more than you have to. with the video monitor we rarely woke him up checking on him because we could see he was just fidgeting in bed. we also knew when he was standing up and crying and we had to get him (because if he stood he never went back to sleep on his own). the ONE TIME i did not turn it on, he was crying for some reason and we decided to let him cry it out. something in me told me something was wrong and i walked in to find that he was standing in bed and his little leg was stuck in the crib slats. i felt so sick about it because he was so scared–had i had the video on, i would have gotten him right away!!
nursing covers are a must in my opinion. I fed my little guy in the middle of crowded restaurants all the time because I had this. Trust me, you don’t want to feed in a restroom. 1) there is no where to sit 99% of the time unless it’s a toilet 2)so dirty! Lots of women I know made their own in not so flashy fabric.
pee pee teepees don’t work. (yes I tried them) they just launched right off.
milk test strips – those were taken off the market a few months ago, guess they are back now? They’re not very accurate just so you know. The safest time to have a drink is actually while you’re nursing because the alcohol hasn’t had time to circulate into your blood yet. (my lactation consultant told me that). Makes sense. Beer is actually good for increasing milk production!
I look at some of these things and wonder how my kids….or me…..survived without them. LOL 😉 To me, that tent jobbie is so gimicky. What happened to a cute little blanket over baby and (part) of Mom? But hooded towels are the BEST….I used them lots when my kidlets were babes. Probably still would if they let me. HAHA!
I definitely think the belly cradle will come in handy for you. I had a wide elastic belt thing to hold my tummy in place while exercising, & I couldn’t have lived without it.
I realize you have gotten a lot of comments about the hooter hiders already but my older sisters best friend just had a baby and the one thing she requested was a hooter hider. My mum made her one and not five minutes after arriving to her house she used it. She was having guests over and she didn’t want to make other people uncomfortable. It was also a HOT day and she was glad to have a light cotton cover rather than a blanket. It was also made with Peter Rabbit print so it was really cute rather than flashy, and she could look down at her adorable baby to make sure everything was ok 🙂
Have you seen the Snot Sucker?! Totally gross, but apparently lots of people swear by it. *shudder*
yes. i threw up in my mouth a little