You may be surprised to learn that despite how much I enjoy shopping, my goal when it comes to this baby are to get as many transitional baby items as possible. Babies go through a lot of gear, and some of it is unavoidable. For instance, babies grow like weeds so of course they’ll need new clothing in larger sizes. However, whenever possible, I plan on purchasing one item that can grow with the baby over the years.
I just read a great post on Hint Mama about 3 New Baby Gear Trends, which includes details about how the baby industry is creating more transitional items that grow with babies. The article shares some of the newest products on the market (or that will soon be on the market), and is worth a peek if you want to know what to expect in the baby market over the coming year.
An increase in items that grow and change as babies grow leads me to believe that I’m not alone in wishing for items such as these, so I thought I’d share a few of the transitional baby items I put on my own registry.
Graco 4Ever All-in-1 Car Seat
According to Hint Mama, the Graco 4Ever All-in-1 Car Seat ($299.99 at Babies R Us) is one of the newest on the market and it works until most kids reach the age of 10 (or 120 pounds). It starts as a rear-facing infant car seat that works for babies as small as 4 pounds. As the baby grows, it easily becomes a forward-facing car seat, then morphs into two types of booster seats.
Many people get infant car seats these days and then upgrade to a convertible car seat later, but my husband and I quickly decided we didn’t want to go that route. One of the nice things about having a baby in February is that we’re probably not going to be going out and about too much those first few months and having something to transport a newborn in won’t be necessary. We live in a bit city, so once the weather warms up we should be able to put the baby in a stroller to go out to eat and whatnot (and before then we – thankfully – have plenty of delivery options). A convertible car seat may not be the best option for everyone from day 1, but we are pretty certain it will work for our lifestyle.
Baby Jogger 2014 Limited Edition City Select
On the off chance that my husband and I have more than one kid (and that’s the plan), we’d like to invest in a stroller that transition from carrying one baby to two. There’s no denying that I balk at the price of the Baby Jogger 2014 Limited Edition City Select ($499.99 at Amazon), but this stroller receives great reviews, has tons of what appear to be great features, and can easily upgrade to a dual baby stroller (which is an additional cost but doesn’t involve purchasing a new stroller down the road).
While I love the capabilities of this stroller, strollers are something I continue to research because I want to be 100% sure I’m making the right choice so I don’t have to buy something else later.
Fisher Price Infant-to-Toddler Rocker
At first I was adamant that I didn’t want a rocker because I want the MamaRoo and, really, how much gear can one baby need? But then I was reading that a rocker can be a great item to have when parents are alone and need to take a quick shower or make dinner because of how portable they are. The MamaRoo looks like an awesome machine, but it’s fairly bulky and needs to be plugged in, so it’s probably not very transportable.
I’ll be a work from home mom, so having items that allow me to set the baby down will be necessary. The reason I was drawn to this Fisher Price Infant-to-Toddler Rocker ($41.20 at Amazon) is probably pretty obvious. Once the baby outgrows the traditional baby rocker, this piece can easily transform into a toddler’s rocking chair. Granted, I don’t know that I would have purchased a little toddler rocking chair, but I do like that this capability extends the life of the product and makes it something that can be used for longer than a few months.
Do Tell: Are there any other transitional baby items that you’ve found useful and/or unnecessary?
The post Lisa’s Registry: Transitional Baby Items appeared first on Shop Mama Daily.