Show Us Your Life- Baby Gear **UPDATED FOR MY MOM**

I've decided to participate in this week's Show Us Your Life from Kelly's Korner Blog. When I was pregnant, one of my favorite things to do (and often times an obsession) was to read other soon-to-be mothers or young mom's blogs. I found so much useful and interesting information! It really was a great help to me in making decisions regarding what I needed for Lyla's arrival. Anywho, so here are lists of the baby gear that I found to be incredible useful and the baby gear that I could have lived without!

BABY STUFF I LOVE AND RECOMMEND:
*BUMBO- I love the Bumbo!!! Lyla sits in it all the time! When I'm busy, like fixing my hair, using the bathroom, doing dishes, etc... I'll sit her in the Bumbo right next to me and she's as happy as a clam! I think she loves feeling like a big girl! I even kind of use it as her high chair. She has a high chair, but we never feed her in it. I always feed her baby food in the Bumbo.
*BOUNCER- Oh goodness! I don't know what I would have done without this! Lyla took many a nap in it when she was younger. She stopped using it when she was like 3 months, but man, did it help me out in the earlier days!
*BOPPY- Another item I could not have made it without! When I breastfed, it was of course a huge help and comfort. Now that I don't breastfeed anymore, we still use it to put her to bed. Rhett uses it as well. It's just so comfy for our little Lyla. I don't know if she'll ever get to big for it. Ha...oh yes, one sad day she will!
*EXCERSAUCER- Love it! Lyla loves it! She loves playing with everything, especially if we're right there to watch her. The only thing is, she gets tired of it within 20-30 mins. It's a good distraction for a little while and she's getting to where she plays in it for longer periods of times.
*WALKER- Lyla's grandparents actually have this, because they have tile throughout the house and we do not. She loves it! She follows them around the house it and goes 90 to nothing like that! I love to watch her in it!
*JOHNNY JUMP UP- This is the thing that hangs on a doorway and allows the baby to swing and bounce around. Lyla giggles a lot while in it and loves it when we swing her in it.
*BATH SEAT- I don't know the baby seat's brand name, but Lyla sits up in it when we're giving her a bath. It's safe and Lyla loves it because she can play with her toys while I bathe her. You can't really use it before I'd say 5 months (before they can sit up), but when they are able to sit up it's awesome!
*VICKS VAPOR HUMIDIFIER- Lyla had her first cold recently and her little nose was stopped up. We got a humidifier and used it in her room for like 3 nights in a row and BAM! Her cold was gone! I could tell a difference in her cold after the first night.
*BABY CARRIER- I love our little baby carrier. Now, we don't use it all that often, but when we do we love it and it's a huge help. We've used it at festivals, outings, and things of that nature.
*DIAPER CHAMP- Another item I really love and have gotten good use out of. You can fill that thing to the brim and it still smells good in Lyla's room. I remember one time I had just changed Lyla's nasty, dirty, stinky diaper and thrown it away in the Diaper Champ. My friend Melissa came over a few minutes later and came in Lyla room and commented on how good it smelled in there. I said, "That's crazy cause I just changed a dirty diaper". Not to mention, the Diaper Champ holds a lot and you don't have to buy special bags to replace the one that's in there. You just replace it with regular, old garbage bags.
*GLIDER/LAZY BOY- When Lyla is really upset or we're trying to get her to sleep. The sure fire way to calm her down or get her to sleep is by rocking her. I don't know what we would do without something that rocks.
*BASSINET/PACK-N-PLAY- We borrowed a Bassinet from one of our friends for the first couple months of Lyla's life and we loved it! She was right there beside our bed and easily accessible. Then we invested in a Pack-N-Play when she was a little older and it worked great. Good for trips, that's for sure.

BABY STUFF I COULD HAVE/DID LIVE(D) WITHOUT:
*SWING- Lyla just never really liked the swing. I don't know why. She kind of liked it more when she was around 2-3 months, but even then she wasn't the biggest fan. All babies are different of course so yours may love it!
*SWADDLE BLANKETS- Never worked for us! Ha! She would just wiggle and squirm out of it. She never really liked to be confined.
*BOTTLE WARMER- I guess it was okay when she use to drink small amounts (5 ozs. or less), but even then we didn't use it alot. But now that she's drinking 10 oz. bottles, they don't fit in the bottle warmer sooooo....that's out!
*WIPES WARMER- Lyla doesn't mind cold wipes on her butt. So, we never even got one. Maybe they work good, who knows.
*INFANT/NEWBORN SHOES- Oh man, what a waste! I am so sad about all of Lyla's Newborn shoes that she never even wore! Now, granted she was little during the summer months so I know that young babies during the winter are going to need shoes.

Well, that's pretty much all I can think of right at this moment. If I think of any more I will add to the lists. HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

BTW. Sorry about the quality of photos. They are from my phone.

***MOM! Here are pics from my Facebook Album!***

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2070960&id=50101047&l=30dd35f2b5