Splurge or Save? Baby items, Part 1

Splurge or Save? Baby items, Part 1

(Disclaimer: I am not being compensated by any of the companies whose products are listed in this post. These are my opinions after 1 year of raising P.)

There is so much stuff out there for babies. I remember selecting items for our baby registry and being so overwhelmed. Now that we’re nearing P’s first birthday (SOB!), these are my recommendations of items that you should splurge on. I’ll be posting about items to save on in Part 2.

Splurge!

A good baby carrier. This is my number 1 splurge item. My siblings purchased an Ergo baby carrier with the infant insert and I cannot emphasize how much this item has saved my life. As an infant, P needed to held a lot and this carrier was small enough for her. I’ve used it on the plane or on public transportation when using a stroller would be too unwieldy. P falls asleep in it so on the rare occasion we’re out during her nap time, I just pop her in and viola, she’s asleep.

There’s a lot of quality carriers and styles to choose from like Baby Bjorn, Beco, The Moby Wrap to name just a few. Do your research and choose the one that suits you most.

Sleeping baby = happy mama.

Car seat(s). I wish we had splurged more on this item. We ended up getting the Graco Snugride 23 as her infant carseat, which is a fine and safe carseat but after borrowing the Chicco Keyfit, I really regretted my purchase. The Keyfit has all these extra features that the Snugride did not include (extra padding, straps that adjust easier). I didn’t think I needed all the bells and whistles but we used her infant carseat extensively when she fit into it and in the long run, all the extras would have been worth it.

Thanks Snugride for keeping little P safe. I still wish you were the Keyfit though.

Stroller. I didn’t realize strollers were so expensive until I started doing my research. I registered and was gifted a relatively inexpensive stroller. My mom took one look at said stroller and told me to return it. She was right. The seat was too small and the stroller wasn’t very sturdy. So glad I listened to her. We ended up getting the Uppababy GLuxe. It’s roomy, easy to steer, easy to fold, lightweight, sturdy and it reclines!

After a recent 5K. Don't worry, I didn't run with her in this stroller!

There are many excellent strollers on the market: jogging, all-terrain, double, single, strollers that convert from single to double (I would definitely consider buying one of these if I had to do it all over again). Assess your lifestyle and again, do your research.

These are my top splurge items. My guiding principle is to spend more money on items that you will use more frequently and will thus incur more wear and tear. You initially pay a heftier price but when you calculate how often you use this item, the price per use is actually pretty reasonable.

These are my top splurge items. What are yours?

Everybody's looking for the weekend

I love being a domestic engineer (aka stay at home mom). I love being there for P's every milestone and being responsible for her daily care. However during the week I'm usually homebound. We're a one car family and getting out the door with baby in tow isn't always worth it.

During the weekends though, all 3 of us try to make an effort to be out and doing something instead of just staying in. Because I do that all during the week. Sometimes it's something simple like going out to the park or taking P to our community pool. On special occasions, we go out to eat or go on a local adventure.

At The Millbrae Pancake House, enjoying their Swedish pancakes. P and I highly recommend!

On our recent adventures we're trying to be tourists in our own neighborhood. Here we are hiking on Mt. Davidson, a peak with pretty awesome views of San Francisco. None of us had ever been there, even J, the native San Franciscan!

On the top of Mt. Davidson. You can't see it behind us but there's a huge cross at the top.

Before P, this is how we spent most of our weekends. Out! Having fun! Exploring! After the arrival of P, we'd been spending more and more of our free time at home, especially at the beginning when all she really ever did was sleep, eat and poop. Now she's getting older and more aware, we can share more of our fun loving selves with her. Even though our outings are a lot more tame and closer to home than they used to be, it's so much fun sharing them with her. For me, the weekend outings adds just the right amount of fun to balance our weekday routine.

How do you like to spend your weekends? Do you have any suggestions for us? We're always looking for something new to do. :)