New baby gear: a giant ripoff?

If I have another baby, I won't do it without the Miracle Blanket. Swaddling was amazing for calming my daughter and helping her sleep. It also helped when she got over-hungry and started flailing about and then couldn't nurse. Wrap her up in a Miracle Blanket and the problem was solved. http://hollytriedit.blogspot.com/2008/01/miracle-blanket-helped-me-sleep.html

I also definitely need a very light-weight stroller. I used the Graco Mosaic and really liked it. It only weighed 12 lbs with the baby carseat.

And a good electric breast-pump. I started pumping at 2 weeks and my husband took over an evening feeding. That way, I got to sleep for 4 hours straight! That was a beautiful thing. I used the Ameda Pump-In-Style because there was no way the milk could get into the tubing or the engine. It was the most sanitary available and lightweight.

Holly@http://hollytriedit.blogspot.com

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1. wrap carrier
2. can't remember the name of it, it's a little bed you can use for newborns when co-sleeping that goes right in between mom and dad so there is no rolling over onto baby fear
3. medela pump in style
4. diaper champ; we bought a used one and it worked very well with no odor until baby was about 18 months, which was pretty well worth it for the $10 i paid for it
5. boppy. For the next baby i'm going to buy extras- one to keep in the car, one for the bedroom, one for the livingroom, one for baby's room, so i don't have to carry them around. great for nursing and sitting up wobbly babies, as well as tummy time.

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I take offense when people knock the expensive strollers. I suppose it depends on what your needs are. I'm American and if I still lived in Iowa and drove a car, I'd get a cheapo for my mall runs, short walks outside, etc... now I'm in The Netherlands and with my son I tried to go the cheap American route and we totalled 2 strollers in a little over a year.

You just cannot have a cheap stroller here and not pay for it in other ways. We have lots of different terrains like cobblestone streets!!! I don't drive here so I walk, bike, or bus where I need to go.

This time around we went to the store and came home with the Stokke Xplory which is over $1000. It came with a bassinet and a seat which you can use when they are older. The bassinet is for up to 6 mos. It came with rain cover, shopping bag, and more. The rain cover zips right onto the hood and covers the baby instantly. The shopping bag can be removed from th e stroller to be carried in stores or up our 4 flights of stairs to the apartment. It expands in size or can be folded to be compact.

We also got the foot muff for the winter and the diaper bag. With my 5 yr old I have to be in and out of the home up to 5 times per day (kids here come home for lunch and go back to school) and I need something comfortable for the baby, safe, and sturdy for the streets. I have no doubts that we'll ever have to buy another because this one breaks.. if it breaks, Stokke has extremely awesome customer service and within 48 hours they promise any broken part is replaced. Our baby isn't even here yet but I saw the front wheels were recalled on ours. So we called and within 2 days a rep arrived at our home and PERSONALLY replaced them on the spot free of charge.

You get what you pay for... and I don't like the blanket statement that all expensive 'luxury' strollers are pointless. It depends on your life style and where you live. Yes I would say that if we were still in Iowa walking the mall that a $1000 stroller is ridiculous and I'd feel guilty owning one. I have no regrets at all for having it here.

I did feel guilty at the time when my husband said we should get this model... that it was such a huge sum of money.. let's look around the store and see what else meets our needs... well every decent stroller here is 500 euro or more (1 euro= $1.57). Europeans just know what they need. Way in the back of the showroom they had the $100 gracos.. and I laughed pitying the poor souls who buy them and ruin them within days on our streets (been there done that!!!!).

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Please! Look at this parenting blog! Too much.

http://bestparentever.com

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