Spectacular Saturday: What I wish I'd known before buying all the baby stuff

I'm usually in a funk on Saturdays. Weird right? I mean it's the weekend so I should be ecstatic. Thing is when you have a kid, there is no weekend for you. And Chris is home so for some reason that sends the message to my brain that I don't have to be productive doing anything and I spend the better part of the day in pajamas. Which is literally the worst feeling. I hate not being productive.

But this morning, Chris had to go into work for a little bit so I'm going to start the day off right. I already made the bed (score!) and now it's time for a blog post.

Since having Evelyn and needing to use all the baby stuff I purchased before she was born, I wish that there was some way you could borrow a baby and do a trial with all the crap you have to have. It would most definitely save money and heartache.

So for all you soon to be mothers out there, take note.

1. Carseat- Britax B-Safe
I hate Evelyn's carseat with a fiery passion of hell. I chose it because it had all these amaze-balls safety features. But it is SO HEAVY. I bought the thing so that when she was a newborn, or heck even now, I could carry her in it from point A to point B. That is nearly impossible. Her weight plus the carseat's weight is just too much. Looking back I realize that all carseats have to pass the same safety tests and a lighter (probably cheaper) carseat would be way better.

Also the sunshade is stationary. So if the sun is directly in her face I can't pull the shade down to block it. I have to use a blanket of some sort while I'm contortioning my arm into the backseat and driving at the same time. And then she inevitably tears it down cause she's a baby and that's what they do.

And it's black. So it's way hot in the summer.

2. Stroller- Britax B Agile
I actually really love Evelyn's stroller...for the most part. It maneuvers easily with one hand and has three wheels. But it turns out I'd really love for it to have bigger wheels because where we live, the sidewalks are terrible and it's hard to push over any of them.

Also the basket underneath is nonexistent. I didn't think this would be a big deal but IT IS, it really is. Lastly, it doesn't have a cup holder on the top for me or a tray for her. All features that would really come in handy.

I did end up buying a cup holder that you can attach which works pretty well but it's just not the same.

3. Highchair- Ikea Antilop
I really can't complain too much about this one. It was only $20. But I'll tell you what I wish it had so that when you're buying a high chair you don't make the same mistake. We didn't really have any money but needed a high chair so this fit the bill at the time. But it doesn't get any smaller (fold up or anything), the legs kind of stick out at an angle so I trip over them all the time and the tray (sold separately) is really hard to get off so cleaning it sucks.

I've seen high chairs that can vary in height depending on the table you're at and have a tray insert so you only have to pop that out to clean it. That would be nice. But again, for $20 I can't complain...too much.

4. Carrier
I went through so many carriers before I found the one I love and by that time Evelyn was kind of too old to want to use it. My favorite by far is the moby wrap because it's so versatile. I made my own which was a fraction of the cost of buying a new one. I went through a mai tai and a sling type thing. They both were kind of okay for a very short time but if I had just got the moby wrap to begin with I would have gotten so much more use out of it and saved some money too.


5. Diaper Bag
I have two diaper bags that I like but neither are wonderful. I'm starting to wonder if there is a perfect diaper bag. I use both for different things, one is a Kate Spade duffle type bag that I'm constantly digging through to find what I'm looking for. The other is a Timi and Leslie bag that looks like a purse. It's adorable but also huge and I'm always digging through it. I guess the answer would be to get a bag that just has a lot of pockets inside.


There's other stuff we have that Evelyn never really liked and that just sucks. And there's no way to know until you buy the stuff and she doesn't like it. So mind reading would be good for that. If anyone's figured out that one let me know. My only other guess is maybe trying out someone else's before buying your own. In our case it was the bumbo, several sippy cups, a sit-up swing, and some dumb toys that she tossed aside to play with the box they came in. (Isn't that how it always is?)

For all you seasoned moms out there, is there anything you'd add to the list? Share your wisdom in the comments below.