Advertised as a product for helping baby wean off the swaddle, it's probably worth the price just for the entertainment value. It's basically a suit made of fleece + a down comforter and is designed to keep baby warm (no blankies in the crib!) while muffling the startle reflex somewhat. I like that his hands are free and he can still get them to his face--this will be even better when he can replace the paci himself--and that the neck scoops down so there's no risk of it covering his face. I can't claim with 100% certainty that it is indeed magic, but I'll say this: a) the kid sleeps pretty well, both at night and for naps, and b) I've tried to put him down without it--usually as a result of him having fallen asleep without being suited up--and he wakes himself up in minutes flailing like he's trying to bring an aircraft in for a crib landing.
Buy the 2-pack so you always have a clean one. Trust.
Also, put it in the dryer inside-out or it will never dry.
Now that he's in the crib full time, the video monitor is a must. This is the one we registered for (people also like the Summer Infant one), so I thought I'd do a little review.
Pros:
- seems to have the highest picture quality, especially with the night vision (the better to see his scary baby demon eyes)
- good range and beeps when out of range so you are aware you're not getting transmission
- you can pan/tilt the camera ("child unit") with buttons on the monitor ("parent unit"). Useful if your child is a migratory sleeper, like mine
- microphone option...like a one-way walkie-talkie?...lets you talk to baby from the parent unit. So I can reassure him that I'm on my way or whatever.
- sensitive audio (but adjustable, in case you only want to hear the loudest cries and not every rustle & fart). Audio monitor is on even when video screen is off, and you can also see the audio with the colored lights across the top
Cons:
- Not cheap, but none of them really is
- I think the battery life is actually pretty reasonable (I keep it plugged in at night and probably use the video pretty heavily, which I'm sure is a battery drain), but my primary complaint is that the battery life icon is not super reliable. It will stay on 4 bars for a while, but then seems to go from 3 to red to dead really quickly.
- Related: in an ideal world, I'd have a second charging cord for the parent unit so I have one upstairs and one down.
One caveat...this is actually our second one. The monitor unit on the first one went out within a few months. I think this might have been because I kept it in the same room as the camera before I was really using it--this one makes like that "hot mic" noise if I move them too close together. But I can't be sure. Anyway, Motorola customer service was not helpful, but Amazon was. They sent me a return label for the defective one and will issue a refund when it's received (I'm actually toying with the idea of keeping it so that I have a second camera; it can support up to 4 cameras on one monitor). The main problem with this was that I needed one in the interim, so you have to go ahead and buy your replacement while waiting on your refund. Obviously this is standard business practice but worth knowing. I took the one from my parents' house so I wasn't monitor-less. I guess my bottom line is that I can't speak to whether it's a reliability issue with this model, but I would advise purchasing whatever monitor you choose from Amazon in case something similar happens to you. Stores won't take them back and, as I said, Motorola was not helpful.
This was recommended in a Lucie's List email somewhere in the third month, and boy was she right. In Babyland, this is like SO FUN. Little man loves it. Not a ton to wax poetic about here, but I'm glad something re-captured his interest after the regular playmat got a little stale. Basically, he lies on his back and kicks the piano keys. They play the notes, and then a little ditty. The piano is now in kicky position (i.e., perpendicular to the floor) but also flips up to be parallel to the floor so that he can play it that way once he can sit. Also, the toy bar arches over the mat for when he's on his back, but switches easily to a position so that he can look in the mirror for tummy time. I get way better tummy time on this than other ways I've tried (that don't involve me holding him).
Or, as it's known around here, "Light Show." This was also recommended in a Lucie's List email. Fisher-Price makes several, but I ultimately got this one because of the light projection. Totally the right call. It's actually TOO exciting for him to use on the front end of sleep time (although you can turn off the projection and just do sounds/mobile), but I turn on Light Show at wakeup time to ease the transition. Sometimes I can get 20 extra minutes to sleep or get things done while he lies there and talks to it.
I also think we can use it for a while (a quality that is becoming increasingly important as I think about what I've spent on baby gear from Amazon in the last 3 months alone). The sound buttons are designed so that (an older) baby can press them on his own. He's actually hit one in his sleep before and turned on the mobile in the middle of the night, scaring the everliving daylights out of me. It has heartbeat, nature, and music options. Don't worry, helicopter parents, the music is labeled "Bach/Mozart/Beethoven" so you can feel like your little one is getting some culture while he lies there and looks at highly accurate representations of smiling cartoon animals that don't even come close to living near one another (e.g., lion and polar bear). Also, when baby starts pulling to stand in the crib--that is, when s/he can grab the mobile--it can be removed and the light show will project on to the ceiling.
Penguin says: "CRIB BUMPERS! NO!"
Another great feature: it has a remote, so I can turn it on from the doorway to the nursery rather than going in and having him see me. You can see this feature illustrated by the smiling, peaceful mom in the Amazon photos, which is exactly like real life.
is her nursery outer space?
Just one note: It's really easy to attach, but I wanted to mount it on the far side of the crib so that I didn't have to lean around it to get to the baby. This means it's kind of backwards, and Light Show actually projects upside down. Fortunately, he's a baby and I don't think he cares. However, if he thinks all the world's hippopotamuses (hippopotami?) are upside down when he's 3, remind me of this.
Soothies pacifiers
I got this as a shower gift, but just put it on the car seat. It definitely snazzes the ride up a bit, but I think the main thing it has going for it is that you can take it off and wash it.
This one doesn't have anything to do with the 4-month mark--I've had them since the beginning--but I figured they're worth mentioning at some point as they're in heavy rotation.
You can get them on Amazon, or at the store. The store is almost always having some sort of promotion (e.g., buy 3 get 1 free). You'll need a bunch, especially in basic colors for layering. So go wild.
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I think I probably have a few other faves right now, but those are the major ones. If I keep going, I'll never get this posted and then he'll be going to awkward middle school dances and driving.
So finally...
Peanut Butter M&Ms
(that's not a link. If you can't think of where to buy M&Ms, you have other problems)
I can't lose the last 10lbs of baby weight? Weird.
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