Baby Products that Will Make Your Life Easier - Part 3

Some of the things that I never thought about adding to the baby shower list were bath items. I was lucky that I got a few items as gifts and that a friend with 2 babies edited my registry. You will use these EVERY DAY. These are some of my favorite bath time baby items:

Soft Shampoo Rinser

This soft cup is great because babies always move so much. Emma now thinks it's a toy and she loves to play with it. Another munchkin product that I love.

Newborn Tub

This is a useful tub for the first 6 months. After that it feels too small and they like to move a little more to reach for toys. Babies hate baths the 1st month and then it's their favorite time of the day. The mesh helps when the baby is too small to keep the head up.

Inflatable Duck Tub (or whatever the official name is)

When babies can can sit, they can play more. This tub is perfect to put inside the grown ups tub. Between 6 months and 12 months she used it for her baths. We took it outside when it was warm too. We really enjoyed this tub from Munchkin.

Water Thermometer

Until you learn how hot/cold the water needs to be, this water thermometer is very useful. I used it every day. It beeps when the water is too cold or too hot.

Kneeler

This is great to protect your knees while giving the baby a bath in the big tub.

Bath Spout Cover

Safety. Safety. Safety. And cute!

I have a few rubber toys and I've thrown away a lot of them. The water stays inside and I'm afraid that mold is going to grow. Also, I tried different shampoos and we liked Aveeno's products best. There are many options available and it is confusing. I used all the ones that other moms gave me and liked Aveeno more than Babyganics or California Baby. 

*All pictures used are from target.com or babiesrus.com

Weekend in Orlando

A couple of weeks ago, we decide to spend the weekend I'm Orlando. I had to use my hotels.com account and Orlando is just a short drive away. We decided to stay in the Downtown Disney area since we didn't have plans to visit the theme parks. Emma is obsessed with Mickey and Minnie Mouse so I wanted to give her a "Disney experience" without the long lines or the summer heat. I decided that the best was to find a character dining restaurant. At the same time, it was Andre's birthday and it was. A good excuse to over pay for a breakfast. 

I tried to get reservations with Chef Mickey, the restaurant where Mickey Mouse is. Apparently there is only one Mickey and you need to book several months in advance. We found a reservation at the Cape May Cafe located in one of Disney's hotels. The characters at the Cape May Cafe were Minnie Mouse, Donald and Goofy. I have to say that the food was really good! I wasn't expecting good food with this experience and I was surprised. I can easily say that it is probably the best breakfast buffet that I've ever been to. 

Emma was a little scared at first. I really thought that she would run towards Minnie instead if hiding from her. She did give kisses to all of the characters and we took their pictures several times. It was hard to get a good one. We had to seat in a room with poor lighting. I told the host that it was Andre's birthday. We sang happy birthday and he got a cupcake with a candle and a card signed by Minnie, Goofy and Donald. It was really nice. 

The rest of the weekend we spent it at our hotel pool, taking naps with Emma, and walking around Downtown Disney. There are many things to see and do there. My favorite is just to walk around, eat something, have a Ghiradelli ice cream for dessert and shop at the biggest Disney store (The world of Disney). I used to go to Bongos, Gloria Estefan's restaurant, a long time ago. They have a live band and the food is good. I haven't been since 2010 so I hope that it is still as good as I remember. There is also a permanent Cirque du Soleil show, "La Nouba", that is worth watching if you are ever in Orlando. I have seen other Cirque du Soleil shows and  La Nouba is still my favorite. 

We had a great time in Orlando. It felt like a nice vacation. Next time, I want to stay at a Disney hotel. We loved the Beach Club Resort. This hotel has a beautiful pool, a beach, movies outside, bike rentals, restaurants with characters, transportation to the theme parks and everything was just picture perfect. I will keep an eye for Florida resident specials during low season. I'm sure that we will be back many weekends to Orlando. It never gets old. 

Baby Products that Will Make Your Life Easier - Part 2

I started this list to help my pregnant friends decide what to get for their babies. I know it is overwhelming since there are too many products available. As a first time mom, I needed one of my best friends to create Emma's baby shower registry. If you missed part one, here is the link. This part 2 is about toys and activities to keep your little one interested. I didn't buy many things since I was lucky that a friend had 2 kids who were toddlers and Emma inherited their stuff. I also had a 3 year old neighbor who gave Emma some of her toys and my 2 nephews who were old enough to let go of their baby toys. She is definitely a lucky girl.

Play Mat

I used this since she was about a month old until she was about 6 months. It's easy to wash and you can change the toys. We called it the gym because is where she got her "tummy time", learned to hold her head and started to roll. We switched the toys to keep her motivated but she was the happiest with the mirror. 

Bouncer

This is what I always get my pregnant friends. This chair a lifesaver. I was a babysitter when I was 18 and this chair was very calming. You can take a shower, cook, clean the bottles and keep the baby next to you. They love it and since it's on the floor, it is safe. I never shower with the curtain closed or let her out of my sight to be safe. We used it until she was getting to big to fit in it. 

Swing

The swing is nice and some kids love it. I think that it takes too much room and the seat is small so by the time your baby is 3 months old, they cant fit in it. I would only get the bouncer if I had to buy them. Emma was lucky because a frriend of mine gave us everything that her kids used. I kept the bouncer at my parents' house and the swing at our house. 

Jumper

My life really got easier when I started to use this jumper. Emma loved it!! The music and the toys kept her busy. I was happy because I could do other things while she played. She would play on it for at least one hour without getting bored. She stopped liking it when she started to crawl. I guess that she just wanted to be free. 

Walker

After the jumper, the walker is the baby's favorite. She would run around the house looking for books or toys that she could reach. We loved watching her move and run around on this. 

Floor Mat

These mats are the beast when they are learning to crawl. It makes the floor nice and not so cold. It is a nice/safe place for all the head bumps.

Teething toys:

The best is Sophie the Giraffe. They also love the ones that you can keep cold. Emma loved the ones that made noise, had rattles or mirrors like this one. 

Other toys:

Emma loves music and one of her favorite toys is a piano. I got her an activity table for Christmas and she likes it a lot. It was nice to help her stand up when she was learning how to walk.  When she got a big older she started to enjoy all cause and effect toy like the cubes with different shapes or games with balls that come in and out from different places. Sometimes babies don't even need toys, simple things like plastic containers and lids will keep them busy. My dad started to sing to her since she was 4 months old. He used his ipad to sing along. She soon discovered that the music from the ipad came with videos. We try to limit the amount of videos that she watches. However, I have to confess that dinner time is easier thanks to Baby Einstein. When she is cranky and doesn't want to eat or let us eat, we play a video and she would just dance and eat.