Who knew jumping was so much fun?

I arrived at the daycare one day to find my son having more fun than I had ever imagined him having. The reason? They had him in one of these jumpers. It has a big, claw-like spring on the top so it attaches to your door frames. Simply clamp it on and away they go! My baby was enjoying this jumper so much, I couldn't get him to stop so that I could take him out. I actually had to wait until he wore himself out before I could finally extract him.

Needless to say, I went out the next day and bought him one for home too. Mine happens to be the Jumpster Doorway Jumper - Jungle Jubilation from Graco, but there are many varieties out there. Be careful though, the top clamps only spread so far so you'll want to read the specs carefully before you buy. I have an older home with thick wood moldings around the doors. The jumper wouldn't fit! How awful! We ended up cutting two pieces of wood to put on either side of a trim-less archway. This gave the clamp something to hold on to. The fun he has in this thing is worth the not-so-glamorous look these boards now make in the living room and dining room.

Not only is this jumper fun for baby, but it may free up a few minutes for yourself to pay the bills, make a phone call, start dinner, whatever. Always keep baby in sight, of course. You can use this jumper until baby is 25 lbs. and the straps are adjustable so you can shorten them as baby gets taller. It's great exercise for their little legs and an overall great buy at about $35.

Rub-a-dub-dub, I sure love this tub!

Bath time is my favorite time of day. I love the nightly routine of putting my baby in his bath (which he LOVES) and washing the little dusting of hair on his perfectly round, pumpkin head. I attribute a large part of our bath time enjoyment to his Primo Euro Bath. This is the BEST baby bath tub you can buy! It's also the largest baby tub you can buy which may be a turn-off to some folks, but just think how long your baby will use it and how much more comfortable he will be. This tub is perfectly molded to cradle babies in a comfortable, reclined position until they're old enough to sit on their own. This molding keeps baby in place leaving both your hands free to bathe him or play pat-a-cake! (Of course, when I say "hands free" that doesn't mean you can just walk away. Never leave the baby alone in the bath tub.) Once baby can sit up on his own, you simply move him to the other side which, again, is molded to help keep him in place. There are little trays for holding soap and shampoo bottles and a drain plug at the bottom. Also, this tub is seamless so cleaning it is a breeze. I think my baby loves his bath tub almost as much as I do.

Sittin' Pretty

My baby loves his Bumbo Seat, but he didn't always. Supposedly, you can plop baby into this smartly engineered seat as soon as he or she develops head control. But, at only 7 or 8 weeks, I thought my little one was still a little small for that! I tried it out at 4 months. He would sit in it for about 30 seconds and then look at me as if to say, "Get me out of this thing!" And extreme fussing would ensue. So, I tried it again at 5 months. This time he would last about 5 minutes before begging to be freed. Finally, at 6 months he started to realize the benefits in sitting up. It was so much easier to watch the cat prancing around, or grab her tail. It was fun to play with toys from this new, upright position. Now that he's 7 1/2 months, he'll sit in his Bumbo for a good 30 minutes at a time. This is an incredible boost to us when we're scurrying around in the mornings, trying to get out the door. We put the Bumbo on the kitchen floor, put the baby in the Bumbo, give him some toys and we're able to pack lunches, diaper bags and briefcases all while chatting to baby who happily plays and "talks" back from his Bumbo. We also have the play tray which seems to really help baby keep his toys in front of him. The Bumbo seat is a definite winner!

Hush Little Baby

One of the first skills a new parent must master is the art of swaddling. After all that time spent in the cramped, warm space of mommy's tummy, babies tend to like being wrapped up like little burritos. While I still say receiving blankets are a must-have, when it comes to swaddling, they usually prove fairly worthless. It's difficult to get it just right and baby usually wiggles out of it within minutes. Plus, baby often outgrows them very quickly.

A simple solution, and one that REALLY WORKS, is The Miracle Blanket. This little wonder is easy to use and keeps baby wrapped up just the way he or she likes it. My cousin bought me The Miracle Blanket as a shower gift and even though my baby was never a good sleeper, he did seem happier when we wrapped him up good in this little lifesaver. Unfortunately, his reflux meant that The Miracle Blanket was often in the pile of dirty laundry so we still had many nights where we had to attempt swaddling with a traditional receiving blanket.

While out one day I found another swaddling blanket that I decided to try. The Swaddle Me Adjustable Infant Wrap proved to be a pretty good buy as well. This one features Velcro tabs that keep it securely closed, and it was easier to wrap baby up in than The Miracle Blanket. However, I do think my baby had an easier time of wiggling his arms out of the Swaddle Me than The Miracle Blanket. But the other nice thing about the Swaddle Me Adjustable Infant Wrap is that there is also a Velcro tab running across baby's abdomen giving you access to his lower half for diaper changes without completely unwrapping him. The important thing is keeping baby snug, warm and happy and I think both of these products make excellent choices.

The Perfect Time to be a Parent

If you're a parent of young children, especially a baby, you're probably aware of how good we've got it. And if you're not, then keep checking this blog for examples as proof. We are parenting in an age when manufacturers are really showing an interest in making new products for babies and their parents. We've got access to so much stuff our parents and our grandparents never had - things that make life with baby easier. Things that our elders say aren't necessary. We know they're not necessary. We know we can succeed as parents without most of the stuff we buy, but why not? If it makes things easier... why not use it? The whole point of this blog is give a little shout out to those handy little products that make us as parents say, "Boy, I'm sure glad I have that."

So for my first product shout out, I figured I'd focus on the baby product that I've used more than any other. I don't think a day has gone by since my son was born over 7 months ago that we haven't use our Avent Express Steam Sterilizer. This thing is wonderful! Plop your bottles and nipples into this handy little thing, add 7 ounces of water and stick it in the microwave for 4 minutes and what you get back is the peace of mind that those bottles are truly clean. I soak mine in soapy water first too, but it's still much more efficient than running the dishwasher. You can also toss in your Avent breast pump parts, and I toss pacifiers in too. My husband and I love this product and would recommend it to anyone using Avent bottles.