Thursday, July 29, 2010

Inundated

As we all know, I am a first time mom.  I am learning new things everyday.  Sometimes I am quick on the uptake, sometimes slow. 

Example of quick on the uptake:  Toph cries incessantly while being dried off.  Mom looks up, sees fan on.  Turns fan off.  Toph now his happy self.  Toph was cold, thus the crying.  Lesson learned.

Example of slow on the uptake:  Toph nursing weird, keeps pulling his head back and screaming.  I am convinced that the bottle is making him hate nursing.  Cry to husband.  A few hours later, look at Toph's gums.  Oh, a nice little bump there.  Little bump makes it painful to nurse.  Poor guy.

So yeah, I learn every day.  And, I can't escape Target these days without wandering through the baby section.  The sad thing is, I have those aisles memorized and yet still can't escape without buying something from there.  Most of the time it's breastmilk storage bags:

Lansinoh 20435 Breastmilk Storage Bags, 25-Count Boxes (Pack of 3)

or sometimes it's diapers.

Pampers Swaddlers Dry Max Diapers, Economy Plus, Size 2-3 (14-22 Lbs), 152 Diapers

Even though, we don't have to buy the above diapers too often, in fact, Toph has been in size two since two and a half months and we're on our second box of 132. That's thanks to these:

FuzziBunz One Size Cloth Diaper, Baby Blue

Anyway,I don't leave Target without something from that section. One place I have not ventured is the toy section. I am trying to figure out just what toys my baby will get good use out of. He already has a variety of rattles, plus a jumperoo, plus my new favorite, the Graco Jump 'n' Jive:

Graco Jump N Jive Doorway Jumper with Interactive Musical Mat

I am reluctant to go and buy many more toys for him because, well, he's a baby. He's just as interested in my water bottle as he is his rattle. He also loves to grab random parts of my face and has fun doing it. Once, when we were in Babies 'r' Us, I did venture to the toy department and found myself wandering around, in awe of all the things I was depriving my child of. Should I buy him this? What if he is waaay behind his peers because I didn't get him this?

Hubs and I made a pact that we would focus on what is in our son's heart rather than what is in his hands as he grows up. We will by no means deprive him, but he can't possibly need millions of toys for each stage of his life. What he will need is love and guidance from us, something that no toy, no matter how cool, can provide.

So, my question is, with your babies, is/was there one thing that your child really benefited from? Like, one thing that made you say to your spouse, "Man, I'm so glad we got him/her that!"

Just curious; as we all know, I can slow on the uptake and could use the advice (so could my wallet).

3 comments:

Tara said...

The best thing to do is link up with another couple that has kids around the same age (a little ahead is best) and buy different things so you can trade out. The exersaucer was good because we could take Kammy out on the back porch for dinner or to any room we wanted. She loved her walker when she got a little older (10-12mos). She would literally race through the house (both of those we borrowed from friends). The thing we got her for her birthday last year that she still loves is this little jungle play center that you drop the balls down the slide. She played with it a lot when she was learning to stand up & she still plays with it from time to time. Oh and there is a teether that vibrates. Hers was a strawberry & she really went to town on that thing for a while....to the point it stopped vibrating I think :) I wouldn't buy much. They're naturally curious and she plays the most with things like our coasters :)We gave her 1 cabinet in the kitchen that is just hers and we keep some tupperware and funnels etc in there. With each passing holiday you will be inundated with toys and begin to wonder what to do with them all :)

Tara said...

PS - did I ever tell you about freezer bags for breast milk? They're way cheaper and I would just lay them in the shape of the smaller one and freeze them flat to save space. You can buy jumbo packs of them at Sams.

gin said...

Thanks T! I love the cabinet idea; this will help me in the evenings when I am trying to get dinner made. And I figure during the holidays we will be flooded with new toys for him, so really, he'll get all the toys he could want. I've also looked on Craigslist for used toys, that's how I got the jumperoo. They wanted almost $130 for it new and I was like, ummmm, let's see, he'll play in it until about 7 months and then it's history, so I think I'll spend that money somewhere else.

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