Coolest baby products - Gr8x swaddle wrap

Our son loved to be swaddled... at least he did after we got him that way:-) When we first brought him home from the hospital any large blanket would work but as he got bigger and stronger we needed something better. That blanket arrived on our doorstep thanks to some friends of ours who give the Gr8x Swaddle Wrap to every new parent they know. The gr8x swaddle is light weight, compact and stretchy. The stretchiness of the fabric allowed us to tightly swaddle Jack easily so that he couldn't wiggle loose and wake himself up! I also loved that I could throw this in the diaper bag without it filling the whole thing up and that it was still cool enough for summer use.

This wrap costs about 15$. If you're planning on swaddling I'd recommend getting two so that you can cycle one through the wash and still have one on hand for those babies who must be swaddled to go to sleep like mine:-)

My only slight complaint is that you're not supposed to put the blanket in the dryer and as any parent of a tiny baby knows forgetting to pull it out and let it hang dry is bound to happen. However, despight the warning and several rounds in the dryer the blanket survived just fine and will be one of the first things I pull out if we have another baby.

Coolest baby products - Happy Hangup

One of my favorite baby purchases by far has been the Happy Hangup. It's a baby hammock that gently bounces and swings your baby off to sleep.
You can see my son Jack contentedly sleeping away as any movement on his part causes the spring to bounce softly and sooth him back to dreamland.
You can purchase this from the company in Australia or find it on ebay. I found mine by doing a weekly google search for happy hangup + craigslist. A delightful women from Texas was willing to ship it to me for a total cost of 150$

There were many things that made this a great purchase.

1. I could move the hammock between several hooks that we installed in our home. At night he was beside making nursing really convenient. In the day he could be close by in the living room or my husbands office.
2. It took up much less space then a traditional crib.
3. It will safely hold a baby up to 40 pounds making the hammock useful for a long time.
4. The pillow in the hammock could be installed at an angle for those babies that have reflux.
5. The gentle movement of the bouncing hammock settled our little one and helped his weary parents get a little more sleep.
   
6. With the addition of an adult hammock chair stand (40$ on ebay) his bed became completely portable making overnight trips a breeze. I even took the hammock and stand on day time visits at friends houses so that Jack could take a nap as needed in the bed he was familiar with.
   
7. I liked the colors and style of the bed.

A few things I didn't like...

1. After Jack reached 6 months I had to buy a bigger pillow so that he could stretch out more. The company says that generally babies like to be curled up to sleep but this was not the case with Jack.
   
2. People with back trouble could potentially have difficulty getting their baby in and out of the hammock once they got bigger. I don't know if this would be easier then lifting a baby out of a regular crib or not.

You can learn more about this product at happyhangup.com. (I get no kickback from the company for this positive review). There is also several videos of the happy hangup in action on Youtube.com.

Homemade baby toys - tissue box fun!

I thought of this toy after finding my little one pulling one tissue out of the box after another:-)

Supplies:
Empty tissue box
Sheer fabric or whatever you have on hand
Pinking sheers
Duct tape (for babies that are teething)

Take your leftover sheer fabric and cut it into about 30 tissue sized squares. I used pinking sheers to avoid too much fraying. Cover box with duct tape and stuff with sheer squares. At first I put the tissues in the box without altering it in any way. However after Jack slobbered and chewed his way through a couple boxes I decided to cover one with duct tape. Mine is done with plain gray tape, but if I had it to do over again I might spring for some of the new colored duck tape that's available.

Homemade baby toys - canning jar rings

This toy couldn't get any easier. Just take a few canning jar rings and string with a ribbon. Viola! It's not the quietest toy, but your little one will love how easy it is to pick up, grasp and make noise with.