Ripe For the Registry
Posted April 14, 2008
There will be plenty of advice offered from friends and family telling you what will be necessary for you and your baby. But when it comes down to it, it’s likely your baby will end up telling you (in so many smiles and cries) what he or she likes.
Contributing writer for the TodayShow.com’s Cat Schwartz offers eight “must-have” gadgets for busy moms that have worked for her. One gadget Schwartz says her son benefits from a great deal is a Munchkin Voice-Activated Crib Light ($13). When a baby gets upset during naps, sight and sounds can sometimes help soothe them. This particular light offers the sound of a heart beat and soft rotating colors for ten minutes when it is activated.
One device Schwartz finds helpful in the kitchen is a cordless hand blender by Breville ($100). This may sound like a lot to pay for a blender, but in the end it can save you quite a bit on canned baby food. The portable device is battery operated and makes blending up fruits and vegetables for your little one a breeze.
Schwartz also finds the Nurse N Glow Pillow ($40) to be handy for night time feedings. The soft light coming from inside the pillow allows just enough light to make sure baby is latched on properly. Schwartz likes it simply because, “it’s always nice to have so you can watch their little lips doing that sucking motion.”
Okay, so maybe your baby won’t need these items for day to day survival, but they can all be very helpful. For a complete list of Schwartz’s “must-have” gadgets you can visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23337896/ .
Do you think the three items listed above could be handy for mom and baby?
Can you offer any advice for new moms wondering what to stock up on before the big day?
33 Comments
I would really like to have the nursing pillow. This is a great idea. Sometimes it is really hard to nurse and see if the baby is latched on right. A light is too bright, and wakes to baby up too much. This pillow seems to be just bright enough to see the baby but dim enough to not startle the baby. Great product.
I love the idea of a lighted nursing pillow. Especially at first when you're trying to get the hang of nursing it would be nice to have a little light to help you fumble your way through. What a good idea!
We've just started putting our baby on baby food and at 99 cents for 5 oz the hand blender for $100 seems like a steal.
I love the light nursing pillow idea, that would have been great when my 2 yr old was a baby. I would alway have to get up and go into the living room to feed him so my husband wouldn't wake up.
The lighted nursing pillow sounds great-though it would be nice if it was made in a variety of shapes (like the Boppy pillow shape) so that those of us who are unable/choose not to breastfeed would also be able to take advantage of the minimal lighting when our little ones need to eat in the wee hours! I know my husband hated turning on even the very dim light over the stove because it woke both him & our daughter up too much, and any day now we'll be having the same problem!
The idea of the nursing pillow is nice, but I don't think the shape of the pillow is condusive to breastfeeding. I had the My Breast Friend pillow and it was the best! You could practically walk around (though not a good idea) with your baby latched on with it.
Also, making baby food is more work than you think. Most little babies need fine puree, so the food needs to go through a fine strainer too. Its a great idea, but for those who are time crunched (like myself), organic baby food is just fine until they can eat heavier textures.
Writing this info down ... thanks for posting
These all sound like great product ideas, but I'm not sure how often they would be used by me.
The lighted Pillow is GREAT something all nursing moms need whoever come up with this had to be a nursing mom knowing there was a need for it. The light ALWAYS wakes the baby
I think this is a great idea for mothers
These things seems great. I'll most likely buy my neighbor these products, she's pregnant.
The lighted nursing pillow idea is great. Would be helpful during the night feedings. I wonder if it warms up while the light is on......
I had three girls and nursed all of them. I wish I would have something like the lighted nursing pillow. I always threw a baby blanket over my bedside light. I also scorched a few in the process. I wish items like this were less expensive. I know to alot of people $40.00 isn't much but when I was a new mother that was an expense I could do withiout. My daughter is due in June and I think I will look for one for her.
My neighbor is due in a few weeks. I sent her a list of those items that I thought would be great to have!
I'll wait for these on ebay. There is just no way I could justify spending that much on a light.
I like this idea but think it is a little pricey, I just have a small night like by the bed.
I light up nursing pillow is a great idea. Right now I'm up 1-2x per night with my 3mth old & its tough to get the lighting right. I have to consider - 1) being able to see her 2) not waking up my husband & 3) not stimulating my daughter so much that she's wide awake after her feeding. As long as the pillow isn't too bright, I think its a great idea.
The light up pillow would be perfect for my daughter who is nursing a 3 week old. It is hard at night to turn on lights or go into the living room with bright lights in the middle of the night. The baby seems to wake up and get more frantic when you do that. This pillow would have a more calming effect on baby and mom
Great Idea!!! I wished I had one 5 months ago.
I do like the lighted pillow for nighttime feedings. Also, I love the idea of a cordless hand blender, but $100 seems pretty steep, especially when you can purchase a good non-cordless one for around $60.
Geethe pillow sound like a great idea I might have to go out and get on.
I really like the pillow my daughter is expecting her first baby this September and I am def. going to get her one and the voice activated crib light too.
Honestly, I have to say that the above products all sound like a huge waste of money. A simple nightlight would suffice in place of the pillow and the light activated crib thing. Additionally, there are a multitude of 'baby food' making products out there with a much lower price tag than 100.00. New moms would be better off stocking up on diapers and Oreo's than any of these products.
I just had a baby and would love to get the nursing pillow and the crib light. All the lights are so brigth in my house I have a hard time gettin gthe baby back down and the her crying wakes my son up. I also think that she would love the crib light because we put her down when she is drowsy to learn to fall asleep on her own and she sometimes takes alittle while and we do not have a mobile
I made a lot of my babies food..and spent much time boiling/baking. I typically used a grinder by hand..so, wow, this would have really come in handy.. :-(
have 2 boys that i breast fed and now i am expecting in september i prefer the shape of the boppy but i never had any problem with the lighting i always bought their baby food and i agree with Lusadi you should just stock up on diapers instead of buying a cordless blender or some glowing pillow i usualy held my kids while they nursed to bond i sat in a rocking chair so this just wouldn't work for me i will not be purchacing either for this one either good luck too all the new moms out there
wow the blender would be great once i start feeding my infant babyfood-baby food adds up....I have the nursing pillow and it is great something i would not want to live with out.
The blender..Way too expensive!by the time the babies eat 100$ worth of jar food they are already eating pizza... I have 4 kids and never had to worry about the lighting of breastfeeding .A nightlight from the dollar store worked fine..I dont understand why people waste so much money on JUNK .Instead of Things the babies accually NEED. Diapers And Formula and CEREAL .
I guess its nice if you can afford it... Then you have the people on welfare who go buy these things who cant afford anything and sell their foodstamps for crack so that others have to take responsiblity for feeding their kids and churches and relatives buying diapers all the time.
Its a shame how companies make prices so high on products these days ...Thats what makes people steal..
Im way off topic...
I've heard about blenders like this and am looking into buying one in a few months. Both my sisters-in-law say it's a great way to save money and super easy to prepare the baby's food.
Most moms decide to stay at home with their kids nowadays and have to try and live with a tight income. So to spend so much on something that's of little use is so ridiculous. Most kids start on table food by month 8 or 9 .and they start solids only at 5th or 6th month. So buying a blender for $100 for using it for one or two months is such a waste of money and mind it that the ordinary blender works well for pureeing baby food. As for the light...well a simple night light does the same. Babies are expert at feeding with their eyes closed.:)
The blender seems very expensive for what it is but the lighted nursing pillow I would use for sure. What a great idea!
The hand blender sure sounds easy to use and clean up... I think a "Magic Bullet" or other type would do just as well. Didn't make my own food for baby #1 but considering it for baby #2! Lighted pillow?? You can feel if your baby is latched on right, so I'm not sure that should be their main selling point. I think you could use any other type of soft light or night light for low light and be just fine. Sound activated device sounds interesting. Just wondering how sensitive it is? Babies make noise while they're asleep, so I'd hate for them to just be dreaming and have the "lights and sounds" actually rouse them. Interesting idea.
I like the ideas discussed here, but they seem unnecessary at best! I am a very frugal Momma, but there are certain things that you just have to have, and a lighted pillow does not seem to be one of them. We always used a night light and a Boppy Pillow, and i'm willing to bet that combined they were cheaper than this lighted pillow. Also, I would worry about the baby picking at the lighted part, everything goes directly to the mouth, I would worry about the choking hazards!
I think the baby pillow and the crib light would not be very helpful... Baby could get disturbed in the middle of the night and make noises but could go back to sleep all by itself... Probably the crib light would light up and the baby could get disturbed by the light instead of going to sleep all by itself...