Looking at baby stuff

Nother 3 wheeler fan here, but I jog and walk a lot and it's great. I have the Steelcraft Swivelrite Deluxe. Glad I paid the extra for the top of the line one. The basket's big enough that you don't need to hang stuff on the handle, and while mines' adjustable too, I've never had it move on me. We too bought one like this cos DH is 6'4" and I'm 5'4".
I LOVE my change table. I'm a bit of a posture nazi and it really helps your back. I have a separate bath, just found it easier and more mobile.
We have a fisherprice kick and play bouncer but it was a donated thing so didn't pay for it. Darcy still loves it with or without noise.
We're just about to purchase a highchair and are getting the one Christy describes as we only have a little house and no room for a flash highchair (whick I'd love but oh well).
I love my electric swing too. Darcy's over it now but at first it was a godsend. I got mine cheap on ebay.
Kazbah, we had a cradle at first, but next itme I'm going to get a bassinette, reason being most cradles are quite low. You can always rock a bassinette with wheels and when you spend hours rocking it's always better at a comfy height for you. Plus it takes up less space and is often more mobile.

OMG I know what everyone means - how confusing is shopping for baby stuff? There are so many brands and types and price differences - how to make up ones mind? We've put our pram on lay-by - it's from babyco - Swallow BeemaQ - it's a 3 wheeler, i see them everywhere and know a few people who have used them and have raved about them (got a good write up in choice too). Now, car seats - this i find confusing. So many to choose from, no real recommendations that i can find. Does anyone have any suggestions? We have narrowed it down to babylove or safe-n-sound but can't decide on which one to get!! HELP!! Also, where do you buy old fashioned bouncers from now-a-days? They all seem very fancy and pricey? What was wrong with the wirey bouncy thing with string strung across?? Worked for me as a child! Any suggestions would be great - it's all too hard and time is a ticking!!

I went to the markets today & saw heaps of bouncers for $20... was thinking very seriously of getting one.

Rachel, we're getting a safe n sound seat because after looking at different ones and comparing they appear to be the safest with the whole head surround. We were going to get one straight away but have decided that seeing as a capsule is actually the safest for little bubs we're going to hire one then get the car seat.

Christy 20.00 dollars is soooo cheap!!! They're about 40.00 here!!

Rachel - Baby Bunting have a big special on one of the SnS seats (with the AHR) at the moment. I was going to get a cheaper one but got the next model up for the same price.

I've got the Fisher Price Something Sensations Bouncer and it plays music, vibrates and has toys and a mirror thing that comes over the top. I love it, but I don't use the vibrating thingy because I heard that oeple who use vibrating tools like jackhammers and things are at a higher risk of nervous disorders, so I'm not positive of the safety of these in the long term How good can it be for a baby to be jiggled (albeit very softly) for any length of time. We just use the music and the toys.

Zain sleeps in a cot when he's not with us. And I won't use a portacot until he's older. Capsules are good because you don'e have to wake them to take them out of the car, etc.

The Hug A Bub is the best invention - Zain has never been in his pram :)

Where do you hire them from? (in vic?)

Thanks for all your help DH and I have almost decided to focu on a pram either 3 or 4 wheeler with the bassinet part that comes out as with DS I used to hate going to places and not having anywhere for him to sleep.

Also found a swing that converts to a rocker and to a toddler seat, love the versatility on that one. We had one of the older versions with DS and he hated it so looking to upgrade with this one.

For the person who asked about portacots, we got one from an auction for travelling and found it to be the most uncomfortable thing! we ended up using it for timeout or storing junk in.

Sarah, the pram we have put on lay by (Swallow beema Q) has a bassinette option (one of the reasons we got it) that make sit so baby faces you and you can pull it out without waking baby. They are from babyco only.

Hi everyone - I'm new to this posting stuff so hopefully I am doing the right things!!!!

After recently having my second child, I went out and got things that I wished I had of the first time around. I had a 3 wheel Valco, which I loved. But I wanted a bassinette attachment for it and couldn't get on, so I bought a new one (Valco) and it is brilliant. Marley sleeps so well in it, it's just like being in her cot. My older daughter is nearly 4, so I didn't need to worry about a toddler seat.

Rockers - I recently bought a Fisher-Price on from Target during a sale. She seems to like it. It has a few things hanging down which she can hit and play with and as she gets older, you can remove the bar and just have the toys attached to the harness. It also then converts to a toddler seat, which I thought was a pretty cool idea, holding upto 18kgs! Better value for money.

High chair - I bought a peg-perago in 2003 (deluxe model) and it is still in perfect order. I have been recently putting Marley in it while I am cooking dinner as it has a reclining seat, so she can sit back and watch what I am doing. She hasn't started solids yet, but appears to enjoy sitting in the chair.

Change tables - an asset I think! Everything you need is at arms reach, it doesn't do your back in (some of my friends just use the floor), it is safe and is great for storage.

Baths - I used the laundry trough for both babies until they got too big. I now use the main bath for baby first, then top up for older child (saves a bit of water).

Baby bjorn - another asset especially for grocery shopping or quick trips to the shops. Leaves both hands free.

There are so many things on the market that it can get confusing. Whatever you buy will be fine for your child - and the dearest things are not necessarily the best.

Hi Kazbah - I hired my capsule from Hire for Baby. They are located in various regions around Melbourne. I think I found them in Melbourne's Child. It costs around $80 for 6 months which I thought was very cheap and the capsule was in perfect condition (looked like a new model) and they are also licensed to fit it in your car.

About the capsules. I think we will hire one next time for the first few months. When a friend went to the Ambulance centre the Ambo there showed her photos of car crashes where the cars were 'totalled' and the capsules' were intact. Ambos' highly reccomend them.

For anyone wanting to know about safety of various car seats, NRMA and RACV recently did a joint study on them and the findings are on thier websites. One thing to be aware of is that the ones with added safety features like AHR do take up a little more room which can be an issue (if you want 2 kids and an adullt in the back for example).

Most baby shops also have the bouncers. I think I read somewhere that they shouldn't be used until a certain age - 3 months maybe?? so this might be what the warning label was about. But I figure if he isn't in it for long periods it should be ok.

Went to bubs baby shop today, it was great, really helpful assistants. Really loved the Valco set but so many $$$$. Saw the infa a few times but still have to try out the folding on it. Have to drag DH back there in a few weeks

I know that we can hire capsules from the hospital when we do the antenatal classes.. But i live in the country so might be different to the city...

I had a steelcraft 4 wheeler pram with baby #1. It had pneaumatic tyres and was brilliant for walking, however, it was a bit clunky and as the tyres didn't swivvel, it made it a bit hard to manouver at times.

This time, we are going for a Love n Care Avida. It has two larger tyres at the back, and 2 smaller ones at the front. It converts from a bassinet to a stroller type thing in one, and you can take the bassinet part off to use separately. You have to take it into two parts to fold down though, but it makes it very light and easier to place in the car.