The first is this great little Fischer Price Booster Chair from Target. It's small, easy to transport and best of all, inexpensive (only $20). We use it in place of a regular high chair. Since we can strap it onto a chair, it takes up less room in our house. This is a big bonus for people who don't have a lot of extra space. Also, since C.O. and Harold come to school almost every day and join me for lunch, it makes that process easier. C.O. packs up the chair and brings it with him. It's easy to transport and use where ever you go.
The next great buy is the baby sling. We travel quite a bit and need a slick way of carrying Harold around without our arms tiring out. We choose to use this compact and very effective baby sling as opposed to the gigantic stroller system that some people try squeeze onto an airplane. We are not exactly sure why people seem to think they need those monstrosities for a small child. The sling on the other hand can fold up and fit in the diaper bag when we're done using it.
The last recommendation I have is for cloth diapers. That's right, we use cloth diapers and are very pleased with them. They are every bit as easy to use as disposable diapers.
Don't they look cozy? Here's our system and it's easier than you might think. We always put a thin, flushable rice paper liner in the diaper that catches the poo. We dump it in the toilet and it just flushes away. The diaper goes into a five gallon bucket with a lid in the laundry room. About every other day we do a load of diapers. Simple. Some people choose not to use cloth because they're not convinced it has any cost or environmental benefits. I would say the one reason they wouldn't be economical or environmentally friendly would be due to the dryer usage since they use a lot of electricity. We solve that problem by not using the dryer. We do our laundry in the evening and hang the diapers over the shower curtain rod to dry over night. My friend Charity did an informative blog post about the different types of cloth diapers out there if you're interested in reading more. We happen to use the Bum Genius brand. We aren't super strict about using them. It's a lot easier to use disposable when we're traveling, when Harold is at the baby sitters and at night. But for normal day to day use, they're great. They are good for the environment and good for our pocket book. Can't beat that. --AnnMarie
2 comments:
Gotta have a sling! I agree that it is a much better option than hauling around a stroller when traveling by air. We also use it when we go for walks and when we go grocery shopping and sometimes just doing chores around the house. I have a Maya wrap, which you can buy online, or if you are crafty, you can use the free pattern to make your own. It is so much easier on my back to carry him in the sling! We started using the sling when he was just days old and he still fits in it!
--Charity
We have the maya wrap as well. I do enjoy using the wrap rather than having to push the stroller around or tire out my arms, and Oliver really seems to enjoy being in it! We also have the fisher price high chair. We haven't used it yet since Oliver isn't quite 4 months old, but we bought it for the sake of travelling with it and are very pleased with its size.
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