Being a first time parent though exhilarating is pretty tough. Besides the learning curve one experiences it can be just as hard deciding what gear to get. I know for me I’m constantly wondering if ‘this is a good toy’ or ‘will my son actually use this product’. When I had my baby shower at work my girlfriend asked me to make a list of stuff that I needed. To be honest I simply told her that I didn’t have a clue what I needed or what would be a good purchase versus just more ’stuff’. So I suggested that she make up my list for me seeing as she already had kids and would know better than I what gear was necessary and what was just more fluff. During my pregnancy I felt this pressure to buy all kinds of high end equipment and lots of it. I mean what did my child actually need? I was looking at strollers, bouncy chairs, non-bouncy chairs, exersaucers, jolly jumpers, high chairs, booster seats, bumbo chairs… My head was totally spinning. I have since decided (after almost 11 months) that whatever you get will suffice. I didn’t need to get that change table, I mean what do you do with a change table after you’re not changing diapers anymore? Instead we opted for a child’s desk with a change pad on top.
I will say though that what I consider my smartest purchase was the Fisher Price Rainforest Swing. My son was getting to the stage where I couldn’t put him down because he’d cry. He wasn’t sitting yet, so that wasn’t an option. I thought maybe a swing would be a good idea so I did some research. Goodness knows there are enough of them out there. There are the portable swings, cradle swings, full size swings and then of course there are all the different options available to each one. I chose the Fisher Price Rainforest Swing for a few reasons. 1. I could plug it into the wall. That’s right, besides using batteries I also had the option of using the accompanying AC adapter. 2. I could alter which way it swung. I could turn the cradle seat to swing forwards and backwards or from side to side. 3. The attached mobile lifted up and out of the way. This is great feature when trying to get the little guy in and out of the swing, I never had to worry about banging his head. There were other less (in my opinion) important features such as variable speeds, different music, volume controls and reclining seat.