Review - Conair Sound Therapy Sound Machine

Great price and we love the rainfall sound!

We bought a Conair sound machine years ago but it had a timer and only allowed for up to 1 hour of sound at a time. Bought this one because you can have it go all night!

We keep it in the nursery and it does a fantastic job of blocking out other noise in the house so our babies can sleep. We turn it on for naps and bedtime, and tend to keep it on the rainfall. It sounds the most natural and our kiddos are used to falling asleep to that sound.

Details: it's fairly big and takes up more room on the dresser than our old one that stood upright). The cord is a good length and reaches behind the dresser without any problems. Stays on until you turn it off (or you can set the timer to turn off after 60 minutes). When it's on there's a little red glowing light; not obtrusive. Volume control is great and works smoothly.

Overall, we LOVE this! The only changes I'd make would be to change it to upright (so it takes up less room) and add a nightlight (our other one has a nightlight and our kids loved it).

Would definitely buy again!

Click below to purchase at Amazon:

Conair Sound Therapy Sound Machine

Update: June 2014
We've had this for 6 months and it still works perfectly! Love it.

Review - ZAQ Noor Litemist Aromatherapy Essential Oil Diffuser, White

Our very favorite diffuser!!! Love it!

Bought this as an early Christmas present and it's fantastic! This is the 3rd diffuser we've tried and it's a keeper. We mostly use it in our room (larger, master bedroom). It diffuses our essential oils into the whole room and smells wonderful.

It's much easier to take care of than previous diffusers. We rinse it after every use, and about once a week let some vinegar sit in it for a few hours to clean it.

It's very quiet and looks nice in the room. The power button light is a bit bright at night time so we keep a little washcloth in front of the power button.

Would definitely buy again!

Click below to purchase at Amazon:

ZAQ Noor Litemist Aromatherapy Essential Oil Diffuser, White

Update: June 2014
We've had this for 7 months now and it's still working great! We use it at least a few times per week. Love it!

The Best Maternity Gear List

Must-Haves

Pregnancy Pillow
A bit expensive but a true life-saver!
For our 1^st child I used my regular pillow, another behind my back, and another between my knees/supporting my tummy. It took about 10 minutes to get all of those pillows positioned just right…and then I’d have to get up to use the bathroom…and spend another 10 minutes getting everything back into position. Ugh!
When I was pregnant with our 2^nd child, my awesome husband bought be a pregnancy pillow similar to the one below. I LOVE it!!! Mine is filled with soft bean-bag type pellets and has a cover that zips off.
It’s now been through 4 pregnancies (3 of mine and 1 of my sister-in-laws), has been washed and dried many times, and still looks and feels like new. I already have a head pillow that I love, so I tend to sleep with my pregnancy pillow forming a U-shape (supporting my tummy, my knees, and my back). It does take up quite a bit of room, but I’ve used it with a double bed, queen, and a king size. My husband calls it my “nest”’.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AP6QM3S/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00AP6QM3S&linkCode=as2&tag=joyfu05-20

Pants Waist Extenders
To wear my regular pants at the beginning of my pregnancies, I looped a rubber-band through the button-hole and then looped the other end around my button.
A fancier option would be something like these:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005OCRZO8/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B005OCRZO8&linkCode=as2&tag=joyfu05-20
Or these:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CKOYJ6U/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00CKOYJ6U&linkCode=as2&tag=joyfu05-20

Maternity Belt

LOVE this! Great support when you’re walking/standing a lot. Easy on/off. Nice and stretchy.

We bought a fairly simple one for my first two pregnancies and then I lost it in the garage somewhere. My sweet husband bought me “the ultimate maternity belt” when I was pregnant with our 3^rd, and I was happily surprised to find that it worked even better than the less-expensive version.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003BJ9WV0/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B003BJ9WV0&linkCode=as2&tag=joyfu05-20

Maternity Jeans

For my first 2 pregnancies, I loved pants where the elastic came below my belly. For my next 2, after the 1^st trimester, I preferred the elastic that came up and covered my belly and back because I felt like it added additional support (for when I wasn’t wearing my maternity belt).
This is one of those things that’s a personal preference. I recommend getting 1 pair of each type, trying them out for a bit, and then buying more of what you like best.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008KZIZ2W/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B008KZIZ2W&linkCode=as2&tag=joyfu05-20

Seamless Leggings

We’re Church-going folk, and as such I wear a dress once a week for Church services. One day while trying on dresses at Motherhood Maternity, the saleslady suggested I try leggings under the dress. I hadn’t worn leggings since Jr. High in the 80’s and couldn’t figure out why in the world I’d want leggings again. But the saleslady was so sweet that I tried a pair on. And discovered that they were super comfy, very supportive, and nice and warm for cold Utah winters. I bought a pair of black leggings and paired them with knee-high black boots and wore them under my dresses all winter during my 4^th pregnancy.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008XHXSS8/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B008XHXSS8&linkCode=as2&tag=joyfu05-20

Belly Butter

As it stretched, my tummy became quite itchy. For my first 2 pregnancies I just used my regular Jergen’s lotion. For my second 2 pregnancies I tried a sample of “Blooming Beautiful” lotion at Motherhood Maternity and absolutely loved the scent. Bought it, used it, loved it!

http://www.motherhood.com/Product.asp?Product_Id=950660465&MasterCategory_Id=MC20

This also seems to be a popular one:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NSR6AQ/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000NSR6AQ&linkCode=as2&tag=joyfu05-20

Nice-to-Have

Fetal Doppler

I’m a bit paranoid about my babies’ health and loved being able to monitor our 4^th child’s heartbeat. This monitor was fairly inexpensive and worked really well for us from about the 17^th week of pregnancy.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CPWR4TQ/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00CPWR4TQ&linkCode=as2&tag=joyfu05-20

Review - Ty Beanie Baby Dora the Explorer

Bought this for our daughter for Christmas and she loves it!

Dora is nice and soft, the colors are bright, stitching seems to be good, and I love that the backpack is attached so it doesn't get lost.

Great size for our little toddler (it's about 7" tall, so it's easy for her to hold and put in her Dora backpack).

Would definitely buy again!

Click below to purchase at Amazon:

Ty Beanie Baby Dora the Explorer

Update: June 2014
We've now had this doll for 1.5 years and our daughter still loves her! Dora has held up really well so far to lots of play time. :)

Review - Graco Ready2Grow Classic Connect LX Stroller, Oasis

Good stroller; room for improvement.

I bought this to use for a 2-year-old and an infant. I like it, but probably wouldn't buy it again.

Pros: tons of different seating options, Graco car seat is very easy to "click" in, stroller folds up super fast and easily, standing platform is very sturdy, 2 canopies to shade both kiddos, child's tray and parent's tray are very useful, 5-point harnesses for front seat and jump seat, pattern is nice for girls or boys, storage basket is large.

Cons: the brake is at a terrible position and I'm constantly kicking it, front seat is very shallow, fits into our mini-van...just barely, heavier than our last double stroller, jump seat is a bit difficult to get in and out of the stroller, stroller basket is difficult to access.

Overall, it's ok. We've used a regular Graco double stroller in the past and loved it. I wanted to try something different this time around, and wasn't super impressed.

Click here to see it at Amazon:

Graco Ready2Grow Classic Connect LX Stroller, Oasis

Update: June 2014
We've now had this stroller for 1.5 years. It's still in great shape but because of the above-listed cons I prefer using a single Graco stroller.

Review - Trend Lab CribWrap Fleece Rail Cover for Long Rail, Natural, Wide

Great size, nice and soft, works perfectly for us!

Bought this after trying one of the "gummy" rail protectors and am so glad we did! The gummy protector did a decent job of protecting the crib from kids biting them, but it started coming off after about a year and left an awful sticky residue along the entire crib rail.

Decided to try this fleece rail cover and LOVE it! It covers the entire rail, ties on easily and securely (we use square knots so it's easy to take off and toss in the washer), looks nice in the nursery, and protects the crib (and our child's teeth!)

The fleece on top is soft and the waterproof bottom protects the rail from drooling. Only wish we'd found this sooner!

Click below to buy it at Amazon:

Trend Lab CribWrap Fleece Rail Cover for Long Rail, Natural, Wide

Update: June 2014
We've now used this for 2 children and it still looks new! Does a great job of protecting the crib and I love how nice it looks and how easy it is to wash. We hang it to dry (or dry on low) to help keep it's shape.

Review - Kennedy Home Collection 30-Inch Faux leather Folding Ottoman, Black

We use this to hold all of our movie blankets and it's perfect! Looks nice in our living room, has stood up to a lot of heavy use from our children, and has a surprising amount of storage space.

Click below to purchase at Amazon:
Kennedy Home Collection 30-Inch Faux leather Folding Ottoman, Black

Edited June 2014:
Our ottoman is now 2.5 years old and has been heavily used! The main part is in great shape and I love how it holds blankets perfectly. The problem now is that all 4 of the corners on the lid have broken. :( I haven't found anything comparable to the ottoman, so I've purchased some black duck tape to repair the corners...MACGYVER STYLE! Hopefully it'll soon be an even more epic ottoman.