Being a young mom means we met a little early, but I get to love them longer.


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Friday, January 7, 2011

Baby stuff..

Sorry for the post explosion lately, but I want to get everything in before I really get back into school and don't have a lot of time..

So I have been looking at some baby stuff online. Mostly boy stuff for two reasons.. one: I feel that it is a boy, and two: even if it's not.. we have a TON of girl stuff from Grace still, so we won't need a lot in terms of big ticket items.

One thing I am really looking into is a double stroller. My brother and I are only 13 months apart, and my mom said she loved having a double stroller. For those of you that have more than one.. have you had a (or have) a double stroller? If you do, do you like it/think they are worth the money?

This is the stroller I have found that I really like (and believe me, I have already looked at every single one on walmart.com, target.com, and babiesrus.com).
I know it's boy-ish and I kind of feel bad for Grace, but the way I see it is Grace had her pretty pink and brown stroller and will have it until the new baby comes. She had her turn with a new stroller, now it's this baby's turn (if it's a boy). At least it's not blue with footballs or something extremely boy-ish.


This is the print on the back of the seats.

I really like it! Chris and I both are thinking jungle themed bedding if it's a boy, and this would go with it well. 

Plus this is one of the few double strollers that is car seat compatible (without having to buy some sort of attachment) and has a car seat that actually matches.


The stroller is $160, and the car seat(with the base) is $110. It's sort of pricey, but not compared to some of them I saw. It's actually pretty cheap for everything we would be getting! And Graco is what Grace had.. so I definitely trust it.

If it is a girl I still want to get a double stroller, but aparently no one in the baby gear industry has figured out that people can have two girls. The only pink double strollers were the side by side ones, and they are expensive! Plus you have to buy an attachment for a car seat to fit with it!
The only double stroller I could find like the one above (seats in a row) that will work for girls is a plain black one, and then a car seat that is pink and black to go with it. The car seat is cute, the stroller.. not so much. Not even worth pictures. AND both the stroller and car seat are more expensive :( But if it's a girl we'll have to go with it.

(This is all assuming that you guys think double strollers are worth it)

Another question.. Grace always loved her Boppy chair. It was super soft, played music, and gently vibrated. What did your babies like? Especially the boys? Grace never really cared for a swing, but I know every baby is different. We can only really afford one thing like that, so we want to know what you guys recommend.. bouncer, vibrating chair, swing, etc. I know we have months, but to be able to afford it all we are going to have to start buying the big things early (like with tax returns and Pell checks).

Also (not pertaining to baby stuff).. one of my tires blew out today. I am now going to have to ride with a donut until my Pell comes in so we can get new ones :( At least we didn't wreck. It blew in our driveway. I got out of the car and heard a weird noise.. it was the air rushing out of my tire, and we looked and there was a two inch hole! The rest of the tire is fine, so it must have gotten punctured somehow. Chris said ifwe had been going fast (like on the interstate or something) when that happened it probably would have shredded the tire, then we easily could have wrecked. And we had just came from being on the interstate. Thank you Jesus for keeping us safe!!

19 comments:

  1. Alright, well, I know I only have a girl, but she LOVED her Boppy chair and they have ones made for boys. Double strollers are definitely worth it. Me and my Mom finally broke down and got one. It makes things so much easier since we go out together so much. Samantha won't sit in a buggie so it is either stroller or carry her.

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  2. What boppy chair vibrates. I have a bouncy(had onw ith all of them) that vibrates and plays music and all my babies preferred that over a swing.
    Double strollers are definitely worth it. We have the Kolcraft Contours Tandem and LOVE it!!! It comes with a carseat attachment and fits most types of carseats. I know for sure it fits graco because that is what we had. The seats are a bit longer then most double strollers leaving babies more room to grow comfortably and sleep a lot better. This is all coming from using a stroller like you picked and from using the one we have. You can move the seats different positions which is super awesome and when you lean one baby back because they are a sleep they are not touching the other or in the others lap. Plus I liked that when charleigh was little like 6 months or so when she liked to ride in the stroller more than her seat we would put her in the back seat turn it to face us and recline her. The storage room on the bottom is HUGE. We sometimes dont even need a buggy when we go shopping. It comes is red and khaki. It is a really good stroller. With the stroller like the one you picked the babies were a lot closer and so were able to kick each other also Im not sure how tall Grace is but when they are about 2 their head is over the top of the seat or close to making it very uncomfortable to sit or sleep. And when you go to lay them back the front is literally in the others lap. Another thing...sry if this is to much...but with those strollers alot of the time the carseat sits up front leaving the baby in the reach of the toddler. She might not try to touch or mess with the baby but can accidently kick the seat. Like I said I am speaking from experience on both sides. Im not trying to persuade you to do it the way I preferred just trying to give some first hand info. I do love the elephants though. Kaedyn has a jungle theme.

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  3. Sounds like a really nice stroller!! I do know that the car seat will go in the back seat with this stroller because I actually saw lady who had one the othr day. She had a toddler in front and car seat in back. But I will look into the stroller you are tlking about too because I don't want them kicking each other and stuff.

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  4. Thats awesome that the carseat sits in the back. that was a big thing for us. We wanted the baby close. But honestly I am not trying to persuade you my way just giving some info.
    I will say that our stroller is a bit bulky but we were able to fit it into the trunk of a small car and in the back of a pt cruiser

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  5. I just looked it up.. it looks really nice! And I like that you can change the seats around! I like the red color too.. it wouldn't be too boyish for Grace (I am trying to avoid having people think Grace is a boy.. I don't know why, but that really bothers me lol). The only thing I'm not to fond of is the price :( I'm not going to cross it out yet. We'll see what we can budget out.

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  6. Yeah it is kinda pricey. We had gotten it with taxes. I liked the red for the same reason. Everybody thought she was a boy even though she would have a bow in her hair and be dressed in pink. Same with Kaedyn...evrbody would say what a pretty little boy with a blue carseat and clothes. I like that the seats turn around becaue they can play with each other and share snacks and stuff when the face each other or you can have them both facing you which is good in stores when they reach to grab stuff...it makes it a little harder. I know that they wont be able to play and share quite yet but they will soon enough.

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  7. Ohh yes.. I've had those experiences with Grace too.. those people must be color blind or something. That is the only explanation I can think of lol.

    We have to buy another crib, crib matress, bedding, glider, bouncer (probably), car seat, and double stroller, so we are trying to figure it all out. We are probably going to get the crib off craigslist to save money. We are definitely getting a new matress and car seat though.

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  8. O yes a new mattress and car seat definitely. You want clean and safe things for the baby. What glider...you mean like a rocking chair glider...
    Yeah we have a lot of stuff for ellanoa also like a crib mattress and bedding. We waited to get those things because we knew she was going to co sleep with us for a bit but we plan to get those with taxes. We also have to get a new
    Highchair still and the 2 babies boosterseats that we will put at the table that we are also getting with taxes. Plus we need to get ely some new clothes because we only got her newborn and a handful of 0-3months. On top of summer clothes for the toddlers.
    I can't wait to find out what you are having so I can shop around...I hope you are right about it being a boy. I am dying to buy baby boy stuff again.. Marduk isn't really in the baby boy section anymore...he's a big boy!!! There is so many cute things out...but I don't know how you would prefer to dress him...like I like dressing kaedyn as a little man and not really in baby baby clothes..well except when he was like a newborn and nothing else fit him...I usually dress him in polls or button up shirts or graphic tees. He always looks like daddy. I even have been told on multiple occasions that I have the best dressed children.haha. I don't know about that but I do try to dress them like people.
    Anyways...so about the rambling. Have you started to look at clothes and stuff. All 3 times I found out I was pregnant I had to visit the baby section and browse everyone I net
    Ered a store well until near the end where I was tired of seeing baby stuff with no baby feeling like they were never going to come. Haha!!! Drew use to laugh. Where are y'all going to put the baby. Is he just going to share a room with y'all or are y'all going to have graeme and him/her share a room. I couldn't bring myself to have the babies give up their own space. I think because I never had space of my own not even my own bed until I was 17for a short period because then drew stopped that.
    Again sry for the rambling.I seem to do that a lot. I always have a lot to say...drew has pointed that out. He said that y'all are going to dread reading my post because I write novels...

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  9. Yea a rocker.. we had one with Grace and I loved it.. on those nights where she didn't want to sleep well that thing was a life saver! I could usually get her back to sleep and it was good back support when I was breastfeeding. But I used it so much I broke it lol (it was used when we got it though). So we need a new one.
    And yes.. I would never dream of making my baby sleep on a used matress. And I don't trust used car seats because of the possibility of them being in wrecks, or just dirty.
    We are going to wait awhile on the crib because we may end up getting a toddler bed for Grace and using the crib we have now for the baby. We aren't sure yet. She already tries to climb out, so by the time baby gets here she will probably be ready for a toddler bed.
    I like to dress Grace in "adult" clothes too lol. I really don't care for cartoon themed clothing. I like her to look like a little adult. I'll probably be the same with this one. I saw the most adorable little blue and brown overalls the other day.. They were sooooo precious! But I promised myself I would not buy clothes until we find out what it is.. We still have to go in baby clothes for Grace anyway, so I usually take a peek at the newborn stuff lol. Carter's is probably my favorite store for kids. I love the style of their clothes.. so adult like! AND we have a Carter's outlet about 10 minutes from where we live!!
    I'm not sure about the room yet. We have a bassinet that the baby will be sleeping in, for the first couple of weeks or so, in our room. But Grace also still sleeps in our room. We are hoping to break her of that before the new baby comes.
    I just feel like when they are this age they won't mind sharing a room. I definitely don't want them sharing forever (especially if it's a boy). We plan on getting a 3 bedroom before they get old enough to remember sharing a room.

    And I don't mind your long comments at all. I love your advice!
    And I completely do not mind you long posts.

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  10. I was afraid that if I put them in the same room that one would wake the other. Oh and I love the gliders. We got rid of ours when charleigh turned a year...right before we found out we were pregnant with ely. Yes we love darters. We also have an outlet. We get ALOT of their clothes there they are very grown up decently priced. I am not big on cartoon character clothing either. I feel that maybe if I dress them nice now that they will choose nice clothing when they are old enough to pick out their own. I told drew that i would let them pick out their own clothes as teenagers but that the clothes had to be ran through me and receive my approval. Haha!!!!
    Kaedyn and charleigh are still in cribs. They have both tried to climb out and
    have fallen and that was that. Plus I think their crib is their safe spot. Kinda like a security thing. My momma said that as long as they aren't to big for
    their crib and trying to climb out all the time then to just let then have their
    safe spot...plus it leaves a bit more time for u to not have to run after babies
    escaping their beds...a lot of their toys are in their room so I could see
    them getting out of bed to play with them and me going in their rooms like 50 times to put them back in bed. Thanks about the post and comments...like sometimes I feel like I am sounding idk bossy like with the whole stroller thing but I was just trying to tell you my experience...and other times I feel like I am just rambling and not explaining or getting out what I am trying to say clear enough. I love reading post and I hate when it takes forever for new ones to come up. I like knowing how everything is going with everybody. Y'all are my friends...more like extended family. I have watched the babies grow up through the post and y'all have see mine do the same. Man do they grow fast...we have also seen each other grow up and have talked about life a lot and it is awesome that we go through a lot of the same things as each other. Drew and I are a bit older but we have been there done that kind of thing..so when I read about something...like moving out....I cant help but smile and remember those fears and joys...and cant help but say it will be ok because we were once there and made it through. I know if we could make it through most stuff with little to no support than everybody else can.

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  11. I am afraid of that too.. I guess it will just be a trial and error type of thing. I can't wait to know what this baby is so I can go clothes shopping! I just love shopping and I will have an excuse then! Lol.
    I have this thing where I want Grace (and now the new one) to be dressed fashionably because I know that kids who are dressed fashionably are liked easier in school. Sad, but true. I sturggled with wanting to be popular and I don't want my kids to feel the way I did.
    I am terrified of Grace falling out of her crib! It's such a long way down.. I'm worried she'll break her neck or something, but then again I am terrified of falling myself, so that's probably why.
    You don't sound bossy to me.. it's not like you were like "Nope.. that is the wrong stroller to get. You have to get this one." You were just telling me what you know for a fact, and trying to help. I understand that. I hope I don't sound bossy. If I do I am not trying to.. I am just trying to help as well. I love reading the blogs too. I am so glad we found this. It's like an outlet for me when I'm bored or stressed. It really seems like I've known you guys forever and we've never even met lol. Amazing to think we met by chance on the teen mom message boards (I barely even go on there now lol). It is amazing that when I started this I was still only 17, in high school, living with my mom, and discovering how to be a mom. Now I am almost 19, in college, living on my own, and fixing to learn how to be a mom all over again. I hope one day that my kids can look back on this and see all the struggles, joys, love, sadness, difficulties, and miracles we have been through.

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  12. You don't sound bossy. I am always up for advice...just because I have 3 doesn't mean that I know everything...I still have a lot to learn.haha.
    Parenting I have learned is a lot of trial and error.
    When they fell out of their crib my heart stopped but it is so hard to prevent very little fall and booboo though I sure try to and even though I technically know it isnt my fault I still beat myself up for it. I can't stand to see them hurt.
    Yes...I am the same way about them dressing nice...reputations start before high school as early as pre k...if you come to school dressed badly you will be remembered for that. Kids aren't nice. You will get teased which will lead to low self esteem...the wrong kind of friends and all kinds of stuff just from something so little as clothes. It is sad but it is very true.
    Yeah I started this in the beginning of last year. At first I didn't think that people would really read it. I mean I didn't think my life was anywhere close to interesting. But I found so much joy in posting about the babies and about life. It is funny when I go back through this and read certain stuff. I am like wow I remember that and I can't believe I thought that.... A year ago when I first started the blog...if someone was to tell me that I would have a nice car a house in a good neighborhood be leading a room at church finally starting at vsu and Would have another baby I would have laughed. A lot of this stuff was just a dream that I felt would never change but here we are...it shows just what hard work and prayer leads to.

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  13. Right now we are doing trial and error with discipline.. trying to figure out what works best for Grace (and avoiding spanking at all costs).
    We have the same views on them being dressed. You are right.. it does start really early. If the kids are dressed dirty or different they get made fun of and then no one else wants to talk to them because they re afraid they'll get made fun of too. I saw it happen when I was interning at the primary school. I don't want Grace to be that kid, and I am willing to sacrifice what I look like to make sure that she doesn't have to.
    It's amazing how much our lives can change in a year.. A year used to seem like forever when I was a kid.. now it's no time at all.

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  14. Yea it is trial and error with charleigh...nothing really seems to work. She will continue to do something if she wants no matter what...she is just independent and does as she pleases. She won't let no one stand in her way when she wants something.
    Yeah I haven't gotten myself new clothing sine right before senior year. When I found out I was pregnant with kaedyn that was it...haha...we saved every little bit to get kaedyn what he needed plus some...then came charleigh and Now ellanoa. Drew said that if we have enough from taxes he will let me get some stuff. I would fell so bad. I got a rue 21(love their clothes)gift card for Xmas from dress stepmom and I went and got drew 2 pairs of jeans(he really needed some...he had 1pair that was really old and had finally gave out with a huge hole in the knee..he was embarrassed to wear them...but like I said his only pair) and 2 new shirts. I took the tags off and tossed the receipts that way he couldn't take them back. Haha. I knew he would try to and be really mad because I got him something instead of myself but I just can't. I feel really guilty if I get myself something...even something as little as a candy bar.
    But yea we will and do go with out so that the babies can have the best. With 3 that means we even give up the smaller things also...well you will see with 2. But honestly we don't mind. It is just how we do things now...thinking to before I had babies or got pregnant...I was a very materialistic girl. I LOVE clothes..it was my passion...I have a sketch book full of designs. I wanted to go to the art institute for fashion design. That all changed with the words...your pregnant slipping from a doctors mouth and like 100 pregnancy test later because I didn't believe the dr. Haha!!!!!!
    I guess what I am rambling on about is we just don't mind...we love them...we already had our stuff now it is they're turn :)

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  15. Luckily the time out method seems to work pretty well. We are at the point now where we can say "you will go to time out Grace, you need to stop." and she will usually quit. If she doesn't quit we always follow through and put her in time out so she knows we mean business. However, I know they say that you are only supposed to put them in their or one minute for each year of their age, but one minute for her doesn't work. She just thinks it's a game. We have to leave her for 3-5 miutes.
    Luckily I still have some clothes from before I had Grace. I had to get new pants after she was born because I didn't fit in my old ones. Now I'm going to have to get new maternity pants.. which sucks. I really hate maternity pants.
    I wanted to go to Kennesaw State University or UGA, but when I found out I was pregnant I knew that was out of the question. Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like, but that is just wondering, not wanting. I wouldn't have my life any other way.

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  16. Yea when we do time out we have to leave them a bit longer than the recommended time. I had some clothes left over but they got worn out. Luckily I am able to fit ,y pre pregnancy jeans a couple weeks after but my body is still changed forever.haha. I honestly dontthink that it will ever be the same nonmatter how hard I work out. Haha. My stretched out skin is just that stretched out...gross!!!! It is only from kaedyn though...for me this held true...but I heard that women are usually bigger with boys than they are with girls. How much did Chris weigh at birth...was he full term...they say it goes off of the fathers genes also...once again this held true...drew being born 8lbs13oz and kaedyn 8lbs11oz. Anyways you should also look into getting a belly band they held my pants up the whole pregnancies...never had to buy maternity pants...that and the rubber band/hand band trick. Also there is this new thing were you add a button to your pre pregnancy pants temporarily and then after baby you remove it...o and it can change size as your belly bump grows.... O yea and also check out this thing called a belly bandit...it is for after you have the baby to help get your stomach back faster. I really wanted one...but didn't have the money at the time because of Xmas.
    Yea dreams do slip away when you find out you are pregnant but then you realize that....they were just dreams....n your life now is way better than if those dreams were made real.
    I do sometimes catch myself wondering what it would have been like if I could have went straight to the university or what it must be like for all those other college students. Sometimes i find it hard to believe that these people are my age or around my age. I feel so much older...so much wiser...way more MATURE!!! I also find myself wondering what life would be with just one baby...what if we would have just had kaedyn and finished up college before having any more like we had planned after finding out we were pregnant with him.....not that I am complaining...I love my babies very much and wouldn't change it for the world...but like you sad just wondering not wanting. I wonder this stuff on certain days like yesterday. I will post aout it later.

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  17. Chris was 2 months early.. he only weighed 2 lbs and 4 oz. He was tiny!! So we can't go by his weight lol.
    I'll have to look into some of those things for my pants.
    I feel a lot older too. I look at some of the people on my facebook and read some of their statuses.. it seems like all they do is party, drink, cuss, have sex, etc. I know I don't seem like one to be talking about sex, but I have never understood casual sex. I have only had sex with Chris and we were together for 9 months before we had sex. It wasn't something I was just willing to throw away.. especially not to someone I barely knew.
    Now I won't lie.. I was a total flirt when I met Chris. Easily could have been mistaken for a sl*t, but people who really knew me knew that wasn't true.

    I am going through that wondering right now. I am terrified of college with two kids. I try not to think about it and just wait to see how my life works itself out, but I still get scared and worry that I won't be able to do it.

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  18. SRu about above.I'm on drew iPod touch. Anyways...wow he was super small!!!! Poor baby. As big (not meaning fat but like tall and like his build)you can't tell.
    You can do it. You'll see.you will get the hang of things.

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