Brady Baby Gear

As new parents, we knew pretty much NOTHING about where to start with baby gear and furniture! Knowing this fact about ourselves, we just started asking questions each time we would go to the baby store (our favorite is definitely Buy Buy Baby) and each time we talked to friends that already have babies. We feel like we have learned a lot, but we know that Brady will teach us even more about what works for him once he is here. When we started the daunting task of creating registries, we posted a question on Facebook to ask our friends: "What are your three favorite items that you have had for your babies?" It was amazing to get such informative responses, some that supported one another and some that were completely different from one another--again proving that each baby is different! With all of this information along with some research, we made the best decisions for us as we chose these following items. However, this is clearly our opinion, and there are lots of great opinions out there! We are excited about the items that we have chosen, but you have to choose what works best for your needs, desires, baby and budget!

Carseat = Britax Chaperone (Infant Carrier)
http://www.britaxusa.com/car-seats/chaperone
We are thrilled about this decision to have the Britax Chaperone as our infant carrier. We were blown away by the safety features put into place on this model, and we could tell the difference immediately as we were learning about it from the Assistant Manager at BuyBuyBaby. Although the downfall is that the carseat is a bit heavier (11 lbs.), you can see a few of the features right away that caught our attention--anti-rebound bar and side impact protection all around the baby's body.



Stroller = Bumbleride
http://www.bumbleride.com/strollers/indie-home.php
We cannot wait to try out our stroller once Brady arrives! This was really Nathan's thing, so I was happy for him to run with it to research and choose the best stroller for our lifestyle. With the Bumbleride, it will be Brady's stroller up to 48 lbs., and it can be used as a regular stroller or a jogger. The big selling points for us were: it is compatible with our Britax Chaperone carseat and it has inflatable tires instead of foam-filled--we have heard this is very helpful when strolling anywhere outside!


Pack and Play = Grace Kinsey
Bought at Target
There are a zillion PackandPlay options, and just note that each store has different patterns/options, so it is impossible to choose one that is the same at different stores, so you can compare! We went with a gender-neutral for this along with our other gear that we hope to use again in the future. We liked the napper, changer and bassinet options for the PackandPlay, so we can use it as a "work station" downstairs.


Highchair = Fisher-Price Spacesaver Scatterbug
Bought at Target
To save some space around the house, we decided to go with a highchair that fits in one of our dining room chairs. The plus for this particular model that we decided on was that even though it doesn't stand alone, it will recline to three different positions, so we can use it when Brady just starts to eat until he is older. Also, it turns into a booster seat, which is nice for down the road.


Activity Center = Baby Einstein Musical Motion Activity Jumper
Bought at BuyBuyBaby
Before we knew if we were having a boy or a girl, we went to BuyBuyBaby just to look around at the MANY baby items that there are to choose from! When we got to the activity center/exersaucer section, I mentioned to Nathan that we should definitely register for one that allows the baby to jump around because I knew that if we had a boy, we would need to get some energy out! Not that girls don't need to get energy out, but from having brothers, I just remember there being a lot of activity going on even in the very beginning. After finding out that we were having a boy, this was a no-brainer for us! As you can tell, this is the one thing that we haven't managed to put together yet. We figure we have a few months, so we are going to wait to put it together until Brady is closer to using it!


Swing/Bouncer = Graco Swing 'n' Bounce Hathaway
Bought at BuyBuyBaby
Again, for the sake of saving space, we loved that we could combine our swing and bouncer. We were also thinking that it might be nice to have a way to move Brady if he falls asleep while swinging. This way, if he falls asleep, we can just detach the chair and take him to another location pretty easily, hopefully while he is able to stay asleep :)


We are SO thankful to family and friends that have bought almost all of the items for Brady and us! We know that they will each be lifesavers in their own way, and we are thrilled to feel as "prepared" as we can with Brady's baby gear! I've probably left some things out, but these are the basics that come to mind that people ask us about.

Showering Baby Brady!

On April 17th, we had our first shower--our girls only (except Brady) shower :) It was so fun to have family and friends (many from Meredith) to catch-up with and celebrate the upcoming arrival of baby Brady! My sweet friends, Millee, Chambliss, Amanda, Elizabeth and Stephanie were so gracious to come together and throw this shower for me. It was amazing how creative everything was, from the diaper wreath with all kinds of monogrammed items to the punch in the baby bath with bath toys to the tricycle made out of diapers--it was SO fun to see and explore throughout the afternoon :) These are just a few of the pictures that we got from this fabulous celebration (thanks to Stephanie for being our photographer for the afternoon)!

Cute invitations!
Diaper wreath and tons of monogrammed goodies created by Elizabeth...
Special reading by Julie :)
As soon as I opened this shirt, the room pretty much all said, "Nathan" because it's Brady's first outfit that will look just like his daddy's wardrobe...
Cute game--label each "pregnancy term" with a candy name...


Diaper Tricycle--cute!
Brady's name in cute handmade paper onesies...
The whole group!
My sweet girlfriends and hostesses...

B-R-A-D-Y...where did this name come from?

Prior to having out anatomy ultrasound, we had fun talking about name possibilities, making lists, numbering our favorites, etc. It was definitely harder for us to come up with a list of girl names--we had a list and narrowed it down, but we weren't set on the same favorite. When it came to boy names, we had talked about 'Brady' for over six years! (When we were dating, Nathan heard the name and mentioned it to me. I really liked it a lot and hadn't heard it at that point. Since then, we have talked about the name off and on while always saying that it would be fun to have a boy and be able to use the name since we still loved it after six years!) However, we still wanted to make sure, so we came up with a list of other boy names to consider. We were considering other boy names, but we both kept coming back to 'Brady' as our favorite. So, as soon as we found out we were having a little boy, we were sure his name would be Brady Edward.

Since 'Brady' is not a family name, we decided to have a family middle name of 'Edward.' Nathan's middle name is Edward named after his sweet grandfather Edward Tie. Grandad Tie passed away in September 2009, and we wanted his name to carry on, so we were set on Brady's middle name pretty easily!

When we were searching for names, I came across a fabulous website that I LOVED! There are lots of baby name websites out there, but this one kind of blew me away. As I typed in each name that we were considering, it would come up with a short meaning along with my favorite two features..."If you like this name, what about these names"...AND "Suggested boy/girl sibling names." The bizarre thing about this is that almost EVERY time we typed in a name, the other names that we were considering were listed under the "If you like this name, what about these names." Then, I was again surprised to find the opposite sex names that we liked under the "Suggested boy/girl sibling names." If you have any names that you like, you should try it out--it was CRAZY!

(Pictured above: Brady's wall letters--one of my little projects that I finished over the weekend! The fabric is also in his bedding to be shown later.)

A Semi-Reveal Night

As soon as we found out we were having a boy, we told our parents! But, we decided to wait until our next gathering with Nathan's extended family to have a semi-reveal night with them. To tell his family that we were having a baby BOY, we made blue cupcakes with lots of white icing (to cover the blue), so they didn't know until the bit into the cupcake. It was pretty exciting and fun to see them all find out at the same time! Of course, we HAD to record this moment--too much excitement to miss out with the video :)

Telling Our Families...

When you find out you are pregnant, it is SO hard to not shout it to the world--you just feel like you are hiding something from everyone! I love surprises, but I love doing the surprise...not waiting to do the surprise. We decided that we wanted to share our news with our immediate families pretty early because regardless of what happened, we wanted their support and love. So it began...how do we tell our parents?!?! Christi's dad loves a Hershey bar, so we decided to use that to our advantage when telling her dad and family (see picture and video below). We were about to leave on a cruise with Nathan's parents, so we decided to tell them that we were going to have a party of 5 on the ship, instead of the originally planned 4. Christi's mom recently mentioned that she was amazed by a co-workers ultrasound picture and how much it showed. So, we decided the ultrasound video (seen in previous posts) was the way to go to share with Christi's mom and family. To always have a memory of telling our parents, we decided to video their reactions--how did we do this? You have to be sneaky--our point-and-shoot camera has video, so Nathan just hid it in his pocket and by the time we were doing each surprise, our parents didn't even notice him video taping--we will treasure these videos forever, and we can't wait to show them to Brady one day!

Seeing Baby Brady for the First Time

At my first doctor's appointment, I was only 6 1/2 weeks pregnant! This little video shows just what little Brady looked like a such a YOUNG age in his first ultrasound. Basically, he looks like a little bean (or little peanut as the doctor calls him in the video) with a fluttering heartbeat, which was HUGE for us to be able to see at this point! To know that he was on his way to developing and already had a heartbeat was an amazing sense of relief...well, as much as it can be at this point in pregnancy. Isn't it amazing how quickly a little one begins developing?!?!

Here We Go...

Time to start a family blog as we await the arrival of our first baby...baby boy Brady! Today, I am 25 weeks along with 15 to go, and we just cannot wait to meet this little guy. It's Saturday, and we are spending this day getting a few more things ready for Brady's nursery! Nathan stained a dresser that we already had, so it would match Brady's crib and changer, and I am working on the letters that will hang above Brady's crib. Previously, my dad and stepmom came for a visit, and we put my dad to work as he worked with Nathan to put the crib and changer together (see pictures). We LOVE these two pieces that we found a JCPenney--I never would have thought to look there for cribs, but they have an awesome selection on their website, and the quality is great! More pictures to come as these little projects get completed :) Happy SUNNY Saturday!