Baby my Baby - product review

*Disclaimer: This post contains affiliated links. I received free samples of products and coupons for products in exchange for my review. All statements and opinions are my own.

Through Kroger' program MyMagazineSharingNetwork I received a group of products and coupons for products all baby related. These products are perfect for my house considering I have a toddler and we are still in the diaper, wipes, and baby food phase. The main question they are wanting answered is this: How do you baby your baby? I've com up with some of the go to item that we use and love. I'm also including some non product related ways that I baby my baby.

We are now at a stage that we generally use the same kind of diapers on Kizzy consistently. When she was younger it didn't seem to matter as much and I went with what was on sale and what I have good coupons for. I still try to catch sales and use coupons, but we use mainly these diapers.

• Huggies Little Movers Slip on Diapers. Kizzy doesn't like to hold still for diaper changes and these make it so much easier. 
• Pampers Baby Dry diapers. These are great for night time. Kizzy can go all night without being changed and not have a leaky diaper. 
• Huggies OverNights diapers. These also work well for night time diapers. 

Food is another area where we have some favorite items.

• Similac formula. When Kizzy was on formula as her only food source we gave her Similac Advance and it worked great for her. 
• Yogurt Dots or Yogurt Bites. My child loves these! We don't have a specific brand that we get. Gerber and Beechnut make some good ones though. They also have some that are fruit and veggie dots. We like those too. 
• Spaghetti-Os. Maybe not the healthiest thing, but Kizzy will actually eat them. Kizzy has been very slow to eat solid foods, so any food that she will eat well is a winner for us. 
• Food Pouches. Again, there are a lot of great choices. When Kizzy first started eating baby food I thought I would make her food myself. Well that didn't last long. Making your own is great cause you know exactly what goes into it, but sometimes convenience wins. Now days there are so many great options in the world of baby food and it is pretty affordable as well. One in particular that Kizzy seems to enjoy a lot is Kroger's Comforts for Baby Banana Blueberry and Oat food pouch. 

Other products that we love and use.

• Johnson's Baby Shampoo with Lavender. Not only is this relaxing for evening baths, but it leaves Kizzy's hair smelling so good. 
• Baby Trend Expedition Jogging Stroller. Easily the most used item we bought for Kizzy. I use this stroller daily. It has held up great and it is super easy to maneuver. It is also quite affordable compared to other jogging strollers. 

Others ways that I baby my baby.

• Plenty of play time. I believe that this is important for Kizzy's development. 
• Daily walks. We all need the fresh air. 
• Reading to her. I want her to have a good vocabulary and to be a reader herself. 
• Learning and play time outside of the home. I have recently started taking Kizzy to a weekly Preschool Play time at our local library. Look into your local libraries to see what activities they offer. 
• Plenty of snuggle time. Kizzy is a snuggle baby and she gets plenty of snuggles every day.

So, there are just a few of the ways that I Baby my Baby.

#BabyMyBaby #MyMagazineSharing

Baby Room - Crib

So, scraping wallpaper and painting a baby room while taking care of a baby is just not happening. Ugh! Maybe it will get done by the time Kizzy is one, or at least I hope. Poor child may just have to live in a room with partially scraped wallpaper.

It is time to transition Kizzy from her bassinet to a crib though. Actually past time since the weight guidlines for a bassinet is up to 15 lbs. and Kizzy is now 17lbs. Oops! Since we bought an older used crib at a yard sale, I wanted to at least paint it before she started using it. We got it for only $15 and it was a bit worn, but it is functional.We did buy a brand new mattress for it. :) As you can see in the picture, I taped off all the areas that were plastic, the side pieces where you hook it all together and the plastic on the top of the sides.

I debated for a while on how to paint the crib. Doing a quick search of how to paint a crib basically went with both spray paint and regular paint. So, I guess it would just be a preference. I chose to spray paint cause I figured it would be easier with all the bars and such. After all is said and done, I think the best way to paint a crib would be to use a spray gun and regular paint. This would give you the best coverage.

Then I debated (with just myself of course) what color to paint the crib. After browsing Pinterest, I found this picture of a red crib and loved it.  (Found here.) But then I wondered if that would be too bold. So, I almost convinced myself to go with a white or cream paint. Then I saw this one and was sold on the red.  Red will be perfect for the sock monkey theme that I plan to go with.

Painting the crib took longer and more paint than I expected. It took a whole 5 cans of spray paint to get it all covered. Trust me, it isn't a perfect paint job either, but it will work. So, here is the end result. (Ignore the less than great picture.) For now the crib is in our room, as we haven't transitioned Kizzy to her own room yet. Thanks to my brother, Dale, for helping my assemble the crib. It was more difficult than I anticipated.

One last note. Since this is an older crib, it has a drop down side. That is a big no-no these days since it is a safety issue. Sometimes you can get parts from the manufacture to fix it. If not, there is an easy way to fix the crib so that it is safe to use. All you need are two corner brackets and some screws (about $5 at most hardware stores.) Just put the bracket at the bottom of the side rail, with the railing in the highest position, and screw it to the bottom of the rail and the side leg of the crib. Do this on both sides and the rail won't move at all.Problem fixed and crib safe! The only down side to this is that you can't take off that one side of the crib without taking off the brackets.

Again, here is the crib before and after.