Movin' On Up

Well, it's been a banner few days for the retirement of certain key baby gear! All of the following items have now either been put away in the basement or are ready to be returned to Tom and Tanya:

Her Graco travel-system car seat. Yes, Elsa has officially graduated to her new big-girl seat, a Britax Marathon, hastily purchased after I discovered that she now weighs 22.5 pounds on our scale (which is not necessarily accurate, but clearly she's close enough to the old seat's 22-pound weight limit). Here she is trying out her new seat for the first time (pre-installation):


I just keep thinking about how tiny she looked in the old seat when we brought her home for the hospital—it's truly unbelievable that she's already outgrown it! But the old Graco SnugRide had become a very snug ride indeed, and she seems to enjoy the new seat. It raises her up higher, so I think she's able to see out better, and it's certainly roomier! She still has to sit facing backwards for a few more months, but the new seat can be used facing either direction, so we can just turn it around when she's old enough. And it seats children up to 65 pounds, so I think we're covered until Elsa is at least, oh, 18 months old. : )

The Bouncy Seat. It used to keep her entertained for hours, but the other day I realized that she hasn't sat in it in weeks. She doesn't like to be so reclined anymore, and the safety belt doesn't even come close to fitting around her svelte little waist. : ) So that one was really outgrown some time ago, but I just hadn't thought to put it away.

The Bumbo. Unlike the bouncy seat, I would love to keep using this one. Elsa sits very well on her own now and rarely falls over, but it does still happen from time to time, and the idea of her tipping over near our coffee table terrifies me. While I've never actually heard of a baby breaking her neck by falling into a coffee table, I think it's a very real possibility with this particular table. It's all hard edges and sharp corners—the kind of coffee table only a babyless couple would even consider purchasing. So I was still putting Elsa in the Bumbo, especially when she sat with her back to the coffee table to watch Sesame Street. But the other day, I went to get her out of the Bumbo, and darned if that thing wasn't totally stuck on her chubby little butt. I mean, it wasn't coming off without some effort! I decided that was a sign that the Bumbo's time was past.

The Swing. This is definitely the one I'm most nostalgic about and am the saddest to see go. When I think back on Elsa's newborn months, one of the ways I'll most often picture her is sleeping peacefully in her aquarium swing in the family room. She still has about two and a half pounds to go before she has to give up the swing, but the problem is that we're still relying on it for her naps, and I know that's a habit we need to break ASAP. Every day for the past several weeks, I'd think, "She really needs to start napping in her crib," but every day I'd still put her in the swing, because that was just easier, and I was desperate for some time to myself and to get things done. But yesterday, I decided to go cold turkey, and I put the swing down in the basement. And you know what? Elsa's done fine napping in her crib—better than fine, in fact. This morning I put her down in the crib, and not only did she fall asleep in less than five minutes, she slept for two solid hours! That's an out-of-control great nap for Elsa. So maybe it wasn't really Elsa who needed the swing so badly—maybe it was Mommy's way of hanging on to that sweet little newborn. But she's been replaced by a wonderful almost-seven-month-old, and I wouldn't trade her for any newborn in the world ... even one that sleeps peacefully.