Near the end of my pregnancy I bought an exercise ball. It looked something like this:
Ok, so by "near the end of my pregnancy" I probably mean "way sooner than was necessary." Just like packing my hospital bag 3 months before I actually needed to head to the hospital, there is no such thing as "overprepared" in the mind of a first time mom.
My reasons for buying it: 1.) Use in labor at home and 2.) Get some abs after baby comes. Have I used it for either of those things? Nope! Yay intentions! I will say that I got a lot of use out of the one at the hospital though. And that I did do a set of crunches on it. Once, I think. Still, I found that even without my intended usage of it, the exercise ball is probably one of the best baby items I ever bought.
We never got any kind of rocker or glider before Charlotte was born. And I have no idea how we figured this out, but bouncing with Charlotte on the ball was so comforting to her. I can't even tell you how much time we spent on it in those first few weeks and months. Even now, when she rarely ever needs (or wants) comfort in the form of rocking, ect., I will still occasionally get back on that ball with her sitting in my lap and just bounce. And it usually calms her down.
It's funny because we thought it was such a random thing we did with Charlotte, but you wouldn't believe how many people I've heard of doing the same thing.
So pregnant women! People looking for baby gift ideas! Here is one of my top suggestions! It's such a simple thing, yet so versatile. You can use it in the end of your pregnancy (it helped when my back hurt), you can use it in labor, you can use it to rock your baby to sleep, and you can use it to get that pre-baby body back (or so I hear)! And bonus: it's a fun toy! it can be employed as a makeshift baby gate (being a parent makes you creative)! you can even use it to make a giant chandelier! Oh the possibilities.
So there it is: my secret to parenting. Hah not really, my secret to parenting is MUCH deeper then that. But it really was a life saver for us and I just felt like that giant green ball needed to be publically recognized for its service. It will never look good in your living room, but it just might help you get through the tough times.
A definite staple on my recommended buys list!
