Stuff…and more stuff…

People kept telling us we had too much stuff. I was having way too much fun baby gear shopping to stop though. Everyone said, “there’s no way she’ll use all of that”.

By the time she was born, we had a bouncer, cradle swing, pack & play, tummy time pad, and a floor gym. On top of the toys and other fun things. I too started to think that we had too much, but I wanted to be prepared.

And boy am I glad I was prepared. We use all of our stuff, I wish we had more stuff – I wish we could live in Buy Buy Baby!

A high needs baby needs lots of things to keep their attention and to help calm them down. We usually will get anywhere from 10-30 minutes of calm time with any item. And then we have to find the next thing that will work.

Here are some of the things we have found work best for Madison:

• The vacuum has become our best friend. My advice – buy a cheap shop vac. They’re meant to run for longer periods (and you won’t ruin yours). White noise helps her immensely.
• Bouncy chair on vibrate on the dryer (with the dryer on).
• Pacing back and forth while patting her on the back. She’ll wake up immediately though if we stop patting.
• Nursing – which now I don’t mind, but in the beginning was more painful than birth – seriously.

If you have a high needs baby, let me know what’s worked for you!