What I'm Buying For Baby #2
Considering that my first baby was only born two years ago, I didn't feel like I needed nearly as much for baby #2 as I needed the first time around. My husband and I have serious aversions to both clutter and excess, so keeping it reined in took a fair amount of work. It's amazing how many new things come out annually for babies! It's almost overwhelming... But, here I sit at 40+ weeks and the decisions have all been made!
1. New Baby Monitor, here.
We went with a Motorola Monitor with our first child. They always have mixed reviews, but are somehow they continue to be highly recommended by the experts and baby bloggers. However, for us, we had trouble with ours from day one. After a LOT of searching, I've decided to go with Infant Optics and we will be buying an additional camera so that we can have one in each of the kids rooms. What we like about it is being able to toggle between the two cameras with a single monitor. The other benefit of this particular device was it's range and the ability to pan and angle throughout each room from the single monitor. Now that our toddler may potentially be transitioning to "quiet time" in lieu of a nap in the near future, we want to be able to keep an eye on him even if he isn't in his crib.
2. Diaper Cream, here.
Diaper rash is just the WORST! When you have your first baby, its pretty much guaranteed that you'll receive a pretty substantial amount of different brands of butt paste and diaper creams. And that's GREAT! It allows you the opportunity to try them all out and see what works best for your babe. When my little one was just over a year old, one of my closest friends shared that Aquaphor Baby was saving her bacon with her daughter. Because she's such a researcher and shared what she was going through with her little one, I gave it a shot and haven't used anything since. It creates such a good barrier between your sweet ones buns and all the not-so-goodies that you don't really want against their delicate skin.
3. Travel Bag diaper cream, here.
Yep, I'm such a big fan that I buy the big container, but I'm definitely not dragging that thing around the city! So, travel size for all the bags I own it is.
4. Diaper Cream Applicators, here.
The first time I saw one of these silicone contraptions, I thought that they just seemed unnecessary. But, I received one as a gift for baby number one and soon enough found myself running around the house looking for it every diaper change! I have to admit, its really nice not having diaper cream taking up permanent residence under my finger nails! I now keep one in my son's room, the living room, and a small version in the diaper bag. Naturally, I had to purchase one for the new nursery since I know I'll be back at square one with the late night diaper changes and won't want to be creeping into the toddlers room with a newborn in tow.
5. Mountain Buggy Clip-On High Chair, here.
We bought the Stokke Tripp Trapp Chair because we liked that it grows so easily with your child. AND because it eventually becomes a pretty cool looking chair after your kid grows out of it! However, on our first vacation with our really good friends, we saw their clip on high chair for their little one and fell in love with the flexibility it offered. We knew that we were going to get one if we were blessed with a second child. We are going with the Mountain Buggy Clip-On in black in hopes that it will aide in resale once our babe grows out of it.
6. Burts Bees, Shampoo & Body Wash, here.
I can't say enough great things about Burts Bees products for my babies. I've been so happy with everything so far. So, now I buy it in bulk!
7. Maxi Cosi Infant Car Seat, here.
We actually gave away our infant carseat pretty early in our first babies life because he HATED it! We moved to the convertible carseat around month 3 of his life and it was just too much to have two carseats hanging around, so we gave it and our stroller away to have less stuff. Because we've replaced our stroller with a great jogger by Mountain Buggy, we wanted an infant car seat that worked with our current system. Why I chose the Maxi Cosi in the end, was due to their safety rating, the ability to put it in the car with out the base in emergencies, and the ability to just remove the fabric cover and wash it in the washing machine!
8. Mountain Buggy Freerider, here.
Our first still really wants nothing to do with the stroller unless he's the one pushing it, so we have zero desire to purchase a double stroller. However, I'm no fool and I know that I will need to be able to put both of the children in my direct line of site in order to get some things done when we're out and about in the city. So, we're buying the Mountain Buggy Freerider and hoping for the best! I love that you can clip this onto the stroller and cruz right along, as well as remove it and allow them to play with it on their own.
9. Freshly Picked Diaper Bag, here.
Two kids definitely requires a bigger diaper bag. But, I still like to have something stylish. Most important, I need to be able to be hands free, so this Freshly Picked Bag checks all the boxes! The leather is so soft and I'm so happy with this purchase. The only thing this bag doesn't have is an insulated area for keeping bottles cool, but I still have my Skip Hop Bottle Bag, so I feel like that covers all the bases.
10. Gathre Leather Playmat, here.
I found this brand when I first found out I was pregnant with baby #2 and thought it was sure a beautiful product. Now, with a toddler always on the go, I know that having a good, durable play mat will be crucial with taking a newborn out into the world. This mat is so soft and gorgeous! I love it.
11. Gender Neutral Spearmint Baby Kimono, here and here.
Yep, once again, we decided not to find out the sex of our baby. We didn't the first time around, so couldn't really justify a reason to do so the second time around. Luckily, we actually have quite a bit of gender neutral tiny baby options, but it was still important to me to have a couple things that were just for this baby - girl or boy. I've been so happy with all of my purchases from Spearmint Baby over the last couple of years and these tiny little kimonos don't disappoint! Baby P hated having clothing items pulled over his head, so going Kimono style is a lesson I'm grateful to have learned for the second babe.
12. Keekaroo Changing Peanut, here.
I was only really familiar with standard changing pads with changing pad covers with my first baby. After meeting a few new moms in my weekly childhood education classes year one with Baby P, I saw the beauty that is the Keekaroo Changing Peanut! It's amazing that you can just wipe this thing down if there are any accidents. I also love the shape of it and how soft it actually is. I can see it being a little cold to the touch during the cooler months, but an easy fix that was suggested to me was to use a cloth diaper insert through the fall and winter months! If accidents happen, you can use the insert to wipe up the mess and toss it in the wash!
13. The Softest Swaddles EVER, here.
I used these swaddles the first time around SO MUCH, they nearly fell apart! They are so lovely and soft. Exactly what you touching your sweet babies skin. Not to mention that the designs are so beautiful too!
14. SwaddleMe Pods, here.
My first baby lived in this thing for his first month of life or so. We were constantly washing it! I don't know why we didn't just buy him a second one, but we've decided having at least two these will be easier this time around than constantly running the washer to make baby number two comfortable! It definitely creates that womb-like cocoon without the hassle of trying to swaddle a squirming newborn. Here are a few more color options that are available, here, here and here.
15. Honest Company Newborn Diapers, here.
I have had a subscription for Honest Company since week 1 of Baby P's life, and I'm so happy with them and can't imagine using a different company. I love that they are made without chlorine processing, latex, fragrances, and lotions. I think the subscription system is an easy way to take one aspect of "mommin'" off our busy plates. And lastly, I mean, the prints are just too friggin' cute to pass on!
16. Essential Oil Diffuser, here.
This may seem like an odd one, but we had to fight with our first born HARD for sleep. I tell you what, his pediatrician recommended essential oils and I kicked myself for not thinking of it sooner. Bonus is that its also so relaxing for you when you're rocking them back to sleep in those late night hours. We'll be starting out from day one with one of these for our newest family member!
And that's basically it! We're keeping it super simple this time around and we hope it pays off. I'm sure I'll be following up with the rush Amazon Prime items we have to purchase in the middle of the sleepless nights.
xx heather-scherie