If you’re anything like me, as a first-time mom trying to decide what baby gear I needed I leaned heavily on the women in my life who were already mothers. I sent my sister-in-law text messages right from the aisles of Buy Buy Baby. I sat with my coworker at the company picnic and picked her brain. And I spent hours reading reviews and posts online. Now that I am three months into being a mom of two, I have some insight on what we liked so much we reused for baby 2, and what we replaced. So, I’m paying forward my advice.
The first thing I did was an inventory of all of Annie’s infant toys, clothes, and other baby gear. I separated out her girly clothes from her gender-neutral clothes so I knew how much we could use for hand-me-downs and what we needed to buy. Of the bigger items we had some decisions to make since not everything lived up to the hype.
Baby Björn Bouncer
With Annie we had a swing that came highly recommended in the mom groups, but we never experienced the magic described in the reviews. For the price we expected the mobile to spin electronically, so we were disappointed in that. But more importantly than that, Annie never found comfort sitting in it. We did like being able to control it from our phones though. So, for baby number 2, it was on the chopping block.
Ultimately, we did keep it and still use it occasionally as a stationary chair (Ace doesn’t like it either). But we added the Baby Björn bouncer to our baby gear arsenal, and I cannot recommend it enough. As far as baby gear goes, this really is at the top of my list for the best bouncer!
We learned about the Baby Björn Bouncer while visiting friends when Annie was 10 months old. Their son was so content in it, and I loved how portable it was. When we found out we were pregnant it was the first thing on the list to buy. I wish we’d known about it sooner. I often consider buying a second one since we use it so often.
We carry it from the dining room to the kitchen to the living room and even sometimes to my in-law’s house. Ace loves bouncing in it on his own, or by my foot bouncing him. The fabric easily comes off to throw it in the washing machine when spit up or a poop-splosion happens.
The bouncer has three recline levels to grow with the baby. It also becomes a toddler chair when he’s older simply by turning around the fabric.
Uppababy Vista Stroller
We put a lot of thought into what stroller to buy for Annie before deciding on the Uppababy Vista. Many people told us that they bought one stroller for their first kid and then had to upgrade for the next kid. I’m not sure if you know this, but strollers are expensive, and my money tree hasn’t bloomed yet. So I wanted to invest the money in one stroller, one time.
A major factor in our decision to go with the Uppababy Vista was that it can hold three kids, two sitting and one riding the Piggy Back Ride-Along Board.
I love that the Uppababy Vista comes with a bassinet (which we used for night sleep for both kids as infants) and a toddler seat. It’s a smooth ride and holds everything we need. We got the Uppababy Mesa Infant Car Seat as well and I love that it easily snaps into the stroller..
As far as accessories go, for Annie we decided on an off-brand stroller bar organizer, which was not the way to go. It never hung right so we didn’t use it. For Ace, we replaced it with the Uppababy Carry-All Parent Organizer, which is so much better. Definitely pay the extra couple dollars for the name brand on this one.
We only have two complaints. 1. It’s a very big stroller and takes up nearly the whole trunk. 2. The weight distribution with two kids is not great. The infant seat is supposed to go in the front, while the toddler goes closest to the push bar, but I’d much rather have the infant closer to me. So, when I position it the way I want, the weight distribution is off. That being said, I’d still choose it again.
Activity Play Mat
The play mat Annie used was either broken upon receipt, or had some major user error. We never did get the flashing lights or sounds to work. So, it felt right to replace this for the new baby. Plus, multiple people recommended a kick and play piano style activity mat, which I regretted not having for Annie. Her daycare had one and she loved it. So I felt confident that it would be a good investment for baby two. We bought the Kick and Play Piano by Baby Einstein and we love it.
It’s lightweight and folds up enough to store under the TV when it’s not in use. Ace loves looking in the mirror and is starting to reach for the other pieces. Annie loves to serenade us with her musical abilities, and I’m sure Ace will enjoy the kicking feature of the piano a little more in the coming weeks and months.
Elvie Breast Pump
I liked the Spectra S1 breast pump I used for Annie. My insurance covered a portion of the cost (the full cost of the S2), and I paid to upgrade to the rechargeable model (the S1). I loved that it was wireless, portable, quiet, and easy to use. I had planned to use it the second time around until I realized we had extra FSA money we needed to use or lose.
The Elvie pump was available on the FSA website and was appealing as a wireless and tubeless pump. I imagined myself trying to pump while chasing our toddler around and holding a newborn. Not being tethered to the wall with the Spectra was great, but having no cords or tubes at all made pumping this time around feel more manageable. Even just the thought of the actual juggling was stressful, so I bought the Elvie, and I highly recommend it. It’s not as discreet as I had expected, simply because it makes my breasts look awkwardly huge through my shirt. But it’s powerful in terms of milk production, comfortable, quiet, and easy to use. If you’re on the fence, I say go for it!
We did replace several smaller things too, like bottles and pacifiers. Obviously, we picked out a few new outfits picked out special just for him, not just the hand-me-downs. Ace has his own sheets and blankets. But there was a lot we could reuse too, which was nice to save on some of the cost. We even had a small stockpile of leftover diapers in the newborn-size 2s to get us started.
Let me know what some of your favorite baby gear items are in the comments!
