Baby Gear (Round Two)

After Thomas was born, I wrote two posts on baby gear. This was the first one written at about this time postpartum with Thomas, and this was the one I wrote to encompass his entire first year last January. And with two kiddos, not much has changed. So refer back to those posts for all the baby gear I like, this is just about stuff I use daily now that I’m chasing after a toddler, too. I really didn’t want to buy a lot of new stuff for a second kid, but knew that a double stroller was at the top of my list – getting out of the house and getting some exercise every morning is paramount to my survival .  The following six items are seriously the only things I currently use day-to-day (with the exception of Nell’s carseat). 6 baby items, that’s it. Do I have other stuff? Yes. Could I live without the boppy, the bumbo, etc etc? Yes. Here’s what I use daily:

1. Baby Jogger City Mini Double GT. I was a little OCD on my researching of double strollers. Tandem or side by side? Jogger or pavement friendly? Will it fit in the backseat of the Honda Pilot with the third row of seats up? I bought three strollers during Thomas’s first year of life for different purposes (Snap n’ Go, Jogger and Umbrella Stroller) and I didn’t want to do that with a double.  I finally settled on the Baby Jogger City Mini Double GT (got that?). Ask Kim and Shannon, I was still deciding on our trip to Chicago and almost accosted a woman who was pushing this stroller because no store had it in stock for me to check out in person yet. I adore it – the sunshades are awesome, it fits through a standard doorway (like I have time to go to a mall, but if I did, it would fit through the door to Crate and Barrel), it has Forever Air tires (basically a glorified foam) to work better on trails, etc, and it’s fairly lightweight and compact for a side by side double. It has its cons…the basket isn’t wonderfully accessible, but honestly, I rarely use the stroller basket anyway. The wheels lock up on me (to the point where I’m one wheel lock away from calling customer service for a replacement wheel). And it’s not a Jogger despite the name of the company it’s made by, though in a pinch I could probably run away from a coyote with it. Not that coyotes hang out in our neighborhood or anything (they totally do). Otherwise, I adore it. And it doesn’t hurt that it comes in orange to satiate my tangerine phase.  I saved my pennies starting the day I found out I was pregnant with Nell knowing that I’d be ridiculous and want an expensive stroller, and it was worth all that penny pinching. But, if I hadn’t cared about the air tires, I would have bought the less expensive non-GT version or this similar double stroller instead.
(I will say that I forsee buying a sit and stand type of stroller – hopefully used – in the next month for a massive road trip B and I have planned with the kids, but it wouldn’t be necessary if I didn’t want a cheaper stroller to fly with and one that would accept Nell’s carseat – I opted out of the carseat adapter for the double stroller because I feel like that should be included for the ridiculous price). 

2. Infantino Twist and Fold Activity Gym. This was a totally unnecessary purchase because we already have a playmat (that was handed down to us from a friend), but honestly, it was probably the thing we used most with Thomas and I figured A) Can’t hurt to have two and B) This mat is so dang cute. So, I bought a new one. And we use both of them – but this one lives on the main floor of our house. Nell spends lots of time on it. And so does Thomas:

3. Moby Wrap. I’m not really a baby wearer – it’s just not something that feels stable and comfortable to me, so I do it more out of necessity – places where strollers aren’t super convenient and carts don’t exist, or when we’re out for a walk and don’t want to deal with the stroller. But I knew that with a 2 year old and an infant, I’d need my hands free more. So I use it more. I still don’t LOVE it – there’s just something about it that doesn’t feel totally secure to me, but I’m way more adjusted than I was wearing this kind of thing with Thomas. I also have an Ergo that I love and an infant insert, but I use the Moby more because it’s a little less cumbersome for errands and around the neighborhood and choose the Ergo for longer hauls. You’re shocked I picked orange, huh?

4. Bright Start Ingenuity Bouncer. We had this with Thomas. Nell didn’t love it as much as Thomas did for the first three months, but she likes it better now and honestly? I just need a safe place to put her down that’s not the crib or the pack and play sometimes. 

5. Lorex Live Snap Baby Video Monitor. I was one of those anti-video monitor people. And then I was looking for a dual room monitor, and realized my only options were pretty much video monitors. So I bought this one based on it’s ability to attach up to 4 cameras to one receiver and lower price, and I’ve gotta say, I’m suddenly sold on the Video Monitor. Could you do without it? Absolutely. We did with Thomas. But I love this thing.

6. Aden and Anais Swaddling Blankets. I’m an old school swaddler. I don’t like the Swaddle Mes and Miracle Blankets – they confuse the hell out of me. Just give me a big muslin blanket. I actually have 12 of these. Excessive? Probably, but I go through like 4 a day and keep one in the car and diaper bag at all times. Burp rags, swaddle blanket, stroller blanket, car seat cover, nursing cover. I sing the praises of these blankets everywhere I go and could easily put another 12 to good use. Thomas also apparently thinks these are magical blankets that will make him invisible, because he loves to throw one over his head when we’re playing hide and seek, stand one foot in front of me and say, “Where’s Thomas?” He’s an excellent hider.