8 Baby Products We Will Use Again for Baby #2
I still remember being pregnant with Julia (my first baby) and feeling quite confused about making a baby registry. There were so many different products, so many different brands, and the part I dreaded the most – so many reviews to weed through.
Ultimately, I made my choices based on two factors: things I remembered working well with my niece who I had spent a lot of time babysitting as an infant, and affordability. I tried to register for things that were affordable or at least mid-range prices. I knew that a lot of baby products are used for a short period of time and I tried to invest more money into things that we would use for a longer time frame than the short newborn period.
Today I’m sharing 8 baby products that worked so well with Julia that I will be re-using or purchasing again (since some things cannot be reused. Example pacifiers) with baby #2, and that I would recommend to others.
At the end of the post, I also added a few products that I would not use again and why.
Let’s get started!
Let’s be honest – I think we all have one (or a few) memories of the newborn stage that make us shudder. For me, one of these memories is swaddling. Julia did well with swaddling, as in, it helped her sleep (as well as newborns sleep) for those first few weeks. However, I could never master a traditional swaddle. My husband was an excellent swaddler! I remember feeling like a failure, watching him swaddle Julia up at 3 am like it was muscle memory, while if I tried, I would end up in tears from my frustration.
Then one day I discovered that velcro swaddles existed. It takes pretty much all the work out of swaddling and the velcro feature makes it difficult for babies to break themselves out of it. I adored this product and used it right up until Julia began rolling (which is when it is advised to no longer swaddle since it can then become a SIDS risk). I have a few saved from Julia’s infancy however the velcro is a bit worn out so I have invested in some new ones for the next baby. The brand we loved most was SwaddleMe. The going price for these is about $20 for a two-pack if you buy online. However, I did find a two-pack at Walmart in-store recently for half the price. (Link to purchase online).
Once Julia grew out of these we moved on to the HALO sleepsack which I mention later on in this post!
When I had Julia, I don’t recall having to think much about which bassinet to use. I remembered from watching my niece, that the bassinet stage was a short one, so I figured I would go with something affordable and peek around at reviews. Bassinets are one of the harder decisions to make for many moms because the price range and features on these are out of this world. You can get a bassinet for $50 and also for $1,500! However, one thing doesn’t change – you don’t use them for long. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that your baby should be out of a bassinet by six months of age.
Some bassinets will advertise a slew of fancy features that promise baby to sleep all night (rocking, vibrating, etc). But the reality is, newborns aren’t really expected to sleep through the night right away. That, and, the affordable ones often have similar features as well. Sometimes it’s hard not to fall for the marketing but I think it’s worth remembering that you will want your baby to sleep in a crib eventually. Cribs do not come with these features.
For all these reasons combined, I opted to go with a Delta baby bassinet with Julia. We got it at a very discounted price at the time because a department store near us was closing down. I believe we paid only about $40 for it. Julia outgrew it around 4 months old! I definitely do not regret this purchase and we had intended to use it again with baby #2. Unfortunately, it got damaged while we were moving houses last year so we had to re-purchase it. Thankfully, we once again got a great deal on Black Friday and wound up paying around $60 vs. the current (though still affordable) retail price of $95.
(After the bassinet, we transitioned Julia into this mini crib since she room-shared with us until she was 9 months old.)
We registered for this bouncer during my first pregnancy for a few reasons, it was an affordable option, had good reviews, and it had worked well for my niece. Bouncers are another one of those things that the price can vary wildly on. However, at $60 this bouncer is not only affordable but durable. We used it with Julia for about 6 months and put it away. Nearly 5 years later it is still in good working condition for baby #2. These bouncers are great for when you want to put baby somewhere safe so that you can get a few things done. I remember putting Julia in this often while I cooked or took a shower. It was a great help in those first few months!
I knew before Julia was born that I wanted to try babywearing, so I did a lot of research on which carriers were best. This is one of those things that I felt I absolutely could not go cheap on. You want to pick a carrier that has a good reputation and properly supports the baby’s legs to prevent hip dysplasia. The range of prices for baby carriers can range from $20 to $300. The Tula baby carrier had excellent reviews so that was what I went with. The price of this carrier ranges depending on the style/pattern/weight capacity but the one I got is around $100. The one I chose begins at a minimum weight of 15lbs so it is not for the infant stage, however, you can get an infant insert for it ($20) to use it at that stage. I did not use it in the infant age with Julia since I didn’t have the insert, but once she was big enough to use it we really loved it! I loved being able to hold her so close while we went for walks, or outings to the grocery store. The very last time I used it Julia was almost 2 years old! That is another great thing about the Tula, it has a long time frame for usage (newborn to toddler) making it easier for me to spend a little more money on it since I knew it wasn’t something we would use for only a few months. I also found it very comfortable to use, even when Julia was 2 and weighing over 25lb.
MAM Glow in the Dark Pacifiers
Glow in the dark pacifiers – whoever came up with this was a genius. It took us a while to discover these particular pacifiers but they made life a little easier once we did! I cannot necessarily recommend the brand because pacifiers are one of those things that every baby is different with. Some babies will take any pacifier, others will prefer only a certain kind. Luckily with Julia, there were a couple of brands of pacifiers that she liked, and MAM was one of them.
The reason these were so great was because of the glow-in-the-dark feature. Once Julia was a few months old we only used the pacifier for sleep times then eventually phased it out at 18 months. However, prior to giving it up, one of the most frustrating things in the middle of the night would be waking up to a baby who had lost the pacifier and then groggily reaching around in the dark trying to find it. These glow-in-the-dark pacifiers were a lifesaver. I am hoping baby #2 likes them so we can use them again!
Like I mentioned above, I learned a lot about baby products while babysitting my niece, long before my daughter was born. I recall that my niece struggled a lot with diaper rashes but for whatever reason, did best with Target diapers and wipes. At the time I never really thought about diaper brands and the differences in cost. However, once I became a mom I learned that diapers were pretty expensive, some brands more than others. I couldn’t help but notice a huge difference in price between one of the leading name brand diapers, Pampers, which I received some of at my baby shower, and Target brand diapers, which I had experience using with my niece.
The difference in cost between Pampers diapers and Target diapers is big! For example, a box of 124 newborn Target brand diapers is $14.99 vs. a box of 84 Pampers newborn diapers which are $26.99. That is more than $10 more per box. Pampers does have a rewards system for diapers, however from what I’ve read, people say that it still does not save as much as using a store brand such as Target.
Some people get a ton of name-brand diapers for their baby showers and decide to stick with the brand when they run out. I know for us, we received a mix of Pampers, Target brand (which I registered for), and Huggies. When we ran out, we always went back to Target. I never had an issue with leaks or rashes using their diapers. As a matter of fact, our worst diaper experience was with Huggies! I will say, I do like Pampers overnight diapers once baby sleeps through the night. But during the day, name-brand diapers, are not worth the difference in cost to me. They are diapers. We know what goes in them. Of course, if our baby had an adverse reaction to store-brand diapers, I would absolutely see the splurge as worth it. But personally, we had no issues with the Target brand and since there is no baby shower this time around, I sincerely hope baby #2 does as well with them as Julia did.
The HALO sleepsack was absolutely an essential product for us from as soon as Julia grew out of swaddles, right until she was 2 years old! With safe sleep recommendations, it is not advised to have a blanket in the crib until your child is at least 1 year old due to SIDs risk. The HALO sleepsack is basically a blanket that your baby can safely wear. They usually come in a cotton fabric however they also have a fleece option for the winter months. They come in sizes ranging from the newborn stage right through early toddlerhood. They retail for about $25 per sack but they are very well made and something you could easily use again with a future baby, which we plan on doing. Other brands like Carters also make their own version of sleepsacks so feel free to compare the prices if you decide to get some. For us, we found that the Halo brand had the longest length so we were able to get a longer time frame of use out of each size (Julia was a tall baby).
We started tummy time around 2 weeks old with Julia and thankfully she tolerated it pretty well from the start. The play gym is one of the first “toys” that you can offer baby, and they are great for their development! While you could technically throw a blanket on the floor and practice tummy time that way, I liked having the play gym because once baby is tired of tummy time you can put them on their back and let them look at and eventually play with the hanging elements of the gym. Julia loved hers and used it for a good part of the first half of her first year. While we personally can’t reuse the same play mat for baby #2 (Julia had bad reflux and I was constantly cleaning the mat), we will be buying another one similar to what we had. The prices vary on these (like all of these things, right?!) but you can get a decent one between $50-$100. We haven’t picked one for baby #2 yet but are leaning towards this one.
As far as products
that I would not re-purchase
there are a few…
I had good intentions with this purchase. Like with many of my baby gear purchases, I took price into consideration. This high chair is unbeatable in price. It retails for $21.99! I also liked that it was entirely plastic so it would be very easy to clean. For the most part, this high chair truly was fine. However, it is not the most ergonomic or comfortable seat. I did love how easy it was to clean. For our next baby, I’m going to try to find something with a little more support that also includes a foot rest.
As I mentioned earlier in the post, I enjoyed babywearing with Julia. While the Tula carrier worked great, I had also wanted a wrap for the newborn age. The Moby wrap had a lot of great reviews which is why I invested in one. However, I struggled to get it right. I found it to be extremely frustrating and confusing.
For baby #2 babywearing will probably be more of a necessity than simple preference. Especially the first few months as Julia will be home from school and I will be home alone with two kids. I wondered if there was such a thing as a wrap that was already wrapped for you. As it turns out, there is! The Baby K’tan is prewrapped. You do have to fill out a sizing calculator on their site to get the right size as this wrap is not one size fits all like the Moby wrap. Since the Moby wrap didn’t work out for me and I paid full price for it, I decided to get the Baby K’tan used just in case it doesn’t work out. I was able to score one on eBay for $25 (vs. $60 retail) in like-new condition. I’ve tried it out and it really does seem as simple as it promises to be. I really look forward to using it when baby comes!
The Nose Frida was very popular around the time Julia was born. We tried it, but didn’t love it. First of all, I found this product difficult to clean. Secondly, I don’t feel there is any real benefit to this product vs. the traditional bulb syringes used to suction baby noses. Julia didn’t enjoy either the Nose Frida or the bulb syringe. The difference was I found the bulb syringes slightly easier to clean, and when I wasn’t sure – they were waaaay cheaper to replace, retailing between $3-$6 each vs. the Nose Frida which retails between $10-$18 depending on what set you buy.
This was mostly a personal mistake for us as a convertible crib can definitely be the right choice for many families. The appeal with this kind of crib is that when you purchase the crib, you get a regular-looking crib that comes with additional parts that can eventually be converted into a toddler bed and then a full-sized bed. These kinds of cribs naturally, cost more money. For us, we bought a convertible crib while still living in our apartment, which was always a temporary living situation. We hadn’t really considered whether or not the full-sized bed version of the crib we bought would work in Julia’s eventual bedroom when we moved. As it turns out, it would not fit in the bedroom of our house when we moved due to the bulky design of the bedframe. We wound up having to buy a new bedframe anyway. So we paid extra for a convertible crib that we will never use full-sized bed option of. I only regret this so much because an infant crib can easily go for $100-$150 vs the $300+ that we spent. I think part of the marketing appeal of these is you feel like you’re getting two bedframes for the price of one (crib and full). But if you are not in your permanent living space it’s hard to know if the full-sized version will work out. It’s only a deal if you know for sure it will work when it comes time to turn the crib into a full-sized bed.
That wraps up today’s post! I’m curious – whether you’re a mom of one or multiple, what baby products would/did you use again?
