Baby Gear ~ Round 2

If baby gear/products posts aren't for you, locate that little X quickly that will close this page!

I love baby gear.  Before I was even pregnant with Avery, I had picked out most of what I wanted in terms of furniture and gear.  A few changes were made here and there, but mostly I stuck to my initial choices, especially since I had read almost every comment for each particular item on Babies R Us online.  Luckily, I was and continue to be very satisfied with everything we chose.  Nothing has fallen apart, been recalled, or gone out of style, and since we did mainly neutrals, we could use the items again with Sam.  Every new baby needs a few new things though, and I thought I'd share what we're using this time around since I love finding out what works and what doesn't work for others, even if the results might be different for us.

Our Baby Jogger City Mini Double is my absolute favorite item this time around.  This was another one of those items that I researched long before I actually needed a double stroller, but when the time came, I knew what I wanted.  It's so easy to push, folds up nicely, has huge sunshades, and Sam can ride without a car seat.  I debated on the adapter for the seat, but he's doing just fine without.  I think it would have kind of crowded Avery, but as it is now, she seems very comfortable riding along.  I have yet to try it at the mall, but most reviews say it fits well through doors.  This stroller is the 4th stroller parked in our garage, and each set of grandparents has one, so I've had some experience.  This is most definitely my favorite and well-worth the investment.

Our monitor was also an investment that I debated about for quite some time.  I asked for advice and read those reviews.  We had done just fine with traditional monitors for Avery.  She's on her second, but that's because our cat chews wires.  I just couldn't decide if I "needed" a video monitor.  We purchased the Summer BabyTouch Video Monitor, and I must say I'm pleased with this purchase as well.  Sam is a noisy sleeper with lots of snorts due to reflux, and he's noisy as he puts himself to sleep.  I think I'd be up and down the stairs a lot without the monitor.  We have it mounted in the corner of his room and can pan to see most everything.  My minor complaints are that the picture is not as clear zoomed in, and the battery dies without any type of sound warning.  I plug it in each night by my bed and hope I'm not killing the battery.  We'll get a camera for Avery's room when she comes out of the crib, and one day we may put one in the playroom when Avery is old enough to play upstairs by herself.

When Sam started having trouble napping in the early weeks, I ordered the Fisher Price Rock 'n Play Sleeper after rave reviews from Jennifer.  I put it together easily and liked that it was higher off the floor and more reclined than a bouncer.  Because it reclines more and is deeper, I haven't yet felt the need to strap Sam in.  He got a few weeks of great naps out of that thing, so it was worth its cost.  Now that his naps are shorter, we mainly put him in the crib, but if he's just not having it, we put him in this.  It folds up well and is light, so it's been really easy to move around the house or take to my parents.  We also purchased the bouncer in the same line since Avery's bouncer was pink.  Sam would have embraced the pink just fine, but I wanted some type of seat on each floor of our house, so he rocks the pink in the playroom.  We used the bouncer for SO long with Avery and are hoping to do the same with Sam.

We swaddled Avery to sleep for the first 3 months or so and knew we would do the same with Sam.  For Avery, we used Luna Lullaby blankets and then SwaddleMe blankets when she started busting out of our swaddles.  I really like the light-weight Luna Lullaby blankets for a warm summer day when the baby needs something over him also.  This time I tried a Swaddle Design blanket because I knew it would be cooler in March.  I love the blankets and the colors but we just couldn't keep Sam in it with me feeling safe at the same time.  I don't do blankets in the crib at all, so when he could loosen it and it started moving toward his face, I knew we needed something different.  The Miracle Blanket was our answer.  It has arm flaps separate from the swaddling pieces, so those arms shouldn't be going anywhere.  I also like that it has no Velcro, since Velcro always sticks to something in the wash that I didn't want it stuck on.  We have one SwaddleMe that we'll use in the swing or if we're holding him, because he really needs to be swaddled to calm down and sleep, but after a short while those hands are out.  Avery had some pink gingham ones that kept her contained and I need to pull those out for back-up.  The Miracle Blanket is a little more expensive but worth it.

Bottles were something else I asked a lot of opinions about.  With Avery, we used the Playtex Drop-Ins and had no problems.  We just hated that each bottle had to be measured out since the liner measurements tended to vary.  I finally settled on Avent for Sam and had no problems.  I followed the directions and never had leak.  However, their variable flow nipple did not work with cereal in the bottle for reflux, and it produced too many bubbles in the bottle.  So, we went back to the Playtex since we already had perfected the nipples with Avery.  I've decided that bottles are a pain regardless; some are easy to clean and some are easy to make.  The Playtex ones are easy to clean, and that's were I lose out since Ned is the bottle washer.  We're using Avent bottles to measure this time though and that does seem to make it much easier.  Hopefully we'll get the cereal out of the bottles when he starts solids around 6 months, and we'll decide then which bottles we'll use.  I did Dr. Browns for a day with Sam and really liked those as well.

I spotted the Bestever Baby Mat at my friend Lexi's and knew it was just something Sam would need.  It's big and soft and cushy, which is perfect on hardwood floors with no rugs, and there are lots of fun designs.  It's also easier to lay babies down on than the play mat since you're not getting caught up in the toy bars.  I purchased this from a store here in town but they're  available many places online.  I'm waiting for Avery to want one as well.

And while they're not really gear, I have to include stretchies from The Children's Place.  I love that they fit tightly, I love the elastic around the top of the foot since both of my children tend to get tangled in jammie legs, I love the cute patterns, and I love the price.  I still love Hannas when they're older and keeping socks on better because they hold up in the wash so well, but you can't beat these for the price while babies are growing so quickly.

Those are the new things that we've tried with baby #2.  Sam is enjoying Avery's Fisher Price swing and the play mat that she used.  Before we know it, it will be time for the Bumbo, excersaucer, and sleep sack.  I'm sure Sam will get a few more new things along the way.  As active as he is, I think he may enjoy some type of jumping seat, so I guess it's time to start reading reviews on those.