I found registering for our first baby really overwhelming. There were so many options for every type of baby gear, and I had a hard time figuring out what was the best and safest and what we really needed. (If you’re doing your registry for the first time, check out my registry must-haves that I wrote after James was born and I had figured out what we really needed the most.) Luckily, my best friend who was already a mom helped me through it, and we were lucky enough to inherit lots of secondhand baby gear. But I still ended up spending way too much time researching and debating over which crib, which mattress, which stroller, etc. to get.
I’m finding that with my second pregnancy, I just have a lot less time to worry about prepping for baby (I’m deep into figuring out how to deal with parenting Baby #1 aka raising a toddler) and honestly, when it comes to baby gear, I feel like we have most of it and the rest we’ll figure out as we go. I don’t feel like I need to have it all figured out this time, which is something I learned after having James. In fact, a lot of it you end up getting after the baby arrives and you realize you need something or the thing you got just isn’t working for this babe. Side note for new moms: Amazon Prime is truly your best friend.
However, things have changed since we had James over two years ago, and there have been some improvements in baby gear that weren’t available my first time around (like the Snoo — Do we need it? Is it worth it?), some recalls (RIP Rock n Play), some stuff we just need to replenish (baby bottles), and some gear we’ll need to manage two little ones (double stroller here we come?).
This time around I really don’t want to overdo it with the gear that takes up so much room and we’ll only use for a short window, so we’re really not getting too much. We’re going to switch James to a big boy bed so we can use the crib for #2, and we’re planning to reuse most of the gear we have already. So I’ve really narrowed down our second baby registry list to must-haves recommended by my tribe of second (and third and fourth)-time moms and the items we know we need to replenish.
Here’s everything we’re registering for or buying for our second baby.
From top left:
This wasn’t available when James was born, but I feel like every mom I know has one and loves it. James didn’t love the crib or bassinet, but I think both were a bit to big for him, so maybe this will give him the feeling of being held more. I often hear that it’s great if you are nursing to rest the baby between feeding seshes, so I think it’s one we may spring for. Moms: Is it worth it?
This is another one that I’ve been told we need to have and will change our lives. James was a terrible sleeper and it was really hard for us/me, so I would have done anything to get him to sleep. For those who have used this, is the Snoo worth the price tag?
These are the ones we used with James and even though they’re a pain in the butt to clean, they worked really well so I’m hoping they will for Baby #2 as well. While we still have some left form him, we definitely are missing some parts and nipples, so I am going to get one new set to start and hope that the new baby takes to these as easily as James did.
One regret I have in the stroller department is not investing in the YoYo our first time around. We bought the UppaBaby Cruz before James was born, so I didn’t want to spend a ton on an umbrella stroller that would mostly just be used for traveling, so we went for the Maclaren. And I do love it and it totally serves its purpose and has gotten us through many trips, but it’s not as lightweight and compact (i.e., foldable) as the YoYo so it’s still hard to handle while carrying bags and a toddler. I want something that we can fold up tight for the overhead (so we don’t have to wait an hour for them to bring the strollers out of the cargo), something I can easily carry up and down stairs and in and out of a car, and that easily folds into the trunk of an uber so that traveling around with two small kids isn’t so difficult. You can attach the carseat to this too, so you can use it when they’re infants, so it feels like it could be our go-to stroller for the baby when James just wants to scoot or walk or run. But let me know if you think I’m crazy to be getting another stroller in this mix (if it helps, I think we’re going to sell or donate our UppaBaby Cruz as a tradeoff).
To be honest, I may wait a bit before we invest in a double stroller to see if we really need it. I was a marsupial mom (does anyone else say that?). In other words, I mostly used the baby carrier with James. I found it much easier when traveling and pretty much everything, and he liked it better. And now James hates being locked down in the stroller. Sometimes we have to force him in like at the airport because otherwise we’ll lose him, but I think we could do one in the stroller and one in the carrier and be fine and then get away with just bringing the small, lightweight foldable stroller above. But I am guessing there is a good reason all my mom friends with multiple kids have a double stroller, and we’ll figure it out, so I have the Baby Jogger selected, which feels compact but with room to grow and would allow for our active lifestyle and has come with rave reviews from a lot of my fellow mom friends, but let me know if you like a different one mamas of two.
We got a cheap one the first time around with James because I didn’t think we would use it that much, and then I ended up giving it to someone else in our building because our apartment was feeling so crowded and tbh, it wasn’t the most stylish piece of furniture. I miss it though. I really liked rocking James in it even as he got bigger, and I would love to still have it for story time. This time around, I’m going to invest in a slightly roomier one that I love and fits the nursery design. I basically lived in it those first few months of nursing and it becomes such a special place to cuddle, I think it’ll be well worth it. Plus, I could see keeping it in baby’s room for years to come if we actually like how it looks.
We got this Motorola monitor the first time around, and I loved it until recently when the charger stopped working and sometimes it won’t charge and will beep in the middle of the night and wake us up. I don’t know if it’s because it’s been treated pretty roughly and dropped in the middle of the night, or the product, but we’ll need another for the baby so we have one for each kid. James generally sleeps through the night now and is loud enough when he wakes up that we can hear him, but I’m more concerned with being able to see what trouble he’s up to when he’s supposed to be sleeping. Despite my issues with the Motorola charger, I generally liked it, so I’m thinking about getting a slightly different model from the same brand. But let me know if you have different recs.
I used the basic Medela pump that came with our insurance, and it got the job done, but I’ve heard there are a lot better options out there now that are more comfortable, quieter and work better. I plan to pump more this time around, both to keep my supply up and for convenience, so I’m thinking about investing in the Spectra, which many of my friends have recommended. Anyone who has used one, let me know your thoughts.
Everyone told us not to bother with newborn clothes because most babies are born too big to even fit into them and that they’ll grow out of them in a week. Well, James came three weeks early and even though he was a healthy weight, he was swimming in all the onesies we had, so he ended up wearing the newborn shirt he got at the hospital until we could run out and get more newborn and 0-3 month clothes. I wouldn’t go ham on the newborn stuff since they do grow pretty fast, but in retrospect, I wish we had a collection of newborn onesies (and shirts since he was often in a shirt and diaper while his belly button healed) from the start.
Likewise, I wish we had more socks for James, especially for the first two weeks when I mostly had him in shirts and diapers so I could let his belly button breathe and heel. Most of the socks we had were too big, so he ended up wearing the one pair of booties that fit, but I could have had one or two packs of newborn socks for those first few weeks.
We didn’t get the fuss either over this overpriced giraffe until James started teething. I think we may have one leftover from James, but after reading all that stuff about mold growing in them, we’re going to invest in some new ones.
Honestly, between Dakota and James, I don’t know what happened to most of the pacifiers and we were pretty good at weaning James off the paci when he turned one, so I don’t even know where I put any extras we had lining around. Either way, this feels like something worth buying fresh too.
Matching Hospital Robe and Outfit
As I mentioned, the going home outfit I bought James was way too big, and I didn’t bring that many cute little blankets and outfits for photos — for him or me. I didn’t realize in advance why I’d care what I looked like in the hospital, but even if you don’t get professional photos taken, with all the relatives and friends visiting and taking pics, you really want at least one or two cute photographable outfits. And you better believe I’m going to take advantage this time and get this matching mommy and me set.
Mamas of two or more, am I missing anything? Anything else we definitely need to get for Baby #2? Let me know!
Comment