Motherhood
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Baby Gear I Wish I’d Bought.

By: Jen Shoop

We have been slowly shedding our outgrown baby gear, though I simply cannot bring myself to sell or donate the bassinet. I look at it in the corner of our master bedroom and think back to the endless wait in anticipation of mini’s arrival and how her little bassinet sat under our window for months before her expected due date. I can still remember what it felt like to glance over at it in the morning and wonder what she might be like. Sigh. I’m just not ready to let that go!

I have shared a full registry of all my favorite baby gear here, and a brief post on baby gear I really loved the second time around (and wish I’d known about earlier). Below, I thought I’d share some items I’ve discovered that I wish I’d had for my children when they were infants…

1 // Baby Bjorn Bouncer. Especially with a second child, having multiple places to “stow” the baby is essential. We made heavy use of our 4Moms Swing and Boppy lounger, but I wish we’d had one more spot to stow baby — I can imagine this being useful in the kitchen, or on the floor of the bathroom while I was showering, etc. I often have moms reach out to ask whether a swing and bouncer are necessary. The truth is — no. And some babies in fact hate the swing or the bouncer or vice versa or both. But I can speak from experience that any tool that gives you an extra stretch of hands-free time is probably worth the investment.

2 // Foam Play Tiles. Would have been so nice to set this up in mini’s room for micro to roll around on / enjoy tummy time on. I felt like I was forever repositioning quilts in our apartment and they don’t really provide that much padding. I like that you can just wipe these down, configure them to your room, and even add a raised railing to corral the little one in.

3 // Lovery Play Kits. People love this educational toy subscription service: they send you beautiful (mainly wooden / Montessori-style) age appropriate toys as your baby grows. I’ve seen several I wish I’d had for micro! Plus, takes some of the guesswork out of finding the right toys for the right age.

4 // Thule Double Running Stroller. Frankly, this would never work in our current living situation as we barely have enough space to park our Bugaboo in the foyer and we are resolute in our determination not to clutter the shared hallways with our baby gear — we don’t want to be inconsiderate of our neighbors, who are much older and well beyond baby years. But I did daydream about getting this top-of-the-line Thule running stroller to push the children in while getting back into shape after micro’s arrival.

5 // Trip Trapp High Chair. The design is polarizing, and I remember being a little put off by the price, but I really wish I’d made the investment. I love the style and love the way it invites baby to eat at the table from day one and how it grows with baby. Don’t go me wrong: I have nothing but positive things to say about the Phil & Ted we’ve used with both children, but I always wish I’d had the one I personally aesthetically preferred, especially since it has been a staple in our dining room for three years now. (P.S. – My only functional gripe with the Phil and Ted is that the legs splay out and are easy to trip over. Conversely, one of my unexpected favorite features of the Phil and Ted is that you can remove and break down the legs so it’s fairly easy to travel with, and we’ve needed it on multiple recent vacations.)

6 // Fisher Price Sit-Me-Up Floor Seat. A brilliant seat for babies that are able to hold their head up a bit more but not yet ready for an activity center (we loved the one by Skip Hop). Again, the more spots to contain (and entertain) your growing baby, the better.

7 // Bibs pacifiers. Simply much more attractive than the Soothies we always used with our children.

8 // Artipoppe carrier. Totally extravagant and unnecessary, but I always wanted one of these ultra-chic carriers. I was too practical to invest in one, especially because I was absolutely in love with the Baby Bjorn mini for micro — it is seriously the easiest and most comfortable carrier ever.

What other new baby gear are you obsessing over? I know there are a lot of pregnant magpies reading the blog these days. Share your additions in the comments!

P.S. Chic maternity clothes and chic nursing-friendly items.

P.P.S. Adventures in nursing.

P.P.P.S. On going from 0-1 vs 1-2 children.

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17 thoughts on “Baby Gear I Wish I’d Bought.

  1. The Fisher Price Sit Me Up was very handy for #1. Bonus that the fabric is machine washable. We didn’t use for #2 because she needed motivation to be more mobile (late walker / never crawled). The DockATot is a must have! Originally I thought the Hatch Rest was too indulgent. Seriously, does my family really need a ‘smart’ sound machine? The answer is yes, yes we do. As in when I forget to turn on the sound machine but do not want to re-enter the room for fear of undoing all of the work to put my strong willed child to sleep. Obsessed with how lightweight the UppaBaby Minu stroller is. So easy for travel. My fave out of the seven strollers we own (so much for my delusions of baby gear minimalism). Poopoose changing pad to thwart mid-diaper change rolling over.

    Lesser known items that we love and still use through toddlerhood and beyond: Kaboost rather than a high chair, wet dry bags (so much more versatile than its primary purpose of cloth diapers… We use them for wet swim suits, soiled clothes, packing gym shoes). And luxurious wool pants (Sloomb and Yooki brands though there are others). Pricey but my kids get over a year of wear out of their pants (cuffed then uncuffed), especially since they can be worn fall through spring. And because they’re made of quality merino, the pants look almost new when passed down. My kids (even the one with eczema) affectionately call them their “soft pants.” The wool blankets are also amazing. Clearly I am a wool fanatic.

    I’m intrigued by the SNOO if we were ever to have another baby.

    1. Hi! Thank you for sharing all of this feedback – so helpful for other moms to read these comments!! I hear you on “smart” products — I cannot imagine not having our smart lightbulbs. It sounds so extravagant and unnecessary but then once you have it all set up…! Hard to imagine not having them. Ha! I’ve heard good things about the UB Minu, too! We got the Yoyo, which I have loved and I think predated the Minu, but may have considered if we’d been in the market more recently.

      Great tips all!!

      xx

  2. So many good items here! My siblings have loved the Lovevery subscription and the Baby Bjorn bouncer for my nieces. I would definitely give a vote for the Tripp Trapp chair as well — my stepkids STILL sit in them (as chairs now) even though they’re well beyond the baby & toddler years. Definitely worth the price IMHO, and they look so great, too!

    xx

    1. Love them so much! That’s so interesting to know they last well beyond toddlerhood. Even if they were JUST useful through the toddler years, still a worthy investment given how frequently they are used and the fact that they are on display constantly in your home.

      xx

  3. My biggest thing I hoped for and girlfriends surprised me with was the Bjorn bouncer and it is so lovely. My son enjoys it and it’s so light to move from room to room or travel with! Also got him the lovery kits and so far we like them!!!

    1. So sweet – what a great set of gifts for a new baby boy 🙂 I sometimes feel like the second/third children get short shrift so it’s so special to indulge him in these ways. xx

    2. Yes it’s been such a treat to have some special more indulgent items for him as the third! (Also really love all things by the brand Pehr as a little bit of a Splurge but SO nice to stow toys in a chic basket of change a diaper on a lovely mat!). I also think Hill could easily use the trip trap for years to come perhaps without the tray! I’ve seen them styled ask desk chairs down the line!

  4. We have loved our bouncer and the Lovevery subscription! Ugh I look at the Artipoppe carrier every other day! The denim one just looks so cool.

    One item that I was gifted that I absolutely loved was the Solly baby wrap! It took me a few practice runs with a stuffed animal to get the hang of it but they have really helpful videos on their website and Instagram! Perfect for the early months around the house. My son was not interested in a crib nap for months so he took most of his naps in the Solly early on. It’s also so easy to stow. I always have one on me in case of nap emergency!

    1. I am so mortified but I never actually used the Solly, even though it got such strong reviews and several of my best friends and many readers like you swear by it. I wish I’d done the dry run with stuffed animals before micro arrived — maybe then it would have seemed less daunting. The Baby Bjorn mini was just so easy and simple to use I never even tried anything else!! AHH. So wasteful. Guess I didn’t need the Artipoppe, too. HA

  5. I bought the Baby Bjorn bouncer and Mamaroo for #2. He barely tolerates the former and hates the latter. Thank goodness they were like-new FB marketplace finds – I would have been far more annoyed had I paid full price for them. And wouldn’t you know, he loves the Graco glider we got for my older daughter (which, incidentally, she hated). These kids – so unpredictable!

    I’ve been contemplating getting the Fisher Price seat too – why didn’t I get any of these for #1?

    Not true gear, perhaps, but a little something that the baby absolutely loves (in addition to his mirror, ha), is baby crinkle paper. He will lie there and kick practically forever if we put the paper under his feet.

    1. Brilliant on the crinkle paper! I should have thought to do that — mini especially always liked the sound that parts of the Fisher Price “Gym” made (kind of a crinkly sound). And UGH I know! These babies are so unpredictable. I am lucky in that both children really loved the Mamaroo, but maybe I would have struck out with some of the other contraptions/bouncers. I do think that FP seat is GENIUS. I remember really wishing I had something other than a Bumbo-type seat to plop mini and micro into when they were getting stronger in holding up their necks, and I like how soft/padded that style is.

      xx

  6. These are some of our favorites- the Bjorn bouncer and Fischer Price Seat were huge hits in our house. I feel like the Fischer Price seat especially is an under the radar, bargain item every parent should get. I’d also add the Snuggle Me Organic as a great place to stow a newborn baby.

    A couple random, weird things that have been huge hits for us lately:
    -Fat Brain Dimpl
    -Tegu Magnetic Blocks

    Both occupy my 15mo old for more than 10 minutes which is HUGE!

    1. Hi Jen! Totally agree on the FP seat — I’d never even seen it / heard about it until after micro had outgrown the stage it would have worked for. I’m all for any extra spaces to stow a baby, so maybe I’d also buy the Snuggle Me Organic or one of those Dock a Tots if I were gearing up for another baby!

      Hill loves the Dimpl and is super into magnets, too — you MUST try these:

      https://bit.ly/32vutgO

      Hill is crazy about them! They were intuitive enough for him to “get” quickly and they are fun/bright colors. Love that they are creative / STEM-focused, too. I actually bought them as a surprise when we drove out to the Bronx Zoo since he hates car rides, and wasn’t sure how long they’d hold his attention, but they really preoccupied him for a long time!

      xx

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