I would not say I am a baby expert by any means but having a second child who is already a year old...makes me think I've been in the baby world long enough and have tried enough baby products to be able to recommend my faves and have enough knowledge to do so! After two babies, I am sharing my top 5 essential baby products and why I think they are fabulous!
First of all, let me just say that I am not a fan of Babies R Us what so ever! I had my baby registry there with Gus and the babies r us brand products are very low quality and completely over priced! I have found so many baby products significantly cheaper at target, Walmart and even Amazon.com
Later, I came to find out how important it is to have a good travel system and how convenient it is with a newborn! We would just open the stroller frame up and the car seat would just pop right in! When I got pregnant with Olivia, we bought the second seat adapter for Gus to be able to sit in the stroller as well. The best part is we can use it as a single stroller or a double stroller.
The big things, yes, I think it is smart to go gender neutral, if you're planning to have more children down the road. Babies are expensive, they come with a lot of "stuff" so it's nice to be able to use some things again with the second child, if it comes out to be a different sex. The high chair, swing, bouncer, and Jumperoo are all things that babies use for just a few months and then you're done with them! Well, I take that back...the high chair you get a lot of use out of but it can still be gender neutral to get more bang for your buck!
1- Gender Neutral Crib-- We have the Fillmore Crib by Pottery Barn Kids. It's white, a classic style and if you just change the bedding it could work great for a boy or for a girl. A good crib, in my opinion is a good investment to make. We didn't make the investment when Gus was born and bought a Graco crib and by the time he was done using it...it was all banged up. not worth it.
So when Olivia was born we figured we would just make the investment and purchase a quality product. I've loved it! Pottery Barn cribs are excellent quality and completely worth the investment!
2- Pottery Barn Kids bedding--PBK has the best bedding in the world!! The quality of materials they use are amazing. Gus only used PBK sheets when he was a baby and then when Olivia was born I bought the bedding set minus the sheets and found the cutest printed sheets at Target, so naturally I got them. After washing them a couple times they got too rough for her skin. I had to go out and get PBK sheets for her! I saw such a huge difference between PBK and target sheets! (Sorry Target! I love you for everything BUT baby sheets)
Olivia has the Scalloped Pink Pique Bedding Set and Gus had a Nautical Set that they
don't make anymore.
I know there's a lot of researchers and baby experts out there that say not to use bumpers. There's "breathable" mesh bumpers which I think aren't very cute. But I have never had a problem with the babies and crib bumpers!
Gus transitioned from a bassinet to a crib at like a month and a half because he didn't fit in it anymore. And Gus was about 14 months when Olivia was born and had just started walking. I was absolutely terrified he would knock the bassinet over with the baby in it so Olivia never slept in a bassinet! When she came home from the hospital she went directly to her crib!
3-Britax B-Ready Stroller + Britax Chaperone Car Seat Travel System -- I love Britax! Honestly, when I was pregnant with Gus I didn't really do much research on Strollers and car seats but I knew that Britax was pretty up there safety wise. I really just got this system because my sister-in-law had the exact same one at the time and my in-laws wanted to get it for us as a gift!
It is a little larger than most strollers and takes up quite a bit of room in your trunk but it is quality. But for a double stroller it is acctually a pretty decent size! We have used it non-stop with two babies and it still works great!
This is another thing that would be better to get in a gender neutral color! Yes, the pink is super cute for a little girl but if you have a boy after that, you're kind of stuck with a pink stroller, unless of course you can buy a completely new system!
I think this is the product that has saved my life having two babies under 2!!
4- Avent Bottles-- I have only used Avent bottles with my two and have LOVED them! I used the older model with Gus, that had the ring inside! Several times, I ran out of the house with just the bottles and not the rings and that was just disastrous--stories of a first time mom! I would always have to end up buying bottles wherever I was or replacement rings! Motherhood fail!! but other than that I loved them!
When Olivia was born, they had already come out with the new model (Thank God--No more rings!!) and I loved it even more than the older model!
5- California Baby Sunscreen-- I will confess I just started using this on my little ones and I love it!! My children haven't gotten a sunburn, living in Miami! Olivia's skin is sooo fair and sensitive and this sunscreen didn't irritate her skin and she didn't get a sunburn! It is a little more expensive than regular sunscreen but it works miracles!It is mineral based and gentle on babies' sensitive skin! I definitely recommend it for beach trips!
You can order it on their website or Target carries it in the store!
**Disclosure: This is completley my honest opinion on all of these products and I have not been compensated to write a review!
What are your favorite baby products??
The Rock N Play Sleeper by Fisher Price is MY FAVORITE baby item :) I also just purchased the 4Moms Mamaroo swing for baby #2. I hope she likes it as much as I do haha
ReplyDeleteLove these items! Elin had the same PBK pink scalloped bedding!! She had the light pink version. I LOVE all the designs they have now. They amaze me that they keep getting better and better. I wish there was more stores that was on par with PBK!
ReplyDeleteI dont have a baby of my own...YET - but I can totally see how the gender neutral crib would be the way to go!! My sister had the same crib for all three babies and it was a real money saver!! There are so many cute strollers out there - that may be where I have the most trouble lol!
ReplyDeleteNoting all of these products for the future of course :P I love that crib and that's extremely smart to plan gender neutrally.
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