Thursday, January 21, 2016

Baby 2: Our Favorite Baby Products (5-9 Months)

When it comes to baby products we love for our second child, the long and short of it is, pretty much everything we used for Jack we basically use for Isaac. 

So the good news is, if you are expecting baby #2, you already have all of the gear you need (and you have probably figured out the stuff you didn't really need in the first place). Since we have two boys, this philosophy extends to clothes too. Isaac gets mostly hand-me-downs, but really if your stuff is still in good shape, there is no reason to get something new. You can read my 0-4 month product recap here.

During the 5-9 month range, here are the products we still love, even four years later:


IKEA SUNDVIK crib – yep still using. At 4 months old, we moved Isaac from our Rock N Play in our room to Jack's old crib in the nursery upstairs. Our IKEA crib has served us well and I still love that it meets our criteria for form and function. We still haven't really decorated a nursery, but one of these days...

AngelCare Movement and Sound Monitor – check. When we moved Isaac upstairs, we started using Isaac's old baby monitor again. The biggest negative is that the battery doesn't hold a charge very well any more. So it mostly has to sit in it's cradle at this point. But it still works.


Fisher Price Space Saver High Chair – still useful. I wrote about this in my 0-4 month post but really it has become even more useful as Isaac is now eating every meal with us at the table.


Recaro ProRide Carseat – thank goodness we already had this. We had to upgrade Isaac to Jack's old convertible carseat at 5 months (he was too big for his baby carrier). With baby number two, it is much easier to move through each new stage because we have already done the research and purchased the products and we know we like them.

Graco Pack 'N Play – continues to come in handy for traveling once Isaac outgrew the Rock N Play.


Baby Einstein Musical Motion Activity Jumper – a fave. This has become a huge hit with Isaac in the last 3 months. It is about the only thing that allows me to get supper ready and on the table.


Cloth Diapers – four years later we are still using our original cloth diapers about 80% of the time. We have had to get rid of some of the originals and buy some new ones, but we continue to be fans of cloth diapers.


The best part of our current stage is that Isaac has finally discovered a love for toys, and we already have lots of them in stock.


One thing I want to get better at doing with Isaac is reading more regularly, one on one (we already have a ton of books). We always read to our boys at bedtime, but I find that I don't read as often to Isaac as I did Jack. Isaac loves our bedtime story routine, but he is also in a phase where he mostly wants to chew on the books.


One item that we now own that we didn't when Jack was a baby is our Thule Chariot Chariot 1 bike trailer. We have taken Isaac on several bike rides in it and he loves it! 


Kelty Messenger Diaper Bag – has been retired (it's in the closet as a back up). This time around I decided to use a striped bag from Target that I love. I get so many compliments on it and I like that I don't look like I'm hauling around a diaper bag (plus I love stripes!).

Things we are not really using this time: 
Pacifiers – Isaac has no interest.
Bibs – Isaac somehow stays much cleaner than Jack ever did.
Baby Bjorn carrier – we went with an Ergo carrier this time (though Isaac is now too big to be carried on my chest, he can still ride on my back).
Neat Solutions disposable placemats – we have talked about getting these again, but really aren't super paranoid this go round).
Safety 1st Fever Light Ear Thermometer – we ended up purchasing a Braun Thermoscan Ear Thermometer (now discontinued) instead.

That wraps it up for the edition of products we like (and are still using).

A Look Back at products we used the most when Jack was a baby:
0-3 months  |  3-6 months  |  6-9 months  |  9-12 months

3 comments:

  1. I still have them, so if Luke would have been a girl, Ann Royston

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  2. Most of the products will be used again for the second time. It is such a very good idea to save money as well as resources. Why to waste resources if you have something good to use. Every parents should do this. Most of the baby products like toys and other clothe items would not be changed or broken in two or three years. Maximum use of resources is the attribute of a responsible citizen. I hope every parent should follow this beautiful thing.

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    Replies
    1. I can't agree more! I got a great majority of my first child second hand items that are neutral gender or that I don't mind (I put some purple clothing on my boy and he looks great in it) so that I can pass it to my other children. It's not only money saving it's time saving as more kids you have less time you have to shop around and I enjoy having already a great majority of the clothing, gear and toys for my next child.

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