Now that we are expecting our second baby in March, I have been in the basement organizing and sorting through my totes of baby stuff. Pulling out all the things we used for Rain brings back so many memories, and gets me so excited to do it all again... only with a completely different, baby boy!
Recently I've been trying to de-clutter my house, mind and spaces. I have been using Simplified Planners for the last 3 years now, and following them on instagram has also been encouraging in helping me to get rid of all the extra and too much. In doing these things I felt inspired to share a post geared to the new mama audience that might be looking for tips and advice on how to do this whole raising humans thing. It can be scary and just down right overwhelming! The baby/parenting market is constantly growing; getting bigger, better, prettier and sometimes more expensive. What's best, what's trendy, what's the most cost efficient, what will last? What do I need and what do I NOT need?
For me, I think it really helped to have two things in mind when we were planning and buying things in preparation for Rain to enter and change our lives.
First was that we were focused more on starting a family; not just having a baby girl. Peter and I knew we wanted more than one kid, and that meant we were looking at the long term more than just this first new baby specifically. So gender neutral was a big thing when it came to all the big stuff or anything other than clothes. This is actually very easy right now as grey and soft colour themes are currently popular in the baby world.
The second thing was our need for minimal, simple and compact. When Rain was born we were in a very small cottage (apartment) rented from my in-laws. We did not have a lot of growing room for a bunch of baby stuff. Now that we have our own house that is much bigger and has tons of space, I'm actually so grateful we don't have a butt load of bulky baby things occupying every nook and cranny. Just what we need, and several things we're still using because they were designed with multiple uses or to grow with a family (I'll list and point out these things out as I go.)
I've always been a hard worker and I tried really hard in school, but I don't think I've ever put in as much time, effort and research as I did when it came to our baby registry and every little thing we've purchased for Rain (our kids) since! Seriously. I compare, google, blog read and youtube the heck out of everything! What better way to make use of all those hours and knowledge than to share it with all of you!? SO, here we go. All my favourite baby and toddler things, with a few I don't own but I have read about, like and think may be right for you and your family. *side note* Babylist is an awesome tool for creating a baby registry, I used it and highly recommend!
During pregnancy I highly recommend reading these two:
Ina May's guide to childbirth. It's mostly just a bunch of testimonies from women who have given birth in a setting that was natural and comfortable. It's great to read just facts and first hand accounts, rather than a bunch of opinions or one view point. I was also advised by a Christian friend and Doula to read up on Mary and everything God said to her around birth and excepting the Son of God! The biggest things for me were: "Do not be afraid" and "You are favoured". We were created and designed to be able to give birth. Baby Wise was a book I read after Rain, more in preparation for baby #2. Rain didn't sleep through the night until she was 10 months and I refuse to go through that again! So after following the advice of a sleep doula to finally train her to sleep 10-12 hours (with success!!) I decided to start off on the right foot this time. This book and the two charts above are simple guides for helping a new baby get to this place of knowing how to sleep on their own! Hopefully avoiding the long and painful process of sleep training the hard way!
Starting from the beginning, I would highly recommend these things for momma:
Belly Bandit Body Formulated Fit Belly Wrap or any postpartum wrap. For me it wasn't as much for aesthetics as much as it literally helped me to breathe! I'm 5 ft 1'' and Rain was 9 lbs 7oz! So the moment she was out, I felt like I had a 'HOLE' lot of missing in my mid section! I remember having to walk hunched over to be able to feel like I could breathe properly. Wearing this wrap for a couple weeks postpartum helped me feel held together!
Matter Company Products for postpartum healing as well as a billion other things for you and baby are amazing! Not to mention their products are made in Canada and they're based out of Toronto! Woohoo support local! I loved their cooling spray, nipple creme, sitz bath and their baby sunscreens.
Nuna Pipa car seat is one of the bigger $$ items we decided on, and the reason was safety and weight! At the time (there could be a new one now) it was the lightest car seat on the market at 7.7 lbs! Features listing a mile long:
- 5 Point harness
- Secure and simple 5 second install
- Dream drape
- Premium micro knit fabric
- Mesh peek-a-boo window
- Side impact protection for ultimate baby safe keeping
- True lock™ installation makes set up swift, simple and above all – safe
- Heavy duty shell is super resilient yet ultra lightweight
- Comfy infant insert is removable for growing babies
- Removable, full coverage two position & protective UPF 50+ canopy with flip out eyeshade
- Installs rearward facing in a snap with the PIPA’s base
- Lightweight carry handle is ergonomically designed to tote with ease
- Ideal for city living and taxis as it can be installed with a vehicle seat belt – no base needed
- Aircraft certified to travel everywhere and beyond
- Recommended use: 4 to 32 lbs, and up to 32 in
- Product: h 26.1 x w 17.5 x l 25.2 in
- Product weight: 7.7 lbs, with base 21.9 lbs
Baby Jogger City Select is another big $$ item we chose and the reasoning for this was the fact that it would LAST and GROW with our family. This is one of those investments intended to last us years- for all our kids in fact. With 16+ configurations and a simple adaptor for our Nuna Pipa car seat, it is a dream! Another great stroller similar to ours is the UPPAbaby Vista stroller. Our friends have this one and they love it. It's a little more expensive, but you're paying for the bassinet that comes with it and a few other little perks which are sold separately for our Baby Jogger City Select.
Graco Pack 'n Play Playard Portable Napper & Changer is an awesome and affordable item. A big reason I love it is because it serves several different purposes and we still use it today for our toddler. It has this little bassinet that clicks into the pack 'n play. With the press of a button it spins over to an easy-to-wipe, flat surface for changing diapers, while on the other side has a slightly reclined, soft bed material for napping newborns, then to top it off the whole piece is removable to set on the floor with no slip legs.
Haakaa Manual Breast Pump is new to me and I'm super excited about it! With Rain I had a Lansinoh Manual pump which worked great, but what I love about this new guy is that unlike my old pump, this one is so simple and EASY TO CLEAN! I don't know about you, but for me, if something is easy to clean, I'm SOLD! Ain't nobody got time for tedious scrubbing in hard to reach nooks & crannies! Another wonder with this product is that it collects the let down milk that would normally be lost from the other breast while feeding your baby. No work for stored milk and no lost liquid gold! Can I get an AMEN! Super cute design, small, simple, compact and beyond portable. It's QUIET, and efficient. It comes with an adorable little flower stopper and a suction base so that curious toddler of mine can't swipe it up in the two seconds it takes me to get the ladies tucked away, and the milk to a safe sanctuary in the freezer for a bottle later. (Preferably served by a glorious babysitter while I get some ME time! I love being a mom, but girl needs to recharge every now and again.)
Boon Bath products are my favourite. We've had to throw out all our other bath toys already due to black mould growing inside from trapped water I can never seem to get out. I don't own this specific tub, but one like it, however my friend does have this one and the collapsable design is amazing for small spaces or just keeping things neat and tidy. I also love Boon Snug Snack containers which we use all the time now for Rain's snacks. Easy for little hands to get at the food, but prevents spillage or the impulse to dump a thousand gold fish on the floor!
Milk Snob is also a must, and is another item we still use! It's a breast feeding cover, swaddle, carseat cover, and now we use it to fit over grocery cart seats so Rain doesn't go licking a germ infested handle- this is a real thing, she actually does this!
Ikea's ANTILOP is the most affordable, simple, easy to clean and semi-portable high chair! I really don't think you need anything more complicated or bulky sitting in your dining room!
Sili Squeeze is a life saver for clean and easy feedings- we started using this early on with Rain back when she was new to solids. It's great for purees, smoothies and currently it's biggest use for us is yogourt- which we squeeze straight out of iogo probio 875g yogurt pouches.
Skip Hop products are also among my favourite products both for design and price as well as function! Two of my loves include their Skip Hop Uplift Multi-Level Bouncer and their Explore & More Baby's View 3 Stage Activity Centre which we still use for Rain in the table stage for colouring and playing at. As far as bouncers go, this one is perfect and simple. It's one of the only ones that is adjustable to sit at floor level or up at a dining room table height- which I prefer for not having to bend down so far. It was nice to pull up to us when it was dinner time and with the new babe, I won't be worried about Rain tripping over and onto baby boy! It's also a cheaper alternative to the 4MOMS mamaRoo which is another popular, higher bouncer, but with more bells and whistles.
Hap Tim diaper bag backpack is what we switched to after using a stylish mom bag/ diaper bag from etsy for a year. We did this for more space and for practicality when travelling and needing to be more hands free when lugging around our family. I have a friend who also uses a diaper bag backpack but from the HONEST COMPANY -which I think is a great one for space and practicality as well! Inside I keep my favourite JJ Cole change pad which is an all in one, handy clutch that folds out to an easy-to-wipe surface with a pouch for diapers and a pocket on the opposite side to flip over for wipes.
Bumbo makes an awesome little seat for babies learning to sit up and starting to eat solids. I also love their Step 'n Potty which triples as a floor potty, step stool, and toddler seat on the 'big' potty! Now that we're talking more the toddler stage...
Diono Radian RXT Convertible Booster Car Seat is my favourite! It's also another item that's a little higher $$ but so worth it. The base folds up and is easy to carry with a separate shoulder strap- in fact we took this baby all the way to Australia with us on board the flight; Rain was able to sleep safely and have her own seat. More features include:
- Full steel frame and aluminum reinforced sides for unmatched safety
- Unique SuperLATCH system that makes installation easy
- It also fits 3 across in most mid-size vehicles, folds flat for travel and is FAA certified
- NCAP crash tested, the industry benchmark for verifying child seat performance in severe accident conditions
- Infant body support cushions and memory foam for added comfort
- Energy absorbing EPS foam and side impact protection provides added safety
- Safestop® energy-absorbing harness
- Additional forward-facing recline position to accommodate different types of contoured vehicle seats, 12-position adjustable headrest, 5 shoulder and 3 buckle positions deliver a comfortable ride.
- Rear-facing tether capability
- UAS installation up to 29.5 kg (65 lb) child then converts to a booster for children between 23 and 54 kg (50 - 120 lbs)
- Expandable sides and long seat bottom allow proper leg support
- Low-sitting profile makes it easy for your child to board
- Angled cup holder keeps a variety of drinks upright and within easy reach
- Cover is machine washable and dryable
- Rubber bottom grips for no-slip installation
Kidrox Headphones were also a life saver on our plane ride! Rain loves the Wiggles and Veggie Tales so we passed a lot of flight time with an iPad. These headphones are nearly indestructible- twist in every direction, have a removable foam piece to size down for smaller heads, and they're volume limited for young, delicate ears. * I bought ours on amazon.ca for $27... I noticed the price has more than double now, so try shopping around- eBay I think has better pricing.
Melissa & Doug anything and everything is my favourite! I love these people and all the toys they make! Often wooden, hand made, aesthetically pleasing, so simple and amazing for learning!
That's the bulk of it, and I hope it was helpful! If you have any questions feel free to ask away! Probably easiest on Instagram- where I often post in my stories things Rain and I are up to or things we use to make life easier or entertaining.