Newborn Favorites | Baby #2

I can’t believe I am saying this but Alder is officially 2 months old today! Seriously where does the time go? It’s passing faster than ever and part of me wants time to slow down just a little but a little part of me can’t wait for Alder to get a little bit older so he can play with Edith who everyday begs him to play with her. I just love watching Edith and Alder grow and how the interact with each other. Edith loves to dote on Alder and he is starting to really take to her and will smile and (almost) laugh at her.

Anyways on to the point of this blog post. Back when Edith was a newborn I did a few round up posts of must haves, nice to haves and unnecessary items; you can find those posts here and here. We didn’t have to go through the trial and error process this time so we were able to pretty easily figure out the items we would really need. One unfortunate thing about moving cross country and not necessarily planning on baby  #2 is that we basically had to buy most everything brand new.

Here are our favorite newborn items for baby #2:

aden + anais Muslin Swaddle Blanket: these are actually one of the baby items that we did keep, although I’m sad to say a few ended up getting tossed after a few major blowouts.  These are one item that are not just for newborns but are also great for toddlers and I have to say I really like them for a light blanket to throw over me in the car or to even wear as a scarf. While we didn’t purchase any of these this time around I think we might have to get a few more because we only have two and I LOVE them so much.

Fisher-Price Deluxe Bouncer: So I don’t love this specific bouncer but we found it back in January at target for $18 and couldn’t pass it up. We also didn’t even start using it until last week just because Alder wasn’t a fan at first but now he is really enjoying the vibration setting. The only problem is that once the vibration setting turns off he often becomes restless or if he is sleeping he wakes up.

Maya Wrap Lightly Padded Ring Sling: It’s no secret I love babywearing and I am thrilled to have a little baby again to wear. We have tried a number of styles of carriers but currently Alder and I are both loving the ring sling. I find that ring slings are one of the best carriers for newborns because it holds them nice and snug and securely.  The trick is learning to use one and after that it’s easy.

Arm’s Reach Concepts Mini Arc Co-Sleeper Bassinet: When Edith was born we used a pack n’ play in our room for the first few months and then attempted to transition her to her own room. As you can see I say attempted because in the end she just ended up co-sleeping with us. That being said we knew this time around what worked best for us was co-sleeping/bedsharing and so we went with the Arm’s Reach Co-sleeper and it has been amazing. I am seriously kicking myself for not buying one of these when Edith was a baby.

Boppy Newborn Lounger: This is one item that we loved when Edith was a baby and I actually didn’t think we needed to buy one this time around because I thought Alder would just grow out of it too quickly. Well Neil convinced me that we needed to buy one and I am so thankful he did! This has been such a lifesaver and honestly even when he “grows out of it” we will still be using it because Edith LOVES to use it as a seat. So it has a longer life than just an infant lounger.

Ergobaby Swaddler Blanket: I love the idea of swaddling with a muslin blanket but when it comes to actually doing using it I end up having to re-wrap at least twice before getting it right. That’s when a nifty swaddle blanket that does all the work for you is nice. We have used a few different styles and so far Alder likes the Ergobaby one the best. I’m sad to say however that he has grown out of his small/medium sized swaddle and we just might need to get the medium/large.

Orbit Baby Double Helix Stroller Frame: Now we have done a lot of debating around a double stroller and we have been loving our Orbit Baby. It’s been a bit of a transition using a double stroller because well it feels like I’m pushing a bus but this stroller has been great for us. Now it’s a little on the expensive side and probably isn’t something you’d gravitate towards unless you own the car seat as well but it really has been awesome. Edith loves this stroller and I love how easy it is to put together and to move Alder from the car to the stroller base.

Orbit Baby G3 Infant Car Seat Plus Base: Okay so of course since we have the stroller we also have the infant car seat. Now I know this car seat is expensive but I’m telling you it’s amazing. I was seriously skeptical of this car seat at first; I mean what really makes this car seat any better than the one we used with Edith? Let me tell you it’s 10x better than Edith’s old car seat, this isn’t to say that her car seat isn’t a good and safe one just that the Orbit Baby is superior. So why is it better? Installation is so much easier and you can get it more accurate. The swivel feature that it has on the car seat base makes it so much easier to get Alder in and out of the car and when he falls asleep it’s so much less of a disturbance.  The car seat has a deep-cradle design which is a little bit of a different design than your standard car seat and I just like the way Alder sits in it better and he seems more comfortable. It is BFR-free. It is easy to clean and we know this from personal experience (blow out what?) I also love the sunscreen(Side note we have used two other brands/styles of car seats over the years and most recently was using Edith’s old car seat for Alder in my parents rental while my parents were visiting and so I was really able to compare the two.)

What are your favorite newborn items?

Disclaimer: we have been working with Orbit Baby and the stroller and carseat were given to us; as always all opinions are our own.  Affiliate links included in this post.