What I’m Buying for Baby #2
As a soon-to-be second-time-mom, I still have lots of things from when my daughter, Rae, was born but there’s also things I got rid of or needed to replace. I made a list of the top things I’m buying for baby #2. Also on my list are a few things that I know will just make me feel good as a mom, especially in those early postpartum days.
Whether you’re a first-time mom or a mom of many, hopefully you’ll find something on this list that will make your motherhood journey a little easier or maybe even add a little pretty to your days.
Diaper Bag
Looking back on some of my most-used items from Rae, my diaper bag was among the top. I carried it everywhere for two years. It held all of my essentials for baby but also carried everything for me.
This time around I knew I wanted to treat myself to a diaper bag that I loved. I went with the Dagne Dover Indi Neoprene Diaper Backpack. It has so many pockets which is an essential for tiny baby items that you don’t want floating around in a deep backpack abyss. It comes with a matching changing pad along with other baby-friendly accessories I didn’t even know I needed (hello, dirty laundry bag).
I went with the Large size since that’s what they recommend for a newborn. Plus, I feel like you can never have enough space for baby + toddler stuff. I’m only 5’3” so I was worried about the backpack feeling huge but it fits me great and feels like the perfect size.
Pacifiers
Rae loved the Frigg Natural Rubber pacifiers and I hope this baby does too bc they’re so pretty. I had the daisy ones with Rae and am excited about trying these moon ones for baby boy.
It’s recommended that you replace all soft silicone/rubber pieces (pacifiers, bottle nipples, pump parts, etc.) from your first baby bc they start to degrade and wear down so we’re starting fresh here.
Baby Carrier
I loved baby-wearing with Rae. Sometimes it was the only time she would take a nap (or one lasting longer than 35 minutes). Sometimes it was just nice to have my hands free. I assume with a 3 y/o along with a baby in tow, I’ll be wearing this baby equally, if not more.
When Rae was a newborn I wore her in the Solly baby wrap. It was so soft and cozy and I imagine I’ll use it in the early days with this baby too. But it was difficult to get on and sometimes I felt like she wasn’t super secure. This was probably user-error but with the wrap-style carriers, I feel like there’s more room for error.
When Rae got bigger, I used the Ergobaby Omni 360 and this became my go-to carrier. She felt so safe and secure in there and I felt like I could do anything including bend over and cook dinner. There was a stretch of weeks where our nighttime witching hour was at its peak and this was the only thing that soothed her. I would even eat dinner standing up at the kitchen counter bc she liked to be worn while I was standing and swaying.
Although the Ergobaby says it can be worn with a newborn it feels a little too structured for those delicate early days. It’s also really difficult to put on by yourself. I mastered the “t-shirt method” of buckling it but it was always a little awkward.
Enter the Wildbird Aerial Carrier. It’s a semi-structured carrier that feels soft enough for the newborn days but structured enough to feel secure. It has the clips on the side rather than in back, which is game-changing for putting it on by yourself. It also has more padding than the Ergobaby to take some pressure off of your back.
Also, it’s beauuuutiful in its simplicity without being as pricey as some of the other high-end carriers like the Artipoppe.
Portable Sound Machine
We used this ALL THE TIME—naps on the couch, in the car, in the bassinet. I really liked the white noise sound on this one. It’s warmer and deeper than white noise, maybe more of a brown / pink noise.
Even though Rae sleeps with a Hatch Sound Machine now for the nightlight and okay-to-wake light features (which I will 100% buy for baby #2 when he gets a little older), I still prefer the sound of this portable one and have it on for her at night too. (And yes—she sleeps with two sound machines, both at a low-ish volume, bc she sleeps good and I’m not messing with that lol).
Baby Nail File
This one is actually coming to the hospital with me this time.
Baby’s nails are super thin when they’re born but they’re also razor sharp. Rae had so many scratches all over her face when we brought her home from the hospital. A nail file is good bc the skin can be attached to the nail further up than it looks and it can be really easy to nick them with clippers. This electric nail file makes the job super quick and easy.
I actually wouldn’t need a second one except that Rae liked playing with the first so much and it dropped on the floor enough times that it stopped working. Oops.
Honest Diapers
I love Honest Diapers. They’re made with plant-based materials so there’s no yucky chemicals on baby’s bum. Plus they’re super absorbent and there’s also a wetness indicator so you know if baby needs a change.
Rae never had a diaper rash a day in her life and I attribute that partially to these natural, chlorine-free diapers. I usually buy one or two boxes of Newborn size and a box of Size Ones bc babies aren’t usually in newborn diapers for too long (or at least mine wasn’t).
Also, if you sign up for Amazon’s Baby Registry and spend $500, you get 20% off diapers for a year. That’s huge!
Honest Wipes
Honest Wipes are also a fave of mine. They’re 99% water and plant-based without any parabens, alcohol, chlorine, etc. Plus, they have a nice quilted texture to help get bums squeaky clean.
I prefer the Sensitive, Fragrance-Free ones to keep things simple but you can get them with things like Lavender, Aloe, or Almond Oil added as well.
Organic Diaper Balm
The third and final piece that helped keep diaper rashes at bay was the Earth Mama Organic Diaper Balm. In the newborn days I put this on after almost every diaper change but especially in the middle of the night. Having a nice barrier cream keeps baby’s bum protected even if their diaper is wet while they sleep.
I kept it simple with the wipes bc I knew baby was getting lots of goodness with this cream like organic lavender, tea tree oil, and calendula.
Organic Nipple Butter
I had great luck with the Earth Mama brand and also really loved their Nipple Butter during my breastfeeding journey. This is another one I’ll be bringing to the hospital with me instead of using the standard cream they provide.
Like the name suggests, it’s buttery-soft and made with organic ingredients like olive oil, beeswax, and cocoa seed butter. It’s also made without petroleum, preservatives, or lanolin. Which means that there’s no need to wipe it off before nursing your baby bc who in the hell wants to get out of bed and wash their nipples off at 3am?! Not me.
I liked that the base of the cream was olive oil bc it felt like baby was ingesting a food-grade ingredient. However this made the cream slightly grainy. I found that your body temperature quickly melts the olive oil as you rub it in so it wasn’t a big deal to me—just something to note.