Since having Ezra there has been several new products that make life with newborns much easier. I’ve decided to update my list of favorite items because maybe it can help anyone who is about to have baby, whether for the first time or third time.
STROLLERS:
So I’m going to include a few options based on price and need.
Expensive - Uppa Baby Vista
If I could afford it I would have totally gone with this stroller! Not only is it a beautiful design, but it grows with your family. You can start with just one seat or bassinet for baby and then when the time comes for number two you don’t have to buy a new stroller, just add another seat! It’s also not bulky and huge, especially for a double stroller.
Affordable - Baby Jogger City Select Stroller with 2nd Seat or the Baby Jogger City Mini GT Single Stroller
Again, I recommend investing in the double stroller version of the Baby Jogger because it can be used with one seat and then when you have the second (if you plan on having them close in age) you can just buy the second seat and not invest in a whole new stroller.
If you aren’t interested in the double then really any of the Baby Jogger strollers are great. You get high quality for great price. We ended up getting the Baby Jogger City Mini GT after our first stroller was destroyed by the airlines. The only thing I didn’t like about it was the basket underneath, it’s hard to get things in and out of it, but not the worst thing in the world. The other thing is that you can’t push the seat back into upright position with one hand. You have to stop and use both hands to get it up, whereas our old stroller let you do it with one hand super simple. The only reason we went with the City Mini GT vs another model is because we needed something with wheels that could withstand dirt roads and pot holes, otherwise I’d totally go with one of the smaller versions.
Deal - Graco DuoGlider Click Connect Double Stroller
We ended up with this for our double stroller and got it for under $100 on Prime Day. We decided not to invest as much money because of taking it to Africa and already having airplanes ruin our old stroller. This way we won’t be too disappointed if it ends up breaking. I also did not want a double wide stroller because I wanted to fit through doors and small aisles easier. So far I only have one complaint with this stroller an that’s that if you put the infant bassinet in the back part you can’t access the basket underneath. Other than that it’s been great so far.
My best advice is to go to Buy Buy Baby and just start trying all the strollers. I was SUPER overwhelmed when looking for strollers, and honestly this didn’t help me much, but the second time around I knew which brands I liked and features I wanted to make sure I had so testing out all the strollers in the store worked so much better for me! Plus they have people who work in that department and can help answer all my crazy questions.
Things I look for in a stroller:
Price (duh)
Works with my infant carseat (If you don’t have a car seat already, I recommend buying a travel system that comes with the carseat, like Graco does, otherwise just make sure you can get an attachment for a carseat with whatever stroller you go with) The Baby Jogger has attachments, but some of them are HUGE, luckily the Graco one is really small and works perfectly.
East to fold, lightweight/not bulky
Wheels do not require air
reclines flat option
One more favorite is the GB Pockit Stroller. If you want to use a carseat then you have to get the Pockit Plus and it only works with a few carseats, so plan ahead if you plan on using the Pockit Stroller with a car seat. We already had a Graco Carseat so I just decided to get the regular Pockit and not worry about using it with the carseat. I mainly use it for my toddler and when traveling in airports because as mentioned above the airlines in Africa likes to give me trouble, so with the Pockit stroller I can just fold it up and put it in my bag!
UppaBaby Vista | 2. Baby Jogger City Select Double Stroller | 3. Baby Jogger City Mini GT Single Stroller | 4. Graco Duoglider Double Stroller | 5. GB Pockit Plus Stroller
BASSINETS:
Expensive: The Snoo. Y’all I’ve heard AMAZING things about this guy! I wish we would have known about it before we got our bassinet. I only say that because they know how an option to rent the snoo and since we were only going to be in the states for a little while it might have been worth the cost. If you wanted to rent the snoo for the entire time you usually have a baby in a bassinet, well, then you might want to save up. Basically this bassinet is based on the 5 S’s that help get babies to sleep (soothe, swing, swaddle, shush, and side or stomach). The bassinet has a built in swaddle and white noise machine. When it hears the baby cry it adjusts the swinging and shusher to help calm baby. It also works with your smart phone to alert you when baby is crying and to let you know that it might be because they need a diaper change or feeding.
Affordable: The Halo Bassinet. There are different reasons why people recommend this bassinet. A lot of people like the ability to put it next to your bed and use the collapsable side wall to pull baby out and feed in the bed. For me, the reason why I like this bassinet is because of it’s height. With our first baby we had a rock n play and it was so low to the ground I couldn’t get our baby in and out of the bassinet because of my c-section. This time I wanted something higher so I didn’t have to bend over. Works like a dream! It also rotates well and allows you to rock the baby and the Dock a Tot Deluxe fits perfect inside it. The only downside is that there is no way to make it incline, which is super helpful and really necessary for babies with acid reflux (like my first).
Deal - The Swaddle Me Sleeper. This bassinet also raises high (not as high as the Halo, but high enough) and it has the ability to incline. We found ours on Amazon for a random deal of less than $40, which was cheaper than what I was finding in second-hand stores. But that’s another tip, look for the Halo and SwaddleMe in second hand stores or online marketplaces. I’ve seen them all over the place and you can save some money that way!
CHECK OUT ALL THE PRODUCTS ON MY AMAZON IDEA LIST: http://a.co/7prcWJS
