5 Items I Wish I Knew About With My First Baby
It’s less than two weeks before baby’s due date and we can hardly wait. For the most part we had what we needed for this baby, that’s the joy of a second child if you’ve kept most of the items. Lucky for us baby two is also a boy, so we had just about everything we needed before his arrival.
However there were still items we needed. We opted out of having a baby shower for this baby so anything else we needed was going to be out of pocket for us, and in case you weren’t aware, the actual birth of a baby isn’t cheap! So we knew we wanted to get these items for the best price we could find. That’s why I’m super grateful for Good Buy Gear. If you’re not familiar, Good Buy Gear sells new, open box or gently used items for babies and kids. Everything they sell is thoroughly checked by “wing moms” who are actual mothers that are there to make sure everything is high quality and safe (which is so comforting when purchasing through them). They carry all of the top brands of strollers, bassinets, bottles, breast pumps, toys, bouncers, playmats, books and so much more which you’ll see when I share all that I snagged from them. They ship all over the U.S. and if you’re in Denver or Dallas they’ll actually deliver right to your doorstep. I’m so bummed I didn’t know about them prior to having Giulian three years ago, but gosh I’m thankful I know about them now! We’ve been huge fans of Good Buy Gear for a while now, not only because it saves us a ton of money on items we need for Giulian and now the new baby, but because they’re super particular about the quality of the products so whether you’re buying gently used, open box or new, you know you’ll get a product that is in amazing condition. To make it even better, we can sell all of our gently used baby items through GBG after we’re finished using them so we can clear some space in the house and make a bit of money. This baby is probably our last so as he grows out of each stage I’ll be sure to utilize this service!
I promise I’m gonna share the products we purchased, but let me just obsess over Good Buy Gear for one more minute! A few months ago we wanted to purchase the Hatch, a sound machine/ nightlight that is supposed to work miracles on helping your toddler sleep. It’s a pricey item, retails for about $60 but we got it from Good Buy Gear for $39.99! It was an “open box” item which basically means it’s in perfect condition and hasn’t been used, but traditional retailers can’t sell it anymore because the actual box and packaging has been opened. With items like this that are ones we are curious about but aren’t willing to spend full price on it, I absolutely love saving that much money on.
If you’re like me and love saving money, use my code ACCORDINGTOD for 15% off orders under $100.
Lounger - Snuggle Me Organic or DocATot
Okay so between having Giulian in 2017 and being pregnant now, there’s been so many times where I’ve said “I wish I had used that when G was a baby”. The main item I am super excited to try is the Snuggle Me Organic Lounger pillow. I’ve heard so many amazing things about the Snuggle Me Organic pillows, or even a DocATot which is basically the same thing. The DocATot for example runs about $175 but you can get the same one on Good Buy Gear’s site for only $146 and it’s an open box, never used item! They currently have one on their site that is gently used and was originally $237 and you can get it from them for $78. How awesome is that! I just bought a Snuggle Me Organic Lounger from their site for $74 and it was originally $99. I am so excited to try out the lounger, some of my best friends swear by them. It just seems so much more simple since it’s a portable place that baby can nap or lay. I also snagged a cotton cover for the lounger and wow it’s so soft!
Dr. Brown’s Bottles
Okay so I’m not even going to say that these bottles in particular are a “must have” because the truth about bottles is that each baby is completely different and prefers a different bottle. What IS a must have is Good Buy Gear’s bottle selection and bottle bundles! Why? Because trust me mama it’ll save you a ton of money while you’re on the hunt for which type of bottle your baby prefers. Bottles are expensive, especially nice brands such as Dr. Brown’s, so to have access to purchase them at a lower price is such a blessing because the truth is you might not even end up using the bottle anyways. We tried about four different bottle types with Giulian before finding one that worked with him. We ended up using the Playtex Ventaire and we really liked those. I purchased the Dr. Brown’s Bottles from Good Buy Gear because I had wanted to try them with Giulian but I found them to be a bit pricey so I never did, so I’m curious and excited to give them a shot with this baby and I’m grateful I got them for such a great price through GBG. They also offer bottle bundles, which if you’re in the stage where you are on the hunt for a bottle that works with your baby, this is absolutely what I’d suggest purchasing that way you can try out several types of bottles before purchasing a bunch of one particular brand. For example right now on their site for under $14 you can get a bundle with 2 Avent 4 oz bottles, 3 Tommee Tippee 5oz bottles, 1 Dr. Browns 5oz, 2 nipples, 1 10oz Nuk, and 1 9oz Playtex Ventaire!
Milk Snob Cover
Okay to be fair I did own something similar, I had purchased it at a small shop before G was born. However, I don’t feel like I utilized it as much as I should have. Especially for breastfeeding, I was so uncomfortable with breastfeeding in public that I just avoided trying. I think with this baby I’m just going to make sure and wear clothing that’s easy access for breastfeeding and I’ll try and use the Milk Snob cover as often as I can. If you’re not familiar, these covers can be used as a car seat cover (great for keeping baby warm or out of the sun while transporting the carseat outside), it can go over your head and act as a nursing cover when breastfeeding, and it can also go over shopping cart seats to act as a barrier so your baby isn’t touching everything on the cart. They’re pretty amazing since they are multi use, lightweight, stylish and super convenient.
Halo Bassinet Newborn Insert
With Giulian we had the Halo Bassinet and we kept it for this baby since it’s such a high ticket item and we loved it the first time. The Halo bed is basically a tall bassinet that can go by your bedside while baby is a newborn, making it easy to feed in the middle of the night. Until recently, I had no clue that there was an infant insert! When Giulian was a newborn we’d place him swaddled in the center of the bassinet and almost every time I’d wake up he was rolled to one side or the other and to be honest it freaked me out a bit to realize how much he could roll around in there. The infant insert is a hammock like attachment for the Halo bed, making it so the baby is more stuck in one place and can’t roll around. The sides of the insert are all mesh so that if the baby did roll, they could still breathe. I’m so excited to try this! I purchased ours through Good Buy Gear and saved quite a bit of money on it (of course). If you don’t have a Halo Bassinet, I’d absolutely recommend this product but it’s pretty pricey. The one we have was originally about $250 but you can find similar items on the Good Buy Gear site for about $165 (that’s just one example, they’ve got several different models, some more expensive and some less).
Newborn Sleep Swaddles
When we had our first son, we showed up at the hospital with a muslin blanket because that’s what we thought we’d use on the baby. Those hospital nurses are professional swaddlers, they can use just about any blanket and wrap that baby tighter than a chipotle burrito. It was quite impressive and at the same time extremely frustrating. Nick and I felt like idiots, we tried over and over again to get our new baby swaddled all tight like those nurses did and it just wasn’t the same. On the day we left the hospital they gave us a parting gift, a Halo Sleep Sack Swaddle. It’s this magical thing that allows you to get your new baby snug as a bug without the hassle, because it’s made with velcro and basically idiot proof. It was exactly what we needed, and frankly what I think most parents (or all) need. I just purchased gently used one from Good Buy Gear so that we’d have one from day one with baby number two. If you check out the Good Buy Gear site and simply type in swaddle to the search bar you’ll see a ton of options. They’re all great, I personally love the Halo and SwaddleMe brand. I’d just make sure to purchase those instead of the muslin blanket ones for swaddling. I’d recommend buying some muslin blankets as well, just not for swaddling. Those do however make great multiuse blankets, I used them as burp rags, nursing covers, car seat covers, and a blanket… so maybe throw some of those in your GBG cart too!
Mamas, I hope you found this helpful! There are some products that just make our lives easier as new parents and I was so excited to share some with you. Not to say that you NEED every single baby item out there, but gosh there are some that I feel are just so worth it. With that being said, there is just no reason to pay full price for our baby products when there are sites like Good Buy Gear available to us, selling our favorite products while helping us save some money. Again, make sure to use my code ACCORDINGTOD for 15% off your order under $100.
