2022 Baby Products I REGRET buying & what I'm getting instead (2nd baby!)

Jessica Braun
1 follower
Nov 7, 2022
What is up everyone?
I feel like I'm like dressed up
for a business meeting today.
Hello, welcome in to the meeting.
But if you are new here, my name is Jessica.
I'm glad that you stumbled in.
I don't know why you're watching this video.
Maybe you are pregnant, maybe you already have a kid
or you're thinking about it.
Maybe you are a returning viewer of my channel
and you are very kindly supporting me
even if you are not even thinking about babies right now.
So thank you ahead of time for the support.
But today we're gonna talk about products
that I regret buying for my first baby, Genevieve,
who is now three and a half.
Oh my gosh.
And I am now pregnant, I'm 30 weeks pregnant,
actually probably around 31 weeks
by the time you're seeing this,
with my second baby, which is another girl.
So we made a lot of what I'm gonna call mistakes,
but I mean, you know, it is what it is.
Some things work for some people,
it doesn't work for others,
for different babies, for different lifestyles,
for different needs and wants.
And so we're gonna get into all that.
So first half of the video,
I'll chat about the things I regret.
And then I will also share about things
that we are doing differently this time.
Things we're buying, maybe we're upgrading some things,
maybe we're buying things that we didn't have the first time
and we really wish we did.
So I'll have links to the products
I do actually recommend down below.
And yeah, let's dive in.
So before I get farther into this,
I did wanna mention,
I did just do a pregnancy must-haves video.
I will link below if you want to watch that after this video
because in that I go through every little thing
I recommend for pregnancy,
especially having gone through it now twice.
And I mean, down to like, if you've got morning sickness,
stuff that actually worked for my nausea.
That was not a fun time, it really was not.
Down to like pillows I use
and specific links for all that stuff,
different leggings and clothing and stuff
that I highly, highly, highly recommend.
That is all.
I just, I'm proud of that video
because I really do feel like,
okay, I really now know like what I genuinely needed
during pregnancy,
stuff that prevented stretch marks and stuff too.
So I will link that video below.
All right, first thing,
and this is gonna upset some people right off the bat.
I regret buying the Halo Bassinest.
I liked it.
I mean, there was nothing inherently wrong
with this bassinet.
The thing is it's $200
and it really doesn't do much more
than what 75 and $100 bassinets do.
And I think that's my biggest gripe
and my biggest realization as I've been, you know,
a couple of years out now from using that.
And we ended up reselling it because I mean,
we bought it and I even remember telling Tyler,
I was like, I don't really wanna use this
if we have another baby in a couple of years.
So I will share in a bit what we are gonna use instead.
But the big claims to fame for it
are that it can swivel 360 degrees.
Ask me how many times I swiveled the bassinet around.
Zero.
I don't recall a single time
that I'm swirling that thing around
for one reason or another.
It was next to my bed.
That was it.
Like if I were getting her out of it and I was standing,
I would just lift her.
I didn't need to swivel it.
You know what I mean?
So the other feature is that the side arm,
you can have it like come down
so that like when you're in bed,
you don't have to, I mean, you wanna sit up,
but you don't have to, I don't know,
I guess get all the way up.
I didn't really use that either.
I didn't trust it.
It made me nervous.
And you can like lock it.
And I'm assuming that's still a feature they have.
But either way, I didn't love that feature in the end.
So it really just didn't do much more
than what any other bassinet does.
So I think that's my biggest gripe with it.
We are gonna be spending more on a bassinet.
And like I said, I'll tell you what we're using in a bit,
but I'll explain why.
Okay, another regret was buying way too many
of the same kind of anything, bottle, pacifier, blanket.
We wanted to be super prepared
and we were nesting like crazy.
And I wanted to make sure I had everything.
And I feel like this second time of nesting
has been not the opposite.
I'm still trying to collect and make sure
that we have what we need,
but I'm being very, very, very picky.
We would buy like three or four packs
of a couple of different brands of bottles.
And so once we finally discovered what bottle
she actually liked,
we had all these other ones we weren't using.
And it was just such a waste of money.
Bottles honestly are not cheap, I don't think.
And so this time around what we're doing,
we didn't save any of those bottles just because,
I don't know, it's been like three and a half years.
I figured we'd wanna buy new and we did.
We do, we haven't bought any yet.
But we figure what we're gonna do
is buy three or four different kinds,
but just one of each, one of each.
Because that way, when we get to the point
where we're using bottles,
we will be able to try each one, get an idea.
And then once we land on one that maybe she really likes,
we can buy more that time.
So that is gonna be a huge change and really helpful
because we just ended up having a cabinet
full of like 15, 20, 30 different bottles.
I don't know if it was in the 30s.
It was a lot though, you guys.
But then we're having to contend
with cleaning them constantly
because even though it's great to have a whole bunch
and you're like, yay, I have a whole bunch of these.
I won't have to do dishes as often.
You're still grappling with a huge amount of dishes,
regardless, so it just, it made us crazy.
But same goes for like things like blankets and pacifiers.
We had like 15 different muslin swaddle blankets.
We used the same two over and over again.
Even if she like spit up or whatever,
we could wash the one, I think three is a good amount
because we were constantly doing laundry regardless.
And so that didn't really save us.
And then we just had all of these blankets we weren't using.
It was such a waste.
So one regret I have,
and this would only, I think, apply to you
if you think you might have more than one kid,
is I wish we would have invested in a nice stroller
that had the possibility to turn
into a double stroller down the road.
So like Mockingbird makes one.
They're single to double stroller.
The UPPAbaby Vista is the one we went with.
And it's such a struggle.
We really could not find the perfect one
that did everything we wanted,
but this one had as close to what we wanted as possible.
And it was still really expensive.
Oh my gosh, it was a huge investment.
But again, I wish I'd made that investment four years ago.
So that way, all we'd be buying this time
would be the kit to add the second seat.
And you know what I mean?
So if that is something that's on your radar
and you're maybe pregnant with your first
and you're like, well,
we probably will want more down the road,
it might be worth investing in a single to double stroller.
And there's a lot of options out there.
All right, so a hamper that's hard to clean.
We went through three different hampers with her.
And the problem with cloth-like hampers
that are just one piece is that it's impossible to clean.
It's impossible to clean.
So we finally landed on one we liked
that had like a metal frame
and it was a cloth hamper inside,
but you could take that off and wash it.
But then we got annoyed
because every time we washed it,
it was hard to get back on.
So this time around, I literally found one at TJ Maxx
that was like six or seven bucks.
It's plastic.
I can wipe it out if something gets on it
from soiled clothing.
And it's not too big either,
because honestly, like I said,
we were doing laundry every other day for a while anyway,
that it didn't matter.
The load was plenty to wash.
We didn't need a giant hamper.
Okay, so this time around,
I have gotten rid of any sleeper,
especially for like,
from like basically newborn to six month,
any sleeper that has a bunch of buttons
and things like that.
No, absolutely not.
I'm not doing that.
Zippers are your best friend, please trust.
And like, I just recall so many nights,
the first three months,
like being in bed and having Genevieve there
and trying to change her diaper
when I'm so tired all I want to do is sleep.
And dealing with buttons, oh my gosh.
So any night she was asleep with a zipper,
like sleeper, I was so happy.
So zippers all the way.
And then this time around,
we are upgrading and getting a few magnetic ones.
So the biggest, like most famous brand is Magnetic Me.
They make a bunch of sleepers
that are literally the whole thing's magnetic.
It's so freaking cool, you guys,
but they're expensive.
So unless you're buying them on sale,
there's another brand that Buy Buy Baby sells
that's like E equals MC,
I think is the brand, something like that.
And they're like $15 each.
So we bought, I think I bought one newborn
and one zero to three, again,
with that same mindset of, I want to try them out
because if we love them, great, we can buy more,
but I don't want to have a whole bunch of these
and then for whatever reason, not like them.
So that is a game changer.
I'm super excited and kind of on that vein.
One mistake we made was having way too many,
what I'm going to call cute outfits
for the newborn and zero to three month,
really even three to six month size.
We had way too many.
And I will tell you that there were some
of my favorite outfits that that baby wore once,
that me, because she doesn't have an identity.
But you know what I mean?
And then I would feel guilty,
like always keeping her in a sleeper or a onesie
because she was at home and that, I mean,
you know what, she's constantly spitting up.
Like there was no reason to be putting on cute outfits
unless we were going out somewhere
or maybe taking photos or whatever.
But it just felt like such a waste
to have all these cute clothes just sitting in there.
And then I feel guilty when I see them and be like,
well, then I'll put her in a cute outfit,
but then she spit up on it like an hour later.
And then I'd be like, dang it.
And it was just such a weird guilt cycle.
So this time around, I had kept some of those cute outfits
because of course I do want to have some,
but we really, I've really only bought sleepers.
That's it.
And by the way, Target sells their Cloud Island brand.
They have sleepers that have like cover the hand type thing.
So like the sleeve can be normal if you want it to be,
but then it also has this piece of fabric
that will fold over their hands.
So if they're still at that age where there's the chance
they might scratch themselves
when they're really, really young,
you can just fold them over.
You're not gonna be worried about mittens falling off.
I think that's awesome.
There are a couple of other brands that do that too,
but that's the brand I'd heard about and bought.
And they're really soft too.
So highly recommend those, but I think that is perfect.
That's what she's gonna be in more than anything anyway.
All right, this is a biggie.
And when I asked my husband,
what do you remember feeling like
that we regretted buying for Genevieve?
His two things were the Bassanest sleeper
that I mentioned at the beginning and this one,
and it is the Mamoru.
I bought it because I had so,
or actually it might've even been a gift to us,
I should say, but I put it on our registry
because we heard so many people that we knew personally
that they were like, oh my gosh,
my kid loved the Mamoru, blah, blah, blah.
Now, all of a sudden, all I'm hearing
are people saying their kid hated the Mamoru.
And mine was one of them that absolutely hated it.
All right, I just had to change my battery.
So I think I've messed with how the framing is,
but that's okay.
All right, so what, oh, Mamoru, we're still on that topic.
I realized why she didn't like it.
It only swings one way.
It has different like sequences,
but it's only going side to side.
And Genevieve really liked swinging front to back.
And so the different like Graco swings,
I don't know the names of them,
but I'm gonna link the one we're pretty sure
we're gonna buy down below.
They're certainly cheaper than the Mamoru
and they can go different ways.
So they can do the side to side,
but you can turn it and do front and back.
And I think having that option is so nice
because you just don't know what your baby's gonna prefer.
And so I think all of those friends of mine
that said their babies loved it,
they probably really did,
but that's because they just preferred
that side to side motion.
So wanted to bring that up because we ended up borrowing
a kind of Graco like swing from my sister for Genevieve.
And we just kicked the Mamoru to the curb.
I think I ended up giving it to my mom.
So she's got it for grandkids
and maybe this baby will like it
and she can use it over there, I don't know.
Regardless, that was a huge regret
because that is not a cheap product.
And it was such a bummer that she really,
I mean, we did not use it a lot.
She did not love it.
Okay, this is what I don't hear a lot of people talk about.
Toy organization became a very real problem
as the baby like gets older and gets toys
and then people are buying them toys
and you've got books for them
and you need a solution for like how to store it.
So what I'd originally bought was a huge mistake.
It was just a very cute,
but a huge just rectangular toy box with a lid that opens.
And it had like a slow close thing.
That was kind of nice.
It broke.
They contacted the company.
They sent us the parts to fix it.
It was fine.
But the point is that having just a big box
for all of the toys is awful
because she ended up only playing
with the toys that were on the top,
which then she'd get bored with.
So then I'm having to dig around
and it's just little pieces everywhere.
And just having a big vat of toys
is to me incredibly stressful.
And I did not know that until I tried it.
But this one I found on Amazon and it is so freaking cute.
And I ordered the bins you see on Amazon as well.
They were separate because it doesn't come with bins
or if it does, they were like colors I didn't like.
I'm trying to remember.
Regardless, I love the way this looks.
And I just feel like having,
there's still some areas where, you know,
when the baby's able to crawl up to it
and get some toys out,
it's nice to have an open area for those kinds of toys.
But then also having the bins
that you can put things away to.
So visually, it's not super, super cluttered.
There is still a little like visual toy clutter,
but I don't mind that.
So one regret was not buying a comfy chair for the nursery.
We have this beautiful heirloom rocking chair
that is a part of our family.
And I think that is amazing.
But that kind of rocking chair is not ideal.
No matter how beautiful it is,
it is not ideal for middle of the night
rocking or feeding a baby.
It really isn't.
And so I told Tyler, I said, with this second baby,
I am treating myself to a nice glider
that is the comfiest thing you've ever seen.
And he was like, I'm in because he has to use it too.
You know, so we did invest, we haven't gotten it,
but we invested in a really nice Pottery Barn one.
But our mindset was, this is a piece
that when we are done having kids,
whether it's with this one or not,
that would be something that we could move to another room
and just use as a piece of furniture,
like down by our TV, down in the family room,
something like that.
Because it is beautiful and it's got, you know,
the recline feature, which is nice too.
So I'm very excited to have that.
I'm like ridiculously excited.
I think it's supposed to be delivered
here in the next week or so, so that's good.
That's another thing,
if you're wanting to order a glider from anywhere,
definitely order it with enough time.
Make sure you've got enough time
to like actually get it delivered
if that's the way you're going.
Obviously there are some stores
you can just get it at the store and bring it home.
A couple of things I'm torn about,
a wipe warmer and a bottle warmer.
It's kind of funny that they're both like warming things.
We had and used both last time.
We no longer have the two we used,
but I'm trying to decide if I want to buy them again or not.
The one we used previously
was a cheaper bottle warmer, for example,
and it just kind of started pooing out on us
towards the end.
That's why we ended up getting rid of it.
And I think the same with the wipe warmer.
But I know a lot of people knock on both of those things
as being extraneous.
But I have to say like with the wipe warmers,
we did use it and I do feel like,
especially when she was young, it was nice,
but we used it for such a short amount of time
because we didn't want her to get too used
to warm wipes over time,
only because we knew like,
well, when we're out and about,
it's not gonna be a warm wipe.
So the time that it was the nicest to use it
was those middle of the night feeds
when you're not wanting to wake her up.
But I don't know that it's worth it enough to buy again.
So that's kind of where I wanted to bring it up.
I'm torn about.
I understand why people like them.
I mean, like I said,
we used it and liked it for a short amount of time.
So I don't know.
And the other thing that bottle warmer,
she was formula fed after the first few months.
Breastfeeding did not work as well as I thought it would.
Ooh boy, did it not?
And so we ended up formula feeding.
And so we were warming bottles like for a while.
And so we really used the bottle warmer we had.
We had one from Chico.
And like I said, it was pretty good.
It just pooed out on us.
And so if I, out of the two,
that's the one I'm most apt to buy.
But I'm still not totally sure.
And I don't know what brand or which one I would buy.
If you have suggestions, let me know.
But I'm kind of leaning more like 70% might not buy.
All right, so some stuff
that we are gonna get this time around,
whether it's like an upgrade,
something new we didn't have that I wish I had
for this baby.
First one is an easy one.
We are going to get the,
well, I've already bought it,
the little baby electric like nail files.
So when they're really little
and it's hard to cut their nails for a million reasons,
it's nice to have something like that.
It's super gentle.
I was just trying it on my toddler
and she thought it was just fun.
And I've tried it on myself.
Like it doesn't hurt.
There's different little nail file heads
depending on how old they are.
So when they're newborns, there's one you use
when they're a little older, et cetera.
And you can use it on the whole family,
which I think is cool.
The one I got has its own little case.
It's from the Haka brand on Amazon.
And it looks really neat.
So I'm excited to try that
because the trauma of trying to cut a tiny baby's nails
and like accidentally clipping their skin
is one you don't forget quickly.
So very happy to have that.
Another thing I mentioned earlier, the double stroller.
We got the UPPAbaby Vista V2.
So we got the accessories where you've got the toddler seat
and the bassinet and all those different things.
You can do different configurations.
And my biggest fear with that was
that Genevieve wouldn't fit.
She is a little older.
She doesn't really need a stroller.
She's three and a half.
So by the time, you know what I mean?
And we knew that going in,
but we also know we like to travel.
And if we're walking a long time,
whether it's like in Disney World or something,
it's kind of nice.
Like even if she's four,
it's nice to have a place to put her when she's tired.
You know?
So this one kind of provided that for us.
And we learned,
because our biggest thing was
when she sits in the toddler seat,
she hardly fit, but we learned like it goes up.
So, because we were worried she'd be too tall,
but she's not a super tall kid for her age either.
So definitely worth looking into.
Another version you can get that's cheaper
is the Mockingbird.
And we really did go back and forth for a while on that,
but we ended up going with the UPPAbaby Vista.
Okay. Car seats.
We have bought the Duna car seat.
I have heard way too many moms say,
this is a game changer.
Cause if you've ever tried, you know,
the carrier you've got, your car seat,
that you pull out and you got to carry around
into doctor's offices.
And you know, if you're going out to eat
or wherever you're going, the grocery store,
it's just knocking around.
It's so big.
It's so heavy,
especially as the baby gets a little bit bigger.
But the Duna car seat is one that it is a car seat
and it has a base just like a car seat.
You snap it into all of that,
but you can pull it out and then do a little jig.
I don't know.
I haven't opened it yet to play with it,
but, and wheels pop out and it's like a little stroller,
like a mini little stroller.
So instead of carrying it into the doctor's office,
the restaurant, et cetera,
you can just pop the wheels down and go.
And I think that is worth its weight in gold.
Very excited to have that.
We did have to buy the second base
so that we can have one in each of our cars,
but that is gonna be huge.
And even little things,
like now Genevieve's in preschool.
So like we have to walk her all the way in.
If I'm alone and I have her and the baby,
instead of trying to carry that carrier
and her and her book bag in,
I can just and be able to push her in
and hold Genevieve's hand as we go.
Another thing we loved that we bought another one of
is the hatch baby sound machine.
We got the plus for this next baby
just cause it sounded cooler
and you could do a little bit more with it.
Like you can use it as like an audio two-way monitor.
That was pretty cool to me.
The other reason we bought a new one
is cause the regular one we have,
the hatch baby non-plus, minus, you know what I mean?
That one we're still using with Genevieve.
Like she still will have it as a nightlight in her room.
Her favorite noise at this point is
that there's like a bird noise
where they're just like tweeting.
She listens to that all night long, you guys.
All night.
And if we don't turn on the bird noise at full volume,
she will not sleep.
Like it's so bizarre that that's what she's ended up on
at three and a half, but the bird noises are it for her.
Anyway, but we loved it.
There's so much you can do with it.
You can do different lights to like tell a kid,
especially once they're a little older, like, okay,
when it turns green at like 8 a.m. or whatever,
when it turns green, you're allowed to get up out of bed.
So like even for toddlerhood,
it's helpful in creating routines too.
Another thing I learned about, by the way,
I didn't know this, was that apparently red light
is good for like not fully waking up like your baby.
So if you're in the middle of the night.
So when she's in here the first three or four
or five months, it'll be kind of nice
to have that Hatch Baby Plus in here.
And we can just use, I can tap it
and turn on the red light when she's up for a feeding
so that hopefully, I haven't tested it yet,
but hopefully it'll be bright enough for me
to be able to see what I'm doing,
but it's not gonna be so bright
that it fully wakes the baby up.
So I think that's kind of a cool idea.
And the fact that the Hatch Baby
can do so many different colors
makes it even easier to like just try that out.
Oh, and I promised that I would share
what bassinet we're gonna use.
We are renting the Snoo.
And the Snoo is more expensive than that bassinest.
Is that what it's called?
Halo bassinest, yeah.
Even renting it is more expensive,
but we kind of, my thing was I told Tyler,
I'm like, we can either just get a regular bassinet
and I am totally fine with that.
I'm not buying the Halo one again.
Like it just wasn't worth that.
Or we can get something that actually has bells and whistles
that might actually help this baby sleep.
And so like looking into the Snoo, I'm like,
and again, a lot of people I know personally
and people I know online swear by the Snoo.
I hope it's not gonna be like a Mama Ru situation
where we have a very different experience,
but that's why we're doing it.
And when we kind of were budgeting
and looking at renting versus buying it,
one of the arguments for buying was,
even if you aren't sure if you're gonna have more kids,
if you buy it, the resale value for those are so high.
Because like even me, I was combing Facebook marketplace
and stuff like that thinking, okay,
if someone marks down the Snoo by a couple hundred,
I'm gonna buy it because that's a way better deal
than buying it full price.
But that's what I mean.
So if you buy it full price
and you turn around to resell it
after you're done with it,
you're gonna get a lot of your money back.
So that was one thing we've grappled with,
but we just decided to rent.
We just figured it's easier.
It'll be here, we can return it.
That way, if we end up not loving it or whatever,
we can deal with that then and we don't own the thing.
So that is what we're doing for that.
I'm excited to give that a try.
I did read the book that that doctor that created the Snoo
wrote, The Happiest Baby on the Block.
And there's some, I think, pretty helpful information.
I don't know that I agree with everything he says,
but there's some helpful information in there.
Tyler read it too, though, and he was like,
I feel like this book could have been written
in like five chapters and been done.
He just felt like it repeated itself a lot.
I'm like, yeah, I would agree with that.
Something new we had to buy was a double monitor.
Is that what you call it?
Like a two camera monitor.
So for Genevieve, we had the iBaby monitor.
It's not one you hear much about,
but I bought it because there were decent reviews
and it served us well for three and a half years.
It's still working and we still use it,
but it only is hooked up to the phone.
So there is no like handheld monitor
where like if someone else is here watching her,
they don't have a monitor.
They would have to download the app, sign in.
You know what I mean?
So we decided that when we get this next one,
we want to get one that has two cameras
so it can be the same system for both of their rooms
and that it hooks up to an app
and it has a monitor that can do split screen.
So we found one.
I haven't bought it yet.
Found one that should do all of that
and the reviews are kind of mixed,
but I have to say every single baby monitor review
I've ever read for anything, every single review is mixed.
So I'm like, well, so we're going to give it a try.
I'll link the one I'm looking at below
if you're curious about that.
I don't know if it's any good or not.
I sure hope it is because it's expensive.
You can get a registry even if you're not having
like a baby shower and all that.
And so I did one for Buy Buy Baby
because you get a 15% off like coupon to use
to like buy out whatever else you want
on your registry at the end.
So I am definitely planning on using that on the monitor
and other stuff too, but definitely on the monitor.
So another thing is I bought a new breast pump.
So the first time around I, listen,
it didn't go super well for me,
but I did use the breast pump and I used the Spectra,
but I used the pink one and I really just got the pink one
because I like pink.
This time around, I got the blue one
because I liked the idea that the blue one
could hold a charge and you can move
around the house with it.
That was huge to me and so I thought,
well, if I'm going to give it the old college try again,
I'm going to get the blue one
so at least I can be a little more mobile.
I feel like the top two ones people talk about
are Spectra and Medela.
I've never tried Medela.
I know my sister used Medela and liked it,
although I'm not sure that she ever had any issues
with breastfeeding.
Not that that's connected to that,
but just like I had issues with supply,
like so many different things.
So, but I had a good experience with the Spectra.
Like it had strong suction.
I never had any issues with that kind of thing.
So that's why I stuck with the brand,
but I'm just going to get the blue one.
Another thing, we got fresh linens, like fresh crib sheets.
I'm having the worst luck with my camera today.
I'm at that point where I have two batteries
and neither of them are fully charged
so they keep running out
and I have to keep changing them off the charger.
So I'm sorry.
I feel like I'm so scatterbrained in this video
because I cannot focus
because the battery keeps running out.
So yeah, fresh linens.
That is something that, you know,
getting a new changing pad cover,
stuff that, you know, we did use those for years
and then she spit up, threw up, pooped,
like all of that on these few crib sheets
and things that we had that I'm like,
it's time, we definitely want some fresh ones.
So that was always a nice feeling.
Getting those, I still am at the point
where I haven't like washed that stuff.
And I'm, again, I'm like 30 to 31 weeks pregnant right now.
It's not a huge rush,
but also it's kind of nice to have that done,
but you want it to be a little bit fresher.
So you're like, well, I want to wait.
I'm in that limbo right now, I feel like.
Something else I didn't have the first time around
is the Haka manual breast pump thing or whatever it is,
basically where it catches,
like while you're feeding on one side,
it'll catch the like,
I clearly don't know the terms you guys.
Hold on, this is crooked.
It'll catch the drip drop from the other one.
You know what I'm saying?
I really, I genuinely can't think of the term,
but anyway, so that's kind of nice
because I just remember it just like leaking
and you know, that just was what it was.
And I would just like wipe it up,
but it'd be nice to like catch it
because that stuff is liquid gold,
especially if you're someone like me
that struggled with supply and all that.
That is exciting and it wasn't super expensive.
There are a million brands on Amazon.
I bought the Haka brand
just because that's kind of the brand I'd heard of.
I don't know that it really matters,
but you can get one that has like a lid too.
So you've got a bit so you can lid it
before you are able to take it downstairs
and store it properly.
So I thought that was pretty cool.
And again, not a crazy expensive investment
to make to give a try.
So things that we bought previously
that we're going to be reusing would be our crib.
We did have to buy a new crib mattress
because the toddler bed we got for Genevieve
uses a crib mattress, is using her crib mattress.
So I'm like, okay.
So we did have to buy a new crib mattress,
which, you know, that just is what it is.
We also have the hatch changing pad.
Actually, our best friends are borrowing it.
I need to get it back from them
because I'm betting they're probably done using it
for weighing anyway.
But that one was really nice.
And that was one I kind of went back and forth
on whether I wanted it on my registry,
especially because we were struggling so much
with breastfeeding and stuff early on.
It was nice to be able to weigh her in between
just to get any idea of like, was she getting anything?
You know what I mean?
So that, we really did use it for that,
those first few months, and it was really nice.
And it's, you know, useful for future babies.
So we are definitely using that this time around as well.
It's funny that we don't actually use that
for our main changing pad.
That one we ended up like having downstairs
and we were just like,
if we needed to do diaper changes down there, we would.
But it really was more of like a scale.
And then we have a way more comfortable changing pad
upstairs in her room.
Because we realized like,
especially when they're really young,
setting them on a cold, hard changing pad,
like the hatch one,
or like that peanut one I see everywhere,
it's just not comfortable.
Like I wouldn't like to be late on that.
And so doing that, you know, every few hours constantly,
it's nice to have a comfier one.
So we have just one we got, I'm sure at Ikea or something,
but you can get really, really comfortable,
like velour, like soft changing pad covers
that are easy to wash.
And that is so,
I had so many less tears from Genevieve
when we lay her down on that and change her diaper
versus when we lay her down on like the hatch one.
So it's something to be aware of.
The high chair we bought, we're gonna reuse.
We have a boppy,
but I did buy a new, like a two pack of covers for it.
So I feel like boppy covers
were harder to find four years ago,
but now like random brands on Amazon make them
and they fit and they're really cute.
So we just got a two pack of different fabrics
so that A, when she spits up on it, you can change it.
But B, it's just nice to be able to switch it up too.
So I'm excited about that.
Cause I at the time had just bought
the cheapest boppy I could find
with like the cheapest cover on it.
And I don't really like the cover, not that it matters,
but except for, I look at it like every day.
So that was an exciting thing.
And another, I have both the boppy and the My Breast Friend.
I never used the boppy for breastfeeding.
I will tell you that.
We used it for her when she was kind of learning to sit up
just to kind of, you know, or do tummy time on.
I genuinely use the My Breast Friend
for breastfeeding every time.
It was so much, it sounds like a negative thing,
but it's so much firmer that having her on it.
It was so much better, you guys,
like so, so, so, so much better than the boppy.
And I heard, I'm trying to think of who I was watching,
but they were talking about how they felt like their baby
with the boppy would kind of like slide between
if you're trying to breastfeed.
And I kind of remember feeling that same way,
but the boppy is nice for someone else feeding her.
So like Tyler used the boppy a lot
when he'd be feeding her a bottle because he's not worried.
He doesn't have to hold her in a very specific way
like you kind of do when you're breastfeeding.
So it was nice.
He had something to rest his hands on.
Plus, boppies are great if you've got,
you know, like I've got a three and a half year old
that's going to want to hold her.
And so having the boppy is going to be huge
to like help her hold her.
So lots of uses for that.
Definitely still recommend the boppy.
That is everything.
Another thing I did want to mention is
I regret not spending more time learning
about what is lovingly called the fourth trimester.
I really regret not learning more about that.
I ended up having postpartum depression.
It was just a struggle.
And I know I'm not alone.
I really wish that first time around
I had read more about that and what that was like.
I really just focused on reading books
about the labor and the delivery and all that.
And, you know, I'd read little bits here and there
about postpartum, but that was the thing.
That's the thing you have to grapple with way longer
than the few days you're in labor.
Yes, it's important to know about labor and delivery.
Absolutely.
And I reread about all that stuff this time around too
because there's a lot you just forget.
The book I'm currently reading is called Crib Sheet
and it's by Emily Oster.
And she's like a super data.
She's an economist.
I just said that wrong.
Economist.
I was going to say economics person
but an economist is actually what she is.
And so she's super data driven
and kind of nerdy in an awesome way.
And so it's all about the data of like different things
like on breastfeeding and on formula feeding
and on just all of those kinds of things
on postpartum depression.
And I feel like it's a very easy read
if you're interested in it,
which if you're pregnant, you probably are interested
but I would highly recommend it.
I also read her Expecting Better book first
and that's all about pregnancy.
And that is my favorite pregnancy book I've ever read.
And I've read a lot of them now.
So again, you gotta be like into data
but she gives like graphs and charts
and shows like here's why it's okay to drink coffee.
And you know, why some doctors say you can
and why some doctors say you can't
like all of that stuff.
It is super interesting.
So anyway, she just goes into all that kind of data.
And then basically her whole lesson is take this data
digest it and you decide for yourself
what you wanna do with it.
You know what I mean?
At the end of the day, it's your decision to make
what you're drinking while you're pregnant
how you feed your baby, whatever, you know
all of those kinds of things.
So I think that's nice.
Cause you don't feel like she's pressuring you
to think one certain way.
She's just like, here's the data
you make your own decisions.
So definitely reading up on stuff beyond labor
and delivery before you have the baby.
So you really, really do have a better idea
of what to expect.
Cause that is a huge regret of mine.
Well, that was fun.
I'm definitely planning on doing a like nursery tour.
I laughed when I saw my old nursery tour.
It's no longer up you guys.
I had to privatize it.
I rewatched it.
It was cringing.
I'm like, I didn't organize anything.
I just like had stuff shoved in drawers.
I don't know what I was thinking.
And now I'm like way more into organization than I was.
So I genuinely have some organization
to this nursery this time around.
And I'm excited to film that for you guys
and share that with you in the next month or so
once it's actually all together and done
or at least done enough, you know.
But I also want to do our like number one
must have baby items, not just big things.
I feel like we talked a lot about a lot of big things
in this video, but also like specific smaller
like everyday things you use and what has worked for us.
So that I will probably not do until after we have the baby
just cause I want to have that second time around
of trying some things we'll see.
But lots of stuff like that coming up.
I'm also planning on sharing what I'm packing
in my hospital bag here very, very soon.
I think I have everything I need.
I just need to like actually get it together
kind of check my list I've made.
I've just been watching tons of YouTube videos
and making my own list, adding, removing, changing.
So I'll definitely have that video up here
in the next month or so as well.
So I hope that you'll subscribe and stay tuned for that.
Got lots of vlogs coming, just sharing what's going on
in our lives and our house and projects we're working on too.
Also, I did do a pregnancy must haves video.
It is exhaustive, not exhausting, but I mean
I really go through every little thing
that I really do feel like has made a difference
if you're experiencing first trimester
like morning sickness stuff that actually worked
for me after trying like 10 different things.
Things like that, but also books I've read
and clothing that I love, like specific leggings
that I think are the best, et cetera.
So definitely check that video out next.
I will link it down below and I'll put it up
in the I right up there.
And thank you so much for watching.
I'll see you guys in my next one.
Bye.
