I'm convinced that a high quality stroller is worth its weight in gold. This is one area where many parents skimp, though, and I don't think they should. You will likely use your stroller for at least a couple years per kid, so be wise with your investment. We have the Baby Jogger City Mini ($199) (shown below) and love it! There are many other nice strollers out there but we chose this one for our everyday use (mall, outdoor festivals, trail/city walks, etc). It's very lightweight, folds easily with just one hand and takes up minimal room in our trunk. The City Mini is easy for me to get in and out of the trunk and all of the material comes off and is machine washable. I've been thankful a million times over that I didn't settle for the travel system stroller I initially looked at, which would've been about $75 less. I only recommend the City Mini specifically because of its relative low cost compared to other high-end strollers.
Ergo Sport Baby Carrier ($115). I love this carrier! I have always found babywearing to be extremely handy for shopping trips and errand running (much easier than lugging the heavy infant seat around). And A really likes to be able to watch people as well. The Ergo Sport has been great as it is ergonomically correct for little ones' developing hips (many others are widely criticized for not doing this) and it puts the baby's weight on mom's hips, not on her back. For me, this means I can comfortably carry A around for an hour or two without being exhausted or in pain.
Nose Frida ($15.99). Yep, a snot sucker. That's what it's called. Gross, yes. Effective, yes. It works better for me because you can keep suction going longer and get it angled differently than the bulb syringe. I also like that you can fully take it apart and clean all of it and replace the filters, unlike the bulb syringes. I say "me" because my husband still won't touch this thing despite the fact that there is NO snot anywhere near your nose ever (see replaceable filters).
Boogie Wipes ($3.79 for 30, although we tend to tear them in half as they're quite large). Okay, so I thought these were one of the silliest products I'd seen (why not just use a wet wipe??) Part of me still agrees, but I gave these a whirl after several friends raved about them. They are moistend with saline solution and are very good for cleaning a little nose on the go, especially when that nose doesn't want to be cleaned. Catch them on sale and throw a package in the diaper bag, I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Booginhead Pacifier Holder ($4.99) These are just simple little pacifier holders. What makes them awesome is that they come in a variety of cute patterns, will work with any style pacifier (many holders use snaps which don't allow you to use pacifiers with just holes in them) and they're washable. A bonus is that these are not giant, like many of the other holders I've seen which are 2-3" ribbons that look ridiculous on teeny babies. We've invested in a couple for our Binky-addicted son.
Bumkins bibs ($6.95-$10.94) I was first drawn to these bibs because of their adorable prints (Dr. Suess, anyone?) but their prices steered me away. So I settled for a couple of basic waterproof bibs from my local Target. I later spotted the Bumkins bibs on a mommy bargain website for about half price, so I bought a couple of the sleeved bibs. (Really, sleeved bibs, need I say more??) They are very full-coverage with plenty of room to grow. Well, about two months later, the cheap bibs are curling and ratty-looking and the Bumkins still look brand new. More importantly, the cheap bibs are not machine washable and the Bumkins are. I've since purchased a Superbib from Bumkins and love it too. I plan to buy more as I feel these are actually cheaper in the long run and are far, far more convenient.
Annabel Karmen Masher & Bowl ($6.95) This is a simple little set but we loved our one so much we bought a second. Both get used frequently at our house for preparing simple meals for A (this is especially great for fruit and cereal in the mornings). Just put your fruit in the bowl (cooked, if necessary) and mash it up. Feed baby from the bowl. Very handy.
Cloth diapers. I won't elaborate on this subject too much as it's a large enough topic to easily demand a post of its own. But I couldn't write a post on my favorite baby items and NOT include them, as I love our cloth for a variety of reasons. My personal all-time favorites are Swaddlebees Econappis which are shown below
I hope this post has been helpful to you if you are in the throes of baby planning/shopping. Feel free to ask me any questions if you'd like. And I'd love to hear other parents' opinions and their favorite products.
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