It’s only taken me the approximate gestation time of a human baby to produce part two of this mini series, but who’s counting?! Ha! Because I know you all have been waiting with bated breath, here’s the second half of my final baby gear round-up: what we loved, what stood the test of time (and three kids), and what we loved so much we repurchased. If you’re approaching this phase of life, I hope you’ll find our experience an encouraging reminder that babies don’t need much gear to be happy and healthy. Yes, there are some things that are incredibly helpful, but perhaps fewer than you might think. With that being said, here are a few that made the cut for us – some I’d consider true necessities, and others, fun extras. Quick note for those who might be new: we have three kids, and the span from the oldest to youngest is 5.5 years. Here’s part one, covering gear for sleeping, on the go, and eating! Health and Hygiene Diapers + wipes | We used Up & Up brand for the entirety of June’s diaper career and they were fantastic. Then Target apparently changed something about the construction between our first and second babies, and we had terrible issues with leaks for Shep. We switched to Kirkland, the Costco brand, until he was six months, when we switched back to Up & Up for convenience and price. We did the same for Annie. Throughout, we used Water Wipes, which are the absolute best – they’re literally just water and some fruit extracts and they never pill or tear. We get ours at Target or Amazon. Nose Frida | Our children all hated the infamous snot sucker, and yours probably will, too, but sometimes it’s just the only thing that’s

Miss Susanna is officially one, which means my baby gear days are officially done. Before they retreat too far into the past, I thought it might be helpful to offer a final round-up: of what we loved, what stood the test of time (and three kids), and what loved so much we repurchased. Of course, I stand by the claim I made even before my first pregnancy: babies don’t need much gear to be happy and healthy. Yes, there are some things that are incredibly helpful, but perhaps fewer than you might think. With that being said, here are a few that made the cut for us – some I’d consider true necessities, and others, fun extras. Quick note for those who might be new: we have three kids, and the span from the oldest to youngest is 5.5 years. Sleeping Crib | After we retired the crib that June used (the same one I used as a baby!), we replaced it with this Jenny Lind style. I think it looks sweet for a boy or a girl, the price can’t be beat, and it still looks brand new after two babies. Travel crib + bassinet attachment | Easy to set up and fold back into a backpack, compact, looks good… this pack and play has it all. One of my very favorite pieces of gear that we used for all three kids! They all slept in the bassinet in our room to start, then used it on overnight trips for the next few years. Swaddle Me swaddles + Magic Merlin suit + sleep sack | There are tons of swaddle options out there (and aggressive opinions about all of them), but if you’re looking for somewhere to start your research, we used the Swaddle Me for all three babies

Back at it! We’ll continue with the Q&A format in the next post in this series, but today I wanted to cover gear: what we reused, what we had to buy, and my best recommendations for equipping your family for a second child! First up: what we reused for baby number two. Answer: almost everything! We used the same infant car seat and base, carrier, high chair, bumbo, activity mat, and the exact same burp cloths. The Rays again lent us their Puj tub for the first few months. One of our biggest questions was whether we’d need a double stroller, and for our family, the answer has been a definite no. (June was 2.5 when Shep arrived, for reference.) We used our same stroller, adding a glider board for June. She doesn’t use it that much, though, preferring to use her scooter or just run! :) We also reused our Rock and Play (which has since been recalled, but wasn’t at the time Shep was sleeping in it). Shep moved from the R&P to the Lotus Bassinet after a few months, which we also used and loved with June. And of course, we’ve trotted out the same toys, books, spoons/cups/containers and more that we collected the first time around. We’re still using the same diaper bag, and I’m still using the same nursing cover. Onto what we bought for baby number 2! A number of the items were duplicates of ones we already had, and a few were brand new… We bought or were gifted a few special items, including a soft quilt, a silky swaddle (will be his blanket when he gets older!), a Jellycat of his own, and a scrunchy book (he LOVES this toy!). We purchased a number of items for his nursery, including a crib