misosouper, a shopping blog

When it comes to baby gear, second kids often get the shaft.  (Which conjures up images of a poor third baby I know, who slept in a dresser drawer because the crib was ruined.)  The stuff you bought for your first–or at least, the stuff I bought for my first–is stained, torn, and sticky.  And that’s just the gear that didn’t get thrown away.

For our new baby, I’m starting her off fresh with a Wee Wood of the Month subscription to Little Alouette’s fabulous collection of teethers, blocks, rattles, and toys.  Made of smooth Ohio maple, these hippos, stars, and bunnies (oh my!) are blessedly toxin- and battle-scar free.

Oprah, in all her outsized beneficence, wheels out a carriage full of books as her baby shower gift; here’s my version*, inclusive of the 12 books that have been in constant rotation since my daughter was born.  When shopping for my daughter’s library, these were purchased as much for their illustrations as for their narrative.  Interactivity–see Gallop, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Happy Baby Words, and Where Is Baby’s Belly Button?–is also a huge plus.

*Well, except for the fact that you actually have to buy these books yourselves.  And if you do, please purchase them through these links, which help misosouper play the cheap-ass version of Oprah.

1. I Am a Little Monkey (Barron’s Little Animal Series); 2. The Important Book; 3. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?; 4. Dr. Seuss’s ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book!; 5. Busy, Busy Town (Giant Little Golden Book); 6. The Runaway Bunny; 7. Happy Baby Words; 8. Where Is Baby’s Belly Button?; 9. Little Golden Book Collection: Sleepytime Tales (Little Golden Book Treasury); 10. Gallop!: A Scanimation Picture Book (Scanimation Books); 11. The Little Island; 12. The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Have any favorites that I left off the list?  Please tell us in the comments!

Got babies?  Then you need to get bins.  Because accumulation happens at an early age.

This spunky bin from 3 Sprouts will hold a ton of stuffed animals, books, and games, and its hungry-looking face definitely lends itself to “Now it’s time to feed the elephant!”-type of cleaning strategery.

OK, so you’re not a bag whore like me.  (Notice I said bag whore, not label whore; there is a distinct difference.)  You actually want a diaper bag, one with pockets and compartments and cleanability. Plus, it needs to be attractive, and usable after your baby days are gone.

So you may not be a whore, but you are pretty greedy.  I like that.

Here you go, my fickle friend.  Wear it, mess it, and machine wash it (yes, it’s that functional).  You’re welcome.

I’m not a big fan of the diaper bag, because, simply, it’s a bag meant to carry diapers.  Which makes it awfully close kin to a trash bag.  Which is what the diaper bag will smell like after a few months of forgotten burp cloths and ground-in Cheerios.

My position:  diaper bags become dumping grounds.  And that doesn’t make anyone’s life easier.

For my purposes, this Skip Hop Pronto changing wallet is perfect.  It’s compact enough to be thrown in a purse or clip unobtrusively onto a stroller, yet expansive enough to hold a couple of diapers, about 50 wipes, and a fold-out, wipe-down pad that makes changing baby in a public restroom actually sanitary.  And it’s made of virtually indestructible black nylon.  (Really.  I’ve crushed mine with the stroller not once, but twice.)

Now that Skip Hop has paired with Target on an exclusive line, you can buy the cheaper version that is much more cheerful than the model I ended up using with baby #1 three years ago.