The news around the Stapler household is that Baby Stapler is a boy! I don’t have a gender preference, but having another boy will definitely be cheaper for us in the long run — starting with the fact that we have a lot of boy clothes, and ending with the fact that we’re more comfortable having the boys share a room. We saved a lot of items from Little Stapler’s infant days, so we don’t need a lot of new or new-to-us gear, but there are some thing that have expired or broken and of course there are supplies that we’ll need to stock up on.

We will be able to reuse the big ticket items like Little Stapler’s crib, changing table, bouncy seat, swing, jumperoo, cloth diapers, and clothes. As Baby Stapler grows up, I’m sure he’ll love playing with his big brother’s toys — mostly consisting of puzzles, trucks, and dinosaurs. It will make it easy to cut back on gifts, because he won’t have many things that he “needs.” Otherwise, these are the items that we plan to buy (new or used) for our second child. Some links are affiliate links, which support this blog. 

Second Child Shopping List:

Replace Items that Have Expired:

Infant Carseat — $150: By the time the little one arrives, Little Stapler’s carseat will have expired. Based on the recommendations in Baby Bargains, we plan to buy the Britax B-Safe carseat. We love how easy it is to install our current Britax carseat, so I hope that the B-Safe will be just as easy. It’s important to buy carseats new or from a trusted source. You don’t want to use a carseat that’s been in an accident. We’ve already bought this carseat, for $50, from a friend who didn’t have a need for it anymore. It’s only a year old and has never been in an accident. Score!

Extra Infant Carseat Base — $64: We have two cars, but infant carseats are so awesome that we only need an extra base — not an extra carseat. If we have to buy it new, I’ll first compare prices between Amazon, Babies R Us, and Buy Buy Baby — at BRU and BBB, you can frequently find 20% off coupons, so I compare the Amazon price to the price at BRU and BBB minus 20%. 

Crib Mattress — $53 – $100: Because Little Stapler slept in his crib for three years, the mattress got a bit soft. This is an item we want to buy new, because the American Academy of Pediatrics continues to recommend a firm sleeping surface for newborns. Some states don’t even allow you to buy a secondhand crib mattress.

Double Stroller Options:

 Sit N Stand Stroller — $150 retail: We frequently walk to and from daycare because it is so close, but it will be hard to hoof it with another kiddo in the mix, especially if there is snow on the ground. I’m not picky about our strollers — I just want one that gets the job done for a good price — but I debated whether to get an entirely new stroller or just some attachments to our current stroller. In the end, my sister found a Sit N Stand stroller at a consignment sale for $75, so that sealed the deal: it’s cheaper than getting a roller board and infant seat attachment for our current stroller.

Or … 

Roller Board ($72) and Infant Seat Attachment ($45) for Stroller — $117:  You can adapt a single stroller into a double stroller by adding a roller board to the back, for your older child to stand on. If you have an infant, you may also need an infant attachment if you don’t already have one. I included the retail prices for these items, but I’m willing to be you can find an infant attachment and/or roller board used for a lot less.

Replace Items that are Broken:

Play Mat — $25: This retails for much higher, but I’ll get it at a consignment sale. We don’t have big brother’s play mat anymore because it was damaged in a sewer pipe burst. YUCK! NO amount of cleaning that thing was going to make me feel good about reusing it!

 Fix My Cloth Diapers — $4 each: Even after 3 years of daily use, Little Stapler’s BumGenius diapers have held up surprisingly well. I washed them every other day with cloth diaper detergent and even air-dried the diaper covers. Unfortunately, the velcro-type fasteners (aplix) have worn out. If I want to reuse these diapers, I have two options: (1) replace the aplix, or (2) convert them to snaps. After some research, I decided that replacing the aplix is just too much work — it involves taking apart the entire diaper cover and sewing it back up. I don’t have a sewing machine. Instead, I think I can handle using a seam ripper and converting to snaps. But if I find myself crunched for time, I found a service that will do it for about $4 per diaper.

Video Monitor — $????: We loved our video monitor because we could see what Little Stapler was doing without having to go into his room. We never really had trouble hearing him, so we usually turned off the sound. About 3 years into using our video monitor every night, it finally kicked the bucket. We won’t get a replacement until Baby Stapler moves out of our room, but if he is sleeping through the night then we may never get one. I like to keep it on my “back burner” list, just in case I find a good deal somewhere.

Stock Up on Supplies:

 Rockin’ Green Detergent — $19 retail: This is my preferred cloth diaper detergent. It’s the only ongoing expense of using cloth diapers. I tried other detergents, but they left a funky smell on the diapers. It may have been due to the really hard water we had at our last apartment, though, so I’m willing to try one of the homemade diaper detergents if it will save me some money. In the meantime, though, I put a $10 price alert on this detergent through camel camel camel and it will let me know if Amazon lists it for a good deal.

Aveeno Baby Shampoo — $6.50 on amazon: We love this stuff, mostly because it smells so nice. I can usually find a medium-sized bottle for $2.50 or so if I pair a coupon with a sale. I found such great sales in the past that I haven’t bought this shampoo in at least a
year, even though we still use it for Little Stapler.

Gear I Wish I Had The First Time:

Arm’s Reach Co-Sleeper — $190: For six months, Little Stapler woke up in the middle of the night to nurse. A co-sleeper is a bassinet that attaches to the side of our bed, so baby is right there, but has her own firm and safe sleeping space. Friends who breastfeed and have a co-sleeper have raved about this set-up because it’s so convenient for middle-of-the-night feedings with minimal disruption to everyone’s sleep. This also solves our concern about the kids sharing a room — until baby learns to sleep through the night, we’re afraid s/he will wake up big brother. So, the co-sleeper will solve both challenges. Baby will sleep overnight with us until s/he sleeps through the night, but will technically share a room with big brother. I know it’s not cheap, but I will likely purchase this new — for the same reason that we will buy the crib mattress new.

Fisher Price Rock N Play — $51: I hear great things about this product, especially for kids with reflux. Because it’s an infant product that is outgrown fairly quickly, it’s a great candidate for consignment sales. This is on our “maybe” list — especially because the Arm’s Reach Co-Sleeper is on our shopping list, and also because we have a bouncy chair and swing already.

Stokke Tripp Trapp Chair — $250: I didn’t see the benefit of this fancy highchair until I saw Little Stapler struggle between feeling like a baby in his booster seat or feeling like a big boy in a big seat (but sitting on his knees). This seat grows with baby, so not only can you adjust the seating height, but you cal also adjust the footrest height. It drives me bonkers when my legs are dangling in the air — I’m sure Little Stapler doesn’t like it either. By the time Baby is sitting in a high chair, Little Stapler might have already graduated to a big chair, but I’m doubtful. We do have a baby high chair and a booster seat (that Little Stapler still uses), so we don’t need an extra chair. But this would be nice, so I’ll keep my eyes peeled at yard sales and consignment sales. I already spotted one listed on craigslist for $130, but that’s too much for us right now — we have plenty of time to get this.

Am I missing anything from my second child shopping list? What items did you decide to replace when your younger children came along? What gear do you wish you had the first time?