The other day I was giving the kids a bath and I realized I’d forgotten their kid-specific gentle no-tears infant-and-toddler-safe liquid soap in the other bathroom. So I washed them both with my Philosophy “Cinnamon Roll” bubble bath, and while I don’t recommend this course of action (it surely isn’t meant for 8-week-old babies), they smelled SO GOOD afterwards. Such a nice change from the Sour Milk/Hint O’ Poo combo they had going on beforehand.

I don’t normally share my own spendy bath items with the children (I mean, for one, they totally don’t appreciate the fine sensation of a quality bodywash), but I definitely tend to bogart their own hygiene-related products for household use. It’s nice to know all that money you’re dumping into the bottomless Kid Stuff Bucket can go to more than one purpose, you know?

Here’s a brief list of some products and their various uses, feel free to add your own in the comments section:
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My 2-year-old has never been particularly interested in music, unless you count his current interest in telling me to turn the radio OFF, Mommy, it’s TOO LOUD. (Note: it is NOT too loud, kid, I save the eardrum-bleeding stuff for when you’re not around.)

I do have a number of playlists on my iPod dedicated to kids’ tunes, though, just in case he stops being such a wet blanket about music sometime soon. Some of my favorites:
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On my last post Sarah posted a comment asking whether the Dyson vacuum was worth the expense, and I thought HEY I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION.

Sometimes I think in all caps, I don’t know why.

In the hopes of pooling our collective smarty-pantsedness, today’s post will focus on three insanely expensive products—your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to weigh in on whether or not you think they’re worth the cost. Bonus points if you have actual experience with the product, but totally uninformed opinions are welcome too. I mean, this IS the internet.
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You’ve probably heard of the chemical known as Bisphenol A, which lurks in various water bottles and beverage can liners and other products we regularly put in or near our food-holes. There doesn’t seem to be conclusive proof that this stuff is bad for us, but there’s certainly some worrying information out there.

To be honest, I haven’t spent a whole lot of time stressing over this issue because, I don’t know, I’ve got a finite amount of headspace to devote to the various subjects that freak me right the hell OUT. But I have started thinking about it lately, as I re-evaluated the bottles I’ve been using with my newborn. I used plastic bottles with Riley — I’d never even heard of BPA at that point — and I just figured I’d use the same ones with Dylan, but after warming a bottle for the fiftieth time the other day it occurred to me that I could make a fairly simple consumer choice to eliminate one more kid-related worry. Specifically, the nagging question of whether or not I was POISONING MY BABY with his bottle.

As I consider some of the plastics we use on a regular basis in our house, I’m thinking it wouldn’t hurt to upgrade to a safer alternative. Especially for the things we run through the dishwasher over and over, etc. Here are some of the kid-friendly, non-BPA products I’ve been looking at:
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We had to do some major preparations house-wise to make room for a second child, but I really didn’t have to buy much — unlike the first time around, when I spent months on end pouring an endless stream of money into Amazon’s baby section. I was so paranoid I was going to forget some crucial item that would make the difference between a contented baby and a colicky nonstop screamer, as if clicking the Buy button was some kind of MAGIC WAND.

I kept pretty much everything we used from when Riley was a baby, with the exception of a few utterly useless items that I gave away. If you don’t mind veering from our normal blog M.O. of finding things that DON’T suck, here’s a rundown of baby gear I never did understand:
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I recently wrote a post over at ParentDish about how capricious my kid’s approach to toys is — he’ll fall madly in love with one object and lust over it for a day or two, then abandon it altogether in favor of some other beguiling wonder.

I really try not to fall into the trap of buying too much crap for him, because if he’s not doling out equal attention to all of his stuff why should our house be jam-packed with it, you know? One two year old should not need the entire contents of a Toys R Us to make it through the afternoon, and yet it’s obvious I don’t always follow my own best intentions because toys, toys, TOYS. We have so very many of them, and the majority are things he doesn’t actively play with — he just hauls them out of the box every now and then in order to throw them around.

The best piece of advice I’ve ever received when it comes to dealing with Kid Crap Everywhere is to cycle through toys, and we have gotten pretty good about doing this. If you put about half of your kid’s playthings away somewhere long enough for the child to forget about them, you can bring them back out on some rainy day, and lo! The squeals of delight and wonder! This keeps the clutter to a minimum, and also gives you the opportunity to sneakily get rid of that battery-powered dancing Bob the Builder that Grandma gave him.

There are a few toys I always keep out, though, because for whatever reason they have staying power that the others don’t. The stuff I’ve found that he’s consistently interested in:

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I feel like a broken record lately, because all I can talk about/think about is the upcoming addition to our family who is scheduled to make his arrival on Feb 4. Yes, I’m finally getting a manny, his name is Alejandro and he’s moving here from Ecuador where he’s been wrapping up his studies in deep tissue massage and skincare regimens as well as early child development, and—

Oh, not really. My husband won’t let me have a manny, because he’s a GREAT BIG WHINER.

No, I’m talking about the baby who’s currently ensconced in my belly, methodically reducing my internal organs to mush with his various well-aimed kicks. According to various “medical theories”, he’s going to actually be on the outside of my body soon? And I’ll have to, like, take care of him and stuff? While simultaneously parenting a 2-year-old and doing freelance jobs and not allowing the house to collapse under the weight of its own filth?

The whole idea is kind of blowing my mind and making all other achievements seem wussy in comparison. Oh, you climbed Everest? Whatever dude, at least you had Sherpas.

Anyway, I thought we could talk about some must-have baby items today. Not that I don’t have a metric crapload of baby stuff already, but maybe I’m missing some critical product that will ensure Baby #2’s comfort, angelic behavior, and tendency to sleep through the night starting at 6 weeks of age.

The theme here is not necessities—not diapers, clothes, etc—but extra luxuries that you’d recommend to any new parent. Hey, ho. Let’s go!

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This year as a little holiday present for myself, I replaced our collection of hoopty mismatched dinnerware with a couple of Sango sets, and it’s one of those things I can’t believe I didn’t do years ago. Having bowls and plates that actually go together is surprisingly pleasurable—who knew? Next thing you know I’ll have sheets that match my pillowcases.

Anyway, I’ve been thinking about whether or not it would be useful to have some separate kids-only plates and bowls for Riley, because while our new bowls are very sturdy and hard to tip over, they also seem too big and bulky for him. He’s still eating at a highchair, but I imagine he’ll be sitting in a booster seat at the table soon, and in that case it might be nice to have some dinnerware that doesn’t slide around very easily. Here are some things I’ve been looking at:

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I was so interested in your comments and suggestions about infant carriers, I hope you don’t mind if I bring up another baby gear topic: diaper bags. I don’t really need to buy a new diaper bag, but I do like considering the various possibilities, and who knows—maybe the Perfect Bag is out there, just calling my name.

The bag I chose before Riley was born is a plain black messenger-type style, easy to wipe clean and not too big. It works just fine, although I found I didn’t really carry it all that often; most of the time I just crammed what I needed (a diaper kit [diaper and wipes stashed in a Ziplock bag, which doubles as your garbage container], a washcloth or two, a bottle) in my normal purse. Or stashed a go-to bag in my car that also contained a larger selection of stuff: change of clothes, Tylenol, bibs, etc. I didn’t really want to put everything I might possibly need in one giant accessory and haul that around, but I can see that even lightly packing for both a toddler and a baby might necessitate a larger carryall.

Diaper bags seem kind of like weddings—you can go the utilitarian route or the fancy blowout extravaganza, and whether it’s collectively agreed upon as practical or not doesn’t really matter as long as you’re happy with your choice. I find myself lusting a bit over the more baroque, expensive options, just because some of them are so damn pretty, but I have to remind myself: do I normally carry an overly decorative, fancy-ass purse? No, because I like accessories that can go with a ratty pair of jeans and Danner boots, if necessary. So in my case, simple is probably better, despite the tempting cuteness of some of the higher end brands.

Enough blah-blah, let’s go to the bags!

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When Riley was a small baby, I mostly transported him from one place to another in his carseat. When we were at home, he spent a lot of time hanging out in a bouncy seat or on the floor. On the few occasions I put him in a carrier, I used a BabyBjörn—although I didn’t do that until he was a little older, mostly because I was paranoid of him being all squished down in the canvas (I liked it better when he was big enough to peep over the top).

As I look ahead to having a new baby in the house next February, I’m guessing I’m going to want to carry him more often. Mostly because I need to be more mobile this time, since I’ll also be wrangling a toddler—a toddler, by the way, who probably can’t be trusted to leave a sleeping child alone in their bouncy seat, or avoid trampling a floor-bound baby.

I’ll also need to run more errands than I did last time, and every outing will involve not one but TWO children (hey, mind if I sort of freak out about that for a second? OH MY GOD OH MY GOD PANIC PANIC SEND MOOD STABILIZERS AIIEEEE . . . okay, thanks), so I’m thinking I’ll need a good carrying system or three.

I still have the BabyBjörn, but I’m wondering about some of the other options out there. The sling/pouch/wrap/carrier market seems to be a thriving business, and the choices are many. Some of the top contenders I’ve found:

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