Our strollers:
The City Select with second seat
With two under two, this has been a lifesaver! I have friends whose toddlers were a little bit older than Finn when their second baby was born, so they were on the fence about getting a double stroller or were able to make do without one. With Finn still being so young, I knew that it was a necessity for us. I love the seat configurations that this one offers and that Finn is able to face out in the front. When Ryder was first born, we used the car seat adapter on top, but from about 3.5 months he's ridden in the regular seat facing me. The downside is that it is extremely heavy to get in and out of the car (but I don't know many double strollers that aren't). It's also only as wide as a single stroller, so it's very manageable around stores, doorways and city sidewalks.
*Also, I didn't realize just how much I would still use my single stroller. There are many times that I will end up wearing Ryder in my Ergo carrier (see below) and only pushing Finn in the stroller.
The Maclaren Twin Techno
Let me just start off by saying I bought this used off of a facebook exchange. This is a great lightweight stroller for traveling. With the City Select being our primary double stroller, I would not have paid full price for this one brand new, but I highly recommend a light-weight umbrella stroller for traveling. We used it on our beach trip and it was perfect, because there was no way we could've fit the City Select in the car with all of our other stuff. Both seats recline separately, which accommodates both boys perfectly. This is the one we'll also use for flying.
Summer Infant Pop'n Play
If there was one thing I could recommend to any mama of two under two, it would be THIS! When Ryder was first born, Finn at barely 18 months was definitely not old enough to be left alone in his room (or any room for that matter) nor was he able to roam freely about the house while I was feeding Ryder without pulling all lamps and picture frames off of tables, getting into all of the kitchen cabinets or pulling on the blinds. We got this right around the time I found out I was pregnant when Finn was 10 months old and he's been used to his "play space" ever since. He'll sit and look at books or play with his toys in it even now. I still put him in it when I feed Ryder if Dustin isn't home, because he's still a little too mischievous to let him just roam around the house.
This monitor has been pretty great to have with both boys. With a camera in each room, it'll scan every 8 seconds or you can view in split screen mode. Now, if I'm being completely honest, we haven't had the best track record with Summer Infant monitors. Our single monitor had to be replaced twice because it kept losing signal. This monitor actually has already been replaced once. I know what you're thinking- then why are you recommending it?? Summer Infant- hands down- has the best customer service I've ever experienced with replacements. Each time, they sent us a brand new one within a couple days completely free of charge and prepaid shipping materials to return the broken ones. The current one has actually worked perfectly!
This is actually the ergo that we have, but if I were buying one today, I would buy this one. This model wasn't around when Finn was born, which is when we got ours. I love the amount of back support they offer as opposed to the Baby Bjorn and the weight limit goes up to 45lbs. I honestly didn't use this nearly as much when I just had Finn. With two under two, you need hands-free A LOT. This is how I survive the grocery store or any other store where Finn rides in the cart. Even if you don't choose an Ergobaby, I would still highly recommend some sort of carrier or wrap as you will still need to carry your young toddler most everywhere (bring on the sculpted mommy arms).
We moved Finn to this car seat when he turned one after it was graciously given to us by Nonna and Pop. I love the safety ratings and the fact the he can stay rear-facing until 45lbs, which he's only about 26lbs at almost two. I also love the narrow, steel construction frame. We're still able to have an open seat in the backseat in between Ryder's infant car seat and this one to accommodate any other passengers. This is important, because you'll need some space between your toddler and your baby in the backseat. If he's anything like mine, he wants to poke his baby brother's eyes, squeeze his hands, and throw anything he can reach at him. The narrow-ness of it also allows you to fit three of them in the backseat if and when that time comes, because this converts from rear facing to forward facing to a booster with a five point harness to just a booster that accommodates up to 120lbs. It's essentially the only car seat you'll ever need.
So this is something that I never had with Finn, because we have a mamaroo swing that he loved. I love our mamaroo and probably would have used it more with Ryder, except I couldn't keep Finn away from it and was afraid he'd break it. The mamroo is also stuck in the living room whereas a bouncer like this can easily be moved from room to room with the new baby while moving around the house with your toddler (i.e. feeding him in the kitchen, bathing him upstairs, playing outside, etc.)
So this really has nothing to do with the babies and everything to do with being a busy mama. If you know me, you know I love a good deal. Before babies, I would drive to Target, TJ Maxx, the Mall, Old Navy, Outlets, etc. to scout out good finds. Any mama knows that is just not at all possible right now, even though my closet definitely needed some updating. Stitch Fix is an online personal stylist that picks out clothes or accessories and sends them to you. With each shipment, you get five items. You keep what you like and send back what you don't in a pre-paid shipping envelope. If you keep all five items, you get a 25% total discount. Before your shipment, you fill out a survey online complete with measurements and you can even link a Pinterest board to it to give your stylist ideas. I did it twice and kept all five things in the first shipment and three things in the second. It is SO convenient! The style was spot on and everything fit perfectly. I plan to do it again once it starts getting cold out.
Amazon Prime
This should really go without saying, but Amazon prime should pretty much be a necessity with more than one kid- especially when they're little. If I can avoid loading everyone in the car to go to five different stores, I will most certainly take it. Amazon Prime gets me anything in two days- even some things the same day since we're in Atlanta. If I could grocery shop on Amazon I would.
I LOVE ordering things online but the hard part was figuring out how to get returns to the post office with the two littles. Did you know if you have a prepaid return mailing label, the postman will come to your door to pick up the package?? You just set up the pickup on usps.com and it's free! Favorite thing ever.
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