I am on a mission to lessen our use of plastic. Especially for the children. And especially for things that end up in their mouths (which is most things they come into contact with). It’s a health thing for me, but there are of course environmental aspects as well.

I’m not going crazy with this but I am trying to make some changes:

GLASS BABY BOTTLES

I started with the most obvious: baby bottles. We’ve switched to Life Factory glass bottles.

I love these bottles. They make me so happy. They have lovely, sunny, cheerful colors in every shade of the rainbow. They’re easy to care for – you just wash them in the dishwasher. And they are solid and sturdy – they stand up to drops on the floor (thanks to the silicone sleeve) and they can take extreme temperature changes (as you might have when cooling a bottle of almost boiling formula for a baby). There are sippy cup tops for these bottles as well, so I’ll be using them as a sippy cup for Louis when he’s ready.

On the downside, they are significantly heavier than plastic bottles. I think it will be longer before Louis can hold his own bottle, but it’s no problem for Alec to hold these (although they really are heavy when full, even though the largest size is much smaller than the large plastic bottles we were previously using for Alec). So I am keeping a few plastic bottles to use for when we are out and about or traveling. I am also keeping a close eye on the nipples because I can already see marks where Alec bites them, which concerns me. I definitely think I will need to switch nipples more often than normally. However, I also believe that you can use any bottle nipple with these bottles, so we could just switch to another brand of nipples. Finally, Life Factory glass bottles are not cheap. But I think the fact that they will hold up much longer than plastic bottles will make up for this. We’ve invested in a good stash of bottles now (both small and big) and I don’t foresee us needing to buy any more baby bottles – just new nipples – ever again.

STAINLESS STEEL WATER BOTTLES

I’ve switched the whole family to Klean Kanteen stainless steel water bottles. These also come in a ton of delicious juicy colors and you can switch the cap from a regular closed cap to a sippy cap for toddlers, to a sport cap. I have a big one that I try to keep with me at home and a medium one to bring along with me when I am out and about. And Alec has a small bottle with a sippy cap. They’re lightweight, convenient to bring along, and easy to care for.

GLASS FOOD CONTAINERS

I think good BPA-free plastic containers are still the way to go for when we are out and about. But for food storage at home – in the fridge or pantry – I’m trying to use more glass and less plastic. We have some great square glass containers with lids from IKEA that I love – but they don’t sell them any more. So I am on the hunt for some new glass food storage containers (with plastic lids).

TOYS

This is a hard one, because Alec has a lot of great plastic toys that he really loves. I find it hard to make the decision to switch them all out for other materials. I do want to provide him with non-plastic alternatives to play with though. He has lovely wooden blocks, a brio train set, wooden puzzles, and some great learning toys by Plan Toys that I really like.

Louis also has a few plastic toys, but as his toys tend to find their way into his mouth, I am trying to have him play more with his natural rubber chew toys and wooden or soft rattles and other toys.

 

Is avoiding plastic something that you think about for your family too?

We recently switched Little Baby L from his stroller bassinet to a regular seat. Previously he was mostly sleeping when we were out with the stroller, but now he is obviously much more awake and not always happy to be lying on his back. So he’s in the seat all tucked into Alec’s old 7 AM Le Sac Igloo.

I have also taken some steps to lighten my load when we are out and about with the stroller – which can often be all day long. We often head out before 9, drop Alec (and his stroller seat) off at nursery school and then spend the day doing errands, walking, and having lunch and coffee and play dates with friends. We pick Alec up at 3pm and sometimes head to the park for an hour or so after that. On days like that, the children and I really live out of our stroller and I need to know that we have everything we need with us.

At the same time, our set-up with a stroller room in the foyer of our building and the smallest elevator known to man (fits two adults, but you would really want to know each other quite well), means that I don’t want to be lugging a huge diaper bag and a bunch of extras up and down with me every time I go out. Now that Louis is out of his cocoon, I have him in my arms as I maneuver both kids into the elevator with whatever we are carrying with us that day (and garbage bags, recycling etc), get ourselves into the foyer, unlock the stroller room, pull out as many strollers as are parked in front of ours, and finally drag our own stroller into the entryway to get both kids settled. Right now, I need my diaper bag to be as light and small as possible.

So I decided to follow some great advice (thank you Dulcinea!) from one of you readers (in the comments here) – I decided to pare down the essentials I need to have with me for each child (Alec, 2 years old, and Louis, 7 months old) and use a Bugaboo organizer strapped to each seat. Basically, the organizers act as the diaper bag for each child. For most outings, all I have to add is my wallet, phone and keys and everything else I need is already in the organizers waiting for us. On longer excursions, I just throw any additional items I will need into my diaper bag which isn’t already and constantly stuffed to the max now that most things have moved into the organizers.

Here is what each organizer contains:

ALEC’S ORGANIZER

(2 years old, potty-trained)

• Baby wipes, Boogie wipes, hand sanitizer
• A pacifier – in case of un-planned stroller naps
• Juice box, raisins, squeezie
• Restaurant kit – disposable bib, fork and spoon, table topper in a ziploc bag

LOUIS’ ORGANIZER

(7 months old, breastfed, just starting solids)

• A changing kit – a few diapers, wipes, diaper cream (I just carry a few sample packs because Louis rarely needs cream), a disposable changing pad, all packed in a ziploc bag
• Snacks for Mum and Dad – a couple of small bars of dark chocolate, a pack of mixed nuts, coffee money
• Nursing Cover

EXTRA BAG of BACK-UPs

I also keep a Longchamp in the under-seat basket with a baby carrier, a back-up change of clothes, and a few other back-up items – see the full contents here. I’ll be adding my high chair cover now that Louis is joining us at the table for some meals.

We have a Bugaboo Donkey – click here if you are on the hunt for the right double stroller and want to see our short list and read why we chose this stroller.

My diaper bag is an MZ Wallace Kate bag – click here to read all about it and why I love it so much. And click here to read what I am carrying in my diaper bag with one baby and one toddler and here for what I was carrying with one child (18 months old).

A box of Alec’s 6-month clothes had gone missing but we finally found it. It’s so interesting to see how boyish Alec’s American-bought baby clothes are compared to what we would probably have had if he had been a baby in Sweden. Things are much more unisex here and it’s not at all uncommon to see little boys in pink (with long hair and painted finger nails, no less). Here is what Alec looked like when I picked him up from nursery school last week (he did not have his hair in pigtails when I dropped him off, but they had played hair salon I guess):

It was really fun to un-pack this box and find some old favorites, though. Like Alec’s little denim overalls and little flannel shirts from Baby Gap. Fun! From now on, the clothes are less babyish too. Not as many onesies and more jeans etc.

I think jeans for babies is sort of silly. But also sort of cute.

We have been through a tons of baby and toddler jeans, from Baby Gap, Zara, ebbe, Polarn O. Pyret to name just a few, but now I have found the perfect ones.

Most times the problem is that they are soft and lovely when you buy them, but then you wash them and line dry them and they lose that softness and become a little stiff and scratchy. The other problem is that babies spend most of their time lying down and scrunching around back and forth, or tucked into a baby carrier or car seat, and the heavy seams that jeans tend to have just don’t seem like the comfiest.

Size 68 (4-6 months) seem to be the size to start with jeans, so Louis has his drawers full of them now. Some new acquisitions and some of Alec’s old ones. But the only ones he really seems to be wearing are the new pair that Sigge‘s mum Cissi gave him when he was born. They are fabulous. From H&M. They were soft from the beginning and have stayed soft through all the washes. And they’re fully lined with soft cotton and just so so comfy. When we were in London, Louis wore these a ton. He is growing so fast now, so I am going to check out the version of these jeans that they make in bigger sizes – crossing my fingers that they are as great as the newborn ones!

I have travel on my mind.

We just got back from a week in London with Little Louis. And it seems like all the moms in my mom’s group are escaping to the sun with their little ones in the next couple of months.

So this week will be about travel. I’ll share some baby-friendly London highlights with you. And a run-down of the best of my own city, Stockholm, for families! I’ll also share a baby packing list and a really amazing travel stroller.

To start us off, here are some travel-related posts you might have missed before:

Favourite Things for Travel!

My Best Tips for Traveling with Children

Packing for a One-Year Old: Carry-on

Packing for a One-Year Old: Gear, Clothes

Packing for a One-Year Old: Sleep, Care, Feeding

I have to add one piece of advice to my Best Tips for Traveling with Children, and that is to pack bottles with stage 1 or 2/slow-flow nipples. It can take ages for a big plane to make its descent and you want your mini to be actively sucking and swallowing for as much of that descent as possible. Giving them a bottle with a slow-flow nipples means they will have to suck that much harder and longer to empty it.

And to my favourite things I think I would have to add our city mini stroller and our new snap-n-go… More about that (and another stroller destined to become a new favourite) later this week!

Christmas shopping for teeny weeny babies? Most baby gifts probably pass the littlest receiver by, but here are some things that our little ones have loved (and you can buy them all online – yay!):

Books: Where’s Peter and That’s Not My Truck are great first books since they both encourage baby’s sensory exploration. Both are short and have big areas for little fingers to feel fuzzy, shiny, ridgy, furry and fuzzy textures. This playbook from IKEA is also fabulous. Perhaps more of a toy than a book, each page has fun stuff for baby to explore with all her senses.

Art Cards by Wee Gallery have been our children’s favourite things from their very first days. My cousin Farah recommended them to me before Little A was born and I picked up a set but couldn’t really understand what the fuss was about. But Alec was immediately absolutely entranced by them. The high contrast images really capture the attention of even the newest little babies. Louis can stare at his forever.

Rockabye Baby Lullaby CDs are such a fun baby gift. We have Kanye West, Madonna, U2, The Beatles and a couple more and they are so fun. With Little A we spent a lot of time in the car and these were a great thing to keep baby calm without driving mum nuts!

Baby Gap Cashmere Blanket. Everyone should receive something soft and warm to cuddle in over Christmas. Baby Gap has a new cashmere line and there is a pretty cream blanket that any baby would love.

Soft Bunny Rattle. Louis has this rattle and loves it. And I love it. It’s pretty and so soft and cuddly. And easy to hold.

Wubbanub Pacifier. I’ve raved about these a dozen times before. They are cute, easy for even small babies to grip, and they don’t go flying when spit out. We love ours. Alec had monkeys and Louis has the giraffe.

Sophie Teether. Every baby seems to have a Sophie already, but there is also another Sophie teether. We call these teether “Mini Sophie”. Alec still takes a bite of his Mini Sophie once in a while when he has teeth coming in. Easy to grip, all natural and with a pleasing rubber texture.

Brio Bell Rattle. This sturdy little wood rattle with a bell inside is a classic. Alec loved his and I’m sure Louis will love his too.

The weather is CRAZY today. So crazy that we are not even considering going out. But yesterday Louis and I put on our winter best and headed out in the snow to run some errands. It was freezing so we had to switch some things up to go from autumn to winter.

Little Baby L had on his winter best (isn’t he so cute?!):

He was just wearing a regular onesie and footed leggings underneath, but I really need to pick him up some wool inner layers now that winter is here, considering how much time he spends in his stroller. Here’s what Louis is wearing these days to stay warm:

• Polarn O. Pyret Wool Inner Layer Helmet Hat. Wool is perfect as an extra layer under the very plush hood of Louis’ bunting. It’s the best temperature regulator.
• H&M Overall/Bunting. Louis is growing so fast, so I was really happy to find such a good overall at H&M – obviously at a much much better price than the Polarn O. Pyret overall he was wearing for fall. I like that it works as a sleeping bag (I don’t even really need to put his arms in the sleeves), but can also be easily converted (with just one zip) into an overall with legs for sitting in the car seat or carrier.
• Phil & Ted’s Cocoon. It’s actually pretty well padded, so I feel like it helps to keep Louis warm, especially when I zip it up properly.
• Lindex Booties. He had kicked one off when we got home, but his feet were toasty warm anyways.
• Wool Mittens by Joha. These are fab. They are wool, so breathable etc. There’s no thumb so they’re perfect for infants and they have a smart little drawstring so they stay on. Love them!

And I put the toasty muff on the stroller. I had the organizer on the handlebar before, so I’ll have to find another place for that, but it’s worth it to stay warm!

So Louis was warm. And so was I. Though not as cute as Baby L. I was sporting the giant parka I bought last winter to keep my bump warm. Must go shopping for myself at some point!

Oh my! I’m pining for this gorgeous lambskin bunting from Little Jalo! Wouldn’t little Louis be adorably cozy all cuddled down in his stroller in this!? I ADORE the mole-coloured one… Cannot get this out of my head!

Little Baby L as a TON of clothes.

We got rid of very little when Little A grew out of his baby clothes. Many of our favourite pieces are from Polarn O. Pyret and the quality means that they look brand new still. And having another little boy means that everything Alec had works for Louis too. So no fun baby shopping for me!

My only loophole is that Alec was a winter baby born in a warm climate (Atlanta, GA), and Louis is a summer baby born in a chillier climate (Stockholm, Sweden). We didn’t really have any warmer baby clothes for Alec and a lot of his clothes were short sleeved and just much more appropriate for warmer weather.

Now that it’s cold in Stockholm, Louis needed a few pieces to keep him warm and I found such great stuff at Zara Mini! Some of our favourite things that Alec has ever worn come from Zara and I like to get a few pieces for every size. We usually stock up when we are traveling in Southern Europe.

I got him:

• A knit one-piece romper with adorable patches on the knees
• A grey knit two-piece cardigan and pants. The cardigan is a criss cross style with a little pocket into the front and cute elbow patches. I like that it’s “separates” so we can use the cardigan with all his outfits when he needs an extra layer.
• A pair of knit footed leggings. Louis has been wearing these constantly since we got them (I already posted about them here).

Since this is our second baby, we don’t actually need that much new stuff. We’ll be reusing almost everything from Alec. We didn’t know if we were having a boy or a girl last time either, so all of our newborn stuff works for either (and we are not so into the blue and pink thing anyway). But of course, it’s fun to buy a few new things just for this little baby, and some of Alec’s old stuff needed to be replaced or refreshed…

Here’s what we’ve got:

CLOTHES, SLEEP & CARE

1. BABY CLOTHES. We have everything we need. We stocked up on a bunch of Gerber’s fabulous side-snap long-sleeved shirts that we loved so much for Alec, and his old ones have held up remarkably well and are actually even softer and more lovely now. We replaced Alec’s old Halo Sleepsack Swaddles with new sets in cotton, velboa and fleece. We have added a couple of colder climate essentials like this Polarn o. Pyret fleece newborn overall/wrap blanket and this wind fleece baby overall. Even though this baby will be a summer arrival, evenings can get chilly in Sweden, and autumn will be here before we know it.

2. WUBBANUB PACIFIERS. Alec still loves his Wubbanub pacifiers even though we are trying to get him to use more teeth-friendly pacifiers instead. The other day he actually chewed through one of the nipples so we need to do something fast. We’ve ordered a couple of giraffe wubbanubs for the new baby but this time we’ll try to transition onto a more tooth-friendly pacifier at around the six month mark.

3. SOPHIE. Alec doesn’t really use his Sophie anymore but we’re still going to get a new one for the new baby since it was such a constant must-have for those first eight or nine months or so.

4. CRIB MOBILE. I’m DIYing this one – stay tuned!

5. SLEEP SHEEP. We have a Sleep Sheep and a Mini Sleep Sheep (for travel) that we still use for all of Alec’s sleep (except in the stroller) every single day. At first I thought we would just use the Mini Sleep Sheep for the new baby, but I think we’ll get a proper new one for the crib so that we have the mini one easily available to pack for trips. Who knows, maybe we’ll need a second mini sleep sheep as well if our kids end up sleeping in separate rooms when we’re in the country etc.

6. BABY BATH TUB. We had a simple baby tub with a sling which we found so useful for newborn baths with Alec. Then we switched over to a Hoppop toddler tub which we loved. It got damaged in shipping to Sweden and now we don’t have a little tub at all. Hoppop also makes a bucket-style tub for babies, but I have a hard time seeing how it would work for a newborn. Since we couldn’t find a good sling option and are trying to find things that don’t take up too much space, we ended up buying the very cool Boon Inc. Naked tub. Read more here.

7. CRIB. We chose the IKEA Sundvik. You can see all the options we considered here and why we chose the Sundvik here.

8. BABY MONITOR. We had an Angelcare baby monitor for Alec in Atlanta and I loved the peace of mind that it gave me to know that an alarm would sound if he stopped breathing. I realize it’s a little over-zealous, but until we got it set up, I just could not relax about Alec sleeping in his crib. So it was a must for us. Once he started rolling off the sensor causing false alarms, we just stopped using the movement alarm, but it was still a great baby monitor. We sold it because we didn’t want to deal with voltage adapters etc (and actually don’t need a sound monitor in our old, thin-walled flat in Stockholm) when we moved back to Sweden. But we ordered We bought another Angelcare for the new baby too and now they make one that has video as well! Yay!

9. SIBLINGS WITHOUT RIVALRY. This is the one new parenting book I will be reading specifically in preparation for the new addition to the family.

STROLLERS, GEAR & FEEDING

1. DOUBLE STROLLER. We just picked up our new Bugaboo Donkey. See why we chose it here, and what we got in terms of accessories etc. here.

2. HIGH CHAIR WITH NEWBORN SET. Since we’ll need another Tripp Trapp for the new baby when it’s time to start solids, we decided to just buy one now and use it with a newborn set for the first months. This will provide a safe place for baby to hang out when I have stuff going on in the kitchen, and will also allow our new addition to join in family meals from the start.

3. BREAST PUMP. We also sold the Medela Pump in Style Advanced breast pump that I used in Atlanta. It worked well for me so I wanted another one of the same. Medela seems to be phasing out the Pump In Style in favor of a (more expensive) pump called Freestyle but it seems to be getting mixed reviews, and since the Pump in Style worked for me, I was quick to order one of the Pump in Styles that were still available on Amazon.

4. PUMP & BOTTLE PARTS. Most pump and bottle parts shouldn’t be re-used, so we’re getting new bottle nipples and extra sets of valves etc for the new breast pump.

5. DRYING RACK. The Boon Inc. drying rack that we already have seems always to be full so we got another one for Baby #2′s pump and bottle parts.

6. CAR MIRROR. We still have Alec’s infant car seat that we’ll be re-using for the new baby. We just a need a second EasyView mirror so that we can see the little one in the back seat from the front seat.

7. PLAY MAT. We had two for Alec – a Baby Einstein Baby Neptune one which we kept tucked away in the nursery because I thought it was too ugly, and a cute IKEA one. At the moment we’re using the bottom padded mat of the IKEA one as a play mat in Alec’s room (tucked into a SWOOP bag) so we bought a new one from IKEA for the new baby. The ones they have now have a circus theme and a really plushy soft play mat which is nice.

8. BABY CARRIER. We have the BabyBjörn Original Organic Baby Carrier that we used for Alec but it’s not one of the things we got a ton of use out of last time around. I found it a little too bouncy to use a whole lot with Alec while he was really little. And then by the time he really felt stable enough for us to take walks with it, it was quite heavy to carry. Admittedly it was indispensable when we travelled and for a hike we did once. I think we will be doing more baby-wearing this time around – just because we will need more hands-free carrying since we’ll have our hands full with Alec, and because we live a much more urban lifestyle in Stockholm than we did in Atlanta. We won’t be driving much, but we will be managing the logistics of a teeny tiny elevator and inner city living. So we bought a Dreamy Dot sling/carrier hybrid to start and will probably be considering an Ergo carrier in the future.

9. TRAVEL CRIB. We love the BabyBjörn Travel Cot that we have for Alec. For any travel we do the first few months, we can just use the stroller bassinet and/or a baby nest, but after that, we’ll need a second travel cot for the new baby if Alec isn’t really be done with his yet.

10. TRAVEL STROLLER. We keep a Baby Jogger City Mini in the trunk of our car so we don’t have to lift our main stroller in and out of the trunk unnecessarily. We also use the City Mini for travel since it’s so easy to fold and carry and so we don’t have to worry about travel damage to our main stroller (read about our city mini and how we like it here). With two babies, I think we will end up using a carrier a lot more for the little one and probably make do with our single City Mini for shorter outings. But for travel, we think we’ll probably end up buying a City Mini Double Stroller in the end.