My Top 20 Favorite Baby Items

Being a first-time mom, I had no idea where to start when registering for my baby shower. I began asking friends and family members what their favorite, could not live without, baby items were. From there, I tried to put a lot of thought and research into each item. I wanted to make sure that I could and would use the item.

Babylist

Now that I knew which items I wanted, I needed to figure out which online registry site worked best for me. There are so many out there. There is buybuyBaby, Target, Amazon, and more. The one I chose was Babylist. I am not sponsored by Babylist, I am just sharing because this is what I had luck with.

The reason I chose this registry is that you could link items from any website on the internet. So, say there was a specialty item that you wanted but was only sold on the product distributor’s website. You could link this website to your registry. Most items I registered for were off of Amazon because I wanted my friends and family to be able to get free shipping. On a lot of websites, you have to spend a certain qualifying monetary amount to get free shipping which drives me nuts!

Other benefits of using Babylist were;

• Hello Baby Box- this is a gift box sent to you once someone, or yourself, makes a qualifying purchase of $10. They do charge you shipping+tax but I was amazed at all the things that were included. There were samples of different products, clothing, coupons, and so much more. My favorite was the different brand diapers so I could try each one out and also sample packs of wipes. These were so nice to just throw in my diaper bag.
• Sample Registries- they offer sample registries for various types of people such as minimalist and budget-friendly.
• Guides- I found these helpful and there were tonsssss of them. For example, “Best Travel Strollers of 2021”. They would then break down every option in this category and give you the pros and cons.
• 15% off items sold by Babylist when you are 2 months out from having a baby.
• Many Other Perks- cash funds, favor coupons, and the ability to support small businesses like Etsy.

My Top 20

Now, to get to my favorites. There were many items I thought that I would use and then once I got the chance to test them out, I then realized they weren’t a good fit for Cooper and me. So I am going to list the items that we use frequently and love. Again, these are items that worked for me but may not for you and your little one.

Sleep

LecroFan micro2

This is a mini white noise machine and Bluetooth speaker. It’s great for on the go. This is not something I registered for but was given as a gift and has to be one of my top favorites and is a necessity of our everyday life. I would recommend this to anyone and everyone!

HALO Sleepsack Swaddle

Out of all the swaddles, we tried this was the best! We have them in cotton and fleece. The sack is a zip-up and the arm swaddles are velcro. Get the two-way zip option which allows for ease with middle-of-the-night changes.

Simple Joys by Carter’s Pajamas

Carters makes super affordable clothing and we have used their pajamas from the start. We started with the preemie size now were in the size 6 months (Cooper is a chunker). Make sure to get either the 2-way zipper ones or that zip down to the foot making nighttime diaper changes easy peasy.

HALO BassiNest

This is the HALO BassiNest Swivel Sleeper, the Essentia Series. I registered for the Premiere Series, which has additional features and in my opinion, isn’t worth it and it is an additional $90. You can adjust the height so it’s level with your bed and the bassinet swivels to allow you in and out. The wall that goes against your mattress lowers allowing easy access to your baby and in my case was especially helpful when I was healing from my c-section.

Babylist Pacifier Box

There are many opinions on the use of pacifiers. For us, it worked well with soothing Cooper. He is a colicky baby so anything to help calm him is a godsend. This box was nice because we had the ability to try a bunch of different brands out. When he was first born we used the Dr. Brown’s pacifier because the nipple was so similar to his bottle nipples. As he got a little older we started using the Wubbanub with the monkey attached. He loves being able to hold onto the little plush animal and we ended up purchasing another one.

Swing/Lounger

4moms mamaRoo Baby Swing

We did not get this swing at first because I thought it was too much of a luxury item. We did try other swings and then ended up caving in and purchasing it. The swing comes with multiple settings. There are 5 different motion patterns and 5-speed options. We utilize this for some of Cooper’s naps. He also really likes the mobile that comes with the swing and will keep his gaze and occupy him for a bit. It does have a Bluetooth function where you can change settings from your phone which may be a plus for the tech-savvy parent.

DokATot

This is a nice item to have when you’re in the newborn stage because it’s a safe place to lay them down. It is also nice to use on the go because it is so light. Bring it to your family or friends’ house and have a safe space for the baby to be put down. The baby should always be supervised while in the lounger.

Baby Monitor

Nanit

There are so many baby monitors on the market. There are three types; audio, audio/visual, and wireless. The Nanit is a wireless camera that offers a breathing monitor. The way they do this is with a band that wraps around the baby. My son is still sleeping in our room so we have not tried the band yet, but we use the monitor daily for naps. Other features it offers;

• 2-way audio
• Night vision that uses red lights that don’t interfere with sleep
• Sound and motion alerts
• Temperature and humidity sensors
• Notification of how long baby has been asleep

The one con I found, which has nothing to do with the product, was if your phone does not have good service the connection will be poor. My phone does not have good service in our house, while my husband’s phone works just fine. To fix this solution, while in the house, we purchased an affordable refurbished iPad with a docking station that stays in our living room.

Toys

Itzy Ritzy Activity Gym

We received this as a gift and love it. ItsIt’s aesthetically pleasing and Cooper loves the hanging toys. So many of the activity gyms are designed with loud colors but this is made in nice soft pastels. It has been fun watching Cooper go from just watching the toys to now bating and giggling when he has them in his grip. It is also easy enough to remove the toys and add your baby’s other favorites.

Lamaze Freddie The Firefly

This is by far Cooper’s favorite toy. It encourages tactile, auditory, and visual development with squeaky and crinkly noises and multiple types of textures. It’s so simple but this toy goes with us everywhere.

Breastfeeding/Feeding

Dr. Brown’s Options+ Anti-Colic Baby Bottle – 4oz 

Cooper was a preemie and we needed to bottle feed him the second week in. These bottles are great and he took to them right away. The green insert is an air vent to help prevent ingestion of air-creating gas. The bottles come with nipples in size 1, and as your baby gets older you can replace them with larger nipples which increases the flow speed. Now that Cooper is eating a larger amount, we have purchased the 8oz bottles.

Hands Free Pumping Bra

This hands-freehands-free pumping bra was awesome! I would just zip it right over my nursing bra (I used Kindred Bravely bras). It allowed me to have my hands free to read or hand express while pumping. The pumping and nursing bras that had both functions were too clunky for me and felt bulky under my shirts. This was lightweight and I didn’t have to wear it all day. I also used a Spectra1 pump which worked great and would recommend it to all mommies. I did not place it on my registry because I was able to get it covered through my insurance and I recommend you also try and do this!

Earth Mama Organic Nipple Butter

There is so much I love about this nipple butter;

• Firstly it’s Organic
• Lanolin-Free- there are mixed reviews on lanolin being safe for baby but in addition to that, lanolin cream was provided by the hospital after my birth and IT NEVER WORKED.
• The ingredients are so safe and luxurious feeling I would use it on any dry spots Cooper had on his face.
• Breastfeeding/pumping for me in, in the beginning, the beginning was excruciating. I would apply this every time and it was super useful for lubricating the nipple while pumping with a flange. It decreased the friction pain.

Nursing Cover

My breastfeeding journey was unfortunately very short, but I frequently use this to cover my baby’s car seat when I go out and do errands. One, it protects the baby from the environment and two, it creates a barrier from noise and light. I’ll cover the car seat and place the portable white noise machine in it and Cooper is OUT like a light.

On The Go

Graco SnugRide SnugLock 35 Infant Car Seat

There are so many infant car seats on the market which makemakes it almost impossible to choose. The reasons we opted for this Graco car seat is;

• Lightweight, weighing in at 14.7lb which falls right in the middle of all carriers weight (10-20lbs)
• Easy installation
• Great safety features
• Affordable price

Graco Modes Element LX Stroller

In addition to the vast variety of car seats, the market is also saturated in stroller options. This stroller was given to us and I love it for errands. It is always in the trunk of my car. It has a good-sized basket underneath to hold a diaper bag plus more. It is also super easy to open and close. When juggling a baby, a car seat, and a diaper bag it’s essential to have this ease.

4moms Breeze Plus Portable Playard with Removable Bassinet and Baby Changing Station

This item is a 3-1. It is a pack-and-play with a bassinet and a changing station! Something that sold me on this product was the ease of setup. You can set up and collapse it with just one hand. We have this set up in our living room. We use it for all diaper changes and store diapers, wipes, and blankets in the bassinet when it’s not being used. In this current time, in the middle of a pandemic, we have not been able to travel but look forward to using this in the future!

Bath

Honest Shampoo

We received this shampoo and body wash as a sample size and loved the smell so we purchased the full-size bottle. It has a light lavender scent, nothing too overpowering. I also like that it is made with natural fragrances and not artificial, which can be irritating to the skin. It is also free of parabens, phthalates, dyes, formaldehyde donors, and aluminum. This made me feel safe using this on my baby.

Health

Dr. Brown’s Pacidose

This is a must if you need to give your baby medicine. Whoever thought of this is a genius! We use this all the time when we give gripe water and Tylenol. It makes giving medication so easy. The baby just thinks they are sucking on a pacifier!

Diapering

Pampers Pure

There are so many diaper brands and it’s nice if you can try a few, but this is the brand we like the most. We have had very few blowouts and leaks. I like that they are sensitive on the skin and are fragrance-free. We have not had one issue with diaper rash using these (knock on wood!). You will not believe how fast you go through a large box of diapers…its insane. Get a few boxes of size newborn, 1, and 2 to start with. We also use their sensitive wipes.

Other Items I Love

• Skip Hop On The Go Changing Pad-this stays in my diaper backpack
• Diaper Bag Backpack great for use by mom and dad
• Keekaroo Peanut Changing Station
• Bath Kneeler
• Baby Bath with Infant Sling– we are lucky enough that this fits in our sink making bath time not a pain in the back!
• Bottle Brush
• Bottle Drying Rack
• Waterproof Bassinet Sheets– these fit the Halo bassinet perfect
• NoseFrida
• Ergobaby Carrier– my husband loves this one
• Ubbi Steel Diaper Pail– you don’t need to purchase special trash bags for this one. You can just use the regular ones you already have.
• Amazon Gift Cards– you can never go wrong with this! After we had Cooper we were probably buying things on Amazon daily for a good month.

What To Pass On Registering For

• Wipe Warmer- never even opened the box
• Clothes- unless there is something specific you want don’t add too many clothing pieces because everyone is going to gift you some.
• Blankets- again you are likely going to receive many blankets as gifts.
• Books- unless there are books that you specifically want. This is another gift people love to give.
• Thermometer that hooks up to your phone- I thought this would be really neat….unless you want to hold your phone, a thermometer, and your baby’s legs up at the same time do not waste your $$
• Hooded Towel- I admit they are cute but they take up storage space when you can just use a regular towel

I hope this helps you navigate creating your registry or at least narrows down your choices!

*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I could earn a small commission if you make a purchase using one. This comes at no additional cost to you and I will only ever share items I have used myself and tested out.*