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Guava Lotus Crib + Bassinet
We don’t have a regular “crib.” Our 2yo still sleeps in this daily. You can buy a bassinet insert for <$100 which we used as well. We love him being on the ground, and the zip side is incredibly useful. It makes a good transition into a toddler bed, since you can unzip it and let them figure out the freedom of a grown-up bed.
Lillebaby Complete Airflow Carrier
We’ve extensively used it hiking and international traveling, and it’s held up phenomenally well. The air mesh is wonderful even in winter. It’s $50 cheaper than the popular ErgoBaby, and it doesn’t require an additional $25 infant insert. It fits both 5’4″ mom & 5’10” dad well.
Deuter Kid Comfort Hiking Pack
Everyone gets the Osprey version, but the Deuter is 5x more comfy for the kid. The Deuter has a large washable pad in front of the kids’ face and high sides so when they fall asleep, their head is supported. Kids’ heads in the Osprey hang at 90 degrees and bounce with you.
Dog Crate
Yes, it’s way better than portable kids tents, better made, and cheaper. There’s 2 layers of zippered doors: screen and full cover on 2 sides and the top. The zippers can be locked in place so they can’t finger the zipper open. It folds flat. There’s a small cushion on the bottom that’s sufficient to sleep on. This is our travel-everywhere containment bed.
Baby Bjorn Rocker
It’s ridiculously expensive, but it’s tensioned so that when your baby starts moving or crying, it bounces, soothing them back to sleep. It also has 3 recline positions as your baby grows. Many babies don’t sleep flat on their backs, and this one is just a simple piece of canvas fabric, rather than a plush pillow material that babies could suffocate on. It really blew the other rockers away.
Boppy Lounger
Almost thought of returning this gift, but it’s great! You can lounge Baby anywhere in the house much easier than moving a Baby Bjorn-type rocker. Much more useful than the more popular Boppy Nursing pillow. Nearly 2,000 4.8 stars…
Bumbo seat
Once your baby can sit up, you can prop them up on the counter while you work! Can bring them in other rooms with you while you work. Comes with an optional tray.
Summer Infant Pop & Sit Portable Booster
This thing is like gold. We use it nearly every time we go out. Kids won’t fit in regular highchairs until at least 1 year, if not longer. Many places actually don’t have highchairs. Or your kid needs to eat when you’re out and about, not at a restaurant (the most frequent scenario). The ingenious part is it comes with straps so you can fasten it to any conventional chair, in either/both side-to-side and back-to-front directions. We keep this in the trunk of the car.
Guzzie+Gus Highchair
This one fits thick tables and has a great 5-point harness.
Changing table
We don’t have a separate changing table–they’re expensive and just another piece of furniture you’ll need to get rid of. We have a Lysol-able nylon pad we set up on a bed, chest of drawers, or the floor, and a simple box.
Kirkland Signature diapers and wipes
They’re Huggies diapers rebranded.
OXO wipes dispenser
This dispenser has a weighted plate on top so when you pull a wipe, the rest stay down. It’s necessary for one-hand operation with a poopy diaper.
Amazon Basics enhanced doggie bags
Disposal of the doo.
Childress changing pad
Simple, affordable, functional. It’s no frills, doesn’t have changing “station” pockets built in, folds up flat, and has a shower-curtain nylon material to disinfect and wipe clean. We have one for the house and one for the to-go diaper bag.
Diaper bag
Really, whatever backpack you have. Marketed diaper bags are big, heavy, and expensive. The Tom Bihn Daylight Backpack works well, along with REI toiletry zips (one for diapers, one for formula/bottles). Packing cubes work really well too.
Miracle Blanket swaddle
There’s hundreds of swaddles out there, and we preferred ones without velcro or snaps. This one has a long tail you wrap around baby multiple times.
Woolino wearable blanket
One side’s merino wool, the other cotton. This one works for 2 months – 2 years; there’s snaps on the side to make the armholes larger. It’s an investment that will last. One of the best gifts we received and I hope to spread its usefulness.
Gerber wiggle proof socks
So many socks are short, cute, and non-functional. These actually stayed on. They run small–the 6mo size fit our baby starting at 3mo.
Primary.com
It is impossible to find baby clothes that don’t come in multi-packs of mind-numbing greys/navy blues or pinks/flowers. Primary.com has a brilliant business: they offer 20+ solid rainbow colors and 20+ styles. Mix and match. Great idea for a gift card for a present!
RoshamboBaby sunglasses
They’re indestructible–bendable, flexible, chewable–and come in matching adult sizes! Proceeds help Autism charities. Don’t forget the backstrap and ear adjuster kit for the kids! Great idea for a baby shower gift!
Deuter Kikki Kids Backpack
The moment that critter can walk, load ’em up! Kids love carrying their stuff and I don’t want a day lost that I have to lug their stuff around. Win-win situation.
Adjustable swim diapers
Fits newborn thru 3 years.
Motherhood Maternity Clip-Down Nursing bra
The price is right and it’s comfy.
Lansinoh hot/cold pack
Microwaveable or freezer-able. Really helped to use warm before pumping to get the milk flowing, and to freeze to help reduce engorgement when stopping feeding.
Breast pump
If you can get one, rent a hospital-grade pump from a hospital. They’re more powerful and more comfortable, and will save you tons of time not attached to a terrible vacuum device.
Dr. Brown’s bottles
The green inserts prevent a vacuum in the bottle, so baby doesn’t swallow air and burp.
Cloth diapers for burp cloths
They’re cheap, they’re white, they’re big enough, they’re thick enough. Most burp cloths are way too small, and they’re 3x the price! Stash one in every room.
Munchkin formula dispenser
Another simple item that no one else gets right.
Boon Lawn drying mat
Comes in various sizes and colors.
Kirkland Signature Formula
Kirkland Signature is manufactured in the same facility as Similac at nearly 1/2 the cost. Comparing ingredients is nearly identical until you get halfway down the “Less than 2% of” list, and the containers are exactly the same. The Wirecutter also named Kirkland Signature as their Best Buy. (Sidenote: Similac for sensitive stomachs has corn syrup as the first ingredient and sugar as the 5th ingredient, instead of milk lactose and whey protein.)
Jumbo ice cube trays
We started offering our baby pureed food at 4 months. Spend an afternoon a week pureeing frozen veggies and fruit and re-freezing into ice cubes. Have a store of all kinds of ice cubed foods for easy meals!
Pacifier evolved: Wubbanub
Avent Soothie + beanie baby. They come in a vast array of animals. The pacifier is permanently attached to the stuffed animal, so it can rest on baby’s stomach and they might find it again without needing your Pacifier Re-Insertion Specialist skillz.
Fisher Price Whale of a Tub
Who would’ve thought it’d be so difficult to find a simple tub? We were ready to resort to a Rubbermaid bin. Tubs nowadays have weird scoop shapes in the bottom to make it nearly impossible to drown, but then Baby can barely move and kick around! This one’s literally a mini tub. (This isn’t to be confused with Fisher Price’s Planet of a Whale tub, which has weird scoops.)
3 Sprouts laundry hamper
Cute animals, great price, mesh bottom (so clothes don’t stink like sour milk), the flaps have holes that double as the dirty clothes insertion point and handles.
Japanese Nail Scissors
Seriously, I don’t know how there’s so many out there that are crap. I never once feared cutting my kid’s fingers.
Hand/Foot Inkprint
Get baby’s hand/feetprints in first 2 weeks before they plump up and get fat–all their palm/sole features disappear.
Zno Little Black Book Album
Kids love to look at photos of themselves. These books are printed on boards, so they’re pretty indestructible. It’s 24 images, no text, and you can import from Instagram or your phone. I make one at the end of each month and it’s pretty painless to do, and seeing the collection grow on our bookshelf is heartwarming.
Hape Master Workbench
There’s a lot of workbenches out there, and most are made of soft pressed wood, wearing threads quickly. The Hape system is a steal for the price–we couldn’t even make one for <$100, with all the nuts/bolts/screws. They’re the perfect size for kid hands. They also have at least 5 additional packages you can buy as your kid gets older, expanding to include pulleys, magnets, and more, and they all work with the same main bench system.
Meh
4moms infant tub. The temperature control is kinda cool, but the tub was a terrible configuration. Baby would slide all the way down and be scrunched awkward.
Boppy Nursing Pillow. I only breastfed for a month. At that size, Baby was too small to even use the boppy nursing pillow. I had to stack pillows. Maybe when baby’s larger?
The Baby Shusher. It’s impossible to tell what noise level it’s set at, and since it’s shaped like a bugle, it’s deceptively loud in one direction. And it only has 2 settings: turn off at 15min and turn off at 30min–it won’t keep going.
Any baby PJs or clothing that are all snaps. Please, for the love of all parents out there, use zippers.
Toys that look like food. Please, every baby needs to learn what’s edible and what’s not. It’s a safety concern so they don’t put everything in their mouth. Don’t get food-looking toys.
KidCo pop-up tent. Actually, it was great, but wore out quickly. The nylon pulled apart where the tent poles came together within 1 year.
Burley stroller. This isn’t a meh–it’s wonderful! But the company decided to stop making push strollers and focus on kids bike trailers. If you can find one used, it has the largest under-section for storage than any offroad stroller we’ve seen.
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