STUFF: Our Favorite Baby Gear

Here’s a run down of our favorite baby gear, from a mom of 4 kids! Having done this newborn, infant, toddler thing three times already, I have clear favorites. That said, I am very practical, so function comes first with my recommendations.

So really, the best baby gear for you is the baby gear that will work for your lifestyle. My recommendations are best for a city dweller, that likes to travel and be outdoors.

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Advice for Purchasing Baby Gear

The best baby gear to buy is the gear that will last through all of your kids. Planning on just one or two? You can go with inexpensive options (though you may not want to).

As with everything, a lot of baby gear is all about marketing and design, and the most expensive option is not always the best option. For convenience sake, I recommend going with what you really want from the get go.

Think through where things will go, and don’t over purchase. You can always get more baby stuff later on! Remember, all the baby really needs is something to wear, a safe place to sleep, and a boob (or similar).

Free stuff alert: I alway suggest making a baby registry! When you sign up, you get a bag of goodies, and who doesn’t want free diapers? For our younger kids, I never bought any disposables, even for the meconium, because we had enough samples from registering. One more tip: even if you’re not having a baby shower, you can always keep your registry private.

Baby Stuff

I should start by saying that before my first Baby Boy arrived I was pretty anti-stuff, not wanting to clutter our home with tons of junk.

However, a few days into this adventure, I was already requesting people to bring us stuff, and so perhaps it would have been easier to have everything around in the first place.

Daytime Necessities for a Baby

Things to survive day-time with a little baby, just the basics. Other than the car seat I would say all of these items are nice to have and not true necessities.

Somewhere to Put the Baby

A chair A.K.A. somewhere to put the baby. We had the Fisher Price Infant to Toddler Rocker and it was a life-saver. The nice thing is that we could use it pretty much right away. It was invaluable as a “put the baby close to me while I shower” chair in the early days. After a while, the kiddo figured out how to make himself rock and that’s awesome.

Baby Bjorn Bouncer– With our third baby we bought this chair because it was of utmost importance for us to be able to fold it flat and put it away when not in use. Definitely my choice for apartment living, but totally not necessary if you have the space for a traditional rocker. 

I highly recommend the Bjorn bouncer if you are taking a road trip with a baby that can’t yet sit up!

Baby Carrier

Stretchy Wrap Carrier

You need a carrier because unless you have a full-time maid, sometimes you need 2 hands to get stuff done around the house. Up to 3/4 months we used the Moby Wrap, which I LOVED. It keeps the baby nice and close! Baby slept while I did stuff, and it was a lot nicer than the stroller when he was a tiny little thing.

Structured Carrier

For an older baby, I consider it a must to have some sort of structured carrier. We use the ERGObaby carrier, which I love. We even took two kids backpacking using the ERGOs! The most important feature is the hip belt that takes the weight off your shoulders. There are now versions that can be converted into forward facing carriers.

Forward facing carrier

There’s a really short period around 2-4 months where I find my babies really like to face forward.

For reference we have had various Bjorn type carriers with no hip belt that work for a very short amount of time. They are not great for baby’s hip development and I could only use them comfortably it for very short periods of time before my back hurt.

The infantino is the one we used for our third and fourth babies! We still mostly used it with baby facing us rather than out. However, it was great for warm weather use, when the wrap was just too hot!

Woven Wrap

This is a whole other world that I have only a little experience with. What I can say, is that using a woven wrap is very comfortable once you know how to wrap it correctly!

It also has a very, very long life span as you can change the way it is wrapped as your baby grows.

Strollers

You need a stroller because you won’t always want to carry the baby on you. Obviously a stroller is good for walks. From around 2 months, my kid became very interested in trees/nature and has loved being in the stroller.

A stroller is also useful so he has his own seat at restaurants before he can sit up. Personally I’m not a fan of carseat on the chair/table contraption.

The Best Stroller Hands Down

Baby Jogger City Mini– This is the first stroller we got and 8 year later, still our favorite! Decide what features are important and go from there. In our case I needed big wheels for the crazy Mexican side walks, a big sun canopy for the Mexican sun, and relatively light-weight stroller because pushing a baby up a hill is work enough.

Update: the City Mini has also been great in NYC!

Luxury Strollers

UppaBaby Vista or Bugaboo Cameleon– Both of these are great options for city dwellers who don’t have a car, or do the majority of their errands walking. I found the huge basket on the Vista critical for doing multiple pick ups of the older kids and carrying backpacks in addition to my stuff and baby stuff. The Bugaboo has a nicer feel to it in my opinion and I preferred it for the first few months. Go to a store and try them out!

Travel Stroller

Those cheapo umbrella strollers are awesome when you just need some help for getting an older (6+ months) baby around. They are light enough to carry in one arm while you have your baby in the other for places with stairs. Alternatively, invest in one of those tri-fold stollers if you do a lot of air travel.

We have the Mountain Buggy Nano and it was great for about the first two years, but got too hard to push with a 2 year old. The BabyZen Yoyo is a nice option if you have the budget for it.

Car Seats

In many cases you do actually need a car seat in order to leave the hospital, so that’s about the only item you really need to get ahead of time. If you’re superstitious, just have someone run out and get one once baby is born. Check the ratings and choose one you like. Install before Baby comes home from the hospital.

Here are seats I have personal experience with, and recommend.

Infant Car Seat

Chicco Key Fit 30– This is the infant car seat you want! It is so, so easy to install. And easy install means a safe install and that’s what a car seat is all about. It’s easy to get baby in and out, and the padding is nice compared to some cheaper options.

It also has a relatively small footprint and fit when we had three carseats across in a sedan! I recommend it until it is outgrown by height, between 6 months and a year.

Convertible Car Seats

Britax Marathon Clicktight– If you only get one convertible car seat, this is the seat you want. Technically you can move straight to this one from the infant car seat, but it will seem BIG.

The clicktight feature makes this seat extremely easy to install with a seat belt so you don’t have to mess around with LATCH. The one downside, is that the seat is very heavy and I would not recommend it for travel.

The First Years True Fit C670 Premier Convertible Car Seat – our original car seat, discontinued.

Britax Roundabout– This car seat has been a work horse for us, and we will only retire it because it has expired. After the infant carseat is too small, this convertible seat fits great for a 1 year old. It again has an easy install, and a small footprint. We have also flown with ours numerous times and been able to install in on board the flight quickly and easily. Discontinued but replaced by the Britax Allegiance.

For travel we use Evenflo car seats that are extremely light weight and very cheap to replace if anything happens to them. Since this is a guide on baby gear I won’t go into boosters, but you can see recommendations in our favorite travel gear.

Blankets, Burp Cloths, Wash Cloths, Etc.

Fabric– burp cloths, wash cloths, blankets. You’re going to be wiping lots of drool, spit-up etc, especially in the beginning. Also, baby is going to go on the floor a lot, and you want to be able to layer to keep baby warm easily. So you want lots of these.

We have at least 15 burp cloths. The best option for burping is actually those small receiving blanket! Then we have at least a dozen wash cloths and several blankets. (People love to give blankets as gifts!)

We also have several swaddle blankets, which can also be used interchangeably as burp rags/nursing covers/blankets, but I’ll get to that in a minute. 

Baby Entertainment

Playmat

This is a nice to have item, but why not get if it makes life easier? We have had a few: the Baby Einstein play gym, and the Fisher Price Kick & Play Piano Gym. We’ve also had Tiny Love and Infantino brand play mats. Long story short: any will do!

I would say from about 2 months until they start crawling, this has been a life-saver in that I can leave baby playing for a few minutes and he is totally entertained! Also, foam pads or carpet if you have tile floors like we do. Playing on the floor is a must for letting Baby explore.

Baby Seat

For 5 months onward you may want an upright chair like the Bumbo. This chair only has a useable life span of a couple of months at the most, so try to get it used or borrowed!

Jumper

At the same age, you may be interested in getting a jumper. If you have doorways, get a simple doorway jumper. Our babies have loved this for about 10 minutes at a time! The fact that it takes up almost no space and is very affordable makes it a great addition to the baby gear lineup.

If you do not have a doorway, then invest in a bigger jumper. Note that these things are big! Again, this has a useable lifespan of maybe 4 months at the most?

Activity Center

And then around 8 or 9 months, you may want to get a little table, baby can pull up on and play. Again a nice to have and totally unnecessary item that takes up a lot of floor space. But you may get a solid 6 months out of it, depending on when baby starts walking and becomes disinterested.

Note: all these baby contraptions are OPTIONAL. And they take up a lot of room. Choose wisely. 🙂

Books

Mostly for your own sanity, I would get several! We read every day and the older he gets the more Baby Boy enjoys the books.

Even though you can technically read a baby “anything” just so that they pick up on words, sentence structure and language fundamentals. Children’s books with colorful drawings seem to keep their attention best.

Toys

There are a lot of options out there, choose what you like. Our one stand out toy that all our babies really loved from about 6 weeks on is the Lamaze Jacques the Peacock.

For teething, the infamous Sophie The Giraffe is a must. All of our babies have loved chewing on her.

At some point I will write a more detailed guide on this because I definitely have some opinions on best buys. That said, blocks, stacking rings and cups are the usual suspects!

Baby Monitor

I would throw this in as an optional item. I use ours very infrequently since our house is not that big, but I will set it up for nap time if I need to be on a different floor and there’s noise to the point I might not hear the kid.

Night Time Baby Gear

Moving on to things for getting ready for bed. I think a lot of brands are personal preference. As before, I do mention specific items that we’ve really loved.

Baby Bath

Yes, you can shower with a baby. But you might find that little baby of yours licking up water, like ours did, or very slippery!

So a small bath, or at the very least some type of mesh insert to put in a tub, if you are lucky enough to have one, is a must!

Also one bottle of baby shampoo/body wash is probably good to have. We have tried a lot of gentle washes and the linked brand is my current favorite.

Hooded towels are great, but again, not a must-have.

Swaddle blankets

We swaddle every night in the fourth trimester! At the beginning it is a must because Baby’s hands flail and wake them up. All of our babies have loved being swaddled for closer to 6 months.

We love the Aden and Anais blankets for our summer baby, but again lots of types to choose from. For our cooler weather babies, the Miracle Blanket has been a favorite! Also regular blankets to put over the swaddle if it gets cold.

White Noise

Cloud B Sleep Sheep– White noise was a big one for us, especially the first 3 months. After a while you get really tired of saying shhhhhh, over and over. This sheep is really cute, and we personally used the wave sounds to get Baby Boy to fall asleep.

Dohm– Our last baby, preferred this more general white noise machine. It is also good for multiple kids in the same room! (Yes, we still use it). I personally don’t love sleeping with it in my own room though.

Sleep Machine App– You can download white noise apps on any old phone and just use that…I prefer to get the babies used to sleeping in silence as soon as possible. I like this app because I can customize the sound and also set a timer and have it slowly fade out.

Pacifiers

Pacifiers- maybe you’ll use them, maybe you won’t. We had one Baby Boy just loved them and the sucking really soothed him. The others couldn’t care less. We’ve used Avent Soothies, Mam, and Nuk all successfully, but some kids are more picky.

Nightlight

Any nightlight is great because Baby will need to eat in the middle of the night…you could also just use your phone. I’ve found the best option to be a small book light on the dimmest setting.

Nasal Aspirator

Nosefrida is a contraption to suck out boggers. A lot better than the bulb if you have a snotty baby. We would always “de-boggify” before bed because young babies can only breathe through their nose, not their mouths.

Somewhere to Sleep

A Bed or Crib or Bassinet is a must have. We used a twin bed stuck between our bed and the wall for our first. This made checking on the baby at night super easy (and we already had the bed, so it was free).

Otherwise just get a crib, since you will want one eventually. Pack n Plays unfortunately have not been a great option for night sleep for us, but work for naps.

(the far left is Baby Boy’s bed, you can also spot the sleep sheep upside down)

Clothing for a Baby

My recommendations are based on 3 loads of laundry a week (one lights, one darks, one gentle) because we do the baby laundry together with ours. Obviously you could do with less.

PJ’s – One Piece Body suit – Sleep and Plays

Jammies are the best! You want to make sure they are one-piece and footed, so that middle of the night diaper changes are as easy as possible. This way there is nothing to pull over the head/ figure out legs in right places when it’s dark, and baby stays nice and warm. 7 per size.

Onesies (Bodysuits)

Onesies are what the whole baby wardrobe is based on. You will change multiple outfits a day because of bodily fluids. I would say about half long sleeve and half short sleeve because even in the summer small babies need to be kept warm (especially if you have A/C). 14 per size.

Pants

Pants keep baby warm, but you won’t always use them, especially in a warm climate. The footed cotton ones make your life so easy because don’t have to mess with socks, for the first 3-5 months. Once they want to move, keep their feet bare for better traction. 5 per size.

Dressy Outfits

Nice outfits include nice little button down shirts, or jeans, dresses or some other impractical outfit. They are a pain to put on, so not very practical, but still nice to have around. 2 outfits per size.

Most likely you will be gifted these, so don’t worry about buying them yourself.

Bunting Suit

If you have a winter baby, or a baby in a cold climate, you will need a bunting. My preference is fleece. This way it is light enough to go into the car seat without having to remove it.

Accessories

Socks- several, especially if you get lots of pants that aren’t footed. They are a pain, but at least they look cute and keep baby toes warm.

Hats- several, brimmed for the sun, caps for the cold.

Bibs- your call. I find the small fabric ones useless because the kid will inevitably spit up on his outfit anyway. Nice big lined ones are a must for starting solids…then again, there’s time for that.

Other- sweaters and jackets for cold weather, bathing suit (swim diaper) for the summer, rompers (they look cute).

We have had a lot more clothes than these recommendations suggest, but I always had a surplus. In some case, a ridiculous amount of surplus.

Breastfeeding Supplies

Breastfeeding Gear

So breastfeeding stuff. It should be easy just Breasts + Baby, and maybe some people can do it that way, but if you have to go back to work, or want your significant other involved in feeding, or have low supply or over supply, or any other problems things can get complicated.

Feeding Pillow

A feeding pillow- For the first three months I recommend the Breastfriend pillow for good firm support. After they can hold their head, near 3 months, the Boppy, has saved my back. Also I love it for tummy time!

Ointment

Lanolin- excellent for the first few weeks when your nipples have to get used to being rubbed all the time. I haven’t heard of anyone that didn’t have at least a little soreness in the beginning, and this stuff works.

Coconut oil or Olive oil are also natural options that are easily absorbed.

Breast Pads

Breast pads are great if you leak in the beginning, which many do. I personally preferred the disposable ones because they are thinner and disposable.

Then again, at the beginning I was changing clothes so often because of baby bodily fluids that it didn’t matter much if I had some leakage onto shirts.

Gear for pumping/storing/feeding:

Breast Pump

At first I got a manual pump, but initially, that was pretty much a disaster. It is way too much work if you need to pump regularly. Then again, for travel as a just-in-case or once-in-a-while pump, it does the job.

It takes up so much less space, and is very light. That means traveling with it, gives me peace of mind in case I need to work through a blocked duct or any other random occurrence.

So if you’re going to pump with any regularity, get a double electric pump; it is well worth the investment. I got the Medela Pump in Style and have been very happy with it. (Still works after 8 years and 3 babies!)

If you have to pump at work, look into some other options like the Freetime, Spectra, etc. Lots of advances in the field of breast pumps these last few years.

Bottles

Bottles to feed the baby the pumped milk obviously. We’ve had a lot of success with Breastflow bottles, which forces the baby to suck the milk out rather than just chew, which is what they can do with regular bottles.

For my more proficient nursers, using the Medela bottles that came with the pump was just fine. Then again, we tried a lot of bottle brands and people seem to have very strong opinions on this topic! Your mileage may vary.

If you will be bottle feeding regularly, consider glass bottles. Glass can go in the dishwasher and you don’t have to worry about plastic disintegrating.

Freezer Bags

Freezer bags– to store milk long term; it can be kept for many months when frozen. This is great for a rainy day stockpile. I used my stockpile when I was taking some medication for a few days and it was great to have.

I have also built a small stash with every single baby, just in case! The Lansinoh brand bags are great, and I put them in a gallon size ziplock bag standing in the back of my freezer.

Sterilizer

Microwave sterilizer- breast milk is very anti-fungal/anti-bacterial, so generally washing bottles and pump parts with soap and water is enough. (Tip: you can keep pump parts in the fridge throughout the day while pumping and just wash once at the end of the day).

When we bottle fed regularly, I did like to sterilize once in a while, and the microwave contraption makes it just that much easier. Then again, that also had lots to do with our water quality, and if you have a dishwasher is most likely not necessary at all.

newborn cloth diaper

Diapering Supplies

For some reason, diapering is another topic people feel very strongly about. In my opinion, cloth is the best choice for environmental and health reasons. Then again, I know it’s not for everyone, and I’ve also had to compromise on this issue more than I initially wanted.

Cloth Diaper Recommendations

I have a whole long post, with my complete recommendations. There I also explain about the different types of diapers. Guess what? Even though I have tried a lot more types of diapers since that initial post, everything I said in that post still stands.

I still believe cloth is better for the environment and definitely better for our budget. I also still believe that COTTON cloth diapers are best for simplicity of use and longevity.

If you have the budget, 36 all-in-one type diapers would be my choice. For the newborn phase, all in one’s are great, but pre-folds will do the trick with a fraction of the budget.

If you will have more than one baby, cloth diapering is truly a no-brainer!

Disposable Diaper Recommendations

I had a whole long post planned comparing the most natural disposable diaper brands that got lost somewhere in the internet. Every year there are more and more on the market.

With our older boys we initially used disposables only during travel. Then we had to try them out for long periods of time because of laundry/ washing machine issues.

All that said, I liked the Honest brand diapers (but one baby was sensitive to the wheat in the filling). Seventh Generation was good but led to rashes from the elastic/adhesive. Whole Foods 365 brand has worked in a pinch.

Surprisingly for one little one, the Target brand which is not eco-friendly at all worked well, with no fragrance and no contact reactions. And of course, I’d be remiss not to mention that we have tried the Huggies and Pampers options in various circumstances. There’s no love there (and a lot of fragrance I really dislike).

Wipes

If you cloth diaper the obvious option is to use cloth wipes. Any piece of flannel will do. For disposable wipes any no/low fragrance brand will do. Surprisingly I have liked the Amazon Sensitive brand.

At the moment of writing, I currently have Pampers Pure Wipes in the car, that are smaller and wetter. Seventh Generation and Honest Wipes are both in the house. They are bigger and less wet but have a good texture for wiping!

Alright, wrapping up people!

What gear recommendations do you have for those expecting a baby? Anything I missed? Any must-have new to market product?

*This post was first published on November 21, 2011. Last updated [post_modified_date].

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