As a first time mom, I bought everything. Partly due to the fact that I was excited and fell for every marketing scheme, I’m a shopaholic, and when Luke was born he was a difficult baby so I indulged in consumerism hoping products would make my life easier. I also got a ton of free products allowing me to test several of the same things from various brands. Based on my experience testing various products, now with baby 2, and what I’ve heard repeatedly from the mom community, these are things I would put on my registry again and the best brands for certain products.
Baby Gear
- Everyday stroller: UppaBaby and Nuna branded strollers
- We mainly use our UppaBaby Minu stroller since we live in San Francisco and it’s the perfect size and sturdy. We also own the Vista V2 stroller but I do NOT recommend buying a clunky heavy-duty stroller unless you’re positive you want 2+ kids close in age. We barely used the Vista with Luke and only use it more now with 2 kids (a toddler and newborn).
- If we didn’t get UppaBaby I would have gotten a compact Nuna stroller since I’ve heard great things and they look nice and modern
- Travel stroller: Babyzen YoYo, one of the few strollers thats airplane approved so you can bring it on the plane and it’ll fit in all overhead cabin bins. Feels luxe and sturdy for a travel stroller and folds extremely compact.
- BabyBjorn Bouncer: do not waste your money on an electronic or fancy bouncer, since those can be a hit or miss with babies. Most babies love the BabyBjorn bouncer. Plus, it’s portable and light so easy to move around.
- Artipoppe baby carrier: I LOVE my Antipope carrier because it’s the most stylish baby carrier and the support is phenomenal. People always ask if its worth the price $ and I think it is, especially because you can wear it until they’re 45 lbs. my review here
- Maxi-Cosi swift playyard and travel crib: super easy to set-up and I love the versatility. You can use it as a bassinet, crib and/or playyard. Plus it looks nice. my review here
- Car seat: A lot of my mom friends have and love Nuna Pipa RX which is what I would get now. We got the UppaBaby mesa car seat but I don’t recommend it because it’s heavy.
- Oxo stroller hooks: I use this hook for everything… to hold my handbag, shopping bags, water bottle, dog leash, umbrella, etc.
- Car seat cover: I liked this one from Amazon because of the optional window flap and it blacks out the sun
- High chair: Stokke makes the best quality high-chairs with longevity since most can be adjusted from newborn to teenage years. Stokke also has great resale value. I own both the Stokke Tripp Trapp and Steps high chair, and like the Steps more because it’s easier to clean, and the tray is larger and easier to remove. I love both though and understand why Tripp Trapp is on the list of every “best high chair” out there, it looks the most sleek and grows with your baby.
Baby Sleepwear
- Thin onesies for warmer days:
- Little Sleepies: double zipper is easy to put on and bamboo material is extremely stretchy making it last multiple sizes so great longevity, also has optional foot cuffs to cover or show feet. Con is that these run skinny and tight.
- Dreamland Baby: also has the double zipper, made of bamboo, with optional foot cuffs. I have a 15% off promo code: TRENDENVY
- Magnetic Me: extremely easy and fast to put on since it’s magnetic. Material is very stretchy and thin. Con is these are $$$
- Thick onesies for cooler days:
- Nest Designs: Made of bamboo rayon cotton so extremely soft, yet breathable, and has a nice bounce-like stretch. These onesies feel the most luxe out of all onesies I’ve tried.
- Pehr: Super soft and made of organic cotton. They have super cute and more neutral prints.
- Affordable onesies: Carters, Burts Bees and H&M are some of my favorite brands for affordable baby clothes. These brands often have sales and a good variety of boy clothes too.
- Sleep sack: Kyte Baby sooo soft, the double zipper makes it easy to put on. Comes in various TOG weights and colors, so the range is amazing. I got a size medium and my toddler who is 2 still wears them so the price is worth it for the “cost per wear”
- Ollie swaddle: super fast/easy to put on since it’s secured with high-quality velcro and has longevity. If you don’t want to spend this much though, honestly any other velcro swaddle will work. I also used SwaddleMe swaddles which I got as a hand-me-down and they worked well.
- Miracle Blanket swaddle: this swaddle is great for when their reflexes get stronger and they start breaking out of the swaddle since it traps their arm in. When babies arms and hands escape the swaddle, they have a tendency to wake up and this prevents their arms from breaking out.
- Love to Dream transition swaddle: for when they start rolling or can start to self soothe
Diapering
- Ubbi diaper pail: only annoying thing is you need your hands to open it (doesn’t open with a foot pedal), but it really locks in the smell and it’s convenient since you can use any trash bag with it unlike other diaper trash cans like the Diaper Genie (which I also have but don’t like as much).
- Skip Hop changing pad: Some parents don’t use a changing pad and change their baby on the floor or bed which works… but if you’re a boy mom I recommend getting a wipeable changing pad since there is a high chance pee will fly. I also had the Keekaroo peanut changing pad and found it too clunky and not worth the $, so preferred the SkipHop one also because it also had a mobile (which is removable).
- Diaper bag: I ended up not liking my first leather diaper bag because the leather made it heavy, bulky, and big. At the end of the day you want something functional, lightweight (like made of neoprene or nylon) and easy to clean. So I got this Carra diaper bag which I love. Calpak also has great options like this Calpak diaper backpack.
- Oxo tot perfect pull wipes: honestly not necessary, but if you have it you’ll use it all the time and it looks way nicer haha
- Waterwipes my favorite wipes during the newborn phase but the annoying this is they don’t work well in wipe dispensers since it doesn’t automatically pull the next wipe up.
- Honest diaper wipes: these are my other favorite wipes, especially for cleaning poo since they’re a bit thicker and have good grip.
- Baby Bum diaper cream spatula: for wiping aquaphor or diaper cream on the bum!
- Huggies little snugglers diapers or Kirkland signature diapers. I found these brands to be the best diapers for the cost. I would not waste money on Corterie diapers (which are $$$ because they’re very absorbent and feel luxe) unless your baby sleeps through the night or can go long stretches without a diaper change. In the beginning you’re changing diapers so frequently, you just need diapers that will prevent blowouts.
Breastfeeding and Feeding
- Baby Breeza bottle sterilizer and dryer: saves you so much time and easy to use, only annoying thing is you have to use it with distilled water.
- My Brest Friend nursing pillow: has great support, completely adjustable, secure/doesn’t move, and the cover is washable.
- Hands-free pumping bra: this pumping bra was the fastest to put on and the most secure.
- Seraphine sleeping nursing bra: I liked these since the material is thicker and there’s no clasp making it seamless and comfortable to sleep in.
- Embrace nursing bra: my favorite nursing bra for when I’m out in public because its like a real bra but doesn’t feel like one and has the front clips to pull down
- Bodily do anything bra: really good all-in-one bra that you can use for nursing and/or pumping and the material is silky soft
- Motherlove nipple cream: oily, but worked the best
- LaVie lactation massager: helps with clogged ducts
- Silverette nursing cups: these saved my nipples from ever cracking or bleeding, they have healing properties and protect your nipples from chaffing against your clothes
- Medela manual breast pump: I would get this in addition to an electric breast pump because this one is more discrete, and very portable so good for when you need to quickly get milk out. The con though is you can’t be hands-free.
Health
- Tubby Todd All Over Ointment. I also love their hair and body wash, it’s my favorite.
- Thinkbaby sunscreen
- Pumpinose nasal aspirator this is way more effective/stronger and less gross to use than the Frida Baby Snot Sucker which I also recommend getting
- Electric nail filer
- Aquaphor for diaper rashes
- Johnson & Johnson gentle shampoo and soap
- Philips Avent soothie pacifier
Nursery
- Newton crib mattress: it’s breathable and washable
- House of Noa playmat: quality is amazing and it looks beautiful. 10% off code: TRENDENVY10. my review here
- Hatch rest sound machine and night light: I love how it’s multi-functional… it’s a clock, alarm, sound machine, night light, and plays music. Con is that it’s not very small or portable so it’s more of a “stay in your nursery” sound machine.
- Nanit baby monitor: we got the wall mount and the stand attachment, but liked the wall mount better because once the baby can stand they can shake the monitor stand. Plus if you live in California it’s earthquake proof. This baby monitor syncs to your phone so you don’t have to carry a tablet, plus multiple accounts can sync to the Nanit giving multiple people access to watch the camera unlike a tablet where there’s just one. 15% off code: CHRISTINE15
- Solly baby crib sheets: so buttery soft and comes in cute prints. They are thin though, but it doesn’t bother me since I have it over a waterproof crib mattress protector which I also recommend getting.
- Crib: I think all cribs are the same so the brand doesn’t matter, but I got the Dadada soho crib and love it because it’s high-quality, looks great, and the price was fairly reasonable. 10% off code: TRENDENVY
- Rocking chair: if you have the space and budget for a rocking chair, I 100% recommend getting one. I don’t think the brand really matters, I would just get one that swivels and can be reclined back (I took a lot of contact naps on my rocking chair). I didn’t want to spent $1K on a rocking chair so got this one from Wayfair and love it. It did squeak in the beginning and is starting to pile now, but I guess you get what you pay for? I would buy it again.
Toys
- Lovevery playgym mat and playkit
- Soft crinkle cloth books like this
- Teething toys with handles or a grip like this
- High contrast books and cards, like black/white books
- Colored books with real life images (not illustrations)
- VTech sit-to-stand learning walker
- Fisher Price kick and play piano mat
- Rattles
- Bright, colorful toys. None of that beige sh*t because babies love and need high-contrast colors and it’s what they all prefer.
