After two kids, I feel pretty confident in recommending our favorite products to hopefully help you with your baby registry. Luckily for me, I work with new parents and got tons of great advice and suggestions from my clients during my pregnancy, and I’m happy to pass it on to you 🙂
Travel:
Uppababy – vista + mesa travel system
Love that this is a local company, and that these are high quality items. The bassinet can be used for overnight sleep and naps in the first few months, and easily pops onto the stroller. With both kids, we use the stroller and car seat everyday, so I felt good about buying higher end.
Uppababy – Minu travel stroller
My only regret is not buying this sooner! This is our car stroller that we keep in the trunk. The Mesa car seat pops into this with adapters, and it folds down to be pretty small with one hand! Can’t beat that.
Ergobaby omni 360 baby carrier
We used the infant insert for the first few months as Ollie is a little guy, and now he faces out. Its great for shopping, walks, and non-strenuous hikes. We haven’t done it yet, but I think we can wear him on our back as well. We’re able to easily adjust the fit so my husband and I can both use it.
Loved this especially for the early sleepy days. Super soft and comfy and lightweight. This is a must have for second baby, and allowed me to do things around the house while snuggling.
If you are ever sleeping away from home, this is a necessity. We used it for Ollie until he switched to a toddler bed, and now will use it for years with Rory!
We use this as a carseat cover when we want to protect baby from the sun or to help him nap in the car/stroller. You can also use it as a nursing cover up, but I never did.
You really don’t need a “diaper bag,” you can just use any back pack or tote, but you do need one of these. It folds out with a padded changing mat and zippered pockets for diapers, wipes, etc.
This is great in the summer to throw over the car seat, carrier, or use at the beach.
Feeding:
If you buy one thing on this list, get this! It’s a silicone cup that suctions to your boob while you nurse on the other side to catch your extra let down. I also use it to hand express after baby is done nursing to build a stash of breastmilk. I used this with Rory during night feedings when I was making the most milk and I was getting 10-20 ounces a day from it.
This this is amazing. It clamps onto your table or countertop so there is nothing on the ground! We actually used this until our oldest was 3 and now for Rory. The fabric part comes off easily for the laundry and the other pieces can be thrown in the dishwasher. Highly recommend the tray table as well!
I planned on nursing but I would recommend having a (washed and sterilized) set of bottles at home–and some formula for that matter–just in case. We also started giving bottles of pumped milk after the first few weeks, so I was glad we had them. We had the glass ones, but I’d recommend plastic because we had to buy a bunch of new ones for daycare.
Dr Browns bottle sponges and Bottle drying rack
Not very exciting, but necessary.
If you’re planning on pumping and saving milk in the freezer.
Buy a bunch of these and leave them everywhere you might be nursing. Use this after you nurse–everytime, from the beginning to prevent cracked and bleeding nipples. I speak from experience.
Use these with the lanolin cream, even if you aren’t leaking. Lanolin will stain your bra/shirt.
We went with My Breast Friend, but I would choose the Boppy pillow if we could do it over again. You can use it as an infant lounger and for tummy time, not just nursing.
Nursery:
So expensive, but we thought it was worth it! Loved the app that tracked sleep, and it helped rock Ollie back to sleep when he fussed in the middle of the night.
We’re happy with this so far–it will convert to a toddler bed and a full size bed, and we don’t have to buy additional parts (just the mattress.)
Not very exciting, but you need one! I liked that this one came with a mattress cover.
So cute, I loved this pattern. Get two for inevitable blowouts.
We use this every night, but it’s especially important for winter and colds, when you cannot give them cold medicine.
This is made out of some soft plastic, and you can use bleach wipes on it. Not as cute as the fabric covers, but less laundry!
We loved this for naps before we started putting him in his bassinet during the day.
We tried a few, and this is our favorite!
Works great!
Portable, perfect amount of light–gifted from one of my lovely clients.
Other things:
These muslin swaddles are super cute and were great for the first few weeks.
This swaddle is super stretchy and has velcro to keep baby tight and secure. It was great once Ollie was starting to wiggle out of the muslin ones.
I thought this one was cute! Great for tummy time or laying on his back and playing with the hanging toys.
A client recommended this to me and it gets spit up and poop stains out!
It’s called the snot sucker. Its super gross but you will do this when you’re kid is sick.
These ones have a little window that lets you see what you’re cutting so you don’t accidentally cut their tiny fingers.
A little hammock that turns into a seat and then a big tub before they go in the real one. You’ll also want a hooded towel and wash clothes.
A paci that fits into a medication dispenser. A great way to give them Tylenol the first few times.
As baby grows:
I searched for one that wasn’t super ugly, and this was the best I could find. Once Ollie was about 6 months old he could use this and he LOVES this thing. He could bounce in it all day long.
Great for once they are rolling over and sitting up.
So cute and stay on his feet with the velcro!
Once you’re ready to start solids beyond purees, this is great and easier to clean than the mesh ones.
Clothes:
We were super lucky and a friend gave us a bunch of hand-me-downs. We also registered for a few onesie and pant packs in each size.
One thing to consider is that you don’t know how big your baby will be. My son was 6 pounds at birth and was in newborn size until about 3 months old. It makes planning seasonal clothes a bit tough. For this reason, you may want to wait to buy the next size up until you need them.
I also recommend just buying zip up pajamas for the first few months. That’s all we put Ollie in until he started going to daycare and I felt like I needed to put him in actual outfits. If you want to splurge, these are amazing. They have magnetic closures instead of zippers or buttons which make your life a lot easier at 3am.