I get a lot of questions in my Friday Q&A series about baby essentials and while this post on our baby registry is an exact copy of everything we registered for, I’ve been meaning to write an updated post with notes on which items we used and loved the most, several items I would swap out or skip entirely, which items we purchased over time after Teddy was born, and what items we’re purchasing duplicates of for baby #2. It’s a long one but I really hope it’s helpful for those of you who are expecting — please feel free to pass along to any moms-to-be in your life!
*photo from my Uppababy stroller review
BABY GEAR WE LOVED
- UPPAbaby Vista stroller — simply the best of the best. Read my full review here.
- UPPAbaby Vista stroller organizer — a no-brainer for bottles, pacifiers, and your own cup of coffee.
- Backseat mirror — love and will order a second when we buy a second car.
- 7 A.M. Enfant foot muff — an insanely warm baby cocoon only necessary if you live somewhere with freezing winters.
- Babybjorn multi-position baby carrier — LOVE and wore right up until Teddy hit the 24 pound weight limit. I foresee heavy use with baby #2.
- Lotus travel crib — brought on two trips pre-Covid and Teddy slept in it all summer on Nantucket.
- Babybjorn bouncer — we swore by this when Teddy was resisting naps in his crib; this saw daily use from ages 1-6 months.
- Lovevery play gym — the least ugly play mat I could find and one I’ve given as a gift several times. Logged many hours of tummy time here!
- Skip Hop jumper — a daily favorite from ages 5-12 months.
BABY GEAR I WOULD CHANGE OR SKIP
- UPPAbaby Mesa car seat — started to feel snug well before Teddy hit the 35 pound weight limit (still nowhere close!) and 32″ height limit so we ordered the Nuna Rava. We’ll use this car seat again for baby #2’s first year but looking back, I wish we’d just started with the Rava from birth.
- UPPAbaby Vista and Mesa travel bags — the Vista stroller would have been a pain to fly with (we ultimately bought the Doona for this purpose) and we hardly went anywhere due to Covid.
- Halo Bassinest — got this thinking Teddy would sleep in our room for the first several months and learned quickly none of us were going to get any sleep with him in our room. Personal preference of course but definitely something I wish we’d skipped and saved on.
- Jolly Jumper — this thing has an enormous footprint (we should have gone with the doorway version if anything), annoying to get the baby in and out of, and no more interesting to him than the Skip Hop jumper above.
*the Doona in action last February in Palm Beach… remember travel?! ?
ADDITIONAL BABY GEAR WE PURCHASED OVER TIME
- Doona travel stroller and car seat — truly a game-changer the two times we flew with Teddy pre-Covid. I personally don’t feel like it’s as sturdy as the UPPAbaby Mesa or the Nuna Rava as an everyday car seat, but for travel it’s an absolute dream.
- 4moms swing — I ordered this out of desperation after watching Teddy peacefully drift off to sleep in it at a friend’s house around 5 months old but ultimately I think Teddy was getting past the age of wanting to sit still anywhere by the time it arrived. Will be curious to see how much use it gets with baby #2 as I have several friends who swear by it with their newborns.
- 4moms high chair — I ordered this when Teddy was around four months and getting ready to start solids. I admittedly chose it primarily for aesthetic reasons but we’ve been happy with it.
- SlumberPod — another desperate purchase when Teddy went on a sleep strike in the travel crib this summer. It got us through a really rough patch and prompted me to add blackout shades to his bedroom at home. I wanted to be the chill mom who taught her baby to sleep anywhere; I was ultimately the exhausted mom who would buy anything anyone told me would get my child to sleep past 4 a.m. and this (and the blackout lining on his roman shade) did the trick.
- Nuna Rava car seat — see above under baby gear I would change.
*photo from Teddy’s nursery
NURSING/FEEDING GEAR I LOVED
- Milk Snob multi-use car seat and nursing cover — I rarely breastfed in public but loved this as a car seat cover.
- Spectra S1 breast pump — I ordered through Aeroflow so our insurance would cover most of it. I don’t know that anyone loves pumping (correct me if I’m wrong) but this got the job done. I’d be curious to try the Elvie with baby #2 — have any of you tried it?
- Comotomo baby bottles in 5 ounces and 8 ounces — I breastfed Teddy for just over 12 months, but for the first few months before he was reliably sleeping through the night, Will would give him a bottle of breast milk around 1 a.m. while I pumped and went back to sleep. These are the only bottles we ever used and he’s since used them (as well as this sippy cup and this water bottle that we introduced around 8 and 12 months respectively) for milk and water.
- Boon dishwasher basket — it looks like this exact one isn’t available anymore, but this is similar.
- Boon lawn bottle drying rack
- Gerber cloth diapers to use as burp cloths
- Plain white bibs and silicone food catcher bibs
NURSING/FEEDING GEAR I WOULD CHANGE OR SKIP
- Luna Lullaby nursing pillow — I never got the hang of or need for a nursing pillow. A regular pillow always did the trick in a pinch but generally I found it so much more comfortable to breastfeed sitting upright in the armchair in Teddy’s nursery.
*photo from Teddy’s nursery
BATHING GEAR WE LOVED
- Angelcare infant bath tub — recommended from birth to 6 months but admittedly we’re still using it while we bathe Teddy in the kitchen sink during our hall bathroom remodel. We’ve more than gotten our money’s worth!
- Skip Hop rinser cup
- Noodle & Boo hair and body wash — smells delicious and the bottle lasts forever; hoping Teddy will bathe in this until he goes to college. 😉
- Wooden baby hair brush and comb set
- Pottery Barn kids navy gingham bath wraps
- Pottery Barn navy gingham washcloth set
BATHING GEAR I WOULD CHANGE OR SKIP
- Munchkin safety bath ducky — I think you get an instinct pretty quickly for baby’s ideal water temperature but this is a cheap purchase if it’s something you’re really worried about.
*photo of Teddy at one month
DIAPERING GEAR WE LOVED
DIAPERING GEAR I WOULD CHANGE OR SKIP
- Tote Savvy diaper bag insert — I ordered and returned these; they just felt too fussy for the diaper bags we wound up using but totally personal preference.
DIAPERING GEAR WE PURCHASED OVER TIME
- Tubby Todd all over ointment — I ordered this out of desperation to clear baby acne around 1 month and I swear it works actual miracles on everything from dry skin to diaper rash. Highly recommend.
*photo from Teddy’s nursery
SLEEPING GEAR WE LOVED
- Newton Baby crib mattress
- Nanit Pro baby monitor — we LOVE our baby monitor with the floor stand (pictured above) and have already ordered a second for Teddy’s new room.
- Hatch Baby sound machine — ditto the above.
- Roolen humidifier — ours is no longer in stock, but this is similar.
- Halo sleep sacks — my very favorite for the first few months.
SLEEPING GEAR I WOULD CHANGE OR SKIP
- Baby Merlin magic sleepsuit — a desperate purchase that never worked amazingly for Teddy, but could prove useful for baby #2 as every baby is different!
HEALTH & SAFETY GEAR WE LOVED
- Fridababy baby basics kit — I’m a huge Fridababy fan for all things baby and postpartum recovery.
HEALTH & SAFETY GEAR I WOULD CHANGE OR SKIP
- Braun digital forehead thermometer — I was nervous about using a rectal thermometer but this thing is so unreliable I had to get over that fear real quick. A definite skip.
- American Red Cross deluxe health and grooming kit — the Fridababy kit above covered the essentials so this wound up being superfluous.
*photo from Teddy’s nursery
ITEMS WE’LL PURCHASE DUPLICATES OF FOR BABY #2
- Ubbi diaper pail
- Summer Infant changing pad with covers
- OXO Tot wipes dispenser
- Tubby Todd all over ointment
- Nanit Pro baby monitor
- Hatch Baby sound machine
I so hope this is helpful for those of you who are expecting!!! I’ll link a few similar posts here that might be helpful as you enter the home stretch:
- My postpartum recovery essentials + most useful items in my hospital bag
- My breastfeeding experience + essentials
- Teddy’s nursery reveal
- What’s in our diaper bag
Shop the post:
