We moved into a new house about three to four weeks before my son Ben was born. We didn’t quite know what we actually needed, so we didn’t have a lot of baby stuff. I remember being in the hospital after giving birth and ordering things online to arrive for when we got home lol (things I saw the nurses using and thought “oops, definitely gonna need that”- and we even took baby classes). When you’re a new parent, you’re relying on verrrrrry little sleep and your brain just forgets things.
Ben is now over a year old and my friends/family having kids of their own always ask me “what baby products should I get?” or “what did you actually use with Ben”
In the past I sent people email lists, but forgot some of the stuff, so today I’m so happy I’m finally putting everything into one place and am excited to share this list of baby products that I actually used/use with my baby!
Diapering:
- Munchkin Secure Grip Waterproof Changing Pad – The best changing pad I’ve come across. Because of the grips on the bottom it doesn’t slide around. We ended up buying two – one for upstairs and one for downstairs. You don’t necessarily even need a changing table, you can just put this changing pad on top of a dresser or table and call it a day!
- Burt’s Bees Baby Changing Pad Cover – These are organic cotton, so soft, and go perfectly on the changing pad mentioned above. We bought 3 and use them to this day (almost 2 years later).
- Ubbi Diaper Pail – Please just trust me and get this one. I have had several friends who bought cheaper ones and because they were plastic, the smell seeped into the plastic and they had to get rid of them. This one is stainless steel and it really traps the smell! We also bought the three pack of Ubbi diaper bags and are still going through them.
- Diaper bag– Ok, so before I had Ben the one thing I did purchase (splurged on) was a Pacapod diaper bag ($190)- cannot recommend this one enough, it has awesome “pods” and it keeps things so organized. I used it for carrying around my laptop and as a diaper bag for Ben, so really a 2 in 1. That was when I thought I was going to be taking Ben to work (come to find out you really cannot work with a baby in the same room, not a lot gets done because baby needs a lot of attention lol). I thought I was opposed to a backpack diaper bag because I generally don’t like backpacks and never have. However, scrolling through Insta one night I saw someone talking about their backpack diaper bag and just bought one on a whim…um yeah, I LOVE it and use it all the time. It’s nice to have hands free when out and about with baby. This Eddie Bauer Diaper Backpack ($54) one is super nice and is very unisex, so hubby can use it as well and it comes with a changing pad. I have several friends who have this Baggu Canvas Backpack – it’s super simple, machine washable and is the cheapest option I’ve seen at only $42. I’ve found what I look for in a diaper bag is something that has two side pockets or pouches for bottles and a zip place for your phone/keys/wallet and then space for baby’s diapers and wipes and anything else you want to put in there.
- Utility Cart – I loved this three tier utility cart, I used it as a diaper/changing station supply holder and had Ben’s sleep sacks and clothes on different shelves. I use this cart for his clothes to this day!
- Weleda Diaper Rash Cream – Trust me on this one, this is the best diaper rash cream on the market! I dried other ones that ended up giving Ben a crazy rash and making it worse. This one works and is good for sensitive baby skin.
Bathing:
- Puj tub – when baby comes home, the first few months you’ll be bathing baby in the sink because they’re too small for the actual bathtub, the Puj tb was our favorite because it could be hung up on a hook and took up such little space and I never felt like it got dirty (some of the other ones they have on the market are shaped like big flowers or whatever and I think they get so gross! The Puj tub is amazing!
- Puj hooded towel – I loved that this towel had a hook and was hooded for those cooler days.
- Puj washcloth – these are the softest ever, you’re going to want to steal them if you ever see them at a friends house
- Weleda Baby Calendula Bath Soap – This is the most gentle, most organic baby soap ever, we still use it to this day for Ben (he had sensitive skin and this is the only stuff that worked!)
- Bath Rinse Cup – This is one of those things we discovered we needed after we brought baby home, we used a measuring up to rinse off the shampoo/soap during bath time, that would have worked fine but I saw this one and it was under $5 so I got it – we’ve been using it ever since.
- Arm’s Reach Bassinet – I loved this bassinet, it kind of looks old school, but it had wheels and was so easy to move from one room to the next and was so much smaller width wise than other ones we found. There’s even an option to attach it to your bed if you want a safe way to co-sleep without having baby physically in your bed. Babies generally don’t go into their cribs until they roll over or sleep through the night, so this was such a great option for us before we moved Ben into his crib. I really liked the height on this one too, it wasn’t too low so I wasn’t bending down super far every time I needed to pick him up. Just do yourself a favor and get one with wheels!
- Babyletto 3-in-1 Convertable Crib/Toddler Bed (eco friendly) – As I mentioned, babies don’t go into their cribs until they roll over/sleep through the night. This happened for us at around 8 weeks for Ben. So while we had the crib, we didn’t have it built right away. I would highly recommend this eco friendly crib. Why might you ask? Well on top of being good for the environment…when Ben started getting teeth, he would chew on the crib, no joke, so at least I felt ok knowing he wasn’t ingesting chemical paints or anything. Plus this crib is super nice and simple and comes in a bunch of different colors.
- DockATot Baby Lounger – I was kind of hesitant to buy this item because of the price tag ($175) but after hearing rave reviews decided to get one. Best purchase ever. Ben loved this thing! It’s a lounger, babies like being in confined places (they were in the womb for 9 months!) and this gives them a nice relaxing structured place for a nap, or tummy time, or just lounging in a safe place next to you on your bed. I swear the DockATot would calm him down, he’d be crying and I’d put him in it and he’d quiet down and be all cozy.
- Hannah Anderson Sleepers with Feet – babies need lots of warmth! Ben’s little feet would get cold, these are the softest sleepers with feet on the market and they’re super premium organic cotton. If you’re looking for something a little more affordable (I always bought these Hannah Anderson ones when they went on sale – check their sale page) I’d suggest Burts Bees Baby’s ones.
- Burt’s Bees Baby Footed + Hat Set – love the Burt’s Bee’s Baby line (these are all great), and their hats fit perfectly.
- Tommee Tippee Bottles – these were the best ones we found (after going through literally 6 different kinds of bottles). These ones are shaped like a nipple so baby takes to them (natural latch) and they had are anti-colic which is great!
- Munchkin Baby Bottle Brush – this is the only baby bottle brush that didn’t get moldy (we went through 3 different ones over the year) and it’s great, it’s still by our sink to this day.
- Munchkin Drying Rack – this rack is awesome and doesn’t mold (see above, we went through 2 different drying racks before getting this one and loving it, we still use it to this day).
Big Ticket Items/Misc:
- Car seat – I love the safety features of Nuna products as well as their European look and quality. Yes, they’re pricey, but I’d say very worth the price (they’re also the lightest car seat on the market.) We got the Pipa Nuna car seat and the Tavo stroller (here is the travel bundle (car seat + stroller, the car seat hooks onto the stroller so you can take walks with baby in baby’s car seat!), it’s pricey but we have loved both). I’ll talk about another stroller below.
- Stroller – ok, so as I mentioned above, we have the Nuna stroller. It’s super great because we could just click our car seat into it when Ben was a baby, and now he can sit in it, so we’ve really gotten use out of it. It’s super nice and has amazing shocks. It’s amazing, it collapses and is easy to use – we joke it’s nicer than our cars. Only thing we didn’t “love” is that it didn’t have a stupid cup holder. So we ended up getting a second cheaper stroller the Chicco Mini Bravo ($149), and I love it for taking into the city or to farmers markets, because I can keep my drink in it and push Ben around. But until they’re a few months old, this type of stroller wouldn’t work for them because they’d fall out of it, so you need something that works with your car seat if you want to take them on walks as a baby. To this day, I keep the Mini Bravo in my trunk, it’s so lightweight and folds up super easy and is great for getting around (and I love the cup holder tray!)
- Infant Optics Baby Monitor – we have this one and love it and I think 4 of my friends (maybe more) have this exact same one. We also have a Nest camera for the downstairs of our house and we really like being able to see our house from our phones when we’re not home.
- 4Moms MamaRoo High Tech Swing – I swear Ben hated all rock and plays or bouncers…except this high tech one (he’s got fancy taste). It was worth the hefty price tag ($199). I’ve heard other moms swear by their Baby Bjorn Bouncer but they’re pricey too at $220. I’d say to get one or the other.
- Burt’s Bees Baby Burp Cloths – I’m purring burp cloths under ‘clothing’ because they protect both your clothing and baby’s clothing. These ones are the softest and best ones!
- Burt’s Bees Baby Footed + Hat Set – love the Burt’s Bee’s Baby line (these are all great), and their hats fit perfectly.
- Old Navy – You’d be surprised at how expensive baby clothes are and how fast they grow out of them. I loved Old Navy baby clothes and their prices
- Carters – Carters is always having a sale, so make sure you buy clothes from them that are on sale! I got so many clothes from Carters because they run a little small and Ben was a small baby.
- ThredUp – The world’s largest consignment site – I loved this for when Ben was going through growth spurts. I got so many amazing designer clothes for super cheap from this site.
Other posts you might enjoy:
- Jewel Lullaby CD – This CD is so beautiful, it’s Jewel signing lullaby’s, I would play this in the car whenever I’d take Ben somewhere.
- Bringing Up Bebe audiobook – I had the best intentions of reading all these baby books. But when you’re trying to feed baby and you’re barely awake, you can’t focus on reading (at least I couldn’t.) I ended up buying this book as an audiobook and listening to it while feeding/changing Ben, and I loved it!
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